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I am pleased to present the 2011–12 Departmental Performance Report of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat in an electronic format. This marks a significant, innovative step in modernizing and rendering more accessible and efficient departmental reporting on performance.
In the past year, the Secretariat has played a leading role in advancing the transformation of government into a leaner and more efficient organization, with a focus on containing costs, modernizing processes through IT innovation and strengthening the approach to people management.
The Secretariat supported ministers in leading a comprehensive review of direct program spending across federal departments and agencies. The results, announced in Economic Action Plan 2012, have set the stage to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations and programs, as well as ensure value for taxpayers' money.
The Secretariat also made progress in enhancing productivity and in modernizing the way the government interacts with and serves Canadians and businesses. For example, we have been removing costly and unnecessary duplication and paperwork for business as part of the Government's ongoing efforts to reform Canada's regulatory system. We announced the "One-for-One" Rule which will reduce the time and resources businesses spend to comply with government regulations. It will do this by requiring regulators to offset an administrative burden of equal value each time they impose a new one. In addition, the Secretariat focused on expanding the number of datasets available on the government's Open Data portal and worked on making the site more accessible and usable for Canadians as part of the Open Government initiative. It also contributed to the creation of Shared Services Canada.
The Secretariat strengthened and updated the approach to people management across government to reflect current realities by issuing the new Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector, by meeting the government's commitment to bring public service compensation in line with private and other public sectors, and by continuing the implementation of a government-wide Common Human Resources Business Process. In addition, the Secretariat played an important role in supporting and advising deputy heads as they managed the impacts of fiscal restraint and prepared for workforce reductions.
These reforms, among many others, reflect a strong commitment to fundamentally change the role of the public service and how it serves citizens. I invite you to read this report to learn more about the progress that the Secretariat is making in supporting and driving this process of renewal based on a clear vision for the future.
Original signed by
The Honourable Tony Clement
President of the Treasury Board and Minister for FedNor
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (the Secretariat) is the administrative arm of the Treasury Board. It supports Treasury Board ministers and strengthens the way government is managed. In this way, the Secretariat helps ensure value for money in government spending and results for Canadians.
The Treasury Board is a Cabinet committee of ministers established in 1867. It oversees the government’s financial, human resources and administrative responsibilities, and establishes policies that govern each of these areas. In addition, the Prime Minister has designated the Treasury Board to act as the committee of the Queen’s Privy Council with respect to the consideration and approval of regulations and most orders-in-council. The Treasury Board, as the Management Board for the government, has three principle roles:
The Secretariat makes recommendations and supports the Treasury Board in each of its roles. It provides advice on policies, directives, regulations and program spending to promote sound management of government resources. The Secretariat also provides leadership and guidance on management functions within departments and agencies, while respecting the primary responsibility of deputy heads See footnote [1] in managing their organizations and their roles as accounting officers before Parliament.
Within the Secretariat, the Comptroller General of Canada provides government-wide leadership, direction, oversight and capacity building for financial management, internal audit and the management of acquired services and assets.
The Chief Human Resources Officer leads people management across the core public administration by developing workplace and workforce policies and programs; by centrally managing labour relations, compensation, and pension and benefit plans; and by developing executive leadership.
The Chief Information Officer provides government-wide leadership, direction, oversight and capacity building for information management (IM), information technology (IT), government security (including identity management), and access to information, privacy, and internal and external service delivery.
The Treasury Board Portfolio is made up of the Secretariat and the Canada School of Public Service. The Public Service Pension Investment Board, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada, and the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada are arm's-length organizations whose reports to Parliament are tabled by the President of the Treasury Board.
The Secretariat is guided by its vision statement, “Better government: with partners, for Canadians.” When working with federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations, the Secretariat plays three central agency roles:
In recent years, through legislation such as the Federal Accountability Act as well as through the renewal of the suite of Treasury Board policies, greater emphasis has been placed on the Secretariat's enabling role—helping deputy heads maximize their flexibility to achieve management excellence within their organizations.
