The Auditor-General of Ghana is the head of the

Ghana Audit Service The Ghana Audit Service is an independent government agency in Ghana that is responsible for carrying out the audits on the accounts of the Government, Regions as well as the activities of the Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Companies under ...

, a legislative branch agency re-established by the government of Ghana in 1992 through the 1992

Constitution of Ghana The Constitution of Ghana is the supreme law of the Republic of Ghana. It was approved on 28 April 1992 through a national referendum after 92% support. It defines the fundamental political principles, establishing the structure, procedures, pow ...

. It was established as part of the Audit Service through Article 188 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana as part of the Public Services of Ghana. The Auditor-General through the Audit service undertakes audits of the public accounts of Ghana and all public offices as mandated by Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. In other jurisdictions, the Auditor-General is referred to as

Comptroller General A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

, as referred to in US as

Comptroller General of the United States The Comptroller General of the United States is the director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO, formerly known as the General Accounting Office), a legislative-branch agency established by Congress in 1921 to ensure the fiscal and ma ...

and UK as

Comptroller and Auditor General (United Kingdom) The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) in the United Kingdom is the government official responsible for supervising the quality of public accounting and financial reporting. The C&AG is an officer of the House of Commons who is the head of th ...

History

The Gold Coast Audit Director

During the colonial era the British Colonial Administration under the direction of the Colonial Audit Office in London established a local Audit Office headed by a Director, whose duty was to annually submit an audit report to the Director of Colonial Audit in London. From 1910 to 1963, there five British who headed the department, with the first being Walter Bowerley served as director for the Department from 1910 to 1932.

Auditor-General of Gold Coast Audit Department

In 1951, after Kwame Nkrumah became Prime Minister, the designation of the head of the Audit Department was modified from Director of Audit to Director-General (D-G) of Gold Coast Audit Department. Neville Warde Sabine was appointed as the first Director-General in 1951. In 1954, after another legislative election birthing the 1954 Constitution of the Gold Coast, the position was changed to Auditor-General (A-G) in order to replace the Director-General of Gold Coast Audit Department in line with the adoption of the 1954 Constitution. Neville Warde Sabine maintained his role until 1963.

First Ghanaian Auditor-General

In 1963, Ahenkora Osei was appointed as the first Ghanaian Auditor-General to lead the Auditor-General's Department. He held the position for 18 years till 1981, serving through three constitutional eras (1960–1966, 1969–1972, and 1979–1981) and two military regimes (1966–1969 and 1972–1979) respectively.

1981–present

Ahenkora Osei was succeeded by James Benoni Haizel-Coleman in 1981 who served for 3 years and was subsequently replaced by Richard Tello-Nelson in 1983. Tello-Nelson served from 1983 to 1989 and was later replaced by Osei Tutu Prempeh in 1990. Prempeh served for 10 years, serving till 2000 and was succeeded by Edward Dua Agyeman in 2001 as Acting A-G till he was confirmed in 2003. Agyeman served till 2009 and was replaced by Richard Quartei Quartey who also served for 7 years till 2016, when he retired and was replaced by current A-G,

Daniel Yaw Domelevo Daniel Yaw Domelevo is a Ghanaian accountant who currently serves as a Board member of the Global Fund. He is a former Auditor-General of Ghana. He was appointed by John Dramani Mahama in 2016 to replace Richard Quartei Quartey who had retired fr ...

Mandate of the Auditor-General

The legitimate mandate for public sector audit is exclusively vested in the Auditor-General's position and Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana provides the mandate of the Auditor General as follows: # ''The public accounts of Ghana and of all public offices, including the courts, the central and local government administrations, of the Universities and public institutions of like nature, of any public corporation or other body or organization established by an Act of Parliament shall be audited and reported on by the Auditor-General.'' # ''The Auditor-General or any person authorised or appointed for the purpose of the audit by the Auditor-General shall have access to all books, records returns and other documents relating or relevant to those accounts.'' # ''All the public accounts of Ghana and of all other persons or authorities referred to in clause (2) of article 187 shall be kept in such form as the Auditor-General shall approve.'' # ''In the performance of his functions under this Constitution or any other law the Auditor-General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority;'' # ''He may disallow any item of expenditure which is contrary to law and surcharge: (i) the amount of any expenditure disallowed upon the person responsible for incurring or authorising the expenditure; or (ii) any sum which has not been duly brought into account, upon the person by whom the sum ought to have been brought into account; or (iii) the amount of any loss or deficiency, upon any person by whose negligence or misconduct the loss or deficiency has been incurred.''

List of Auditors-General of Ghana

{, class="wikitable" , + !Auditor-General !Term of service !Appointing President !Note , - , Neville Warde Sabine , 1951 – 1963 ,

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

, , - , Ahenkora Osei , 1963 – 1981 , Kwame Nkrumah , , - , James Benoni Haizel-Coleman , 1981 – 1983 ,

Jerry John Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...

, , - , Richard Tello-Nelson , 1983 – 1989 , Jerry John Rawlings , , - , Osei Tutu Prempeh , 1990 – 2001 , Jerry John Rawlings , , - , Edward Dua Agyeman , 2001 – 2009 ,

John Agyekum Kufuor John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He was also Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008. Kufuor's career has been spe ...

, , - ,

Richard Quartei Quartey Richard Quartei Quartey is a Ghanaian accountant who served as the Auditor-General of Ghana from 2009 to 2016 and vice-chair of the UN's Independent Audit Advisory Committee in 2020. A product of the University of Ghana Business School, Quartey w ...

, 2009 – 2016 ,

John Evans Atta Mills John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party ...

, , - ,

, 2016 – 2021 ,

John Dramani Mahama John Dramani Mahama (; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as presi ...

, , - , Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu , 2021 – present ,

Nana Akufo-Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 7 January 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for his second term, which will end on 6 January 2025. Akufo-Addo previously ...

, {{Cite web, date=13 September 2021, title=President confirms Akuamoah Asiedu Auditor-General, url=https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/president-confirms-akuamoah-asiedu-auditor-general.html, access-date=21 February 2022, website=Graphic Online, publisher=News Desk Report, language=

Other Comptrollers and Auditors General

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Comptroller and Auditor General of India The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the supreme audit institution of India, established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India. They are empowered to audit all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the ...

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References

Government audit officials Government audit Management occupations Ghanaian civil servants Government accounting officials Auditor-General of Ghana