Role of the PAC

The Committee was established by section 81 of the Constitution and is regulated by the Public Accounts Committee Ordinance 2009 (No.11 of 2009) which came into effect on 1 February 2010.

 

The Committee consists of two members of the Legislative Assembly, chosen by the Legislative Assembly, and the chairman and two members not members of the assembly appointed by the Governor.

 

The Committee is appointed to examine and report on all public accounts and audit reports that are required to be laid before the Legislative Assembly, to advise the Governor on appropriate arrangements for the auditing of accounts under section 80(1) of the Constitution, the respective priorities of audits under that subsection and the effectiveness of those audits.  In practice this means that the Committee advises the Governor about the work of external auditors who are appointed to audit the Falkland Islands Government accounts as prepared by the Treasury and provides an additional level of scrutiny of these.

 

The Committee also has discretion to examine and report to the Assembly on the accounts of bodies that receive or deal with public money, bodies in which the Government is a shareholder and bodies in which a statutory body within the meaning of section 80(1) of the Constitution is a shareholder.  So the Committee may examine the accounts of organisations such as the Falkland Islands Development Corporation, The Museum and National Trust, Falklands Conservation, the Media Trust essentially any body which in one way or another receives public funds or in which the Government has a shareholding.

 

All reports produced by the Internal Audit Department of Government are required to be produced to the Committee who must examine them and report on them to the Assembly.

 

In addition the Committee may also consider whether or not the arrangements made by the Governor in respect of the management of financial risk are adequate, and look at the value for money derived from the expenditure of public money.

 

The Committee is also to consider and report to the Assembly on the effectiveness of the regulation by the Government of bodies to whom the Assembly or the Government has granted franchises to provide services of a public nature.  Government has granted franchises in the telecommunications, banking and fuel supply sectors of the economy.

 

Finally the Committee is to consider and report to the Governor on any other matter that the Governor may refer to the Committee.