About Us
"To help the public service spend wisely"
The Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) role is to scrutinize public spending on behalf of the Parliament and ultimately the people of the Cayman Islands.
One of the most important roles of the Parliament is to hold the Government to account for its use of public money. Members of the Parliament need objective and fact-based information about how well Government raises and spends public funds. The OAG is an independent and reliable source of such information.
By reporting the results of our audits to the Parliament, we help hold Government and public bodies to account for the way they use public money, thereby safeguarding the interests of citizens. In addition, our work aims to help public service managers improve performance and service delivery.
In carrying out our work the OAG is guided by the three key principles of public audit:
- We are independent of the organisations that we audit
- We report our findings in public
- We consider more than financial statements – we conduct audits to determine whether organisations deliver value for money and we examine wider questions about the public sector’s performance.
Our Mission
"To deliver independent, high-quality public sector audit that promotes accountability, transparency and integrity in the use of public resources"
Sue Winspear joined as Auditor General in July 2016. Prior to that Sue, who was hitherto professionally known as “Higgins”, was Executive Leader Local Services with the UK’s National Audit Office from January 2014. Sue was a NAO executive board member and part of the senior leadership team and held specific responsibility for the NAO’s work on local government, education and health as well as communications and external relations.
Between 2009 and 2014, Sue was a Senior Civil Servant being Director General Finance & Corporate Services latterly in the Department for Communities and Local Government and before that in the Department for Education / Department for Children, Schools and Families.
Prior to that, Sue had a long career in Local Government and held Board level roles at the London Borough of Sutton and Slough Borough Council where she held the statutory CFO responsibilities amongst other responsibilities. Sue is a CIPFA qualified accountant and was serving as an elected member of CIPFA Council prior to leaving the UK for the Cayman Islands. Sue has held numerous honorary finance and audit roles over the years notably being elected the first female President of the Society of Municipal Treasurers in 2005/06.
Outside of work, Sue has undertaken various voluntary roles including being a governor at several schools and is married with three sons.
Our International Audit Community
We proudly participate in international audit membership organizations to uphold high standards of public sector auditing and promote transparency and accountability.
Frequently asked questions
The OAG is audited annually by an independent audit firm. At present the OAG's auditors are HLB Berman Fisher. The Public Accounts Committee is responsible for the appointment of the OAG's auditors under section 69 of the Public Management and Finance Act section 69.
Each individual ministry, portfolio, statutory authority and government company is responsible for the preparation of their financial statements. They are required to present financial statements that present fairly the operations and activities of their entities for audit. It is not the responsibility of the OAG to prepare the financial statements of any government or public entity, other than it's own.
The work of the OAG is undertaken under the powers vested in the Auditor General under the Cayman Islands Constitution and the Public Management and Finance Act.
The Auditor General is independent of the executive branch of government. Our role is to assist Parliament to strengthen the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of government. This is achieved by providing independent information, advice and assurance on whether Government’s activities have been carried out and accounted for in accordance with the Parliament's intention and with due regard to securing value for money and the avoidance of waste.
The Auditor General is constitutionally independent of Government and this independence is further enshrined in the Public Management and Finance Act. In the exercise of his powers he cannot be subject to direction or control by any person. In the determination of the matters that will be subject to audit the Auditor General and OAG continue to exercise complete discretion, and carry out audit work that is risk based and in the public interest. The Auditor General and the OAG are physically separate from Government and exercise independence of mind in respect to their audit work. However, under the Public Management and Finance Act the OAG is technically an office of the Government, and this along with other legislative provisions compromise the financial and operational independence of the OAG, which are important conditions in ensuring the independence of a public audit office.
The Auditor General is constitutionally independent of Government and this independence is further enshrined in the Public Management and Finance Act. In the exercise of his powers he cannot be subject to direction or control by any person. However, under the Public Management and Finance Act the OAG is technically an office of the Government, and this along with other legislative provisions compromise the financial and operational independence of the OAG.
