Summary Financial Statements

The auditor general is the auditor of the government reporting entity and is required by the Auditor General Act to produce an independent auditor’s report on government’s Summary Financial Statements. Within the Public Accounts, we also provide an annual audit opinion on the Province’s debt and debt indicators.

Each year we also produce a Report on Public Accounts.

The Summary Financial Statement audit is the largest audit in BC and summarizes the financial operations of over 150 government organizations such as:

• Ministries;
• Crown corporations;
• School districts;
• Colleges and universities;
• Health authorities; health societies; and
• Other public entities.

Our Office is not required (or able) to audit every government organization. Some are audited by private sector auditors. However, the Auditor General must have sufficient understanding of government as a whole to provide an opinion on the Summary Financial Statements. To achieve this, our Office prepares a Financial Statement Audit Coverage Plan annually.