PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
PERFORMANCE REPORTS NEED TO BE MORE CREDIBLE
Ottawa, September 20, 2010 -
Departments need to provide Parliament with more balanced and credible performance reports, as the current reports receive little, if any, attention, according to a report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts presented to the House of Commons today.
Each fall, approximately 90 federal departments and agencies present departmental performance reports (DPRs) to Parliament. The reports are intended to help parliamentarians hold the government to account by demonstrating what results departments achieve with the financial and human resources entrusted to them. The DPRs compare actual performance against the priorities and expectations outlined in the corresponding report on plans and priorities.
The Public Accounts Committee has had a long-standing concern about the quality of DPRs, and the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has identified a number of weaknesses through several audits. The Committee decided to conduct its own study using the OAG’s 2005 rating model to examine the 2008-2009 DPRs of Industry Canada and Transport Canada.
The Committee concluded that while these DPRs contain some useful information, significant improvements need to be made. The departments need to more clearly demonstrate the link between departmental activities, expected results, and actual performance; and do a better job of indicating where program performance was less than expected, and why. These steps are needed to improve the balance, credibility, and usefulness of the reports.
Ultimately, the Committee believes that parliamentarians and committees need to encourage the government to provide reports that they find useful in holding the government to account for achieving results for Canadians in an economical, efficient, and effective manner.
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