CBC News has learned Ontario's auditor is conducting a review of the province's private sector deal to overhaul the welfare system.

Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting, has been paid close to $250 million to streamline and automate the welfare system. The government says the cost was worth it because it has found close to $700 million in savings.




Ontario Auditor Erik Peters says he wants to examine exactly how those savings were calculated.

This is not the first time the provincial auditor has looked into the government's deal with Accenture. In his 1998 report, Peters was sharply critical of the agreement, and in response, the government made some changes.

One of Peters' concerns at the time was the way the benefits Provincial auditor to investigate Accenture deal or savings Provincial auditor to investigate Accenture deal were calculated. A new government report says $700 million dollars has been saved by reducing welfare abuse. Accenture has received a percentage: almost $250 million of that.

Peters says he wants to make sure Accenture didn't get credit for savings that were the result of government initiatives.

"So this is the first opportunity that we can do a full audit to see how they determined the benefits," he says.

Peters will also determine if changes to the welfare system have made it more efficient and economical.

The government and Accenture say they're looking forward to the results. Lisa McLachlan speaks for Accenture.

"We're confident that the auditor will find that Accenture completed the assignment on time, on budget and generated significant savings for the province."

The work on the audit began last fall and the results will be released in November.

The government of Ontario and Accenture say they're confident the audit will show the welfare overhaul has saved taxpayers money.