Commission on Audit (Philippines)
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| Formation | February 2, 1987 |
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| Headquarters | Commission on Audit Building, Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City |
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Chairman
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Michael G. Aguinaldo |
| Website | www |
The Commission on Audit, abbreviated as COA (Filipino: Komisyon ng Pagsusuri), is an independent constitutional commission established by the Constitution of the Philippines. It has the primary function to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties of the Philippine government.
The Commission on Audit is composed of a Chairperson and two Commissioners. They must be natural-born citizens of at least thirty-five years of age, and must be either a Certified Public Accountant or a lawyer. The members of the Commission are appointed by the President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission of Appointment, for a term of seven years without reappointment.
The Commission has the power, authority and duty to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties of the Philippine government. Towards that end, it has the exclusive authority to define the scope, techniques and methods of its auditing and examination procedures. It also may prevent and disallow irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable expenditures, or uses of government funds and properties.
Auditing as a tool for effective governance has been recognized and practiced since the Spanish colonial era. One proof of this was the residencia, an inquiry into the administration of an outgoing Governor General and consequently of other officials. Conducted by the Royal Audiencia, it was designed to hold colonial officials to strict accountability for all acts during their term of office. Another was the visita de tierra, a visit of inspection made every three years, which often revealed glaring anomalies in the handling of local government accounts. Colonial officials also performed investigations akin to audit at the time. One was a fraud audit of sorts for galleon trade conducted in the early 1700s. Another, which involved the inspection of the Misericordia de Manila in 1751, had shades of financial audit. In 1739, a Royal Decree by the King of Spain established the royal exchequer which was the national treasury of that era. All books of accounts of the Spanish colonial government were required to pass through the scrutiny and certification of the contador or the accountant and that of the oidor, a representative of the Spanish crown, who by the nature of his duties may be considered as the precursor of the auditor. By mid-19th century, the Tribunal de Cuentas was created. It functioned as the supreme auditing institution of the islands until the end of the Spanish rule in 1898. Staffed by a president, two auditors, a fiscal, accountants and examiners, the Tribunal had exclusive jurisdiction over the audit of all financial matters affecting the colony. These personnel, all appointees of the King, were required by law to review all vouchers and to cross-check them against corresponding entries in the books of accounts.
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