June 2010
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The CAE reports directly to the Deputy Minister. The IA Division has maintained a complement of 13 full-time employees consisting of one Director, six audit managers, two senior auditors, three auditors and one administrative assistant. During the past year, the division experienced a staff turn-over rate and a vacancy rate of 10 percent. Two new auditors were hired and one financial audit manager left.
An analysis of the internal audit workforce at EC shows that internal auditors have at least a few years of experience, with more years of experience at the more senior levels. A good proportion of the auditors have a university degree and/or a professional designation or certifications.
The analysis has identified four gaps in the collective skills and competencies of the staff. The following table describes the gaps, as well as the mitigation measures to be put in place.
| Gap | Mitigation measure |
|---|---|
Financial Auditing Capacity With the departure of the Financial Audit Manager, the capacity in that area has been reduced. |
Staff the Financial Audit Manager position. |
Human Resource Auditing Capacity No auditor has experience in human resources management. |
Use contracted out expertise as required. |
Performance Auditing Capacity With the move from compliance audits to more performance and program audits, the auditors need to expand their skill set. This has started last year, but more work needs to be done. |
On-the job training, including a joint project with the Evaluation Division. Training. |
Back-up Capacity for Liaising with External Auditors Last year, a second position for the liaison with the external auditors was created and staffed. There is a need to continue to develop this capacity |
On-the job training. Improve process documentation. |
To ensure the highest standards of professional activity, we continue to support the professional accreditation of our team. At present, there are five (35.7 percent) of internal audit employees who have a professional designation. There are two Certified Internal Auditors (CIA), one Certified Internal Auditor/Certified Government Audit Professional (CIA/CGAP), one Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and one Certified Accountant/Certified Information Systems Auditor/Certified Information Security Manager (CA/CISA/CISM). Another staff member is currently completing a CIA designation.
For the past year, the Evaluation division has maintained a complement of 13 full-time employees consisting of a Director reporting to the Director General of Evaluation, one associate director, three evaluation managers, three senior evaluators, four evaluation officers and one administrative assistant.
During the past year, the division experienced a staff turn-over rate and a vacancy rate of 7 percent. Three new permanent employees joined the evaluation team and one senior evaluator left.
In 2009-10, the SPC division has maintained a complement of four full-time employees consisting of one director, who is a Certified Internal Auditor, with a Certification in Control Self-Assessment (CIA, CCSA), one planning manager, one planning officer and one administrative assistant.
Integrated workforce planning is important for the AEB Branch as it assists in ensuring that the organization is equipped with the HR capacity required to deliver on its mandate. The Branch developed an HR plan aligned to the departmental HR Plan priorities. It examines the current and future HR requirements and identifies strategies and activities to help achieve Branch HR priorities and the RBAEP. The AEB HR priorities and strategies are being implemented to help build and sustain a skilled, knowledgeable, engaged and productive workforce.
Recognizing the importance of people management, in the context of the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES), AEB conducted an employee survey of its own in December 2009, replicating items from the PSES for comparability. The Branch survey had an excellent response rate of 79 percent. Overall, the results were more positive than the overall public service of Canada results in all categories (i.e., Leadership, Workforce, Well-Managed Employee Potential, Workplace, Fair, Supportive and Ethical Environment, Engaged Employees, Culture of Excellence and Sustained, and Productive Public Service).
Similar to the results of the PSES overall issues such as workload and career progression were identified as areas to be improved. The Branch will continue to maintain the level of employee engagement. The Branch Human Resources (HR) plan articulates the actions that will be taken to address the areas for improvement.
During the past year, the Branch has made progress towards implementing the strategies identified in the HR Plan for 2009-10. The AEB ensures that staff has appropriate professional qualifications and skills, and opportunities for training and development to maintain and develop their competencies. Professional accreditation is encouraged and supported. The Branch also provided coaching sessions to help employees determine their career objectives and the steps to achieve those objectives. Each employee developed a personal learning and development plan to acquire and maintain the knowledge, skills and competencies related to their level and functions, departmental business priorities and career aspirations.