In 1876, Alexander Begg was appointed as Manitoba's first provincial auditor, in charge of heading the Audit Office.
[1] The provincial auditor was appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council to audit all accounts of expenditure and receipt maintained by the government, and to report all findings to the Legislative Assembly.
Though it reported directly to cabinet, the office was, for administrative purposes, placed under the authority of the provincial treasurer.
[4] This followed the findings of the 1916 Mathers Inquiry, a royal commission into government misuse of public funds related to the construction of the new Legislative Building (a scandal that resulted in the resignation of Premier Rodmond Roblin).
[4][5] The Branch amalgamated the functions of the former Audit Office with several comptrolling functions that were previously attached to the Office of the Provincial Treasurer into a centralized, quasi-independent entity that reported directly to both Executive Council and the Provincial Treasurer.