The Court was established on November 7, 1890, although its origins can be traced back to the Royal Treasury (Erário Régio), founded in 1808 by King John VI. It is, therefore, one of the world's oldest institutions dedicated to national government accountability. Today, the TCU works in cooperation with the Comptroller-General of the Union (CGU), which oversees federal executive internal audit. The Court's work is further scrutinized by the Public Ministry.
The TCU's efforts in 2011 resulted in saving 14 billion reais (US$7.44 billion) for Brazilian taxpayer. For every real spent by the court to prevent corruption and wasteful spending, 10.5 reais were saved.[3]
