The organization is governed by the Spanish Constitution, the Organic Law 2/1982 of May 12, of the Court of Audit, by Law 7/1988 of April 5, on the Functioning of the Court of Audit, in addition to various specific laws such as the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on Financing of Political Parties and the Organic Law 5/1985 of 19 June, the General Electoral System, among others.

The functions proper to the Court of Audit are the external, permanent and consumptive audit of financial-economic activity of the public sector and the prosecution of the accounting liability incurred by those who are responsible for managing public funds or bonds.

Law 15/2014, of 16 September, on rationalisation of the public sector and other measures of administrative reform has attributed to the Court of Audit an advisory role on policy reforms related either to its legal status or to the exercise of its audit or jurisdictional functions.

The Court of Audit reports directly to the Spanish Parliament and performs its functions of examining and verifying the General State Account by delegation, and is in permanent liaison with it through the Joint Congress-Senate Committee on the relations with the Court of Audit.

The Court of Audit is legally conferred budgetary autonomy, and Article 6 of the Organic Act provides that the Court shall draw up its own budget, which will be integrated into the State Budget, in a separate section, and shall be approved by the Spanish Parliament.