Public Accounts committee  Any number I might put out there would honestly be a wild guess. As you mentioned, no one's ever done a pandemic before, and we're all learning as we go. Our current resource constraints will help us focus on some key areas. Obviously, any additional funding we might receive will

Public Accounts committee  If I'm appointed Auditor General, I would absolutely approach every audit with a balanced view. I believe that focusing on improvements is one of the main outcomes, but I also know that, as in everything I've done in the past, what I would do in the future would be to report the

Public Accounts committee  As you know, the auditing and accounting world is constantly changing. There are new standards issued that we constantly have to adapt to and help to ensure they're properly reflected in external reports. I won't lie to you and say that there isn't change fatigue in every organi

Public Accounts committee  As I mentioned earlier, we have a few audits that are ready to go. Of the ones that have been postponed, some are well under way, so obviously we will prioritize completing those audits, the ones that should have been tabled, I believe, in the fall of 2020. Going forward after

Public Accounts committee  Honestly, there could be some delays. This is not because we aren't working hard, but I mentioned earlier that working and auditing remotely is new for everyone: for us and for the departments. We occasionally encounter some difficulties. However, we are moving forward and we are

Public Accounts committee  All right. I'll do it quickly. I don't know the Parliamentary Budget Officer, and I look forward to meeting him. I'm relying on the existing rigorous process to establish the scope of the audits and to determine which topics we'll examine. I'm also committed to increase dialogu

Public Accounts committee  I do agree that it is a unique and privileged position to have seen both sides of that audit relationship and what it might bring. What I've learned as someone being audited is that you need to honestly approach the audit relationship with the desire to learn. It's not personal

Public Accounts committee  Since I work at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, I was aware that the position was open. I applied through the Privy Council Office's website in January. I spoke with a retired Assistant Auditor General, who encouraged me to apply. I also spoke to one of our Deputy A

Public Accounts committee  I applied in January, and I was interviewed on February 19. I then provided references and went through psychometric testing. Privy councillors called me from time to time to ensure that I still wanted the position. Around the end of March, I was informed that the process had bee

Public Accounts committee  I haven't had a chance to look at the data, but I'm sure that the figures are correct. What's more important in the short term is to have the funds required to conduct the three audits we need to do and to fulfill the other mandates required by law. We must also adopt a long-term

Public Accounts committee  As far as I know, yes, the audit has begun. As I mentioned, I'm part of a steering committee on COVID-19, but I did not participate in the planning phase for the investments. If I'm appointed Auditor General, one of my first tasks will be to get myself up to date with the help of

Public Accounts committee  When it comes to funding, that is probably one of the key areas that would help us ensure that we have all of the adequate resources to do our work, as you mentioned, the people, the capacity and the IT technology that we will need. If appointed Auditor General, I would focus o

Public Accounts committee  Well, I absolutely love numbers. I haven't delved into that in great detail, to be very honest with you. Our focus has been on making the tough choices in order to redirect our resources to where they really matter and where we can absolutely have an impact. Right now, that's loo

Public Accounts committee  I agree with your statement that an independent funding mechanism is what's best for our office. Removing the need for us to turn to a department, currently the Department of Finance, that we audit brings in its challenges and makes it uniquely different, given the role that we p

Public Accounts committee  Thank you. I expect to see a change in accounting practices and controls. That's clear. Everyone is working remotely. In my opinion, what we are used to doing in person or on paper will be done electronically in some way. However, I don't expect all controls and accounting pract