Reports to Parliament

Observations of the Auditor General on the Financial Statements of the Government of Canada

The Observations of the Auditor General on the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Government of Canada are part of the Public Accounts of Canada and are meant to explain, in more detail, the Auditor General’s opinion on the government’s financial statements.

Please click here for an explanation of the messages that Auditor General Michael Ferguson conveys in this audit report, how he arrives at his audit opinion included in the report, and what the report provides and does not provide.

The Public Accounts of Canada is an annual report on the financial situation of the Government of Canada, which is prepared by the Receiver General. It is presented in three volumes.

Volume I contains:

• the consolidated financial statements of Canada, on which the Auditor General has expressed his opinions;
• the observations by the Auditor General on the consolidated financial statements of Canada;
• a ten-year summary of the government's financial information;
• analyses of revenues and expenditures, and of asset and liability accounts; and
• various other statements.

Volume II contains the details of the government’s financial operations, segregated by ministry. Additional information and analyses are contained in Volume III.

The Auditor General also expresses an opinion on the Annual Financial Report of the Government of Canada. Published by the Department of Finance, this document provides timely access to understandable and relevant information on the government's financial activity, and includes a full set of condensed financial statements that are based on the audited results, which appear in the Public Accounts of Canada.

Please click on the following links to access the Observations of the Auditor General on the Financial Statements of the Government of Canada for the fiscal years ended:

• 31 March 2012 (tabled on 30 October 2012) (PDF 66 KB)
• 31 March 2011 (tabled on 14 November 2011) (PDF 68 KB)
• 31 March 2010 (tabled on 28 October 2010) (PDF 73 KB)
• 31 March 2009 (tabled on 29 October 2009) (PDF 83 KB)
• 31 March 2008 (tabled on 9 October 2008) (PDF 119 KB)
• 31 March 2007 (tabled on 19 October 2007) (PDF 83 KB)
• 31 March 2006 (tabled on 28 September 2006) (PDF 60 KB)
• 31 March 2005 (tabled on 21 September 2005) (PDF 42 KB)
• 31 March 2004 (tabled on 21 October 2004) (PDF 63 KB)
• 31 March 2003 (tabled on 4 November 2003) (PDF 93 KB)
• 31 March 2002 (tabled on 24 October 2002) (PDF 98 KB)
• 31 March 2001 (tabled on 27 September 2001) (PDF 412 KB)
• 31 March 2000 (tabled on 26 September 2000) (PDF 78 KB)
• 31 March 1999 (tabled on 26 October 1999)
• 31 March 1998 (tabled on 17 November 1998)