Thank you, Chairman.
First of all, could I say what a privilege it is to be invited to speak to your committee on this subject.
As the chairman said, I was an officer for nearly six years in the Treasury in the U.K. My responsibilities included the government's relations with the Auditor General and with the public accounts committee in the U.K. I just wanted to make the point that the Treasury saw itself as very much having a common interest with the Auditor General and with the public accounts committee in seeking to improve financial management in government and uncovering examples of poor financial management. I'm therefore very pleased to have the opportunity to talk also to your own committee.
In the U.K. we have very few statutory responsibilities on accounting officers, but we see them as having a personal responsibility for the financial management in their departments. We don't see any inconsistency here with the overall responsibility of ministers for everything that happens inside their departments. The two are entirely consistent and complementary. But we feel that the system of accounting offices strengthens the financial management and the position of the accounting officer inside their department. I very much hope that as the system works out in Canada you will have the same impact.
Having said that, though, I don't want to give the impression that it's a panacea for everything. Things still go wrong in the U.K., regrettably, frequently, and we have to keep working at improving financial management.
Thank you, Chairman.