Comptroller General
1
8.6
- noun
- /kəmˈtroʊlər ˈdʒɛnərəl/
- Formal
:
Contralor General
- If you don't accept the word of the Comptroller General, then what about the Social Security Trustees?
Examples
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Mr. Walker is the Comptroller General of the United States, overseeing the nation's financial operations.
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Bachmann's legislation would require the Comptroller General of the United States to produce, in just six months, a report of dazzling detail in predicting and even guaranteeing the future.
Blog text (13) -
The Comptroller General would, for example, be required to produce a set of statistics.
Blog text (13) -
But the above statement was made in his capacity as Comptroller General of the GAO.
Blog text (12) -
Finally, the debate went to the Comptroller General, who ruled in favor of the Nap's view.
Academic text (2003) -
According to U.S. Comptroller General Charles Bowsher, NASA has grossly underestimated the space station's price tag.
Academic text (1992) -
The Comptroller General's report would also have to find an ironclad guarantee that the fluorescent bulbs would reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the United States by 17 years from now.
Blog text (13) -
Details of the reductions were to be finally determined by, and implementation directed by, the Comptroller General (through a report from the Comptroller to the President, who was not given discretion to deviate from that document).
Academic text (2016) -
The Comptroller General advised Congress on improving government transparency regarding expenditures.
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Before making recommendations, the Comptroller General reviewed the federal budget for accuracy and compliance.
Surface Forms
Morphology
comptroller + General
The meaning is largely derivable from 'comptroller' (financial auditor/controller) plus 'General' functioning as 'chief' or 'overall', so a learner who knows both words can infer a senior official overseeing government expenditures. However, this is a formal institutional title with specific legal scope and an atypical postpositive use of 'General' that some learners may not immediately interpret, so the relation is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Comptroller General may come from an old name for a person called a comptroller, who checked a 'roll' or list of accounts to make sure the numbers were right. So today the Comptroller General is the top official who checks how the government spends money.