Evolution of Auditing in Mexico: From Military Gloss to Modern Comptroller
Audit Military Gloss
The audit function had military gloss, with gloss review accounting offices responsible for salary payments and expenses incurred in supporting the army and navy corporations. This included various units within the Secretary of War and Marine, and the Manufacturing Department and Military Supplies, which had sections for paperwork, filing, and liability.
Sections practiced commentary and gloss review of accounts, consisting of the legal review of operations, ensuring each operation was justified with correct arithmetic calculations.
Gloss personnel also rotated through multiple offices to effectively fulfill their primary function. Through these rotations, they requested missing documents, addressed unmet requirements, sought clarification on suspicious transactions, and reported to the Secretary of War or appropriate authority when permits were not rotated or requirements related to stamp duty were incomplete.
Army and Navy Audit
This audit addressed cases from the Secretary of the same name, ultimately concerning fund expenditures. It was one of the most important offices within the Comptroller’s department.
Its functions involved identifying redundancies within the forces, leading to expenditure savings from the treasury by reducing the army’s size.
Additionally, they reviewed affiliations of high-ranking individuals within various corporations, scrutinized overtime work, and ensured provisions issued for review were not accepted without proper documentation.
During the 1921 changes in padagurias, ranch headquarters, and stamp and postal managers, the Army and Navy Audit played a crucial role in addressing knowledge gaps and instructing on mailing list errors.
Their responsibilities included appointing auditors to inspect military journals, which helped detect phony positions and unnecessary staff. They also appointed individuals to manage journals for dependent corporations in the Valley of Mexico.
Finally, until July 1921, they handled the processing of military pension payments for relatives of soldiers killed in action or on duty.
B. Achievements of the Comptroller
In 1925, budget adjustments led to the removal of several Department employees. This prompted President Plutarco Elías Calles to establish”requirements for admission, hierarchy, and separatio” for employees. This provision aimed to provide job security and stability, solidifying the civil service bureaucracy within the Comptroller.
A Records Review Commission was formed to establish policies for selecting candidates and determining employee promotions. Tests for both scenarios were presented to teachers at the School of Commerce and Administration.
The”Agreement of the President in setting the conditions…and the reasons they may be dismissed..” marked a significant step in developing Mexico’s civil service. The Comptroller, through this agreement, would lead other federal civil service sections in personnel administration.
Issued on March 2, 1925, the agreement emphasized increasing staff efficiency alongside downsizing. It outlined the following determinations:
- Fitness assessment through examination.
- Requirement of an honorable service record and clean history.
- Admission examination and letters of recommendation (both social and professional) for aspiring applicants.
- Preference given to laid-off employees in case of vacancies, provided their cessation was solely due to economic reasons.
- Opportunity for existing employees to demonstrate their abilities for promotion.
- Promotion based strictly on hierarchy, equal competition, and reputation.
- External applicants considered only for third or fourth-level vacancies.
- Dismissal of employees (both existing and new) only under the following circumstances: retirement, voluntary resignation, or dismissal with clearly established conditions:
- Commission of an act against the Treasury’s interest, national security, or prestige.
- Physical inability to perform duties for over six months.