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Section III—Supplementary Information

List of supplementary information tables

In addition to the tables in this section, the following supplementary information tables can be found on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat website at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dpr-rmr/st-ts-eng.asp or on the Office of the Auditor General website at www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/performance.

• Green procurement
• Internal audits and reviews completed in 2009–10

Financial tables

This table highlights the Office’s contracting activity for services in calendar year 2009.

Table 1—Total value of service contracts

	Contracts with original fees less than $25,000			Contracts with original fees $25,000 or more
	($)	Number	Percentage	($)	Number	Percentage
Competitive contracts	520,414	50	15.2	1,742,113	33	95.3
Non-competitive contracts	2,896,178	505	84.8	86,000	1	4.7
Total	3,416,592	555	100.00	1,828,113	34	100.00
Contracts are classified based on original fees before GST as per the Office’s contracting policy. All amounts include fees, expenses, amendments and GST. Contracts with original fees of less than $25,000 are sometimes amended in accordance with the Office’s contracting policy and in some cases the total amended value may exceed $25,000—these contracts are still included with “contracts with original fees less than $25,000.” There were three (3) non-competitive contracts with original fees of less than $25,000 and an amended value greater than $25,000. The total value of the amendments to the three contracts was $63,740. Further disclosure can be found on the OAG website where we report the total value (original value plus any amended value) of contracts over $10,000 (with GST). The Auditor General’s power to enter into contracts for services is set out in section 16.2 of the Auditor General Act; in 2009–10 the Office was not subject to the Government Contracts Regulations. The Auditor General’s policy on contracting for services requires that contracts for estimated fees of $25,000 or more be awarded through competition, unless they meet one of the three criteria for exemption: the need is one of pressing urgency, it is not in the public interest to solicit bids due to the nature of the work, or there is only one person capable of performing the work. Contracts that exceed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) threshold follow NAFTA rules. In 2009, the contract with fees greater than $25,000 issued on a non-competitive basis was for legal advice related to an audit.

Table 2—Travel and hospitality expenses

Disclosure of the travel and hospitality expenses for the Auditor General, the Deputy Auditor General, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, and the assistant auditors general is available on our website under Proactive Disclosure. The Office follows the Treasury Board Travel Directive and the Treasury Board Hospitality Policy, as appropriate for Agents of Parliament.

Table 3—Office memberships¹

	($ thousands)
Canadian Comprehensive Auditing Foundation (CCAF-FCVI Inc.)	380.0
Conference Board of Canada	11.0
Head of Federal Agencies Secretariat	7.5
International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions	7.1
Public Policy Forum	5.5
Association des institutions supérieures de contrôle ayant en commun l’usage du français	1.2
1 The Office participates and supports professional organizations related to its legislative auditing program. The Office also pays individual employee membership fees to a variety of professional organizations.

Table 4—Compensation and benefits

The following is a summary of compensation and selected benefits paid to the Office employees by level. Office employees receive benefits comparable to other federal government employees, which are not included in this table.

Position	FTEs1	Salary ($)	Bilingual bonus ($)	Performance pay2 ($)	Automobile3 ($)	Membership ($)	Total ($)
Auditor General	1	313,9004			4,706	614	319,220
Deputy Auditor General	1	203,395–243,465		0–39,930			203,395–283,395
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development	1	160,475–210,520		0–34,520			160,475–245,040
Assistant auditors general	15	160,475–191,380		0–31,370			160,475–222,750
Senior principals	5	115,245–166,965		0-27,350			115,245–194,315
Principals	58	115,245–148,640		0–18,730			115,245–167,370
Senior directors	2	89,935–133,580		0–16,880			89,935–150,460
Directors	100	89,935–119,265		0–15,000			89,935–134,265
Auditors	250	44,852–99,559	800	0–3,000			44,852–103,359
Audit service officers	98	54,666–91,025	800				54,666–91,825
Audit service specialists	101	34,180–64,616	800				34,180–65,416
Total FTEs	632
1 Full-time equivalents (FTEs) used in the fiscal year 2009–10. 2 Amounts represent the range that levels are eligible to receive in performance pay. 3 Taxable benefit for the personal use of an automobile for the 2009 calendar year. 4 The salary of the Auditor General is set by statute under subsection 4(1) of the Auditor General Act and is equal to the salary of a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Performance pay

Management level employees are evaluated annually on their product management and people management objectives, with each counting for 50 percent of the total performance pay envelope. For calendar year 2009, 191 of eligible management level employees (99 percent) received performance pay for product management, people management, or both. The following chart shows the distribution of performance pay among management level employees.

Performance pay is paid to all managers who meet the objectives of their positions; this performance pay may be in the form of a salary increase and/or a bonus. For these managers, the combined total of the performance pay can range from 7.6 percent to 11.4 percent, depending on the level of the employee. Those management employees who exceed the objectives of their position are eligible for an additional bonus of from 1 percent to 5 percent, depending on their level and performance.

