Biography
Rob was promoted to Assistant Auditor General in 2013, about a year after joining the Office of the Auditor General (OAG). He provides audit oversight to the Education, Capital, and Workforce portfolio. He also oversees preparation of two special annual reports: the Report on Post-Secondary Institutions and the Summary of Financial Audit Results of School Jurisdictions in Alberta.
Before the OAG, Rob spent 18 years at a large international accounting firm where he gained extensive knowledge in auditing private and public entities, not-for-profit organizations, and local government. His depth of understanding in a wide variety of subjects gives Rob unique insight into the organizations he now audits.
Born in Lacombe, Alberta, the fifth of eight children, Rob learned early to appreciate the values of family and hard work. He discovered his aptitude for accounting in high school and from there gravitated to auditing, which fed his interest in problem solving and finding better ways of doing things.
To this day, Rob is motivated by the challenge of improving systems, including within the OAG where he has worked with colleagues to redesign internal processes to be more effective.
Rob was drawn to public service by the chance to use his skills in areas important to his family and community, such as education. Over the years he has learned that auditing is about more than numbers; it is also about effectively communicating ideas for better performance.
Rob received a Bachelor of Commerce degree with distinction from the University of Alberta in 1994. He became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta in 1998 and received his Institute of Corporate Directors designation in 2016.
Outside of work, Rob is keenly interested in the space exploration work of NASA, where problem solving is key to achieving challenging goals. He also loves hockey, a game he has enjoyed since his shinny-playing days as a boy in Lacombe.
Rob lives with his wife and their two daughters in Edmonton.