The following diagram shows how the Secretariat works with organizations to fulfill its three central agency roles, and how it supports the Treasury Board.
Figure 1: How the Secretariat Works With Organizations
Figure 1: How the Secretariat Works with Organizations - Text version
The Secretariat's Program Alignment Architecture (PAA) is made up of six programs that contribute to the achievement of the Secretariat's Strategic Outcome. Detailed information about the Secretariat's Strategic Outcome and about each of the programs in the PAA can be found under Results and Performance.
In its 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities, the Secretariat established five organizational priorities that contribute to its Strategic Outcome, “Government is well managed and accountable, and resources are allocated to achieve results.”
The results achieved under each priority are briefly summarized in the following section. Further information on these results can be found in the Performance Highlights section for each of the Secretariat's programs under Results and Performance.
Throughout 2011–12, the Secretariat operated in a complex environment within the federal government that was characterized by significant, ongoing change.
The government continued to focus on securing Canada's recovery from the economic crisis, with the goal of returning to a balanced budget over the medium term. To this end, a review of departmental spending was announced as a key government-wide initiative, and departments and agencies shifted their focus to fiscal restraint as a means of helping to establish the conditions for sustainable economic growth.
The drive to reduce costs and improve efficiency presented opportunities to accelerate government modernization. Shared Services Canada was established with the mandate to streamline and reduce duplication in the government's internal information technology (IT) services for email, data centres and electronic networks. Efforts continued to standardize the government systems and processes underpinning human and financial management. The Open Government initiative advanced public access to government data and information.
Reducing red tape also remained a key focus in 2011–12. The Red Tape Reduction Commission completed its Recommendations Report to the government in January 2012. It recommended methods to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden on business while ensuring the continued protection of the health, safety and security of Canadians and their environment and the economy. Also, efforts continued to reduce red tape within government, with an emphasis on simplifying administrative processes.
The public sector's aging workforce, along with the need for fiscal restraint, continued to drive modernization of the government's approach to people management. For example, in an effort to ensure that total costs of compensation are reasonable, the government took measures to bring public service compensation in line with the private and other public sectors. Public Service Renewal, as championed by the Clerk of the Privy Council in the Nineteenth Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada, remained a priority, with a focus on engaging employees in the drive to excellence and in the renewal of the workforce and the workplace.
Type | Linked to |
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* Note: A review of departmental spending replaced the Strategic Review process, which was an annual cycle of spending reviews that had been initiated in 2007. |
|
Ongoing | Program 3: Expenditure Management and Financial Management |
The Secretariat followed through on plans identified in its 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities to support this priority. The Secretariat, for example:
Efforts in this area supported the government's plan to return to balanced budgets, with a focus on ensuring value for money in government programs, services and operations and on providing sound management and accountability for government resources. More details on related initiatives and results achieved in support of this priority can be found in the Results and Performance section of this report, under Program 3: Expenditure Management and Program 4: Financial Management. |
Type | Linked to |
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Ongoing | Management Frameworks, People Management and Financial Management |
The Secretariat moved forward on a number of plans identified in its 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities to support this priority. The Secretariat, for example:
In addition, the Secretariat made significant progress in advancing Open Government, including expanding the Open Data portal and supporting the government's participation in the international Open Government Partnership. It also mandated that institutions covered under the Access to Information Act publish monthly summaries of completed access to information requests. Results achieved in support of this priority are contributing to greater effectiveness and efficiency in government operations, administration and services. Also, Open Government is leading to greater accessibility and transparency. More details on related initiatives and results achieved in support of this priority can be found in the Results and Performance section of this report, under Program 1: Management Frameworks, Program 2: People Management and Program 4: Financial Management. |
Type | Linked to |
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Ongoing | People Management |