The Office’s Performance Pay Guidelines differ from the Public Service Performance Management Plan (PMP) in the amounts paid to management employees. Both systems provide for in-range increases and additional cash lump-sum awards. Public service executives can receive in-range increases and an additional amount for at-risk pay totalling 17.6 percent (27.4 percent for EX-4 and EX-5 level executives). The combined maximum performance pay for the OAG, including in-range increases and bonuses, is 12.6% for Directors and Principals and 16.4% for Senior Principals, Assistant Auditors General, the Deputy Auditor General, and the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. For details of performance pay by level see Table 4.

A total of $2,280,104 in performance pay (including in-range increases and lump sum bonuses) was paid to management level employees for 2009.

Rating description	% of eligible managers who received this rating in 2009
	Product management	People management
Did not fully meet expectations	1%	1%
Met expectations	58%	66%
Exceeded expectations	38%	32%
Exceptional performance	3%	1%

In addition, 59 non-management auditors (20 percent) received a fixed performance pay of $3,000 in keeping with the Audit Professionals collective agreement.

Financial statements

Management’s statement of responsibility

Management of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada is responsible for the preparation of the accompanying financial statements and related information contained in this 2009–10 Performance Report. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles for the public sector. Where alternative accounting methods exist, management has chosen methods that it believes to be appropriate in the circumstances. Where estimates or judgments have been required, management has determined such amounts on a reasonable basis. Financial information disclosed elsewhere in this performance report is consistent with these audited financial statements.

In meeting its reporting responsibility, management has established and followed policies and procedures and systems of internal control designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded from loss or unauthorized use, operations are in compliance with governing authorities, and financial information is reliable. Selected internal control systems are periodically tested and evaluated by the internal auditors, and management takes any action necessary to respond appropriately to their recommendations. Management recognizes the limits inherent in all systems of internal control but believes the Office has established effective and responsive systems of internal control through the careful selection of employees, appropriate division of responsibilities, training and other professional development activities, and development of formal policies and procedures.

The Office’s Executive Committee oversees management’s preparation of the financial statements and ultimately approves the financial statements and related disclosures following a recommendation from the Office’s Audit Committee. As a basis for recommending approval of the financial statements to the Executive Committee, the Audit Committee reviews management’s arrangements for internal controls and the accounting policies employed by the Office for financial reporting purposes. The Audit Committee also meets independently with the Office’s internal and external auditors to consider the results of their work.

The external auditors’ report, as to the fairness of presentation of these financial statements in conformity with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles, is included in this performance report.

 

Sheila Fraser, FCA Auditor General of Canada

Lyn Sachs, FCA Assistant Auditor General and Chief Financial Officer

Ottawa, Canada
25 June 2010

Auditors’ report

To the Speaker of the House of Commons

We have audited the statement of financial position of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada as at 31 March 2010 and the statements of operations, deficit, and cash flow for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Office’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform an audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.

In our opinion, these financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Office as at 31 March 2010 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.

Further, in our opinion, the transactions of the Office that have come to our notice during our audit of the financial statements have, in all significant respects, been in accordance with the Financial Administration Act and regulations and the Auditor General Act.

 

Welch LLP
Lévesque Marchand S.E.N.C.
Chartered Accountants
Licensed Public Accountants

Ottawa, Canada
25 June 2010

Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Statement of Financial Position
as at 31 March

	2010	2009
Assets	(in thousands of dollars)
Current assets
Due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund	7,494	6,933
Accounts receivable	832	622
Prepaid expenses	358	283
	8,684	7,838
Capital assets (note 4)	3,509	3,497
	12,193	11,335
Liabilities and Deficit
Current liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
Due to employees	2,649	5,866
Due to others	4,055	2,113
Vacation pay	3,667	3,637
Current portion of employee future benefits (note 5)	2,479	1,813
	12,850	13,429
Employee future benefits (note 5)	11,542	11,652
Deficit (note 6)	(12,199)	(13,746)
	12,193	11,335
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Approved by

 

Sheila Fraser, FCA Auditor General of Canada

Lyn Sachs, FCA Assistant Auditor General and Chief Financial Officer

Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Statement of Operations
for the year ended 31 March

	2010	2009
Expenses (note 7)	(in thousands of dollars)
Performance audits and studies	42,947	44,588
Financial audits of Crown corporations, territorial governments, and other organizations, and of the summary financial statements of the Government of Canada	40,046	36,328
Special examinations of Crown corporations	4,095	8,190
Sustainable development monitoring activities and environmental petitions	1,157	1,795
Assessments of agency performance reports	358	402
Total cost of audits	88,603	91,303
Professional practices (note 8)	11,627	9,640
Total cost of operations	100,230	100,943
Costs recovered
International audits	693	782
Other	219	105
Total costs recovered	912	887
Net cost of operations before parliamentary appropriations	99,318	100,056
Parliamentary appropriations used (note 3)	87,825	84,437
Net cost of operations after parliamentary appropriations	11,493	15,619
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Statement of Deficit
for the year ended 31 March

