PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
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Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Auditor General Gives 13th Consecutive "Clean" Audit Opinion on the Public Accounts, But Clearer Guidance Is Needed on Expenditure Votes
Ottawa, June 06, 2012 -
OTTAWA – For the 13th consecutive year, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada has provided an unmodified opinion on the Public Accounts of Canada, but federal organizations need clearer guidance on what items they should charge to their operating and capital expenditure votes, according to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts’ report presented today in the House of Commons by the Committee Chair, David Christopherson.
Each year, the Auditor General of Canada provides an opinion and observations on the federal government’s consolidated financial statements, which form a part of the Public Accounts of Canada. For the fiscal year 2010-2011, the Interim Auditor General, John Wiersema, issued a “clean,” or unmodified, audit opinion on the consolidated financial statements.
In its report, the Public Accounts Committee commends the work of both the Office of the Auditor General and the Office of the Comptroller General for their efforts in assuring Canadians that the government has presented its financial position fairly. Not many governments are able to prepare consolidated financial statements in a manner that receives a clean audit opinion, year after year.
Parliament considers and adopts appropriation bills, which include separate authorities, or votes, for each federal organization. Many organizations have separate votes for operating and capital expenditures. The Interim Auditor General noted that the guidance from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is broad, such that some organizations were charging significant capital expenditures to their operating vote.
As it is important to ensure appropriate parliamentary control of government spending, the Committee recommends that Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat update its guidance on these matters in time for the preparation of the 2013-2014 Main Estimates.
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