Establishment
Article 121 (1) of the Constitution of Zambia states in part "    there shall be an auditor general for the republic whose office shall be a public office". The Constitution provides that the Auditor General shall be appointed by the President subject to ratification by the National Assembly.
The staff of the Auditor General are public officers whose appointments, promotions, remunerations and other conditions of service are determined by the Public Service Commission.

Constitutional Mandate of the Auditor General
The duties and responsibilities of the Auditor General as provided for under Article 121 (2) of the Constitution are:

• To satisfy himself that the provisions of Part X of the Constitution are being complied with;
• To satisfy himself that the moneys expended have been applied to the purposes for which they were appropriated by the Appropriations Act or in accordance with the approved supplementary estimates, or in accordance with the Excess Expenditure Appropriation Act, as the case may be,   and  that  the  expenditure  conforms  to authorities that govern it;
• To audit the accounts relating to the general revenues of the Republic and the expenditure of moneys appropriated by Parliament, the National Assembly, the Judicature, the accounts relating to the stocks and stores of the Government and the accounts of such other bodies as may be prescribed by or under any law.
• To audit the accounts relating to any expenditure charged by the Constitution of Zambia or any other law on the general revenues of the Republic and to submit a report thereon to the President not later than 12 months after the end of each financial year.

The Auditor General is also mandated under the Public Audit Act Cap 378 and the Public Finance Act No 15 of 2004 of the Laws of Zambia to audit the accounts of:

• a)    every statutory corporation or public company;
• b)    every department in which funds and working accounts are established;
• c)    every private institution which receives Government grant, subsidy or subvention in any financial year;

The Auditor General is required to submit such a report to the president who will in turn cause it to be tabled in Parliament not later than seven (7) days after the first sitting of Parliament.

If the president defaults in causing the report to be tabled in Parliament, the Auditor General is empowered by the Constitution to submit the report directly to the Speaker of the National Assembly or if the Office of the Speaker is vacant, or if the Speaker for any reason is unable to perform the functions of his Office, to the Deputy Speaker who will cause it to be tabled in the National Assembly.

Vision, Mission and Goal Statements
In order to effectively carry out its functions and responsibilities, the Office is guided by the Vision, Mission and Goals as spelt out in the Strategic Plan

Vision Statement
A Supreme Audit Institution that will follow the Kwacha wherever it goes in order to enhance accountability of public resources by 2030 for the benefit of the Zambian people.

Mission Statement
To provide quality audit services to Government and other institutions in order to promote accountability and value for money in the management of public funds and other resources for the benefit of society.