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The Bureau of Audits was created by an Act of the National Legislature of 1956. The Act was amended by the Executive Law of 1972 under Chapter 53, Sections 1-10, making it an independent agency within the Executive Branch of Government. It was renamed the General Auditing Office in the 1972 Legislation. Chapter 53, Section 53.2 of the Executive Law of 1972 Commission of Government amendable to the Legislative Branch of the Government of Liberia.

The June 2005 amendment made the Executive Law of 1972 consistent with Article 89 of the 1986 Constitution, which created the General Auditing Commission as an autonomous commission of the Government of Liberia. In 2007, a draft amendment to bring GAC up to full 1977 Lima standard was completed. The GAC is headed by an independent Auditor General of the Republic of Liberia.  

The June 2005 amendment to make GAC a truly independent and functioning Supreme Audit Institution was spearheaded by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf when she served as head of the erstwhile Governance Reform Commission (GRC) during the Interim Transitional Government of Liberia.
 
It is true the spirit of commitment to an independent Auditor-General that President Sirleaf approached the European Union to competitively recruit an Auditor-General. The Auditor-General was therefore competitively recruited by the international partners through a vetting process that attracted applicants including Liberians and non-Liberians.

The new Auditor-General holds a Constitution post with fixed term of 4 years and contractual position of Auditor-General for two years, both with the option of renewal.

The internationally recruited Auditor-General assumed office in May 2007 and began the important task of transforming and transitioning to build a world class Supreme Audit Institution in Liberia and bring back GAC into the SAI community, including active membership in world bodies like INTOSAI, AFROSAI and AFROSAI-E.  

Duties of the Auditor-General
The duties of the Auditor-General are defined in Section 53.3 of the Executive Law of 1972. The Auditor-General  is the is the principal responsible for conducting comprehensive post audits, special Financial investigations, reconciliation's and analyses, and continuous audits on a routine basis.  Chapter 53.3 further detailed the duties of the Auditor-General:

(a) "Once a year perform audits of all Government agencies and Government organizations and examine, to the extent he deems necessary, all transactions and accounts relating to the receipt, disbursement,  and utilization of the public monies;

(b) "Perform audits of all property accounts and transaction of all Government agencies and Government     organization; such audits shall be conducted as far as practicable at the place or places where the     property and records are located and shall include an evaluation of the effectiveness of internal control and other methods of safeguarding the assets of the Government;

(c) "Perform audits of withdrawals of money within the responsibility of the Government as started in the      appropriation acts or financial obligations by the order of Ministry of Finance.

(d) "Inspect the books of account of bank and financial institutions to verify the amounts of Government monies, securities, and other assets hypothetical or on deposit, or otherwise require written bank     confirmations of Government monies, securities, and other assets under control of such banks or      financial institutions;

(e) "Inspect the books of account of privately owned commercial and manufacturing establishments for the      purpose of verifying transactions with Government agencies and Government organizations, requiring      outside written, confirmations of accounts receivable and employing such other extended audit      procedures as are necessary;

(f) "Prescribe auditing standards and develop and implement auditing procedures, methods, and techniques appropriate to government accounting practices; and

(g) "Require any Government official or employee or other person to testify on oath as a witness in      matters pertaining to financial transactions which involve the use or custody of Government monies or      assets.”

Scope of Work
The Auditor-General has a far reaching scope of work. The mandate of the Auditor-General include of audits of government ministries, agencies, departments, local governments, state owned enterprises and other government business type activities,  and private entities receiving government funding and/or contracting with the Government of Liberia.

 In additional to local government governments, there are approximately 85 government institutions and programs designated to be audited by the Auditor-General. Chapter 53, Section 53.1 defined the audit coverage of the GAC:

a) "The term ''Government Agency", means every ministry, bureau, board, Commission, institution,     authority, organization, enterprise, officer, employee, or other instrumentality of the Government        including commonwealths, cities and townships and other local authorities political units of the     Republic;

(b) "The term "Government Organization" means every enterprise, authority, monopoly, factory, or other      industrial or commercial facility, corporation, utility, company, lending or financial institution,      or other instrumentality which is wholly or partly owned by the Government.

Organization of the GAC
The General Auditing Commission is headquartered at the Old Executive Mansion in Monrovia but conducts audits in all counties and legislative districts. The organization structure of the GAC was subdivided in the following categories:
• Oversight Offices
  o The oversight offices include the Office of the Auditor General.  
• Independent Offices
  o The independent offices included Government Affairs, Procurement, Internal Audit and Legal Affairs,      among others.
•Departments
oDepartments include Administration, Audit Services, Forensic Audit Services, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

The organizational structure is designed to support proper segregation of duties and for sustainability of the established programs. The current manpower strength of the GAC is 152 people, with 85 percent being auditor staff.  Staff of the GAC was competitively recruited through passing objective examination and undergoing a rigorous interview with a Panel comprising Liberians and international people.

The GAC is housed in the Old Executive Mansion on Ashmud Street, Monrovia.