To overcome the difficulties inherent in traditional compiler validating methods, a new technique is herein provided for validating compiler output via program verification. In one embodiment, this technique is implemented as an automated tool that merges both a source program and the compiler-generated target program into a single (intermediate) program. An automated program verifier is then applied to the merged program. Subsequently, the program verifier compares the source and target programs and determines if the programs are semantically equivalent.