Our Executive Team
Shelley Spence, CPA, CA, LPA
Auditor General of Ontario
On January 8, 2024, Shelley Spence took office as the 14th Auditor General of Ontario. She is appointed for a 10-year term by the Legislative Assembly after being unanimously recommended by a bi-partisan panel of MPPs in December 2023.
She brings over thirty years of professional experience in audit, oversight and governance in the public sector. She was most recently Partner with Deloitte LLP, where she spent over six years helping oversee the Canadian Government and Public Service Assurance practice. She has consulted for hundreds of public and private sector clients, with extensive experience at federal, provincial and municipal governments, as well as agencies, government business enterprises and the broader public sector. She has presented frequently at conferences, webinars and forums on topics of interest to government finance professionals.
Prior to joining Deloitte, Shelley had a 20-year track record of success as an entrepreneur running her own accounting practice. She was frequently engaged by the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario to assist with auditing the province’s public accounts and performance audits, and also helped perform the first two reviews of the pre-election report.
Shelley is currently a member of the Canadian Council of Legislative Auditors, and over the years, has actively participated in many professional and volunteer not-for-profit organizations.
Born in Saskatchewan, Shelley grew up in Alberta and graduated from the University of Alberta on the Dean’s list with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. She obtained her Chartered Accountant designation at KPMG.
Shelley is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant and Licensed Public Accountant.
Jeremy Blair, CPA, CA, LPA
Assistant Auditor General, Attest Portfolio
Jeremy Blair has been with the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario since 2016. He has led attest audits of various provincial agencies and the audit of the consolidated financial statements for the Province of Ontario (Public Accounts). As director, he led the planning, execution and reporting for the Public Accounts audit reporting into the Auditor General of Ontario as well as overseeing performance audits with a focus on finance and governance.
In the fall of 2023, Jeremy became an Assistant Auditor General. His portfolio includes the Public Accounts audit, the financial statement audits for provincial agencies and the IT Audit portfolio in addition to the professional practices and technical accounting groups.
Prior to joining the Office, Jeremy spent 10 years at one of the top audit firms in Canada, auditing the private sector, public sector and not-for-profit entities ranging from technology start-up companies to hospitals and municipalities.
Jeremy is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), Licensed Public Accountant (LPA) and has a Bachelor of Accounting Degree from Brock University.
Gus Chagani, CPA, CA
Assistant Auditor General
Gus has been with the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario for more than 25 years, and an Assistant Auditor General since 2014. During his time with the Office, he has led performance audits in a variety of sectors as well as the Office’s audit of the Province’s Public Accounts.
Gus’s performance audit portfolios include education, agriculture, infrastructure and economic development. He is also responsible for assessing the implementation of recommendations issued in past audit reports, as well as the Office’s finances.
Gus holds a Bachelor of Administrative Studies degree from York University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. He is a past member of the Public Sector Accounting Board’s Public Private Partnership Task Force. He has also been an active participant in forums held by the Canadian Council of Legislative Auditors (CCOLA).
Rick Kennedy, CPA, CA, CISA, CFE, CISM
Deputy Auditor General
Rick joined the Office as an Assistant Auditor General responsible for the Health, Energy and Justice portfolios in November 2019. He has a degree in Commerce, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Accountant. He also has designations as a Certified Information Systems Auditor, a Certified Fraud Examiner, and a Certified Information Security Manager.
From 2005 to 2019, Rick served as the Chief Internal Auditor and Assistant Deputy Minister for the Ontario Internal Audit Division, leading approximately 230 staff to deliver independent assurance and advisory services to the Ontario Public Service (OPS). Prior to joining the OPS in 1991, he worked nine years for a large accounting office.
Rick also served as Chair of the Government Internal Audit Council of Canada, which is composed of chief audit executives from the various Canadian public-sector internal audit functions in the provinces, territories and the federal government.
Tyler Schulz, PhD, MSc, BSc
Assistant Auditor General, Commissioner of the Environment
Tyler joined the Office of the Auditor General in April 2019 as an Audit Director in the Environment Portfolio when responsibilities of the Office of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario were transferred to the Office of the Auditor General.
Tyler worked for 11 years at the Office of the Environmental Commissioner as a Senior Policy Advisor authoring numerous reports and chapters on environmental issues, and then as the Deputy Environmental Commissioner and Director of Operations, providing leadership and oversight of the office, including report production, finance and human resources.
February 1, 2021, Tyler became an Assistant Auditor General serving as Commissioner of the Environment. In this role, Tyler is responsible for the Environment portfolio, which conducts audits and reviews on the operation of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993, as well as biodiversity, natural resources, climate change, energy conservation and other environmental issues and programs.
Tyler completed his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Guelph, and obtained a Master of Science and PhD in biology from Dalhousie University studying the evolution and communication of marine mammals, with his PhD thesis providing insight into the vocal communication of sperm whales.