The Secretariat made significant progress on plans identified in its 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities to address this priority. The Secretariat, for example:
These activities contributed to a more modern approach to people management across the federal government, which will enable a higher-performing and more productive workforce. The Secretariat also devoted resources in 2011–12 to support departments and agencies in conducting their workforce planning and management activities as they prepared to implement the results of the departmental spending review (announced in Budget 2012) and the Administrative Services Review (announced in Budget 2011). More details on related initiatives and results achieved in support of this priority can be found in the Results and Performance section of this report, under Program 2: People Management. |
Type | Linked to |
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Ongoing | Internal Services |
The Secretariat made progress on plans identified in its 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in its internal operations. The Secretariat, for example:
Through its 2010 Strategic Review, the Secretariat identified $11.5 million in savings over three years and successfully met its savings target for 2011–12. The Secretariat continued to identify opportunities to further streamline its internal operations, which will lead to future cost savings. More details on related initiatives and results achieved in support of this priority can be found in the Results and Performance section of this report, under Program 6: Internal Services. |
Type | Linked to |
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Ongoing | Strategic Outcome (supported by all of the Secretariat's programs) |
Embedding the Secretariat's enabler role continued to be a priority. The Secretariat supported this priority through a series of initiatives identified in its 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities. The Secretariat, for example:
Work in this area strengthened the Secretariat's role as a strategic partner and trusted advisor, which is essential to delivering cost-containment objectives and sound management. It also enhanced the Secretariat's collaborative and inclusive approach in working with deputy heads and departments to advance government priorities, ensure the efficient management of their organizations, and reduce internal red tape and reporting burden. To that end, actions were also taken to further embed risk-based approaches to the Secretariat's central agency role, including its policy-making and challenge functions. More details on related initiatives and results achieved in support of this priority can be found in the Results and Performance section of this report, under Program 6: Internal Services. |
Each year, the Secretariat identifies key risks that could affect progress toward its Strategic Outcome. Key risks are captured in the Secretariat's corporate risk profile, which is updated at least once per year. In 2011–12, the Secretariat identified corporate risks, grouped into two categories: i) risks affecting the Secretariat's central agency functions; and ii) departmental risks related to its internal operations. Significant progress was made in mitigating these risks.
The Secretariat managed a risk that had to do with the possible effect of the number and range of cost-containment measures (e.g., operating budget freeze, Strategic Review savings) on government operations and the capacity of departments and agencies to manage. The Secretariat was effective in enabling the government's fiscal restraint objectives: it kept up regular dialogue with deputy heads to anticipate upcoming expenses and financial pressures; it ensured that resource management practices were consistent across government; and it also took part in active, ongoing dialogue with bargaining agents to promote effective management of government compensation. This risk was most relevant to the People Management and Program 3: Expenditure Management programs.
Substantial progress was also made in mitigating a risk that had to do with to a shift in the Secretariat's roles and responsibilities (toward an enabling role) and a corresponding shift for deputy heads (to clearer accountability for departmental management performance), as envisaged in the Federal Accountability Act. In recent years, 80 per cent of Treasury Board policies have been renewed to reflect this shift in responsibilities, work that was ongoing in 2011–12. The Secretariat also clarified expected results and provided deputy heads with flexibilities in managing people within their organizations while complying with Treasury Board policy requirements. It expanded its efforts to build capacity in communities of practice across government, such as human resources, information technology (IT) and finance. This risk was relevant to the Management Frameworks program.
During 2011–12, the Secretariat addressed risks that had to do with its aging IT infrastructure and the need to safeguard information against ever-changing security threats. A cyber attack in 2011 exposed the need to further strengthen the Secretariat's network. As a result, the Secretariat accelerated planned initiatives to enhance both physical and IT security measures to protect sensitive data and information. The Secretariat's data centre was moved to a more secure location, and disaster recovery measures were improved. The Secretariat also improved controlled security perimeters (e.g., enhanced firewalls, reduced access to certain work zones) and completed a departmental IT Disaster Recovery Plan, which is integrated with its Business Continuity Plan.
