Auditor General for Scotland

The Auditor General for Scotland (AGS) is the public official in charge of the Audit Scotland, the body responsible for auditing most of Scotland's public bodies, except local authorities. The Auditor General oversees the scrutiny of how public money is spent by the directorates of the Scottish Government, government agencies, National Health Service (NHS) bodies, further education colleges and most Non Departmental Public Bodies.

Auditor General for Scotland
Flag of Scotland
Incumbent Caroline Gardner since July 2012 (2012-07)
Member of	Audit Scotland
Reports to	Scottish Parliament
Nominator	Scottish Parliament
Appointer	Monarch of the United Kingdom
Term length	8 years
Constituting instrument	Scotland Act 1998
Inaugural holder	Robert Black
Formation	February 2000 (2000-02)
Website	www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/about-us/auditor-general

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Scotland
The Crown The Monarch Elizabeth II Heir Apparent Charles, Prince of Wales Royal family Succession Prerogative Balmoral Castle Holyrood Palace
Executive Scottish Government First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) Deputy First Minister John Swinney (SNP) Finance Secretary Kate Forbes (SNP) Scottish Cabinet Executive agencies Taxation Revenue Scotland
Legislature Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh Act of the Scottish Parliament Scottish statutory instrument 5th Scottish Parliament Scotland Act 1998 (2012 Act, 2016 Act) EU Continuity Act 2020 Legislative consent motion
Law & Justice Scots Law Law enforcement Supreme Court (UK) Supreme Courts Sheriff Courts Land Courts Justice of the Peace Courts Lord Lyon Court
Elections Scottish Parliament Constituencies and Electoral Regions Scottish Westminster Constituencies Local government elections Scottish Parliament Elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 Next UK General Elections *1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 Referendums 1979 1997 2014
Intergovernmental HM Government Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C) Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak (C) Scotland Office Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack (C) UK Parliament Select Committee Reserved matters COSLA Inter-islands relations British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly British-Irish Council
Administration History Subdivisions: Sheriffdoms Council areas Community council areas Civil parishes Shires of Scotland
Scotland portal Other countries

It is a statutory appointment made by Her Majesty the Queen, on the recommendation of Scottish Parliament.

The post was created under section 69 of the Scotland Act 1998.[1] The main functions of the AGS are set out under section 70 of the Scotland Act and further provided for under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 legislated for mergers of some emergency service bodies, and also for the Auditor General to become responsible for auditing the Scottish Police Authority, and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.[2]

The first Auditor General for Scotland, Robert Black, took up the role in February 2000.[3] Black was succeeded by Caroline Gardner,[4] who started in July 2012.