Historical Background of GAC

Prior to 1956, the General Auditing Office (GAO) was established by an Act of the Legislature as the Bureau of Audits (BOA) to pre-audit requisitions, vouchers, and payrolls in tandem with the disbursements of public monies. In 1956, this Act was amended under Chapter 32, Section 740-744 of the Executive Law of Liberia to audit all accounts of the Government of Liberia in the manner prescribed by the Liberian Revenue and Finance Laws.

In 1972, the Executive Law of Liberia was amended: Chapter 53, Sections 1-11 established the General Auditing Office (GAO). Under this law, the Auditor General reported directly to the President. However, the January 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia created the GAC as one of three autonomous Commissions, resulting in the GAC’s replacement of the GAO. In June 2005, a statutory provision was made, supplementing the creation of the GAC in the 1986 Constitution which requires the GAC (The Commission) henceforth reports to the Legislature. Notwithstanding, this amendment did not enable the GAC to become fully compliant with the 1977 LIMA and the 2007 Mexico declarations. The 2014 GAC Act enables the Commission to be fully compliant with those declarations. However, for compliance to be fully achieved, the Act needs to be implemented in full with all of its provisions observed.