	2010	2009
	(in thousands of dollars)
Deficit, beginning balance	(13,746)	(10,665)
Net cost of operations after parliamentary appropriations	(11,493)	(15,619)
Services provided without charge by other government departments (note 7)	13,952	13,425
Costs recovered	(912)	(887)
Deficit, ending balance	(12,199)	(13,746)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Statement of Cash Flow
for the year ended 31 March

	2010	2009
Operating activities	(in thousands of dollars)
Cash payments
Employees	(66,436)	(61,573)
Suppliers	(11,064)	(14,402)
Related Parties	(10,992)	(11,700)
	(88,492)	(87,675)
Cash receipts
Related Parties	1,547	1,443
Others	948	1,029
	2,495	2,472
Parliamentary appropriations used (note 3)	87,825	84,437
Cash provided (used) by operating activities	1,828	(766)
Capital investment activities
Capital asset acquisitions	(1,276)	(544)
Proceeds from the disposal of capital assets	–	1
Cash used in capital investment activities	(1,276)	(543)
Increase (decrease) in Due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund during the year	561	(1,309)
Due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, beginning of year	6,933	8,242
Due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, end of year	7,494	6,933
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2010

1. Authority and objective

The Auditor General Act, the Financial Administration Act, and a variety of other acts and orders-in-council set out the duties of the Auditor General and the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. These duties relate to legislative auditing of federal departments and agencies; Crown corporations; territorial governments; and other organizations, which include one international organization.

The program activity of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada is legislative auditing and consists of performance audits and studies of departments and agencies; the audit of the summary financial statements of the Government of Canada; financial audits of Crown corporations, territorial governments, and other organizations; special examinations of Crown corporations; sustainable development monitoring activities and environmental petitions; and assessments of agency performance reports.

The Office is funded through annual appropriations received from the Parliament of Canada and is not taxable under the provisions of the Income Tax Act.

Pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, the Office is a department of the Government of Canada for the purposes of that Act and is listed in Schedule I.1, and is a separate agency for the purposes of Schedule V.

2. Significant accounting policies

a) Basis of presentation

The financial statements of the Office have been prepared in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles for the public sector.

b) Parliamentary appropriations

The Office’s annual parliamentary appropriations are reported directly in the Statement of Operations in the fiscal year for which they are approved by Parliament and used by the Office.

c) Costs recovered

The costs of audits are paid from monies appropriated by Parliament to the Office. Fees for international audits generally recover the direct costs incurred and are recognized in the period the audit services are provided. Amounts recovered are deposited in the Consolidated Revenue Fund and are not available for use by the Office. Other costs recovered represent audit professional services provided to members of the Canadian Council of Legislative Auditors, adjustments to prior year’s payables and refunds of prior years’ expenses.

d) Due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund

The financial transactions of the Office are processed through the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Canada. The Due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund balance represents the amount of cash that the Office is entitled to draw from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, without further appropriations, in order to discharge its liabilities.

e) Capital assets

Capital assets are recorded at historical cost less accumulated amortization. The Office capitalizes the costs associated with the development of software used internally including software licences, installation costs, professional service contract costs, and salary costs of employees directly associated with these projects. The costs of software maintenance, project management and administration, data conversion, and training and development are expensed in the year incurred.

Amortization of capital assets begins when assets are put into use and is recorded by the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:

Capital assets	Useful life
Furniture and fixtures	7 years
Leasehold improvements	10 years
Informatics software	3 years
Informatics Hardware and Infrastructure	3 years
Office equipment	4 years
Motor vehicle	5 years

f) Vacation pay

Vacation pay is expensed as benefits accrue to employees under their respective terms of employment using the employees’ salary levels at year end. Vacation pay liabilities represent obligations of the Office that are funded through parliamentary appropriations.

g) Employee future benefits

i) Pension benefits

All eligible employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, a multi-employer plan administered by the Government of Canada. The Office’s contributions are currently based on a multiple of an employee’s required contributions and may change over time depending on the experience of the Plan. The Office’s contributions are expensed during the year in which the services are rendered and represent its total pension obligation. The Office is not currently required to make contributions with respect to any actuarial deficiencies of the Public Service Pension Plan.

ii) Severance benefits

Employees are entitled to severance benefits, as provided for under their respective conditions of employment. The cost of these benefits is accrued as employees render the services necessary to earn them. Management determined the accrued benefit obligation using the employees’ salary at year end. Severance benefits are funded through appropriations once employees’ departures are confirmed.

h) Services provided without charge by other government departments

Services provided without charge by other government departments are recorded as operating expenses by the Office at their estimated cost. A corresponding amount is reported directly in the Statement of Deficit.

i) Allocation of expenses

The Office charges all direct salary, professional service, travel, and other costs associated with the delivery of individual audits and professional practice projects directly to them. All other expenses, including services provided without charge, are treated as overhead and allocated to audits and professional practices projects based on the direct hours charged to them.

j) Measurement uncertainty

These financial statements are prepared in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles, which require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Capital assets and employee severance benefits are the most significant items for which estimates are used. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. These estimates are reviewed annually, and as adjustments become necessary, they are recognized in the financial statements in the period in which they become known.

