Mr. Chair, thank you for this opportunity to discuss our audit of the Government of Canada's consolidated financial statements for fiscal years 2023–2024 and 2024–2025.
I would like to begin by acknowledging that this hearing is taking place on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
Joining me today are Sana Garda, principal, and Étienne Matte, principal of our financial audit.
The government's financial statements are one of its key accountability documents. Our financial statement audit is the largest audit conducted by my office. It requires, at one point or another, the participation of almost all of our 250 financial auditors. The observations and findings help Parliament exercise oversight of public spending, promote transparency and encourage good financial management.
Our auditor's report on the Government of Canada's financial statements begins at page 63 of the French version of the 2025 Public Accounts of Canada, volume 1, and at page 59 of the English version. Similarly, our auditor's report can be found on page 61 of the French version of the 2024 Public Accounts of Canada, volume 1, and at page 57 in the English version.
We issued a clean opinion on the government's consolidated financial statements for both fiscal years. A clean opinion indicates that the information in the financial statements is presented fairly and in accordance with Canadian public sector accounting standards. In other words, you can rely on the information presented in the financial statements for both years.
In support of parliamentarians, I am happy that our office has provided, for the last 10 years, an annual commentary derived from our financial audit work. This report highlights important matters we want to bring to Parliament's attention from all of our federal financial audits, including our audit of the government's consolidated financial statements. For example, in both the 2024 and 2025 commentaries, we reported on ongoing problems with pay administration and deficiencies in IT general controls over some key government systems, such as those that process payments.
Our latest commentary draws attention to significant transactions and raises new concerns with National Defence's process for recording operating expenses. This is in addition to the issues we have been reporting for years relating to National Defence's management of inventory and asset pooled items. As spending by National Defence is expected to increase over the next several years, it is important to strengthen internal controls to improve the accuracy and reliability of information used to support budget management and decision-making.
In our 2025 commentary, we also noted that 77% of Crown corporations did not have their corporate plans approved before the start of their fiscal year. This is similar to the rate reported in the 2024 commentary. Delayed approvals can cause operational inefficiencies, project delays or additional costs. In 2025, we also noted that 80% of Crown corporations experienced delays in the appointment of members to their boards of directors. This type of delay affects a board's ability to fulfill its important governance role.
In closing, I would like to thank the senior officials and staff of the many departments, agencies and Crown corporations involved in our audit of the government's financial statements. We appreciate their ongoing collaboration.
This concludes my opening remarks. I would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have.
Thank you.