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The Audit and Evaluation Branch operating environment has changed significantly over the past year. Existing and new legislative obligations and policy requirements are increasing the demands placed on the audit and evaluation functions. Therefore, we must position the department to respond to those obligations and requirements.
The 2007-08 fiscal-year will be a transition year for the Audit and Evaluation Branch where we will focus our resources and efforts on:
implementing the department's Internal Audit Policy Implementation Action Plan, more particularly, establishing the new External Advisory Audit Committee (EAAC) and preparing for a first holistic opinion to the deputy minister on departmental controls, governance and risk management;
developing a strategy to implement the new TBS Evaluation Policy, more particularly, developing a five year evaluation plan of all programs including grants and contributions;
delivering on commitments identified in the Audit and Evaluation Plan for 2007-08;
building capacity and strategies to address the need for a stronger secretariat function and greater coordination of AEB work with an expanding range of external auditors including the Office of the Comptroller General, Public Service Commission, the Procurement Ombudsman, and others; and
Table 1 describes the recommended evaluation projects for 2007-08 to 2009-10 including interdepartmental evaluations being carried out by other departments in which Environment Canada evaluation will be involved. The table also identifies evaluations related to programs having a grant or a contribution agreement (e.g., Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Initiative Contribution Agreement). Resource requirements in person months (PM) and dollars for 2007-08 are also included.
The key changes from last year's plan are as follows:
The interdepartmental evaluation of the National Agri-environmental Standards Initiative (NAESI) and Ocean Action Plan originally planned for 2006-07 were carried over into 2007-08.
The Public SCRIBE evaluation originally planned for 2006-07 was removed as a stand-alone project and has been incorporated into the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) Transition evaluation scheduled for 2007-08.
The departmental Climate Change - Science and National Inventory evaluations originally planned for 2007-08 were postponed to 2008-09 given the current policy context.
The evaluation of international activities originally planned for 2007-08 was renamed to International Strategy and was postponed to 2008-09 allowing sufficient time to implement the strategy.
The Sector Sustainability Tables evaluation originally planned for 2007-08 was postponed into 2008-09 to allow further implementation.
The Weather Predictions evaluation originally planned for 2007-08 was postponed into 2008-09. The AEB will develop a plan in 2007-08 in support of the evaluation.
The Ice Program evaluation originally planned for 2007-08 was postponed into 2008-09 to take into consideration the findings of the MSC Transition evaluation scheduled for 2007-08.
The evaluation of the National Environmental Protection Intelligence planned for 2007-08 was integrated into the broader evaluation of the Enforcement Program scheduled for 2008-09.
A number of evaluations originally planned for 2006-07 and 2007-08 were postponed indefinitely for various reasons:
Canadian Biodiversity Strategy – progress on the implementation of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) recommendations will be monitored though the audit and evaluation recommendations tracking system (AERTS).
Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre – a recipient audit was carried out in 2006-07.
Outreach - the governance issue will be addressed by management.
Species at Risk Act – an evaluation of the Federal Species at Risk Programs was completed in July 2006 and the Office of the Auditor General is conducting audits in areas related to species at risks.
Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) – considered to be low materiality and low risk.
Protected Areas (National Wildlife Areas, Migratory Bird Sanctuary) – pending further implementation of substantive changes made by the program.
In addition, the following four new evaluation projects will be carried out during 2007-08:
Table 2 describes the recommended internal audit engagements for the next three years. The table also shows resource requirements in person months (PM) and dollars for 2007-08.
The key changes from last year's plan are:
The Continual Audit of revenues originally planned for 2006-07 was integrated into the Financial Audit Plan.
The Financial Audit Plan, the Decision Support Systems audit, the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Control Self-Assessment, the Delegation of Financial Authority Audit originally planned for 2006-07 were carried-over into 2007-08.
The following audit engagements originally planned for 2007-08 were postponed into 2008-09 for a variety of reasons:
Occupational Health and Safety – to allow further progress on the certification initiative.
Specified Purpose Accounts and Vote Netted Revenue – to await results of the Financial Audit Plan scheduled for 2007-08.
Financial Statements – to await results of the Financial Audit Plan and completion of the department's readiness assessment.
Hydrometric Monitoring Stations – Federal Provincial Agreements, Employment Equity Audit, Classification, and Staffing – considered to be lower risk areas.
The Continual Audit of Acquisitions Cards, the Continual Audit of Compensation, audit of the Motor Vehicle Policy, and audit of Corporate Administrative Shared System (CASS) originally scheduled for 2007-08 were postponed into 2009-10.
A number of audit engagements originally planned for 2006-07 and 2007-08 were postponed indefinitely for various reasons:
EC Transformation Agenda Assessment Plan – at the request of DAEC in March 2007.
Audit of Management Controls – Maintenance of monitoring stations – considered to be a low risk.
The following key new audit engagements will be carried out during 2007-08:
The Office of the Comptroller General may require the department to conduct sectoral and horizontal audits. This annual plan only reflects one person month for any such audits.
Table 3 contains the list of external audits and studies already underway or to be carried-out by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) and other entities such as: the Public Service Commission (PSC); the Access to Information Commissioner; and the Commissioner of Official Languages over the period covered by this plan.
For 2007-08, the professional resource requirements are 168 person months and $915,000. For this same period, there are 170 person months available. A break down of the person month allocation and professional services by function is shown below in Figure 1. The person month resource requirements are determined by deducting the various leave entitlements of audit and evaluation staff and represent an approximation of project time available during 2007-08. This figure does not include resources dedicated to management activities.
| Function | Person Month (PM) | Professional Services $K |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation Projects | 60 | 5852 |
| Internal Audit Engagements | 70 | 170 |
| Strategic Planning and Coordination | 29 | 1633 |
| Special Investigations/Consulting and Advice | 9 | |
| TOTAL | 168 | 915 |
| Available Staff Resources | 170 |
Category description:
Figure 2 provides a break down of A&E activities and resources by function for 2007-08.
FIGURE 2: DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES BY FUNCTION4
2 Includes 100K from TB submission for evaluation planning related to Chemicals Management Plan; 100K from TB submission for evaluation planning for the Clean Air HMARF; and 150K from the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Initiative (TWRI) for the evaluation of this contribution agreement.
3 Includes 135K from TB funding for the External Advisory Audit Committee.
4 Includes 377.4K from TB funding for implementation of Internal Audit Policy; 100K from TB submission for the evaluation planning related to Chemicals Management Plan; 100K from TB submission for evaluation planning for the Clean Air HMARF; and 150K from Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Initiative (TWRI) for the evaluation of this contribution agreement.