Auditor General of British Columbia
The Auditor General of British Columbia is an independent Officer of the Legislature of British Columbia, responsible for conducting audits of the government reporting entity which consists of ministries, Crown corporations, and other government organizations such as universities, colleges, school districts, health authorities, and similar organizations that are controlled by or accountable to the provincial government. Independence is a vital safeguard for fulfilling the Auditor General's responsibilities objectively and fairly based solely on the evidence found while conducting proper audit procedures. For this reason, the Auditor General reports directly to the Legislative Assembly and not the government of the day.
The Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia is located in Victoria, B.C., Canada.
History
Auditors General in B.C.
The position of Auditor General in B.C. was first filled in 1861, with a continuous line of auditors general until 1917. However, these auditors did not benefit from objectivity and independence from government direction and operational priorities: qualities that are the distinguishing features of a modern auditing and legislative reporting function.The position was re-established in 1977 with the, brought in by the government of the day to "fill a gap that has existed in British Columbia up to this time," according to then-Finance Minister E.M. Wolfe.
Since then, the Auditor General has been governed solely by the Auditor General Act. Per the Act, the Legislative Assembly must unanimously appoint a person to be the Auditor General. The Auditor General holds office for a non-renewable eight-year term.
The Auditor General can resign from the office at any time by giving written notice to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. The Auditor General can be suspended from office if a resolution is passed by 2/3 or more of the members present in the Legislative Assembly.
List of all B.C. Auditors General
^Acting Auditor General^^''Audit Clerk''
Present day
Current Auditor General
The current Auditor General of British Columbia is Bridget Parrish.Ms. Parrish was appointed auditor general on December 1, 2025. She served as acting deputy auditor general and equity, diversity and inclusion lead from January to December 2025.
Ms. Parrish is a Chartered Professional Accountant and is a member of the Canadian Audit and Assurance Standards Board, helping to shape emerging standards and representing the interests of the Canadian public sector.
Office of the Auditor General
Quick Facts
Fiscal 2013/14:- Budgeted Costs: $16.07M
- Actual Costs: $15.34M
- Full-time equivalent staff: 107
- Auxiliary staff: 7
- Number of staff with accounting designations: 52
- Number of staff with graduate degrees: 28
- Other professional accreditations: 46
- Financial audit reports completed: 43
- Other reports and publications: 17
Training Office
The OAGBC is a recognized, meeting the profession's Practical Experience Requirements of providing audit, assurance and taxation hours.The OAGBC also participates in the international programs, which provides performance audit training for developing audit offices in a variety of countries.
Work Performed
Financial Audit
The Auditor General is mandated to "report each year, in accordance with generally accepted auditing and assurance standards, to the Legislative Assembly on the financial statements of the government reporting entity." The GRE includes government ministries, Crown corporations, trusts, colleges, school districts, universities, health authorities and other public entities. The audited Summary Financial Statements in 2013/2014 represented $44 billion in expenses, $44 billion in revenue and $82 billion in assets.The Auditor General is not required to audit each of these organizations individually, but must develop a detailing the Office's level of involvement in the audit.