Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee today.

I'm pleased to be joined by officials from my department: Blair Kennedy, executive director, and John Daley, senior director.

As committee members are aware, the production of the Public Accounts of Canada is set out in the Financial Administration Act. Deputy heads and chief financial officers of organizations are responsible for the accuracy of the information provided and are required to follow the Government of Canada's accounting policies, which are based on public sector accounting standards.

The production and finalization of the public accounts are a joint responsibility between the Receiver General for Canada, the Department of Finance and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, which includes the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada.

As comptroller, one of my responsibilities is providing leadership for financial management within the Government of Canada. My office provides government-wide leadership on accounting standards and preparation of the departmental financial statements, including the preparation of the Public Accounts of Canada.

The Department of Finance is responsible for the part containing the financial statement discussion and analysis, which sheds light on the variances with the budget. The receiver general compiles the data received from departments, agencies and Crown corporations, and publishes the public accounts.

Lastly, the Auditor General performs an audit of the consolidated financial statements included in the public accounts. I am pleased to say that, for the 26th year in a row, the Auditor General has issued an unmodified, or clean, opinion on these financial statements. This demonstrates the high quality of Canada's financial reporting and the work of my colleagues in the public service. I would like to thank the financial management community of the Government of Canada, the Department of Finance, the receiver general and the Office of the Auditor General for their help in preparing the public accounts.

I would now like to touch on the timing of this year's public accounts, which I know has been of interest to this committee.

The government is legally required to table the public accounts no later than December 31 following the end of the fiscal year or within the first 15 days once the House reconvenes if it is not sitting during that period. I want to assure the committee that we always endeavour to table the public accounts at the earliest opportunity.

Several significant and new transactions were accounted for as part of the preparation of the 2023-24 consolidated financial statements. My team and I needed to take adequate time to ensure that the results presented were fair and credible and were in accordance with public sector accounting standards.

Some of these transactions included contingent indigenous liabilities and provisions for accounts receivable and loans, in particular COVID-19 programs and the Canada student loans service. The government also had to assess whether any important events happened between the financial statement date and the finalization of the public accounts.

Specifically, it had to determine whether certain events should be accounted for or explained in more detail in the notes to the financial statements. One situation requiring additional information was the recent confirmation of the non-permitted $1.9‑billion surplus in the public service pension fund. Further analysis and work was necessary to complete this year's public accounts, which is why their tabling was delayed.

Regarding our response to the committee's recommendation that the tabling date be moved up, we remain committed to tabling the next public accounts by October 15, 2025, barring any exceptional circumstances.

I would like to thank the committee for its interest and this opportunity. As the newly appointed comptroller general of Canada, I am honoured and privileged to be here today to discuss the Public Accounts of Canada 2024. My colleagues and I would be pleased to answer the committee's questions.

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