3. Parliamentary appropriations

The Office is funded through annual parliamentary appropriations. Items recognized in the Statement of Operations and the Statement of Deficit in one year may be funded through parliamentary appropriations in prior and future years. Accordingly, the Office’s net cost of operations for the year based on Canadian generally accepted accounting principles is different than total appropriations used for the year. These differences are reconciled as follows:

a) Reconciliation of net cost of operations to current year appropriations used

		2010	2009
		(in thousands of dollars)
Net cost of operations before parliamentary appropriations		99,318	100,056
Less:	Expenses not requiring the use of appropriations
	Amortization of capital assets	(1,255)	(1,421)
	Services provided without charge by other government departments	(13,952)	(13,425)
Add:	Costs recovered	912	887
		85,023	86,097
Changes in Statement of Financial Position amounts not affecting the current year use of appropriations1		1,535	(2,204)
Current year appropriations applied to operations		86,558	83,893
Capital asset acquisitions funded by appropriations		1,267	544
Current year appropriations used		87,825	84,437
1 Components of this amount are prepaid expenses, due to employees, vacation pay, and severance benefits.

b) Reconciliation of appropriations provided to current year appropriations used

	2010	2009
Appropriations:	(in thousands of dollars)
Voted—operating expenditures	81,662	78,623
Statutory contributions to employee benefit plans	10,524	9,315
Proceeds from disposal of capital assets	–	1
Current year appropriations provided	92,186	87,939
Less: Lapsed appropriations1	4,361	3,502
Current year appropriations used	87,825	84,437
1 Subject to parliamentary approval, the Office is allowed to carry forward into the next fiscal year its lapsed appropriations after adjustments up to a maximum of 5 percent of its main estimates operating budget. In 2009–10, the Office had $4.4 million ($3.5 million in 2008–09) in lapsed appropriations after adjustments. The maximum allowed for carry forward into 2010–11 is $3.6 million ($3.6 million in to 2009–10).

4. Capital assets

	Cost				Accumulated amortization				2010 Net book value	2009 Net book value
	Opening balance	Acquisitions	Disposals	Closing Balance	Opening balance	Amortization	Disposals	Closing Balance
(in thousands of dollars)
Furniture and fixtures	4,643	86		4,729	3,664	563		4,227	502	979
Informatics software	4,085	486	2,392	2,179	3,546	219	2,392	1,373	806	539
Leasehold improvements	3,370	198		3,568	1,617	337		1,954	1,614	1,753
Office equipment	915	216	4	1,127	878	16	4	890	237	37
Informatics hardware and infrastructure	915	281	37	1,159	742	115	37	820	339	173
Motor vehicle	30			30	14	5		19	11	16
	13,958	1,267	2,433	12,792	10,461	1,255	2,433	9,283	3,509	3,497

Amortization expense for the year ended 31 March 2010 is $1.3 million ($1.4 million in 2009).

5. Employee future benefits

a) Pension benefits

The Office’s eligible employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, which is sponsored and administered by the Government of Canada. Pension benefits accrue up to a maximum period of 35 years at a rate of 2 percent per year of pensionable service, times the average of the best 5 consecutive years of earnings. The benefits are fully indexed to the increase in the Consumer Price Index.

The Office’s responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan’s sponsor. Office and employee contributions to the Plan are as follows:

	2010	2009
	(in thousands of dollars)
Office contributions	7,598	6,725
Employee contributions	3,443	2,949

b) Severance benefits

The Office provides severance benefits to its employees based on years of service and salary at termination of employment. This benefit plan is not pre-funded and thus has no assets, resulting in a plan deficit equal to the accrued benefit obligation. Benefits will be paid from future appropriations. Information about the plan, measured as at 31 March, is as follows:

	2010	2009
	(in thousands of dollars)
Severance benefit obligation, beginning of year	13,465	13,060
Expense for the year	1,068	854
Benefits paid during the year	(512)	(449)
Severance benefit obligation, end of year	14,021	13,465

6. Deficit

The deficit represents liabilities incurred by the Office, net of capital assets and prepaid expenses, that have not yet been funded through appropriations. Significant components of this amount are employee severance benefits and vacation pay liabilities.

