From Change to Stability: An Evaluation of Change and Performance at Canada's Office of the Auditor General

Through its audits and recommendations, Canada’s Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has promoted financial probity and good governance for over a century. While the OAG’s recommendations may possess an inherent value, their full value is realized only through their implementation by government. By investigating OAG recommendation implementation rates, and the OAG’s interaction with Parliament, this thesis evaluates recent performance at the OAG. Two research questions are considered: first, has OAG performance changed since 1993; and second, have its interactions with Parliament and government changed over the same period? Have changes in interaction between the OAG and Parliament affected the former’s work, or the latter’s investigation of the OAG’s findings? The OAG’s performance is considered from various angles, including an assessment of OAG data to quantify recommendation implementation rates and interactions with Parliament over time. Numerous stakeholder interviews are also utilized to provide a well-rounded qualitative perspective on these questions.