Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Comité permanent des comptes publics

For immediate release

Ottawa, February 06, 2019 -

The Government of Canada received its 20th consecutive unmodified audit opinion from the Auditor General of Canada, which attests that it properly reported its overall financial performance for the 2017–2018 fiscal year to Parliament and to Canadians, according to a report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts presented to the House of Commons today by the Hon. Kevin Sorenson, Chair of the Committee.

The Public Accounts of Canada 2017-2018 were tabled on 19 October 2018 and present the consolidated financial statements of the Government of Canada and provide information about Government revenues, expenditures, budgetary balance, liabilities, assets and accumulated deficit.

Concurrently, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada presented for the third consecutive year its Commentary on the Financial Audits, including the Auditor General’s Observations, formerly a part of the Public Accounts of Canada. This year, the Observations mainly focused on the three subjects: the transformation of pay administration (including the Phoenix system’s problems); the discount rates selected by management; and, the Department of National Defence’s inventory (including its recent progress therein).

The Committee wishes to thank all those involved in the preparation and audit of the Public Accounts of Canada 2017-2018, whose work is critical to transparency and accountability of the federal government. Furthermore, in this report, the Committee has made two recommendations to the Government of Canada to help improve federal financial reporting.