I'm very sorry about that. We're having major IT issues, so we're just back. I have to say, I missed part of the Auditor General's comments. I'm sure they were captivating as usual. I will dive right into my comments if you will allow me.
Thank you, Madam Chair, for the opportunity to discuss the public accounts of Canada with the members of the committee.
Even though you cannot see them at this time, I am joined today by two of my colleagues from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Roger Ermuth, assistant comptroller general of the financial management sector, and Diane Peressini, executive director of government accounting policy and reporting.
The public accounts include the audited consolidated financial statements for the 2019-20 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2020, in addition to other unaudited financial information. They are part of a series of reports to Parliament and Canadians that outline how the Government of Canada spent the money that it requested from Parliament and how it generated revenues.
The consolidated financial statements are audited by the Office of the Auditor General, and I am pleased to note that, for the 22nd year in a row, the Auditor General has issued an unmodified or “clean” audit opinion of these financial statements.
As the former auditor general pointed out to the committee, not many national governments receive a clean audit opinion on their financial statements—let alone do so every year for two decades. I am very proud that the work of the financial management community is so strong that we can sustain this accomplishment year after year.
In particular in this unusual year, I must thank all the departments for the extra effort they put in to undertake the year-end work while working from home, with all the additional challenges that entailed.
It is a clear indication that the members [Technical difficulty—Editor].