Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It requires a lot of due diligence on the part of the various departments and agencies that have a role in preparing the financial information.
First and foremost, the proper systems and processes to capture the data are needed; good systems of internal control are needed to be able to ensure that the data collected would be valid; and then the central exercise is needed, which is under the charge of the comptroller general, to make sure there's proper consolidation and proper elimination of accounts. Where there are significant accounting judgments on estimates and more complex issues, the comptroller general would work on those to make sure we follow the standards.
The auditor's role is, in turn then, to look at those accounts and make sure we obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to support the accounts to make sure there are no material misstatements to consolidated financial statements.