International Activities

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada participates in international activities, organizations and events that impact on our work as legislative auditors.

By collaborating with international organizations and audit offices in other countries, the Office strengthens its legislative audit practice and contributes to the development of international auditing standards. The Office is also committed to meeting its international obligations by sharing its expertise with other international organizations involved in public sector accounting, auditing, and accountability activities.

The Office is active in the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), which is made up of audit institutions from member countries of the United Nations. Office representatives serve on a number of INTOSAI’s committees and working groups.

The Office provides leadership and support to INTOSAI's Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA), which is chaired by the Auditor General of Canada. The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development serves as the associate chair of the WGEA on behalf of the AG, and also assumes responsibility for its secretariat, which is now based within the Office. The WGEA develops linkages between audit offices that promote the sharing of information and expertise on environmental auditing. It also encourages the use of audit mandates and methods in the fields of environmental protection and sustainable development.

The Auditor General also chairs the work of the INTOSAI Sub-committee on Supreme Audit Institution Independence, which is part of the Auditing Standards Committee. Through this sub-committee, the Office supports a number of ongoing initiatives dedicated to furthering the independence of audit institutions.

For many years now, the Office has been a strong supporter of training programs for auditors from national audit offices from developing nations. Every year, the International Audit Office Assistance Program (Fellowship Program) brings auditors from selected national audit offices to Canada for nine months of training in performance auditing, accountability, governance and good management. Training is currently provided by the Office of the Auditor General and the Bureau du vérificateur général du Québec. The program is coordinated by CCAF-FCVI and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. The program has graduated more than 160 auditors from some 50 developing countries.

The Office also audits two United Nations agencies—the International Civil Aviation Organization and UNESCO—and serves on the United Nations Panel of Auditors and the NATO Board of Audit.