1332. General Duties.-The Accountant Officer, under the directions of the Captain, is to perform all the duties required of him with reference to keeping the ship's books correctly and rendering accounts as laid down in these Regulations, particularly in Chapters XXXVIII to XLVIII.

2. Disbursements.-He is responsible for all the accountant and victualling duties of the ship, and, under the authority of the Captain, is to make all disbursements for the naval service ; but the Captain will have under his control all the cash, victualling and clothing transactions, and the Accountant Officer is therefore never to make purchases or payments of any kind, nor issue or dispose of articles in his charge without the Captain's authority.

3. Supplies.-The Accountant Officer is charged with the duty of obtaining all requisite supplies of provisions, victualling stores and clothing for the ship, but when an Accountant Officer for victualling duties is also borne, that officer is to be responsible for obtaining all the stores in his charge and for the prices paid in the case of purchases, the liability of the Accountant Officer for cash duties in the matter being limited to checking the calculations on the vouchers to the cash account and making the actual payment by the most economical method.

4. Officers authorised to pay and receive.-Only the Accountant Officer, his assistant, or other properly delegated officer, is authorised to make payments or to receive unpaid moneys or moneys for banking, discharges, safe custody, postal orders and other purposes ; monetary transactions with any other person will not be recognised and will be at the officer's or man's own risk. Form S. 6 is to be kept posted by the Accountant Officer in a conspicuous place in the ship's office.

1333. Preservation of Stores, &c.-He will be responsible for the care and preservation of the provisions and other public stores in his charge, as well as for their being kept complete, and issued, expended, and accounted for according to the established regulations.

1334. Maintenance of Supplies.-He will take steps to obtain such timely supplies as may keep the remains of every article in his charge adequate to the requirements of the ship, and thus avoid making purchases more frequently than may be necessary ; he is particularly to observe this caution with respect to clothing, which should never be purchased except when absolutely requisite.

1335. Report to Captain.-He will keep the Captain fully informed as to the provisions and other articles in his charge. Once a week, and whenever the ship is to proceed to sea, he will furnish the Captain with an account of the number of days' provisions and candles on board at full allowance and according to the average consumption, for the number victualled, and also of the balance of public money in his hands.

1336. Loss of Stores.-When stores are lost by the misconduct or neglect of any person, the Accountant Officer will be held responsible that the amount to be charged is recovered from the wages of the offender. See 1602 clause 2 (Responsibility for Deductions).

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1337. Discharges by Purchase.-He will be responsible for any loss to the Crown due to insufficient payments for discharge by purchase or to erroneous repayments of purchase money. The amount to be paid for discharges is to be settled on board without reference to the Accountant-General except in cases of doubt or difficulty. See 602, 603, 1172 (Discharge by Purchase of Seamen and Marines).

2. On the purchase money being lodged with the Accountant Officer, he is to give a receipt to the person by whom it is paid and is to debit himself with the amount in his current cash account. If the money is lodged for the discharge of a non-commissioned officer or man of the Royal Marines, he is also to forward to the Colonel-Commandant of the division to which the marine belongs, through the Captain, a receipt in due form, stating the necessary particulars as to the object for which the money has been paid.

3. If the discharge is not approved, the purchase money may, with the approval of the Captain, be refunded to the person by whom it was paid. Great care is to be taken to avoid erroneous payments, especially in the cases of men not serving in the ships in which the money was lodged. Any case of doubt or difficulty is to be submitted to the Commander-in-Chief or referred to the Accountant-General as may be necessary. In the case of a marine, the Colonel-Commandant of the man's division is at once to be informed of the refund.

4. All applications for the repayment of a portion of the purchase money in respect of re-entry into the Navy or Marines must be made to the Accountant-General.

5. In the case of a seaman who is discharged to another ship or to a depot after his discharge by purchase has been approved, or while his application is under consideration, form S. 222 is to be attached to his service certificate, and is to bear a statement, signed by the Accountant Officer, showing whether the purchase money has been lodged or not. When the money is lodged, the amount and the name of the person from whom it is received are to be noted on the form, the address being added in case of payment by any other person than the man himself. If the original is not available, a fresh form S. 222 is to be made out for this purpose.

