According to Article 90 of the Constitution and Article 7 of the Amendment of the Constitution, the power of audit is one of the control powers. Article 105 of the Constitution states that the Auditor General shall complete its audit and submit the report to the Legislative Yuan upon the submission of the Central Government annual report by the Executive Yuan within three months.The power of audit, according to Article 3 of the Audit Act, shall be exercised by government auditing agencies. The central government and its subordinate organizations shall be audited by the National Audit Office, municipal governments by provincial (municipal) audit bureaus, and county or city governments by the of audit offices as needed. The audit organizations are responsible for auditing the financial operations of government agencies at all levels. According to Article 2 of the Audit Act, the power of audit includes:
1.To supervise the implementation of budget;
2.To certify receipt and payment orders;
3.To examine financial activities; to certify annual financial reports;
4.To inspect irregularities and dereliction of duties concerning of the financial activities;
5.To evaluate the performance of financial activities;
6.To judge financial responsibilities;
7.To perform other audit works stipulated by other laws.
The Audit Act stipulates that auditors shall carry out their duties independently without interference, and that auditing agencies shall regularly or extemporaneously send their auditors to various organizations to carry out their duties. If an auditing agency does not send its auditors to an organization, it may request the organization to submit the relevant documents for random inspection. Auditing agencies may examine the receipts, payment vouchers and property of public organizations at any time. If auditors demand to inspect books, vouchers or other documents, or cash and property, the persons in charge of the organizations shall not conceal or refuse to surrender them. They shall reply to questions in detail and supply all relevant materials if requested. If auditors find financial irregularities or dishonest conduct among the officials in various organizations, they shall report findings to the competent audit organizations and notify organization heads for action. They may also report to the Control Yuan, through auditing organizations to deal with the case according to law. If a criminal offense is involved, it shall be referred to the judiciary and reported to the Control Yuan. If the auditing agency finds an organization notoriously inefficient or neglectful of its duties, in addition to notifying the organization’s supervising agency, it should report to the Control Yuan. If the problem is due to a deficiency in system regulations or unacceptable facilities, suggestions for improvement should be raised.