What does Audit St Helena do?
Audit St Helena is the body that works on your behalf to carry out financial and performance audits. We support the Chief Auditor whose responsibilities are set out in the Constitution and the Public Finance Ordinance:
- To promote public accountability in the public administration of St Helena
- To act as adviser to the Public Accounts Committee
- To undertake any function conferred on the Chief Auditor by or under any Ordinance
- To do anything incidental or conducive to any of the Chief Auditor’s functions
Staff of Audit St Helena are employed under the same administrative rules and conditions of service that apply to all public offices of St Helena Government, but are considered separate from SHG.
The Chief Auditor’s line manager is the Governor. The Governor is responsible for the annual performance appraisal of the Chief Auditor. However, the Constitution states that the Chief Auditor is independent. Neither the Governor, Executive Council, Legislative Council or any other person may direct or control the Chief Auditor or staff carrying out work on their behalf.
The Chief Auditor’s work is reported to the Legislative Council through the Public Accounts Committee. The Public Accounts Committee is a select committee of the Legislative Council.
Audit St Helena performs different types of audits. We undertake the financial audit of public sector accounts and conduct performance audits to determine whether resources have been used with regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness.