Section 188 of the Constitution states that the Auditor-General is required to report on the finances of all national, provincial and local government administrations and has the discretion to audit any institution that receives money for a public purpose.

Section 181(2) of the Constitution asserts that the Auditor-General is independent, and that the powers and functions of the office should be exercised without fear, favour or prejudice.

The Public Audit Act[7] gives detailed effect to the constitutional provisions, and deals with such matters as conditions of service, functions, administration, reporting obligations and powers of investigation.

As with the Public Protector, these provisions are intended to ensure that the Auditor-General is independent of the executive and of other influences, and responsible only to Parliament.

Some of the more recent investigations conducted by the Auditor-General have exposed instances of financial mismanagement ranging from huge debt at the Government Printing Works and unauthorised expenditure by several government departments to the fraudulent allocation of subsidies in the Department of Housing and irregularities in procurement processes at the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office.

A particular problem identified in the Asmal Report is "persistent disregard for the Auditor-General’s recommendations by government departments and other public institutions."