It is a statutory appointment made by His Majesty The King, in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 8 to the Government of Wales Act 2006.

The first full-time Auditor General for Wales, Jeremy Colman, was appointed on 1 April 2005 for an initial 5-year term subsequently extended in 2009 for a further 3 years.

Colman resigned in February 2010 after an internal investigation at the Wales Audit Office[1] and subsequently pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of children.

[2] Interim Auditor General, Gillian Body, took responsibility for running the Office[3] prior to the appointment of Huw Vaughan Thomas, from 1 October 2010.

[5] In 2010, the Auditor General described poverty as the "single major challenge" facing Wales at that time.