International Journal of Government Auditing – October 2003
Canada
125th Anniversary of the Office of the Auditor General
On May 14, 2003, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) celebrated its 125th anniversary with a ceremony on Parliament Hill. Over 300 guests from Canada and 17 different countries joined Auditor General Sheila Fraser at the May 14, 2003, Parliament Hill ceremony celebrating the OAG’s anniversary.
 Canadian Auditor General Sheila Fraser |
The Speakers of the House of Commons and the Senate jointly hosted the event, which was attended by representatives from the Canadian federal government, Canadian provincial auditors general, and the heads of the supreme audit institutions of Antigua and Barbuda, Mrs. Arah Armstrong; Cameroon, Mr. Njiemoun Mama; Norway, Mr. Bjarne Mørk-Eidem; Peru, Dr. Genaro Matute Mejia; and the United States, Mr. David Walker. Senior officials of 11 supreme audit institutions and the INTOSAI secretariat also took part in the celebrations.
The celebrations were held in conjunction with a meeting of the INTOSAI Sub-committee on Independence of Supreme Audit Institutions and a Speaker’s Forum on significant public sector issues.
The Speaker’s Forum included sessions on (1) health care led by the Honorable Monique Begin, former Minister of Health in the Canadian federal government, and Dr. Chris Carruthers, Chief of Staff of the Ottawa Hospital System; (2) fiscal sustainability led by David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, and Kevin Lynch, Deputy Minister of Finance in the Canadian federal government; and Supreme Audit Institutions) and (3) performance management, reporting and audit led by Caroline Mawhood, Assistant Auditor General in the National Audit Office of the United Kingdom, and Lee McCormack, Acting Associate Deputy Comptroller General of Canada. The forum also included a short luncheon speech by the Honorable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board in the Canadian federal government.
History of Canadian OAG
In 1878, the Parliament of Canada passed a law that provided for the appointment of the first independent Auditor General. That legislation provided the groundwork for 125 years of dedicated service to Parliament and to Canadians.
Although the legislation governing the OAG has changed a number of times since then, the mandate remains fundamentally the same: to provide Parliament with information that it needs to hold the government of the day accountable for its stewardship of public funds. In Canada, control of the public purse is the exclusive prerogative of Parliament.
To fulfill this mandate, the OAG performs two basic types of legislative auditing: annual financial audits and value-for-money, or performance, audits.
Annual financial audits of federal government departments, agencies and Crown corporations result in some 100 opinions a year that attest to, or verify, the accuracy of their financial statements. The OAG also does financial audits of three Canadian territories, with combined expenditures of some $2 billion, including 15 territorial organizations. Internationally, the OAG audits two United Nations bodies, UNESCO and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Every year, the OAG audits the Public Accounts of Canada—the federal government’s summary financial statements. Covering about $180 billion in assets and $700 billion in liabilities, this audit is very likely the largest in Canada.
In 1977, a new Auditor General Act clarified and expanded the Auditor General’s responsibilities. In addition to financial and compliance work (regularity auditing), the OAG was given a broader mandate to examine how well the government managed its affairs.
The OAG began to ask new questions: Were government expenditures being made with due regard for economy and efficiency? Was the government accurately measuring the effectiveness of its programs? The new act maintained the important principle that the
Auditor General does not comment on policy choices, but does examine how policies are implemented.
This was the beginning of value-for-money auditing, which basically seeks to determine whether or not taxpayers are getting value for their tax dollars.
In 1984, amendments to the Financial Administration Act made Crown corporations subject to a form of value-for-money auditing called the special examination. The reports resulting from these audits are provided directly to the boards of directors of Crown corporations and, in exceptional circumstances, to the responsible minister and Parliament.
In June 1994 the Auditor General Act was amended to provide for the production of up to three reports per year in addition to the annual report.
Further amendments to the act in December 1995 established the position of Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development within the OAG. These amendments required government departments to publish annual sustainable development strategies. The Commissioner is responsible for reporting to the House of Commons on the extent to which departments have met the objectives set out in their sustainable development strategies and action plans. She also reports on all other environmental matters that she thinks should be brought to the attention of the House.
The OAG contributes to INTOSAI by participating in a number of its committees and working groups. Canada chairs the Environmental Working Group and the Subcommittee on SAI Independence of the Auditing Standards Committee. The OAG also participates in the Committee on Information Technology Audit, the Public Debt Committee, and the Auditing Standards Committee.
The OAG has also been a prominent supporter of training programs for auditors from national audit offices of developing nations. It is a member of the Board of the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) and contributes to its training programs.
Every year, as part of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)-funded International Audit Office Assistance Program, senior government auditors from developing countries spend 9 months at the OAG becoming familiar with Canadian techniques in public sector auditing with a particular focus on value-for-money.
As an independent audit office serving Parliament and the wellbeing of Canadians, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada has set as its vision to promote an accountable, ethical, and effective federal public service; good governance; sustainable development; and the protection of Canada’s legacy and heritage. It strives to be widely respected for the quality and impact of its work.
For additional information, contact: Office of the Auditor General, fax: ++1 (613) 957 - 4023; e-mail: frasers@oag-bvg.gc.ca; Internet: http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca.