Thank you.
What we have seen is a pretty rapid rate in financial costs for the Office of the Auditor General, overall, over the years. I take a look at the chart of financial costs, and I see that back in 2006-07 the net cost of the program was $88.1 million. Now we are talking about $102 million. For performance audits, you're down just slightly. Financial audits went from $31.3 million up to $45.4 million. Special examinations went from $4.3 million to $4.5 million. Professional practices went from $7.5 million up to $11.1 million.
Over this three- to four- to five-year cycle, there have been some pretty substantial increases in the actual budgetary capacity of the Auditor General. We have no difficulty with that, quite frankly. The work you have produced and the results I think have demonstrated good value for money.
Quite frankly, in the years I've sat on this committee, with a number of other members, we've appreciated the work and we've considered them dollars well spent. But there is still no such thing as an endless move forward. That's why we do appreciate the move you have taken, particularly during this downturn in the economy, to be a bit more conveniently respectful of the taxpayers' dollars for this next term.
What do you see over the next three to four to five years? Are you comfortable with what you're at right now, with maybe a normal inflationary situation, or do you have any ambitious plans to take on a series of other projects that would take on some serious additional cost for the government? Or do you see yourself in a holding pattern?