Why 1886? Historical Notes on the Passage of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act

The British 1866 Audit Act was the direct outcome of Gladstone's vision for public-sector audit and the recommendations of the influential Select Committee on Public Monies in 1857. The Committee's recommendations to establish appropriation audits for all government departments received general approval on both sides of parliament. Its proposal to combine the Comptrollership of the Exchequer with the Board of Audit was not as well received. It was not until nearly a decade later that reform to give effect to the audit recommendations was finally brought about. A crucial factor in this delay was the resistance of Lord Monteagle to the abolition of the Comptrollership of the Exchequer.