PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
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Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Financial management and control and risk management have improved, but work remains to be done
Ottawa, April 02, 2012 -
OTTAWA – The federal government has made positive progress in the areas of financial management and control and risk management, but some further progress is needed, according to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts’ report presented today to the House of Commons.
In an audit included in its 2011 Status Report, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) examined progress made by the government in acting on commitments made by departments in response to a 2003 audit on integrated risk management and a 2006 audit on managing government financial information.
The OAG found that the government had strengthened the overall financial management policy framework with the development of the 2009 Policy on Internal Control which has clarified management’s roles and responsibilities, and recognized deputy heads in their role as accounting officers for their organizations. Also, the integration of risk into planning, reporting and decision making has improved, and human resource capacity in financial management has been enhanced with, for example, a considerable growth in percentage of Chief Financial Accounting Officers with an accounting designation (33% in 2002 to 82% in 2010).
However, the OAG noted that departments have not fully assessed the effectiveness of their internal control systems to identify and address weaknesses. The OAG also pointed out that due to future retirements, succession planning must get more attention or there may be a shortage in qualified financial management personnel in government in the future. As well, the long-standing issue of whether full accrual-based budgeting and accrual-based appropriations will be implemented across government has yet to be formally resolved.
The Committee recognizes the work done by the Office of the Comptroller General to provide leadership and direction to departments on financial management and control and risk management, and also notes the improvements that departments have made in these areas. These actions should contribute to stronger governance as well as management oversight of financial and administrative practices within the federal government. Due to the importance of these issues, the Committee encourages departments to promptly address the recommendations the OAG has made in this report so improvement may continue.
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