1988

1988 Report of the Auditor General, Chapter 5, Information for Parliament—Audit of the Estimates Documents

We noted that Part III had steadily improved since 1981 and represented the best single source of information on departmental programs. However, we concluded that it did not yet provide a fully satisfactory basis for accountability.

1992

1992 Report of the Auditor General, Chapter 6, Information for Parliament—Departmental Reporting

We observed that departmental reporting did not provide the breadth of information needed. We highlighted inconsistencies between the way departments carried out their business and what they reported. In particular, we noted a weakness in reporting results, performance, and effectiveness.

1997

1997 Report of the Auditor General, Chapter 5, Reporting Performance in the Expenditure Management System

We concluded that progress had been made in reporting departmental performance expectations and accomplishments and that these efforts needed to be given time to mature. Nevertheless, progress had been sufficient to allow us to find examples of good practices that, collectively, demonstrate that the key elements of adequate reporting to Parliament can be provided.

2000

2000 Report of the Auditor General, Chapter 19, Reporting Performance to Parliament: Progress Too Slow

We recognized that moving to a results-based culture is not easy and takes time. However, we expected to find noticeable progress and were disappointed that only modest improvement had been made. At the present pace, it would take too many years for good reporting to become routine.

2002

April 2002 Report of the Auditor General, Chapter 6, A Model for Rating Departmental Performance Reports

We presented our model for rating departmental performance reports and hoped that departments and agencies would use it to improve their performance reports.

2003

2003 Status Report of the Auditor General, Chapter 1, Rating Departmental Performance Reports

We used our rating model to rate nine departmental performance reports. We found that progress in improving performance reporting remains disappointing, and that the importance of reporting on horizontal issues was not well recognized.