7. Summary of expenses by major classification

Summary of expenses by major classification for the years ended 31 March are as follows:

	2010	2009
	(in thousands of dollars)
Salaries and employee benefits	76,284	76,066
Office accommodation	8,695	8,507
Professional services	6,673	9,543
Travel and communication	4,263	4,723
Informatics, informatics maintenance and repairs, office equipment, and furniture and fixtures	2,871	2,602
Materials, supplies, and other payments	889	720
Printing and publications services	555	782
Total cost of operations	100,230	100,943

In 2010, the total cost of operations included services provided without charge by other government departments as explained in note 9.

8. Professional practices

The Office works with other legislative audit offices and professional associations, such as the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, to advance legislative audit methodology, accounting and auditing standards, and best practices. International activities include participation in organizations and events that have an impact on our work as legislative auditors. Peer reviews include the cost of participating in peer reviews of other national legislative audit offices and being the subject of peer review.

	2010	2009
	(in thousands of dollars)
Methodology and knowledge management	5,831	4,103
International activities	2,798	2,684
Peer reviews	1,139	947
Participation in standard-setting activities	966	929
Canadian Council of Legislative Auditors	893	977
Professional practices	11,627	9,640

9. Related party transactions

The Office is related as a result of common ownership to all Government of Canada departments, agencies, and Crown corporations. The Office enters into transactions with these organizations in the normal course of business and on normal trade terms. As Parliament’s auditor, the Office is mindful of its independence and objectivity when entering into any such transactions. The Office conducts independent audits and studies without charge to federal departments and agencies, Crown corporations, territorial governments, and other organizations.

In 2010, the Office incurred expenses of $26.1 million ($24.6 million in 2009) and recovered expenses of $1.7 million ($1.8 million in 2009) from transactions in the normal course of business with other government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations. These expenses include services provided without charge as follows.

	2010	2009
	(in thousands of dollars)
Office Accommodation	8,695	8,507
Public Service Health Care Plan and Public Service Dental Plan	5,257	4,918
	13,952	13,425

These amounts are included in expenses shown in note 7.

As at 31 March, the accounts receivable and payable with other government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations are as follows:

	2010	2009
	(in thousands of dollars)
Accounts receivable	564	383
Accounts payable	1,304	121

These amounts are included respectively in accounts receivable and due to others on the statement of financial position.

10. Comparative figures

Certain 2008–09 comparative figures have been reclassified to conform to the presentation adopted in 2009–10.

Report on staffing

The Auditor General has received the staffing authorities of the Public Service Commission directly through the Auditor General Act. Since the Commission must report annually to Parliament for the previous fiscal year on matters under its jurisdiction, the Office of the Auditor General believes it should also report annually on the Office’s staffing.

The following table takes into account the Public Service Commission’s Staffing Management Accountability Framework. It summarizes the 11 areas of accountability and identifies the indicators present in the Office. The Framework is intended to ensure a values-based staffing system through which the core principles of merit and non-partisanship are applied in accordance with the core values of fairness, transparency, and access.

