TORONTO -- Ontario has awarded a contract for a promised line-by-line audit of government spending to EY Canada.

Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy says the firm will conduct an audit of all government programs and services, something Premier Doug Ford promised during the spring election campaign.

Bethlenfalvy says the audit, combined with an independent commission of inquiry, will help the new Progressive Conservative government assess the province's financial position.

Last month, the Tory government appointed former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell to head up the commission to probe the last 15 years of the former Liberal government's spending.

Bethlenfalvy says the government will also launch a series of public consultation sessions on provincial spending.

The audit firm will have until Sept. 21 to file its final report while the deadline for the commission's report is Aug. 30.