KUALA LUMPUR: The Auditor-General has been empowered to conduct audits on the accounts of 1,856 other companies, including the government-linked companies (GLCs) which came into effect yesterday.
The National Audit Department, in a statement uploaded on the Facebook page today, stated that this was based on the Audit Order (Accounts of Other Entities) (Amendment) 2024 [P.U.(A) 331/2024] that was gazetted last Oct 31 after receiving the consent of His Majesty the King of Malaysia.
According to the National Audit Department, the number more than doubled from a total of 925 other bodies including companies gazetted in 2022.
“In line with the Audit Order that has been enforced, guidelines concerning the implementation of the auditing of the GLCs are being developed by the National Audit Department.
“It is in line with the provisions under Section 7A of the Audit Act 1957 [Act 62] which gives the Auditor General the authority to issue any guideline as necessary or adjust the benefits to carry out the allocation under Act 62,” it said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when tabling Budget 2025 last Oct 18 announced that the National Audit Department has been given a greater role to initiate audits of nearly 2,000 companies and entities receiving Government allocations and guarantees.
Subsequently, on Oct 22, during the Prime Minister’s Question And Answer session (PMQT) in Parliament, the Prime Minister announced that the government has agreed for the Auditor-General to conduct audits of GLCs to ensure that government companies are managed according to the actual mandate, particularly the economic wellbeing of the people.