Staffing: Areas of accountability and indicators

1. Staffing authority: The Auditor General exercises staffing authority pursuant to the Auditor General Act and has established a well-defined structure and administration in order to support the achievement of desired results.
Mechanisms are in place to ensure that sub-delegated managers comply with their sub-delegated authorities.	The Executive Committee approved a written delegation of authority for human resource management. Training was provided to all hiring managers. New appointees to the Management Group (directors and principals) are required to attend a half- to full-day transition session. Issues discussed include human resource responsibilities and delegated authorities.
2. Planning for staffing and monitoring of results: Staffing strategies are planned based on workforce analysis and analysis of staffing trends and patterns.
Staffing strategies support organizational staffing priorities and align with current and future needs. The OAG assesses the extent to which expected results for staffing are achieved and adjusted, as required.	Staffing needs are assessed annually. Based on these needs, and the Office’s budget, full-time equivalent (FTE) positions are allocated to each Assistant Auditor General (AAG). The AAGs are then accountable, with the help of HR, to staff their groups as necessary. The allocation of resources is monitored regularly by the Audit Resource Planning and Career Management Team in order to identify and resolve gaps between needs in specific audits and available resources. Finally, a monthly status report is provided to the Executive Committee on the overall staffing levels and FTE budgets for monitoring.
3. Organizational human resource support systems: These systems ensure that the OAG has access to a reasonable number of HR advisors with appropriate staffing expertise to support hiring decisions.
Capacity of HR Advisors by volume of staffing. Learning activities undertaken by HR Advisors.	There were about 182 staffing actions in 2009–10. Four staffing officers plus an assistant met the demands. A benchmarking exercise supports the belief that these resources are sufficient. The staffing officers, who must participate in a minimum of 20 hours per year of learning, have taken available training on staffing, both internally and externally.
4. Communication: The OAG is expected to respect the Public Service Employment Act and to monitor staffing activities to ensure accountability for staffing decisions.
Staffing performance deficiencies identified by internal audit are corrected in a timely fashion.	An internal audit on staffing conducted in 2007 pointed out a few areas with deficiencies within the OAG staffing system. The HR team made a number of adjustments to processes to ensure that these deficiencies were addressed. The follow-up to this audit concluded that the appropriate measures were put in place.
5. Flexibility and efficiency: Flexibility and efficiency are required to ensure that resourcing approaches are adapted to the OAG’s needs. They also ensure that our staffing system provides good value and is timely and effective.
Managers are satisfied with the OAG’s staffing processes and the length of time it takes to staff a position. Candidates are satisfied with the duration of the processes.	While this is not an area that the OAG has investigated through a formal survey, as a small organization, we regularly seek this information in ad hoc discussions with our hiring managers. The Principal of HR regularly discusses performance of the HR team with assistant auditors general and Service Leaders. Monthly reports are produced identifying open positions and positions staffed during the previous month. Regular meetings are held between staffing officers and managers to review progress on open positions.
6. Merit: Persons appointed meet the essential qualifications, including official languages.
Managers and candidates are satisfied that the staffing process assesses merit. In-house investigations are conducted as required.	Over the last three employee surveys (since 2006), the percentage of respondents who agreed or were neutral as to whether they had the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities for a position has been very positive (78-82 percent). In addition, we have had no complaints on the subject of merit requiring us to conduct an in-house investigation into the application of merit criteria.
7. Non-partisanship: Appointments and promotions are done objectively and are free from political influence.
Managers’ perception of external pressure to select a particular candidate. Investigations related to political influence in staffing.	The OAG has not had to conduct any investigations regarding instances of political influence in the staffing process.
8. Representativeness: Appointment processes are conducted without bias and do not create systemic barriers.
Staffing related provisions or initiatives to increase representativeness.	As the OAG’s overall representation is adequate, this is not an area of concern. Promotion, departure, and new-hire data is reviewed and monitored every year to ensure that the OAG has not inadvertently created barriers to employment.
9. Access: Persons from across Canada have a reasonable opportunity to be considered for employment at the OAG.
Percentage of external appointments that are advertised. Percentage of these external appointments that were advertised nationally.	During the period, 61 percent of external processes were advertised. Of those advertised external processes, 100 percent were advertised nationally.
10. Fairness: Communication ensures the integrity of the appointment process by being transparent, easy to understand, timely, and accessible, and by including the relevant stakeholders.
Percentage of indeterminate hires converted from casual status. Perception of fairness in staffing: “In my work unit, the process of selecting a person for a position is done fairly.”	While the OAG had employed seven casuals in 2009–2010, only one casual employee was converted to a term during the period. Over the last three employee surveys (since 2006), the percentage of employees who responded that they agreed or felt neutral about the fairness of competitions has been positive and increasing (72-81 percent). We also regularly review the fairness and transparency of our promotion processes.
11. Transparency: Information about staffing strategies, decisions, policies, and practices is communicated in an open and timely manner.
Organizational staffing priorities are communicated on the OAG website, and contents are clearly communicated to managers, employees, and bargaining units, where applicable.	An annual HR report is produced, detailing the number of hires and departures and the turnover rate. It also highlights reasons for departures and anticipated retirement rates. This document is made available to employees on our intranet. All competitions are advertised in both official languages. Competitions open to people outside the Office are advertised on our website (“Careers”). Most of them are also posted on Workopolis.com The multi-year recruitment and retention strategy is available on our intranet.

List of completed performance audits

The following is a list of the performance audits planned for in our 2009–10 Report on Plans and Priorities, including their planned and actual tabling. Names are based on titles of publication.

Federal performance audits

Auditor General of Canada	Included in 2009–10 Plan	Reported in 2009–10
Gender-Based Analysis	Spring 2009	May 2009
Intellectual Property	Spring 2009	May 2009
Health and Safety in Federal Office Buildings	Spring 2009	May 2009
Interest on Advance Deposits from Corporate Taxpayers—Canada Revenue Agency	Spring 2009	May 2009
Financial Management and Control—National Defence	Spring 2009	May 2009
Selected Contribution Agreements—Natural Resources Canada	Spring 2009	May 2009
Special Examinations of Crown Corporations—2008	Spring 2009	May 2009

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development	Included in 2009–10 Plan	Reported in 2009–10
Protecting Fish Habitat	Spring 2009	May 2009
Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act	Spring 2009	May 2009

Auditor General of Canada	Included in 2009–10 Plan	Reported in 2009–10
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Programs	Fall 2009	November 2009
Selecting Foreign Workers Under the Immigration Program	Fall 2009	November 2009
Income Tax Legislation	Fall 2009	November 2009
Electronic Health Records	Fall 2009	November 2009
Acquiring Military Vehicles for Use in Afghanistan	Fall 2009	November 2009
Land Management and Environmental Protection on Reserves	Fall 2009	November 2009
Emergency Management—Public Safety Canada	Fall 2009	November 2009
Strengthening Aid Effectiveness—Canadian International Development Agency	Fall 2009	November 2009

