Irregular expenditure: what a disciplined determination looks like

Determining irregular expenditure is a legal and evidentiary exercise as much as a financial one. The output must identify the transaction, the contravened requirement and the responsible party with precision.

Strong determinations begin with a defined population and a documented sampling basis. Where the population is incomplete, that limitation is stated rather than glossed over.

Each finding should link to the specific provision breached — a Treasury Regulation, a policy clause, a condition of a grant — not a general assertion of non-compliance.

Finally, the report must distinguish between expenditure that is irregular, fruitless and wasteful, or unauthorised. Conflating them undermines both the remedy and the credibility of the work.