Our Responsibilities

About Internal Audit

Internal Audit

Internal audit is a professional, independent appraisal function that provides feedback on government management practices and activities, at both the departmental/agency and horizontal levels. The function assists in promoting the overall effectiveness and efficiency of government operations and the transparency of decision making.

Internal audit provides deputy heads with assurance as to the design and operation of the governance, risk management, and control processes in their organizations. This assurance function is an important part of the government's efforts to provide value and accountability to Canadians for their tax dollars.

The focus of internal audit is on management systems, processes, and practices and on the integrity of financial and non-financial information.

The results of internal audits help to identify emerging issues and make recommendations for the improvement of performance. Objective assessments are provided in a number of areas, including: risk management; control and governance processes; and resource stewardship.

Internal Audit Sector

The Internal Audit Sector of the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada is responsible for the Policy on Internal Audit and the health of the federal government internal audit community. The mandate of the Internal Audit Sector is to provide independent assurance on governance, risk management and control processes. In performing this role, we support the commitment of the Comptroller General to strengthen public sector stewardship, accountability, risk management and internal control across government.

Our mandate centres on leading audit community in the implementation of the Treasury Board 2006 Policy on Internal Audit and the associated Directives and Guidelines. This Policy strengthens and further professionalizes the internal audit function across government and is key component of the Federal Accountability Action Plan - supporting deputy heads in fulfilling their role as accounting officers.

The Internal Audit Sector has dual role of functional leader for internal audit and the operational arm for horizontal assurance work. In this, the Assistant Comptroller General is supported by four executive directors responsible for professional methods and practices, department and agency audit committees, audit intelligence, and audit operations.

Functional role

The functional role of Internal Audit Sector focuses on the timely provision of advice and guidance to the audit community. This includes:

leading and championing the internal audit function;
monitoring and assessing policy implementation and compliance;
recruiting, training and supporting department and agency audit committees;
developing policy, professional advice, standards and technology enablers; and
strengthening the professional human resources capacity of the internal audit community across the public service through a range of capacity building and community development initiatives.

Operational role

The operational role of Internal Audit Sector provides a range of audit services to large and small departments and agencies. This includes:

developing government-wide risk profiles for large and small departments and agencies;
planning and coordinating horizontal assurance engagements across large departments and agencies;
providing advice and assistance on forensic and informatics issues and audits;
providing support to the Audit Committee for Small Departments and Agencies;
liaising with the parties involved in government-wide and sectoral audits; and
updating the internal audit assessment indicators in the Management Accountability Framework.

Our Vision

To strengthen and support the government internal audit function by contributing to accountability and transparency, and by improving governance, risk management and control frameworks across the government of Canada.

Our Mission

To promote accountability, stewardship, risk management, and best practices in government operations.

Our Services

The Internal Audit Sector provides services in several areas:

1. We assess cross-government risk and lead or direct horizontal audits in large and small departments and agencies that address these government-wide risks.

2. We provide advice and assistance to departmental and agency Audit Committees. This includes: the recruitment, training and support to members of Audit Committees.

3. We support the audit community by providing guidance with respect to the implementation of the Policy on Internal Audit and monitor the performance of internal audit functions across the government. We also provide technical information, guidance and good practices materials which seek to strengthen the federal government internal audit community.

The Policy on internal audit

The Government of Canada's management regime is based on sound management practices, strong public service values and clear rules set out in legislation and Treasury Board policies.

The work by the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG) to strengthen financial management and internal audit practices supports effective and coherent decision-making, program development and implementation across government.

The Treasury Board's Policy on Internal Audit is pivotal to the government's efforts to improve and modernize its management practices. The Policy introduces a government-wide approach to the planning and implementation of internal audit activities. Implementation of the Policy will strengthen and further professionalize the internal audit function across the federal public service by doing the following:

reinforcing the independence and objectivity of the internal audit function;
increasing the numbers as well as the qualifications of professional internal auditors in the public sector; and
providing a clear, integrated division of responsibilities between the Comptroller General and the heads of departments and agencies.

What role does the Office of the Comptroller General play in Internal Audit?

The Office of the Comptroller General (OCG) provides leadership on internal audit across the federal government. Fostering innovation and excellence, the OCG strives to ensure that Canadian internal audit practices meet the highest international standards.

The activities of the OCG include the following:

providing policy instruments, innovative tools, and leading practices;
planning and leading horizontal audits across large and small departments and agencies;
strengthening the internal audit community through recruitment and training programs;
reporting to Treasury Board on the overall state of controls, management processes, and risk management across government; and
supporting the creation of independent Departmental Audit Committees.

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