Allow me to begin with the thought that any discussion on strengthening fiscal responsibility necessitates a reflection on morals and ethics. Society measures your professional activities, as Certified Public Accountants (CPA), against a high benchmark, laid out by a plethora of codes, rules, and norms. Yet, as government officers, you also hold the special role of gatekeepers of truth and transparency in good governance.

Public trust in the government depends on the integrity of information regarding its performance. Many times over, governments forfeited the trust of the governed when the truth about their governance got buried beneath a mosaic of lies. FULL TEXT OF SPEECH