The National Audit Office (NAO) is the Supreme Audit Institution of The Gambia responsible for the audit of Government institutions and other public bodies.
Auditor General as the head of the NAO is responsible for ensuring that government departments/ institutions are accountable over their application of public funds. You can read more about the Auditor Generals’ functions here.
NAO helps in fighting corruption through the audits we carry out and reporting our findings to the National Assembly. Where there is suspected fraud, the Inspector General of Police is notified to investigate and take action when necessary.
The AG has advised for the proper usage of COVID-19 funds by reminding institutions of the regulations and laws around emergency response. NAO started audit of COVID-19 funds and will be sharing interim reports in the coming months to the National Assembly, partners, and the executive.
The National Assembly is the oversight body of the NAO in executing its mandate, by discussing its submitted Activity Report (now called the Annual Performance Report) and audited financial statements.
The National Audit Office is audited by private audit firms who are selected by the Finance and Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly through a competitive selection process.
The activities and financial statements of public institutions are audited by the Auditor General annually within six months to the end of the financial year.
The public are the ultimate beneficiaries of the audit results. Audit reports are submitted to the National Assembly for discussion, after which they are available for public consumption. The audited entities, strategic and other development partners also have access to the reports published.
The reports are sent to the auditees and in certain cases to the National Assembly for discussion before they are published.
The NAO is a reporting institution and works with other government partners to ensure that its recommendations are acted upon. The National Assembly and Directorate of Internal Audit should assist in ensuring that audit recommendations are acted upon by institutions through discussion and follow-up for the implementation of audit recommendations.
Audit reports highlight how public funds are used for development. When reports are published and accessible to citizens for their active involvement, it will promote accountability and transparency and ensure that public resources are used for their intended purposes
NAO over the years has worked towards clearing the audit backlogs, and submitting more timely reports to the National Assembly which has also increased access to report findings and making them relevant for public discussion and improvement of public resource management
NAO examines public spending and report to respective stakeholders including parliament. This is ensuring that public institutions are hold account on how public funds are utilized.
NAO is the Supreme Audit Institution established by the Constitution to provide external audit service to all public institutions in The Gambia, whereas Directorate of Internal Audit is an internal control function of the executive within the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.
The Auditor General is appointed by the President of The Gambia in consultation with the Public Service Commission
Yes. NAO was granted an autonomous status through an act of National Assembly in 2015 (NAO Act 2015) and its establishment is also contained in the 1997 Constitution.
No. Currently, we only publish performance and Government account audit reports.
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