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development	Included in 2009–10 Plan	Reported in 2009–10
Applying the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act	Fall 2009	November 2009
Risks of Toxic Substances	Fall 2009	November 2009
National Pollutant Release Inventory	Fall 2009	November 2009
Environmental Petitions	Fall 2009	November 2009

Territorial performance audits

Territorial performance audits	Included in 2009–10 Plan	Reported in 2009–10
Contracting for Goods and Services—Northwest Territories	June 2009	June 2009
Yukon Housing Corporation	February 2010	February 2010
Human Resources Capacity—Government of Nunavut	March 2010	March 2010

Other

Other	Included in 2009–10 Plan	Reported in 2009–10
Managing Sustainable Development—A Discussion Paper by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development	Fall 2009	March 2010

The following report was completed in 2009–10 but not listed in the 2009–10 Report on Plans and Priorities: Auditor General of Canada, Environmental Review at Export Development Canada (June 2009)

List of completed special examinations

Special examination	Original statutory deadline	Revised statutory deadline	Transmission date
Business Development Bank of Canada	15 July 2009**	15 July 2014	9 April 2009
Export Development Canada	8 July 2009**	8 July 2014	17 April 2009
Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation	3 June 2009**	3 June 2014	24 April 2009
Standards Council of Canada	6 October 2009*	6 October 2014	3 June 2009
Canadian Commercial Corporation	13 September 2009*	13 September 2014	23 June 2009
Marine Atlantic Inc.	27 August 2009*	27 August 2014	14 September 2009
Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation	13 October 2009*	13 October 2014	14 September 2009
Canada Post Corporation	7 December 2009*	7 December 2014	26 November 2009
National Gallery of Canada	14 April 2010*	14 April 2014	8 December 2009
Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation	23 November 2009*	23 November 2014	3 March 2010
*2009–10 Report on Plans and Priorities ** Special Examination Schedule

In early 2009, Budget Implementation Act, 2009 changed the frequency of special examinations in the Financial Administration Act from at least once every five years, to at least once every ten years. The statutory deadlines and schedule of planned special examinations were revised following that change. Consequently, only seven of the fifteen special examinations listed as planned in the 2009–10 RPP were completed in 2009–10. The others are now scheduled for 2010–11 or later.

Our performance indicators and measures

The Office has established a set of core indicators of impact and measures of organizational performance to help inform management decision making.

Our indicators of impact help us to assess the extent to which

• key users of our reports are engaged in the audit process,
• our work adds value for the key users of our reports,
• our work adds value for the organizations we audit, and
• key users of our reports and the organizations we audit respond to our findings.

Our measures of organizational performance help us monitor the extent to which

• our work is delivered on time and on budget,
• our audit reports are reliable, and
• we provide a respectful workplace.

We use surveys to gather feedback from our clients and the organizations we audit on our performance. Information on the surveys can be found on our website at: www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/survey

Indicator Table 1—Summary of our indicators of impact

Objectives and indicators	2008–09 Actual	2009–10 Actual	2009–10 Target
Our work adds value for the key users of our reports.
Percentage of audit committee chairs who find our financial audits add value	85	95	90
Percentage of parliamentary committee members who find our performance audits add value	n/a1	932	90
Percentage of board chairs who find our special examinations add value	97	80	90
Our work adds value for the organizations we audit.
Percentage of Crown corporation and large-department senior managers who find our financial audits add value	83	85	80
Percentage of departmental senior managers who find our performance audits add value	663	56	70
Percentage of Crown corporation chief executive officers who find our special examinations add value	84	90	80
Key users of our reports are engaged in the audit process.
Number of parliamentary hearings and briefings we participate in	35	39	Maintain4
Percentage of performance audits reviewed by parliamentary committees	57	68	Maintain4
Key users of our reports and the organizations we audit respond to our findings.
Percentage of reservations that are addressed from one financial audit to the next	11	415	100
Percentage of performance audit recommendations substantially or fully implemented four years after their publication (as reported by departments)	90	90	75
Percentage of significant deficiencies that are addressed from one special examination to the next	n/a6	50 (1 of 2)7	100
1 There was no survey of parliamentarians carried out in 2008–09. 2 The results shown for 2009–10 are from the survey of parliamentarians conducted in June 2010. 3 The performance audit result as published in our 2008–09 Departmental Performance Report (75 percent) has been updated to reflect survey responses received after publication. 4 There is no numeric target for these indicators since they depend on the number of sitting days there are in Parliament. Instead, the target is to maintain the percentage of parliamentary hearings and briefings we participate in, relative to the number of sitting days, and to maintain the percentage of audits reviewed by parliamentary committees. 5 In completing our financial audits in 2009–10, we found that only 9 of the 22 reservations contained in our 2008–09 financial audit opinions had been addressed by the organizations we audited. 6 For all eight special examinations completed in 2008–09, there were either no significant deficiencies in the previous special examination, or there was no previous special examination. 7 For two of the ten special examinations completed in 2009–10, there had been a significant deficiency in the previous special examination. One of them had been addressed, and the other had not.

