the ruler. The ruler has established an office for each of these categories to safeguard its endowments and distribute their proceeds to their designated purposes. The administrator considers it appropriate to appoint an auditor specifically for these transactions—meaning all the endowments—to examine their accounts, review the actions of the administrators and managing officials, verify the sums spent and remaining for which they must account, and maintain records of this. This would safeguard the endowments’ funds as they pass through different hands and managing officials are replaced. His oversight evidently encourages some officials to exercise care, producing a benefit. May the ruler do this if he considers it beneficial, or not?

If he now proceeds with this because he considers it beneficial, appoints the aforementioned auditor, and assigns him a small fixed stipend charged to each of these endowments—far below the regular income of any of their managing officials—because of the benefit he sees in it, is that permissible? Is the aforementioned auditor entitled to receive his stipulated remuneration if he performs his duties?

If his duty is to obtain each year’s accounts in accordance with the procedures followed by the scribes, and he finds accounts submitted for several years or more, which he then processes in fulfilment of his duties, is he entitled to remuneration for the period whose accounts he obtained and examined in the performance of those duties?

He answered:

Yes. The ruler may establish an office to audit the accounts of endowed funds when this serves a beneficial purpose, just as he may establish offices to audit state revenues, such as fay’ revenues and the like. He may also assign the auditor remuneration for his work commensurate with what someone in his position deserves: