ARCHIVED - Office of the Auditor General of Canada - Report

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Section II—Planning Highlights by Product Line

Our main legislative auditing activities

The Office contributes to a well-managed and accountable government for Canadians through our work in the five types of legislative auditing activities (Exhibit 4).

Exhibit 4—Our legislative auditing activities

Financial audits of Crown corporations, territorial governments, and other organizations, and of the summary financial statements of the Government of Canada

Performance audits and studies

Monitoring of sustainable development activities and the environmental petitions process

Special examinations of Crown corporations

Assessments of agency performance reports

We gather information on the impact of our work and have established indicators and targets to measure the results for our three major activities: financial audits, performance audits, and special examinations. The following sections describe the main activities, expected results, performance objectives, indicators and targets, and planned financial resources for each of these activities.

A complete list of our performance indicators and targets is included in Section III—Supplementary Information.

Financial audits of Crown corporations, territorial governments, and other organizations

Financial audits answer the following questions:

• Are the annual financial statements of Crown corporations, territorial governments, and other organizations presented fairly?
• Is the federal government presenting fairly its overall financial situation?
• Are these entities complying with their legislative authorities?

Planning highlights. The Office has statutory responsibilities for the audit of the summary financial statements of the Government of Canada and each of the three territorial governments, the financial statements of federal and territorial Crown corporations, and other entities. The audit of the International Labour Organization (a United Nations agency) is included among other entities.

We have also recently been appointed the auditor of the First Nations Statistical Institute and the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board.

In 2011–12, we will conduct a total of more than 140 financial audits and related assurance engagements.

The following table includes the expected results, performance objectives, indicators and targets, and planned financial resources for financial audits of Crown corporations, territorial governments, and other organizations, as well as the audit of the summary financial statements of the Government of Canada (Exhibit 5).

Exhibit 5—Financial audits

Expected results Legislatures and federal and territorial organizations are engaged in the audit process Legislatures hold government to account Our work is relevant to federal and territorial organizations, departments, agencies, and Crown corporations
Objectives	Indicators and targets
Our work adds value for the key users of our reports	90 percent of audit committee chairs find our financial audits add value
Our work adds value for the organizations we audit	80 percent of Crown corporation and large-department senior managers find our financial audits add value
Key users of our reports and the organizations we audit respond to our findings	100 percent of the reservations in our audit opinions are addressed from one financial audit to the next
Planned financial resources for 2011–12: $44.1 million

Performance audits and studies of departments and agencies

Performance audits answer the following questions:

• Are federal government programs well managed?
• Have they been run with due regard to economy, efficiency, and their environmental effects?
• Does the government have the means to measure their effectiveness where it is reasonable and appropriate to do so?

Planning highlights. In 2011–12, we plan to report the findings of 25 federal and territorial performance audits and studies identified through our risk-based planning process. Our audit schedule for the coming year is in Section III—Supplementary Information.

The following table includes the expected results, performance objectives, indicators and targets, and planned financial resources for performance audits and studies (Exhibit 6).

Exhibit 6—Performance audits and studies

Expected results Legislatures and federal and territorial organizations are engaged in the audit process Legislatures hold government to account Our work is relevant to federal and territorial organizations, departments, agencies, and Crown corporations
Objectives	Indicators and targets
Key users of our reports are engaged in the audit process	Maintain percentage of performance audits reviewed by parliamentary committees Maintain number of parliamentary hearings and briefings we participate in relative to the number of sitting days
Our work adds value for the key users of our reports	90 percent of members of selected parliamentary committees find our performance audits add value
Our work adds value for the organizations we audit	70 percent of department senior managers find our performance audits add value
Key users of our reports and the organizations we audit respond to our findings	75 percent of performance audit recommendations are substantially or fully implemented four years after their publication
Planned financial resources for 2011–12: $40.7 million

Special examinations

A special examination of a Crown corporation answers the following question:

Do the systems and practices used by the Crown corporation provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded, that resources are managed economically and efficiently, and that operations are carried out effectively?

Planning highlights. During a 10-year period, the Office performs special examinations of about 45 federal Crown corporations. In 2011–12, we plan to substantially complete the special examinations of three corporations: Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Old Port of Montreal Corporation Inc., and Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

The following table includes the expected results, performance objectives, indicators and targets, and planned financial resources for special examinations of Crown corporations (Exhibit 7).

Exhibit 7—Special examinations

Expected results Parliament and federal organizations are engaged in the audit process Parliament holds government to account Our work is relevant to federal organizations, departments, agencies, and Crown corporations
Objectives	Indicators and targets
Our work adds value for the key users of our reports	90 percent of board chairs find our special examinations add value
Our work adds value for the organizations we audit	80 percent of Crown corporation chief executive officers find our special examinations add value
Key users of our reports and the organizations we audit respond to our findings	100 percent of significant deficiencies are addressed from one special examination to the next1
Planned financial resources for 2011–12: $2.8 million
1 In light of the change in the Financial Administration Act to the frequency of special examinations, we will be reviewing the approrpriateness of this indicator in 2011–12.

