Mr. Chair, thank you for this opportunity to discuss our audit of the Government of Canada's consolidated financial statements for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

I would like to acknowledge that this hearing is taking place on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

With me today are Andrew Hayes, deputy auditor general, and Sana Garda and Etienne Matte, who are financial audit principals.

Our audit of the government's financial statements is the largest of the audits carried out by my office. It involves almost every one of our financial auditors working to ensure that the data presented in the statements is complete and accurately reflects the government's financial results for the year. This work serves to help Parliament exercise its oversight of the government, promotes transparency and accountability and encourages good financial management.

You will find our independent auditor's report on the government's consolidated financial statements starting on page 55, volume I, of the Public Accounts of Canada 2024.

We issued an unmodified or clean audit opinion on the government's consolidated financial statements. A clean opinion means that the information in the financial statements was presented fairly and in accordance with Canadian public sector accounting standards. In other words, readers can rely on the information provided in the financial statements.

In 2023, our auditor's report was dated September 7, and the public accounts were tabled on October 24. This year, the government took longer to finalize the consolidated financial statements, which caused delays in completing our audit. The tabling of the Public Accounts of Canada happened yesterday.

The public accounts are a key accountability document. They help Canadians and parliamentarians understand how public funds were spent compared to the commitments and promises the government made in the year's budget.

When this information is not available in a timely way, its usefulness and relevance is compromised, and the opportunity for Parliament to use this information for decision-making is reduced.

Each year, my office also provides Parliament with a commentary that highlights important information about the results of all our federal financial audits. This year, we are drawing attention to opportunities for improvement that we noted in the financial reporting process. The office of the comptroller general leads and oversees financial accounting and reporting across the federal government. Based on the results of our work, greater oversight is needed from that office for significant transactions and new programs across the government.

This year's commentary highlights a weakness that we have covered in past reports: 80% of Crown corporations did not have their corporate plans approved before the start of their fiscal year. Delays in approving these plans must be addressed because they result in operational inefficiencies, project delays or additional costs.

We also raise observations about pay administration, deficiencies in the IT general controls over some key government systems, the accounting for asset retirement obligations and national defence's inventory. These are recurring issues that my office continues to monitor.

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the dedicated staff across the many departments, agencies and Crown corporations involved in preparing the government's financial statements.

This concludes my opening remarks. We would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have. Thank you.

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