Office of the Auditor General, Legislative Assembly of PEI

by Heidi Riley

The Office of the Auditor General conducts independent audits and examinations that provide objective information, advice, and assurance to the Legislative Assembly. The Office promotes accountability and best practices in government operations.

The Office has 23 employees – two administrative staff and 21 CPAs (Chartered Professional Accountants).

Hiring needs

• Bachelor of Business Administration students majoring in Accounting who are pursuing a CPA designation.
• Co-op Accounting students
• Auditors

Typically, student jobs are posted in December and January at UPEI and at the Legislative Assembly, Office of the Auditor General, and CPA PEI. They do hire international students who have valid work permits.

“We advertised for a co-op summer student in January, and that position has been filled by a third-year student,” says Darren Noonan, Auditor General for the province of PEI. “The Office is an authorized training office for the CPA training program. We advertised for a CPA student in December, and that position has been filled by a recent graduate of UPEI. I believe the best people are those you can train yourself.

“Currently the House is sitting, and once the budget is approved, we will have an opening for someone at the Auditor level. That position should be advertised in April.”

Working at the Office of the Auditor General

Justin Ellis is an Audit Principal at the Office of the Auditor General. “Our Office has two teams: The Financial Statement team does financial audits, which is typical work for a CPA. You would be auditing crown corporations at the junior level or working with the whole team to audit provincial government public accounts. New hires work with an experienced CPA.

“The second team specializes in performance audits. We evaluate a government function against pre-established criteria, legislation and policies and make recommendations on how they can improve their processes. We encourage everyone to cross-train.

“Getting work experience through the Office of the Auditor General gives you an in-depth understanding of many different areas and how they work, and it is great experience if you are looking to gain confidence and find an area you are interested in.”

Career progression

Darren Noonan is the Auditor General for the province of PEI. He graduated from UPEI with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1990 and earned his Chartered Accountant designation

in 1992 with a firm in Charlottetown, where he worked for 16 years. He was a partner in that firm for the last five years of working there. He then became a partner in an automotive group in Charlottetown for 11 years. He has been Auditor General for two years.

Justin Ellis is an Audit Principal at the Office of the Auditor General. He graduated from UPEI in 2007 and then worked at Grant Thornton while earning his CA in 2009. He worked at the Office of the Auditor General for 11 years, moved to Health PEI as the Director of Finance, and then returned to the Office of the Auditor General.

Benefits of working in the Office of the Auditor General

• If you want to be a CA, it is a great place to develop competencies and work with experienced professionals. It is a great training ground to develop skill sets.
• Start with four weeks of vacation
• Competitive salary and benefits
• Accumulate pensionable hours from the start

How to apply

Submit a resumé and transcript in response to the job posting. Candidates will be contacted for an interview.

For more information, click here or contact:

Jennifer Bowness – jjbowness@assembly.pe.ca

Justin Ellis – jsellis@assembly.pe.ca

Darren Noonan – dwnoonan@assembly.pe.ca

For an organizational chart showing positions with the Office of the Auditor General, click here