Background of
Commission on Audit
Organization

Spanish period:
Gobernor Heneral ( Governor General)
• The King's representative
highest-ranking official in the
Philippines.
• The Governor General and other
government officials had so much power
that it was commonly abused.

To investigate the abuses, there
were bodies created:
THE RESIDENCIA
THE VISITA
THE ROYAL AUDENCIA

THE RESIDENCIA (special judicial court)
Investigates the performance of a Governor
General who was about to be replaced.
THE VISITA ( Visitador)
The one revealed glaring anomalies in the handling of
local government accounts, direct to the King of Spain.

THE ROYAL AUDENCIA (Supreme Court )
-Had the power to check and report on the
abuses of General Governor and other officials.
- Served as Auditor General of the colonial
government.

Later on, in Mid 19th century, they created :
Tribunal de Cuentas
-Supreme governmental accounting body of Spain.
-Headed by three accountants called contadores de cuentas
-responsible of the comptrolling of the public accounts and the
auditing of the accountancy of the political parties, in accordance
with the Constitution and its Organic Act.

American Period
• Birth to the Office of the Auditor for the Philippine Islands
• Later on, converted to the Bureau of the Insular Auditor
• Renamed again on The Bureau of Audits.

Commonwealth Era (Manuel Quezon)
• 1935 Constitution
- creating a changes and stronger institution of
General Auditing Office (GAO),
-General Auditing Office (GAO),
 Direction and control of an Auditor General
 Separate an organization from the Executive and other
departments of the government.

Marcos Era
• GAO was renamed the Commission on
Audit on 1972

Rebirth of Commission on Audit
• Given a broade area of audit coverage like:
 Accounts of all subdivisions
 Agencies
 Instrumentalities of government
 Government Owned and Controlled Corporations Reform
(GOCC)
will be examined and audited also.
- Part of Constitution

The First Reorganization in 1979
 Created Central Offices:
1. Administrative Office
2. Planning, Financial, and Management Office
3. Legal Office
4. Accountancy Office
5. National Government Audit Office
6. Local Government Audit Office
7. Corporate Audit Office
8. Performance Audit Office
9. Manpower Development and System Office
 Purpose: To perform primarily staff functions, exercise technical supervision over the
regional offices in matters pertaining to their respective functional areas, and perform
such other functions that the Chairman may assign.

The Second Reorganization in 1987
Purpose: ENHANCING THE
INDEPENDENCE OF THE COMMISSION
ON AUDIT.

The Third Reorganization in 2002
Created new accounting system:
 Basic Features
 Coding Structure
 Chart of Accounts
 Books of Accounts
 Journals
 Ledgers
 Accounting Records
 Registers
 Accountable Officer's Records
 Accounting Reports
 Accounting Forms
 Illustrative Journal Entries

SUBJECT: New Government Accounting
System
To: All Heads of Local Government Units
and all other concerns

Grouping of Audited
Agencies by Clusters

1. National Government
Agencies
 Group into 8 clusters:

2). Corporate Government
Agencies
Group into 6 Clusters:

3). Local Government Units
By Regions into 6 Clusters

3.1 The National Capital Region, or called as Metro Manila

3.2 Central & Northern Luzon (CAR & Regions I to III)

3.3 Southern Luzon (Regions IV & V);

3.4 Visayas (Regions VI to VIII)

3.5 Mindanao (Regions IX to XIII)

3.6 Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)

4. Other Departments with operating functions
(a.) The Government Accounting & FMIS tasked with
formulating accounting rules and regulations, and the
institutionalization and operation of the New Government
Accounting System
(b.) The Legal & Adjudication with the function, among
others, of rendering advisory legal services and other
investigative work for the Commission

Section 5. Composition of the
Commission on Audit; qualifications,
terms, and salary of members.

(1) The Commission on Audit, hereinafter
referred to as the Commission, shall be
composed of a Chairman and two
Commissioners, who shall be natural-born
citizens of the Philippines and, at the time of
their appointment, at least thirty-five years of
age and certified public accountants or
members of the Philippine Bar for at least ten
years.

(2) The Chairman and the Commissioners shall be
appointed by the Prime Minister for a term of seven
years without reappointment. Of the Commissioners
first appointed, one shall hold office for seven years,
another for five years, and the third for three years.
Appointment to any vacancy shall only be for the
unexpired portion of the term of the predecessor.

(3) The Chairman and each Commissioner shall
receive an annual salary of sixty thousand pesos
and fifty thousand pesos, respectively, which shall
not be decreased during their continuance in office.

QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.
 They are the following:
• (1) They must be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines
• (2) They must be at least thirty five(35) years of age at the
time of their appointment;
• (3) They must be certified public accountants with not less
than ten (10) years of auditing experience or members of
the Philippine Bar who have been engaged in the practice of
law for at least ten (10) years; and
• (4)They must not have been candidates for any elective
position in the elections preceding their appointment.

APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF OFFICE
• The Chairman and the Commissioners are appointed by
the President with the consent of the Commission on
Appointments for a term of seven (7) years without
reappointment.
• Commissioners- first appointed for a term of less than
seven (7) years are likewise ineligible for reappointment.
• Constitution- provides for the rotation of the
appointments at regular and fixed intervals of two (2)
years.

Section 6. The Commission Proper.

(1) For purposes of this Code and as a component of the
organizational structure of the Commission, the
Chairman, and the two Commissioners shall together
be known as the Commission Proper and as such shall
be distinguished from the other components of the
Commission consisting of the central and regional
offices which are hereinafter created.

(2) The Commission Proper shall sit as a body to
determine policies, promulgate rules and regulations,
and prescribe standards governing the performance
by the Commission of its powers and functions.
(3) The Chairman shall act as the presiding officer of
the Commission Proper and the chief executive
officer of the Commission. As such chief executive
officer, he shall be responsible for the general
administration of the Commission.

Section 7. Central and regional offices.

(1) The Commission shall have the following central offices:
(1) Administrative Office
(2) Planning, Financial, and Management Office
• Budget Division
• Accounting Division
• Corporate Planning and Management Division.
(3) Legal Office
(4) Accountancy Office
(5) National Government Audit Office
(6) Local Government Audit Office

(7) Corporate Audit Office
(8) Performance Audit Office
(9) Manpower Development
Office
(10) Technical Service Office

shall perform:
• staff functions
• exercise technical supervision over the regional offices in matters
pertaining to their respective functional areas
(2) The Commission shall keep and maintain such regional
offices as may be required by the exigencies of the service in
accordance with the Integrated Reorganization Plan for the
national government, or as may be provided by law, which shall
serve as the immediate representatives of the Commission in
the regions under the direct control and supervision of the
Chairman.

(3) The central and regional offices shall each be
headed by a Manager and a Regional Director,
respectively. The Manager of the Legal Office shall
also be known and shall act as the General Counsel
of the Commission.

Section 8. Commission Secretariat
i. There shall be a Commission Secretariat to
be headed by the Secretary to the
Commission who shall have the rank and
privileges of a central office manager.

Section 9. The Administrative Office.
The Administrative Office shall perform
the following functions:

(1) Develop and maintain a personnel program
which shall include recruitment, selection,
appointment, performance evaluation, employee
relations, and welfare services; and
(2) Provide the Commission with services related
to personnel, records, supplies, equipment,
medical, collections and disbursements, security,
general and other related services.