• The Accountant-General’s Department (AGD) is one of the departments under Singapore’s Ministry of Finance, although the Accountant-General is appointed by the President.
• The AGD is different from the Auditor-General’s Office, which is an independent organ of state. The difference between the Accountant-General and the Auditor-General is analogous to the distinction between the internal accountant of a company and the external auditor hired by the company to audit its accounts and internal controls system.
• The Accountant-General is responsible for the supervision and administration of the Government’s financial and accounting systems. If any person or organisation wishes to draw on the Government’s reserves, the Accountant-General is obliged to inform the President.
• The Accountant-General is also responsible for administering and making payments of public monies, establishing accounting standards for Statutory Boards, and reporting any financial irregularities.
• In 1961, Chua Kim Yeow became the first Singaporean to be the Accountant-General of Singapore and held the appointment for 19 years. Prior to this, the Accountant-Generals were all British officials appointed by the colonial government. The current Accountant-General, Ow Fook Chuen, was appointed in 2015.

The Committee previously suggested that the Auditor-General and the Accountant-General be excluded from the list of public offices that automatically qualify for election, because the job scopes of these two positions are relatively narrow and do not require the deliberations and pressures faced in Government decision-making. (Lianhe Zaobao, 16/9/2016)