On the man's final discharge from the Navy, form S. 222 is to be attached to the page of the ship's ledger showing the settlement of his wages.

1338. Office Staff.-He is to have the direction, under the control of the Captain, of the Assistant Paymasters, Clerks and Assistant Clerks on board ; they are to be employed in assisting him in all his duties ; he is to take care that they fulfil the duties assigned to them, and when necessary he is to require them to initial all accounts they prepare or examine.

2. Instruction of Juniors.-He is to instruct junior accountant officers in their professional duties and is personally to see that, apart from the actual duties which Clerks and Assistant Clerks are called upon to perform, they study and show a satisfactory knowledge of the duties of an Accountant Officer.

3. He is to report annually, on form S. 206, upon the conduct and qualifications of the Assistant Paymasters, Clerks, and Assistant Clerks, also on paying off, and if he should be superseded, or upon any of those officers being discharged.

4. Captain's Clerk.-The Captain will select an Assistant Paymaster, Clerk, Assistant Clerk, or Writer for his correspondence and other clerical duties ; but when the time of this officer or Writer is not occupied therein, the Captain is to take care that he is employed in the ordinary duties of the office.

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In ships where only one Assistant Paymaster is borne he is not to be employed as Captain's Clerk without specific authority and in cases where only two Accountant Officers are borne a Writer is to be selected.

1339. Reports on Juniors.-He is to furnish, through the Captain of the ship, to the Commander-in-Chief the following reports on form S. 433a on junior accountant officers under his charge who entered the Service in or after the year 1909, a duplicate being given to the officer for production when he is examined for Assistant Paymaster :

1. At the end of one year's service as Assistant Clerk, a report as to the officer's knowledge of the following subjects :
1. Ledger work;
2. Ship's Steward's books;
3. Captain's Clerk's work;
4. General work of a ship's office.
This report is to be in addition to the certificate required for advancement to Clerk (see 296).
2. At the end of two years' service as Clerk and Assistant Clerk, a report as to the officer's knowledge of subjects (1) to (4), as above, and
5. Admiralty Instructions generally.
3. At the end of three years' service as Clerk and Assistant Clerk, a report as to the officer's knowledge of subjects (1) to (5), as above, and in addition
6. Pay, cash, store and victualling accounts
7. Receipt and custody of cash, provisions, clothing, &c. ;
8. Naval Discipline Act, court-martial procedure, &c.

2. He is to assign marks for the annual reports up to a maximum of 100 for each report, and the mean of the marks obtained will be added to the marks gained in the examination for Assistant Paymaster.

1340. Writers, Ship's Steward, &c.-The Accountant Officer will have under his control, to assist him in the performance of his duties, the Writers, Boy Writers, Ship's Steward, Second Ship's Steward, Ship's Steward's Assistant, and Ship's Steward's Boy, and also, whenever his duties shall require it, the Cooper and Cooper's Crew. The Butcher and all cook ratings will also be under his direct supervision.

1341. Report on Stewards and Cooks.-The Accountant Officer is to report upon the qualifications of all Ship's Steward and Ship's Cook ratings half-yearly, on form S. 507, approved by the Captain. A report is also to be made on supersession or on paying off.

1342. Absence of Accountant Officer.-In the absence of the Accountant Officer from any temporary cause the senior commissioned officer of the Accountant Branch is to take charge of the duties for him. In cases where no commissioned accountant officer is present, the duties are to be discharged either by some other commissioned officer, or, at the Captain's discretion, by the Clerk, if one is borne.

2. Temporary Charge.-If any officer should be placed in temporary charge of an Accountant Officer's duties, owing to the death or removal of the former Accountant Officer, he is to render into office accounts for the period during which he may have been in charge, transferring the remains by survey to the officer appointed to succeed the deceased or removed officer, unless he should consent to take charge from the date of the late Accountant Officer's death or removal.

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1343. Death.-If the Accountant Officer should die, his accounts are to be completed by his successor, and transmitted by the Captain, with a complete schedule. Public books and documents not required in office relating to the accounts are to be retained on board for the use of the officer who completed them. See 594 (Survey on death of Accountant Officer).