Keynote lunch speaker Merwan Saher (Auditor General of Alberta)
discussed the role of the "21st Century Legislative Audit
Office". The Office of the Auditor General is responsible for
auditing the use of resources by the government and its mandate
includes reviewing the actions of the Department of Advanced
Education, as well as Alberta's public post-secondary
institutions. Merwan indicated that the Office of the Auditor
General applies professional expertise to determine if things are
working well and to provide Albertans with information so as to
allow them to exercise insight into the actions and spending of
government. The key to doing this in Alberta in the 21st century is
ensuring the information provided is relevant, reliable, and at a
reasonable cost.
Merwan advised that these "three R's" are being met
by adding diversity of thought as a core value and by seeking to
add as much added value as possible. As a result, the Office of the
Auditor General is engaging people in meeting future opportunities
and challenges, developing the capacity and ability to respond to
disruptive events, seeking to improve the reporting and integration
of financial and non-financial reporting, taking a nuanced view of
the fixation with inputs and transparency issues, and improving its
reporting and engagement with Albertans through a variety of modern
means, including social media, a new website, and communication
pieces.
Merwan recommended that the role of the Office of the Auditor
General is to add credibility and reliability to the information
reported and to get Albertans engaged in the information reported.
He submitted that government works most effectively when citizens
are engaged and that the best way to get citizens engaged is to
provide information on what is happening, why it is happening, and
the impact of what is happening.
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