About The Office of the Auditor General

As outlined in the Auditor General Act, the Auditor General’s fundamental role is to bring an independent audit and reporting process to bear upon the manner in which Government and its various entities discharge their responsibilities, report on their planned programs and their use of public resources. The role of the Auditor General complements the accountability relationship which exists between Government, its departments, agencies of the Crown, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the House of Assembly, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Office of the Auditor General Accountability Relationship

The Auditor General reports to the House of Assembly on significant matters which result from the examinations of Government, its departments and agencies of the Crown. The Auditor General is also the independent auditor of the Province's financial statements and the financial statements of many agencies of the Crown and, as such, expresses an opinion as to the fair presentation of their financial statements.

In addition to allocating our resources to perform the above audits, reviews, and examinations, we may also receive requests to complete special assignments. Under the Auditor General Act, these special assignments may be requested by the House of Assembly, the Public Accounts Committee or the Lieutenant-Governor in Council. In these special assignments, the Auditor General reports to whoever makes the request.

Section 12 of the Auditor General Act requires the Auditor General to report, at least annually, on:

• The work of the Office;

• Whether, in carrying out the work of the Office, the Auditor General received all the information including reports and explanations required;

• The results of the examination of the Province’s financial statements;

• Audits, examinations and inquiries performed under the Act; and

• The results of the examination of the accounts of the Province calling attention to anything the Auditor General considers significant relating to:

  • Collections of public money;

  • Disbursements of public money;

  • Instances where accounts have not been faithfully and properly kept;

  • Instances where assets acquired, administered or otherwise held were not adequately safeguarded or accounted for;

  • Instances where accounting systems and management control systems that relate to revenue, disbursements, the safeguarding or use of assets or the determination of liabilities were not in existence, were inadequate or had not been complied with; and

  • Any factors or circumstances relating to an expenditure of public money which in opinion of the Auditor General should be brought to the attention of the House of Assembly

Expertise in Public Sector Matters

As a result of working exclusively in the public sector, Legislative Auditors have acquired extensive corporate and operational knowledge of Government. They are specialists in the field of public sector auditing and their credibility with legislators (for example, on topics such as emerging public sector trends and accountability issues) is thus well established. Given their extensive interaction with legislators, Legislative Auditors are in the notable position of being aware of, and understanding legislators' concerns.

Furthermore, having a whole-of-Government mandate has allowed Legislative Auditors to speak to legislators about broad Government matters and to better identify those accountability and performance issues that have the greatest impact on Government. As a consequence, Legislative Auditors are better able to promote consistency of accounting across government organizations, and to make informed decisions about the selection, conduct and reporting of audits.