What should be the role of the auditor-general in the context of managerialist government and new public management?

The role of an auditor-general may be set our in somewhat dry terms as follows: providing expert, independent, public opinions on the financial affairs of government and its bodies and the efficiency, economy and effectiveness with which governments use the resources and power provided to them by taxpayers.(1) This definition is relevant to any environment, managerialist or otherwise, for it is silent on the methods by which these opinions are reached. There will always be a requirement for some official with a duty to stand apart from executive government to review, independently assess and report to the people. In my opinion an auditor-general should always be mindful that his or her ultimate responsibility is to the people. For this reason the function appropriate to an auditor-general will continue under some guise or other whatever the managerial form of government. To put it another way, our form of government is more likely to change than the functions of the auditor-general. In the long run, stupidity or hubris in public administration is unlikely to long outweigh the practical commonsense needs of society - despite the evidence of the last decade. In reviewing the auditor-general's role any changes should only be made if they ensure that the independence, strength, institutional memory, adaptability and continued professionalism of the function is retained.