Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to make a few comments regarding the external peer review, and my comments will be brief.
Let me start by providing a little bit of background information.
As you mentioned, this is the third peer review of my office. The first one was conducted in 1999 and focused on our financial audit practices. The second peer review, in 2003, focused on our performance audit practices. That particular review was the first of its kind for any national audit office. As you indicated, it was undertaken partly in response to a question that we are often asked: who audits the Auditor General of Canada?
The peer review under way now is even more comprehensive because it encompasses all of our product lines as well as some of our corporate services.
International peer reviews of legislative audit offices are becoming more common. Ultimately, they provide independent assurance that our work can be relied on.
We are grateful that the Australian National Audit Office accepted to lead this review. The peer review team is made up of representatives from several audit offices, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The arrangement is that we pay the expenses of the peer review team while their salaries are paid by their respective audit offices.
As mentioned, the peer review team's report should be finalized by June 2010. At that point, we will provide responses to their recommendations and develop an action plan. Both the report and our action plan will be shared with this committee and made public. We would be pleased to appear before the committee to discuss both the report findings and our plan going forward in response to the recommendations of the peer review team.
Mr. Chair, if you permit I would like to present some of the members of the peer review team who are here today. In addition to Ms. Cass and Mr. Jarrett, we have from Australia Deborah Jackson, Clea Lewis, and Amy Fox. From Norway we have Erna Lea and Lars Moller. From Sweden we have Anna Fahl and Jan-Ake Nelsson, who are present in the room.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.