Malawi National Audit Office

The National Audit Office is Malawi's supreme audit institution, headed by the Auditor General, whose office is established by section 184 of the Constitution. It operates under the Public Audit Act, No. 6 of 2003 (Chapter 37:01), which commenced on 8 July 2003, separated the Auditor General from the Ministry of Finance and moved reporting directly to the Speaker of Parliament. The Act was further amended in 2018. The office examines the transactions, books, accounts and public records of every ministry, statutory office, agency, board, commission and bureau. It carries out financial audits, compliance audits and performance or value-for-money audits, alongside IT audits, follow-up audits, reviews of donor-funded projects and forensic investigations. Its statutory powers include access to all accounts and documents, requiring information from relevant persons, summoning witnesses and administering oaths, and contracting specialised audits to external organisations. Under section 15(1) of the Act the Auditor General must forward audit reports to the President and the Speaker by 31 December each year. Published series cover the accounts of government ministries, departments and agencies, the accounts of statutory corporations, and performance audits. The Auditor General also advises Parliament through the Public Accounts Committee on financial and economic governance. Its auditing lineage predates independence: under the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland the Federal Auditor General reported on Nyasaland's public accounts to the Legislative Council. After independence the office worked under the Finance and Audit Ordinance 1963 and then the Finance and Audit Act No. 44 of 1966. G.G. Kukada became the first Malawian Auditor General in 1977. Headquarters are in City Centre, Lilongwe, with regional offices in Blantyre, Mzuzu and Zomba. The office had an establishment of 282 posts as at 31 March 2026.

2QMQ+X28, Lilongwe, Malawi
Lilongwe

City Centre, Lilongwe

13°57′54″S 33°47′15″E

• Financial audit
• Compliance audit
• Performance and value-for-money audit
• IT audit
• Forensic and investigative audit
• Audit of statutory corporations
• Audit of donor-funded projects
• Reporting to Parliament