Profile: Amarjit Mundi

Senior auditor makes accountability a top priority

Amarjit Mundi works painstakingly to ensure that internal audits in government show the full picture.

In a 25-year climb through the ranks of the Public Service, Amarjit has acquired valuable insight into management and accountability challenges in government operations. That insight helps her now to ensure efficiency, effectiveness and value for money in her role as a senior internal auditor with Western Economic Diversification Canada.

Detail oriented

Amarjit’s job is complex, involving work on large long-term projects where the little details are critical. At every stage, she must be very careful to get things right.

“If I’m starting a project, then most of my time is spent on research and analysis,” she says. “If I’m in the middle of the project, then I’m focusing more on the field work, getting evidence and interviewing people. And if I’m finished the project, I’m more focused on how to present it to the management audit committee.”

Sharing health information

At her previous job with Health Canada, Amarjit worked on a groundbreaking and innovative project known as Canada Health Infoway, an initiative that aimed to integrate health information in provinces and territories across Canada. This work earned her and her team a Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award in 2002.

“Before the new initiative,” she notes, “the provinces could not share health information with one another. Now, however, if a person is seen by a doctor in Ottawa, that information can be shared in B.C.”

The distance factor

Amarjit notes that Public Service employees like her, who are located outside the National Capital Region, face a particular challenge caused by the distance factor. She congratulates Public Service managers, however, for embracing new technologies that make it less of an issue. “All you need is access to the mainframe,” she says. “You don’t really need day-to-day interaction.”

Flexible workplace

Recalling the move she made to Ottawa back in 2001, Amarjit says, “perhaps the key factor in smoothing the transition was the people I worked with. Working for managers who recognized the importance of work–life balance made the transition easy.”

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