Auditing program evaluations: The Canadian case

In 1983, the Canadian Auditor General reported to Parliament on the State of program evaluation in the Federal Government. Nineteen departments and agencies were audited and it was found that, since 1978, the government has made progress in implementing program evaluation.This paper describes the audit on which the opinion was based. The background to the audit is presented, followed by a discussion of the audit methodology developed and the audit standards employed. The findings of the audit are summarized along with a brief discussion of the implications of effectiveness auditing for auditing and public administration.