Indicator Table 2—Summary of our organizational performance

Objectives and indicators	2008–09 Actual	2009–10 Actual	2009–10 Target
Our work is completed on time
Percentage of financial audits completed on time1
federal Crown corporations with statutory deadlines	91	98	100
other federal organizations with statutory deadlines2	100	100	100
federal organizations with no statutory deadlines	84	86	80
territorial organizations	48	64	60
Percentage of performance audit reports completed by the planned tabling date as published in the Report on Plans and Priorities	97	96	90
Percentage of special examination reports delivered on or before the statutory deadline	75 (6 of 8)	100 (10 of 10)	100
Our work is completed on budget
Percentage of audits completed on budget3
Financial audits—federal Crown corporations	53	90	70
Financial audits—other federal organizations with statutory deadlines	47	84	70
Financial audits—federal organizations without a statutory deadline	76	89	70
Financial audits—territorial organizations	65	60	60
Performance audits	90	96	70
Special examinations	75 (6 of 8)	90 (9 of 10)	70
Our audit reports are reliable
Percentage of internal practice reviews that found the opinions and conclusions expressed in our audit reports were appropriate and supported by the evidence4	95 (21 of 22)	100 (18 of 18)	100
External peer reviews find our quality management frameworks are suitably designed and operating effectively	n/a5	Mostly6	Yes
We provide a respectful workplace
Percentage of employees who believe the Office is an above-average place to work	n/a7	788	80
Percentage of management who meet our language requirements
assistant auditors general and principals	85	85	100
directors in bilingual regions	76	84	75
Percentage representation relative to workforce availability for
women	118	117	100
people with disabilities	119	117	100
Aboriginal peoples	97	137	100
members of visible minorities	74	90	100
Percentage retention of audit professionals	88	89	90
1 “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. 2 The National Battlefields Commission is excluded from this calculation as its statutory deadline is only 60 days following the year end. 3 “On budget” means that the actual hours to complete an audit did not exceed the budgeted hours by more than 15 percent. 4 This indicator replaces “the percentage of internal practice reviews that find our audit in compliance with our quality management frameworks.” 5 There was no external peer review in 2008–09. 6 An international peer review found that our Quality Management System was suitably designed. It found the QMS was operating effectively for the performance audit and special examinations practices. For the annual audit practice, it found the QMS was generally operating effectively and made recommendations to address two implementation issues. 7 There was no employee survey. It is a biennial survey. 8 The employee survey results shown were received in May 2010.

Review and revision of performance targets

We recently reviewed all of our targets and revised some, effective in 2009–10 (Indicator Table 3). We begin our performance target-setting process by identifying any standards established by legislative or other authorities. For example, many of our financial audits have statutory reporting deadlines and, for these audits, our on-time target is 100 percent. Where no such standards exist, we look to identify reasonable expectations and then consider the trend of past performance. For example, while we might expect that all audits would be completed within 150 days of the year end to be timely and useful, our experience has been that about 80 percent are completed within this time period. We believe that our targets represent reasonable performance expectations, and failure to meet them would alert us to a potential problem.

Indicator Table 3—Revised performance targets effective in 2009–10

Objectives and indicators	Original Target	Revised Target
Percentage of audit committee chairs who find our financial audits add value	75	90
Percentage of Crown corporation and large-department senior managers who find our financial audits and special examinations add value	75	80
Percentage of department senior managers who find our performance audits add value	65	70
Percentage of financial audits of federal organizations with no statutory deadlines completed on time	70	80
Percentage of financial audits of territorial organizations completed on time	55	60
Percentage of financial audits of territorial organizations completed on budget	55	60

We set targets that we believe are realistic and attainable while holding ourselves to a high level of performance. For example, while we believe it is not realistic for all users of our reports to find that we always add value on all dimensions that we monitor, we believe that a realistic and high standard is that 9 out of 10 users of our reports would feel this way. We have therefore set a target of 90 percent for all users of our reports. In the case of the indicator of adding value for the organizations we audit, which are not our primary clients, our targets are slightly lower. Based on past results, we have set this target at 80 percent for senior managers subject to our financial audits and special examinations and 70 percent for senior managers subject to our performance audits. Our on-budget targets reflect the fact that our ability to complete audits is sometimes influenced by factors outside of our control, for example entity readiness for audit, and the priority we place on audit quality. We believe that these targets reflect a very positive level of performance and any significantly different result would warrant our attention.

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