Our measures of organizational performance

We measure and manage our performance as an organization in a number of ways. The following section describes three key areas of our performance and the objectives, indicators, and targets that we measure our performance against.

Delivering our work on time and on budget

The following table includes the objectives, indicators, and targets for delivering our work on time and on budget (Exhibit 8).

Exhibit 8—Delivering our work on time* and on budget**

Objectives	Indicators and targets
Financial audits
On time	100 percent of financial audits of federal Crown corporations are completed on time 100 percent of financial audits of other federal organizations with a statutory deadline are completed on time 80 percent of financial audits of federal organizations with no statutory deadline are completed on time 60 percent of financial audits of territorial organizations are completed on time
On budget	80 percent of financial audits are completed on budget
Performance audits
On time	90 percent of performance audit reports are completed by the planned tabling date as published in the Report on Plans and Priorities
On budget	80 percent of performance audits are completed on budget
Special examinations
On time	100 percent of special examination reports are delivered on or before the statutory deadline
On budget	80 percent of special examinations are completed on budget
* “On time” for financial audits means the statutory deadline where one exists (usually 90 days after year end), or 150 days after the year end where no statutory deadline exists. ** “On budget” means that the actual hours to complete an audit did not exceed the budgeted hours by more than 15 percent.

Ensuring that our audit reports are reliable

Our audit work is guided by a rigorous methodology and quality management system. Annual internal reviews and periodic external peer reviews provide the Auditor General with opinions on whether our audits are conducted in accordance with professional standards, and whether our Quality Management System is appropriately designed and effectively implemented. We report publicly on the results of these reviews in order to provide assurance to members of Parliament and the public that they can rely on the opinions and conclusions contained in our audit reports. Our Quality Management System is based on professional standards and Office policies. It guides auditors through a set of steps they must follow during their audits and ensures that these audits are conducted according to professional standards and Office policies. Annual internal reviews also conclude on whether the opinions and conclusions contained in our audit reports are appropriate. The Office’s Practice Review and Internal Audit Plan as well as the reports can be found on the Office of the Auditor General website. A list of the internal audits planned for the next three years is included in the supplementary tables.

External reviews conducted by the provincial institutes of chartered accountants conclude on whether we are following professional standards and meeting their requirements for training chartered accounting students.

The following table includes the objectives, indicators, and targets for ensuring that our audit reports are reliable (Exhibit 9).

Exhibit 9—Ensuring that our audit reports are reliable

Objectives	Indicators and targets
Our audit reports are reliable	100 percent of internal practice reviews find the opinions and conclusions expressed in our audit reports are appropriate and supported by the evidence
Our Quality Management System is suitably designed and operating effectively	100 percent of internal practice reviews and external reviews find our Quality Management System is suitably designed and operating effectively

Providing a respectful workplace

The OAG is committed to creating and maintaining a respectful workplace. Employees are guided in their work and their conduct by a balanced framework of professional, ethical, and people values that are outlined in the Office’s Code of Values, Ethics and Professional Conduct. The code is shared with all employees at the time of joining our organization, and they must re-confirm their adherence to it on an annual basis.

Respectful workplace practices are included in the competency profiles for each group and level within the Office. These competencies are used in employee staffing, management, promotion and evaluation activities. Furthermore, 50 percent of managers’ performance pay is tied to their demonstration of effective people management skills, which includes the promotion of a respectful workplace.

Our mandatory professional development program includes training on respectful communication and management practices. We are also introducing a new Respectful Workplace Policy, which will replace the previous Harassment and Discrimination Policy and will provide a clear process for managing and resolving complaints.

Finally, through our biennial Employee Satisfaction Survey, the Office is able to gauge its success in sustaining a respectful workplace. Results of the 2010 survey show that 81 percent of those who responded to the survey believed that the behaviour of their group’s senior management was consistent with the Office’s respectful workplace value. In 2010, the Office again was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, one of the National Capital Region’s Top 25 employers, and among the Top 25 Family-friendly Employers in Canada.

The following table includes the objectives, indicators, and targets for providing a respectful workplace at the OAG (Exhibit 10).

Exhibit 10—Providing a respectful workplace

Objectives	Indicators and targets
Overall employee satisfaction	80 percent of employees believe the Office is either an above-average place to work or one of the best places to work
Bilingual workforce	100 percent of assistant auditors general and principals meet our language requirements 75 percent of directors in bilingual regions meet our language requirements
Diverse workforce	100 percent representation relative to workforce availability for women, people with disabilities, Aboriginal peoples, and members of visible minorities
Employee retention	90 percent retention of audit professionals

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