L. Denis Desautels, OC

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

 (born May 14, 1943) is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 accountant, corporate director, and former Auditor General of Canada

Auditor General of Canada

The role of the Auditor General of Canada is to aid accountability by conducting independent audits of federal government operations. The Auditor General reports to the House of Commons, not to the government...

.

Born in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Desautels received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 in 1964 and became a Chartered Accountant

Chartered Accountant

Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...

 in 1966.

In 1964, he joined the Montreal accounting firm of Clarkson Gordon (now Caron Bélanger Ernst & Young). While working in the Ottawa office he participated in an exchange program with the office of the Auditor General. From April 1, 1991 until March 31, 2001 he was the Auditor General of Canada.

He has served on the board of directors of CARE Canada, the Laurentian Bank of Canada, Groupe Jean Coutu (PJC) Inc., Bombardier Inc. and Alcan

Alcan

Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal. It was created on November 15, 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto PLC's Canadian subsidiary, Rio Tinto Canada Holding Inc., and Canadian company Alcan Inc. On the same date, Alcan Inc. was renamed Rio Tinto Alcan Inc..Rio...

 Inc.

Honours

He was named a Fellow by the Order of Chartered Accountants of Quebec in 1986 and a Fellow by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in 1991. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Ottawa

University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...

 and from the University of Waterloo

University of Waterloo

The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...

. In 2001, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

in recognition of "a distinguished career in the private sector" and for having "served his country with dedication and integrity as Auditor General of Canada".