Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Symbol of the Government of Canada

ARCHIVED - Treasury Board Submission Process Audit - September 2003


Warning This page has been archived.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.


2.0 Introduction

2 .1 Background1

The Treasury Board (The Board) is a statutory committee of Cabinet, established under the Financial Administration Act. It consists of six ministers, including the President of the Treasury Board (Chairperson) and the Minister of Finance. In June 1997, the Prime Minister designated the Treasury Board as the government's management board. In addition to the traditional roles of the Treasury Board and its Secretariat as employer and expenditure manager, the management board is also expected to have a comprehensive view of government operations and to provide sustained leadership in improving management practices.

The responsibilities of the Treasury Board include:

  • As expenditure manager, the Treasury Board is responsible for preparing the government's expenditure budget (the Estimates) that is tabled annually in Parliament, and for monitoring program spending in government departments.
  • As the employer, the Board sets the terms and conditions under which the federal public service attracts and retains the staff it needs. Furthermore, the Board is also responsible for the general direction of the federal policies and programs relating to implementation of the provisions on language of service to the public, language of work and the equitable participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians in all federal institutions.
  • As management board, the Treasury Board provides policy direction in such areas as access to information, accounting, audit and evaluation, contracting, financial management, information technology, real property, as well as on the management of the government's assets, privacy, security, and personnel management in the public service.

A Treasury Board Submission is an official document submitted by a minister on behalf of her or his department to seek approval or authority from Treasury Board ministers to carry out a proposal that otherwise the department would not be able to undertake, or would be outside its delegated authorities.

The recommendations and advice from the Secretariat on a particular submission are provided to the Treasury Board in documents referred to as précis.

Legislation, Treasury Board policies, or other Cabinet decisions usually establish the requirements for Treasury Board approval.

Typical examples include seeking Treasury Board authority to:

  • Allocate resources previously approved by Cabinet or included in the federal Budget;
  • Authorize or amend terms and conditions of programs governing grants or contributions;
  • Recommend approval of Orders in Council that have resource (e.g. cost recovery) or management implications;
  • Carry out a project or initiative, the costs of which would exceed a department's delegated authority;
  • Enter into a contract; and,
  • Obtain an exemption from Treasury Board policy.

A department may submit a proposal to the Board if it believes that the latter's collective judgement is necessary or desirable.

The table below shows the timelines and process for preparing a submission. Though the shortest possible time to process a submission from start to finish is approximately six weeks, most submissions require several more weeks in order to ensure content is finalized and issues resolved. Two to three months is the average processing time for a Submission. Some departments build in an additional month for submissions requiring inter-departmental consultation or sign-off.

Week

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

1

The Secretariat analyst receives draft #1 of Treasury Board submission from department

   

The Secretariat analyst provides comments to department

 

2

Meeting (if required) to discuss the Secretariat analyst's comments

 

The Secretariat analyst receives draft #2 of submission from department

   

3

The Secretariat analyst provides further comments to department

 

Meeting (if required) to discuss the Secretariat analyst's comments

   

Note: More time may be needed to revise the draft submission further.

4

Penultimate draft submission due to the Secretariat analyst

The Secretariat analyst drafts précis and recommendation

 

The Secretariat analyst's draft précis due to the Secretariat senior management

 

5

Submission signed by minister due in SCDC2 by noon

     

Briefing books to Treasury Board ministers

6

     

Treasury Board meeting

The Secretariat analyst informs departmental Corporate Services of Treasury Board decision

2.2 Audit Objectives

The objectives of the audit were to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the Treasury Board Submission process and identify areas of risk within the process for which controls should be in place. The audit included the following:

  • Assessing whether the Secretariat's processes are effective in assisting departments and other government agencies with the preparation of submissions.
  • Reviewing the existence and effectiveness of policies and controls in place to ensure appropriate, timely analysis and recommendations are made to the Board.
  • Assessing if resources appear to be adequate and effective in undertaking the Treasury Board Submission process.

2.3 Audit Scope

The scope of the audit included the Secretariat's processes supporting its role to assist departments with the preparation of their Submissions and the work done by TBS analysts to prepare the précis and Submission for presentation to Treasury Board. For purposes of the audit, the Treasury Board Submission process included all the activities performed by the Treasury Board Secretariat:

  • Prior to a formal submission being submitted by a department; and
  • Once a formal Treasury Board submission from a department has been received by the Secretariat.

This audit assessed whether controls were in place to ensure identified risks are addressed and that there is integrity throughout the entire process. It also assessed whether the Secretariat's processes are effective in assisting organizations with the preparation of submissions. Ministerial views on the quality of the advice and recommendations were not sought.

2.4 Audit Approach / Methodology

The following table provides a high level overview of the different activities that Ernst & Young undertook to conduct the internal audit of the Treasury Board Submission process.

Approach and Work plan

Activity 1: Perform preliminary planning for the audit

  • Review Treasury Board Submission Guide, and develop audit approach;
  • Review documentation from previous reviews related to the Treasury Board Submission process, policies, etc.;
  • Conduct kick off meeting with program teams;
  • Finalize the audit approach and schedule.

Activity 2: Obtain an overall understanding of the Process.

  • Map the submission process to confirm our understanding of the process and evaluate whether it serves as an effective vehicle for review of Treasury Board Submissions;
  • Review submission documentation to ensure documentation of key factors supporting the Secretariat's recommendations to the Board;
  • Select a sample of recent submissions representing the 15 types and various sectors and assess their compliance with the guidelines stipulated in the Treasury Board submission guide;
  • Interview a sample of Secretariat members to obtain their understanding of the current operations of the process and assess whether appropriate resources are available to meet the requirements of the process;
  • Interview selected representatives of management from organizations having recently submitted Submissions.

Activity 3: Identify and Assess Risks

  • Identify potential risk factors based on the above interviews and documentation reviews;
  • Perform an independent evaluation of the risk severity and risk probability of each of the risk factors identified above;
  • Review the risk mitigation actions identified by management and recommend additional actions where appropriate;
  • Confirm findings and observations.

Activity 4: Finalize and Report

  • Draft preliminary audit report and confirm findings;
  • Debrief project teams and management;
  • Prepare and present final report.