Catalogue description Commissioners of Audit and Successors: Specimen Authorities, Guide Books, Journals, and Query Books

This series consists of specimens of records of the Commissioners of Audit and successors relating to accounts.

For each 'vote' a guide book was kept, containing a short history of the vote, the relevant acts of Parliament, orders in council, treasury minutes and regulations, references to decisions affecting the account, and a description of the examination that was to be given to it. Treasury letters authorising expenditure, and fixing salaries on appointment were entered in books of authorities entitled 'examiners'.

Journals record the considerations given to a particular subject, starting with the observations of the examining auditor on the relevant section. Observations are made concerning any transaction or accounting procedure which appears open to criticism or which requires further authority or explanation.

Queries (and Observations) were routinely sent to audited bodies. Standard forms were used for this purpose, returnable to Exchequer and Audit Department, and the explanations received were assessed and determinations recorded on the forms. The forms were retrospectively bound into volumes - Query Books.

These documents were superseeded by section files in

AO 29

AO 30

Commissioners of Audit, 1785-1866

Exchequer and Audit Department, 1867-1984