The Secretariat also addressed a risk related to its ability to respond to an emergency situation (e.g., natural disasters, infrastructure-related problems). Accomplishments in 2011–12 included completing emergency scenario walkthroughs with key internal stakeholders and senior management and increasing employee awareness of emergency management procedures through mandatory training. The Secretariat also reviewed and improved its emergency plans and procedures based on lessons learned during emergency test exercises and through government-wide best practices. Departmental risks are relevant to the Internal Services program.
Planned Spending | Total Authorities See 2011–12 Financial Resources note * | Actual Spending See 2011–12 Financial Resources note * |
---|---|---|
* Excludes amount deemed appropriated to Shared Services Canada. |
||
2,734,649 | 4,088,738 | 2,504,508 |
Most of the variance between planned spending and total authorities, and total authorities and actual spending, can be attributed to the requirement to report the central government-wide funds of $1.4 billion in total authorities (Votes 5, 10, 25, 30 and 33) See footnote [3], which are redistributed to other departments and agencies (i.e., not spent by the Secretariat, but by other departments). These funds remained unallocated at year-end under total authorities. The bulk of the remaining variance of approximately $230.1 million between planned and actual spending is largely due to a lapse in public service employer payments of $259 million offset by increased authorities of $29.2 million in Vote 1 operating expenditures.
Planned | Actual | Difference |
---|---|---|
2,216 | 2,121 | -95 |
Actual FTEs were fewer than planned largely due to the transfer of employees to Shared Services Canada and the implementation of the 2010 Strategic Review.
Program | 2010-11 Actual Spending ($ thousands) |
2011-12 ($ thousands) | Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Main Estimates |
Planned Spending |
Total Authorities |
Actual Spending |
|||
Note: Any minor differences are due to rounding. |
||||||
Management Frameworks | 65,382 | 65,547 | 73,043 | 80,628 | 72,944 | Well-managed and efficient government operations See footnote [4] |
People Management | 64,923 | 57,603 | 59,541 | 67,119 | 65,444 | |
Expenditure Management | 30,167 | 36,312 | 36,312 | 55,275 | 50,893 | |
Financial Management | 29,201 | 30,919 | 33,057 | 35,176 | 28,830 | |
Government-Wide Funds and Public Service Employer Payments | 1,968,478 | 5,610,736 | 2,452,225 | 3,756,958 | 2,192,869 | |
Total | 2,158,151 | 5,801,117 | 2,654,178 | 3,995,155 | 2,410,980 |
Program | 2010-11 Actual Spending ($ thousands) |
2011-12 ($ thousands) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Main Estimates |
Planned Spending |
Total Authorities See Internal Services Performance Summary note * |
Actual Spending See Internal Services Performance Summary note * |
||
* Excludes amount deemed appropriated to Shared Services Canada |
|||||
Internal Services | 95,829 | 77,001 | 80,471 | 95,583 | 93,528 |
This table provides a financial summary of all six programs for 2011–12. All of the planned and actual spending for the program Government-Wide Funds and Public Service Employer Payments is related to public service employer payments. Spending on government-wide funds was nil. An analysis of significant variances between planned spending, total authorities and actual spending is found under Results and Performance.
The Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) outlines the Government of Canada's commitment to improving the transparency of environmental decision making by articulating its key strategic environment goals and targets. The Secretariat ensures that consideration of these outcomes is an integral part of its decision-making processes. The Secretariat contributes to the following FSDS theme as denoted by the visual identifier and the associated program.
For further information on the Secretariat's activities to support sustainable development and strategic environmental assessments, please visit the Secretariat's website under Contributing to the Federal Sustainability Development Strategy. For complete information on the FSDS, please visit the Environment Canada website.
Figure 2: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat 2011–12 Actual Spending ($ millions)
Figure 2: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat 2011–12 Actual Spending - Text version
The Secretariat spent a total of $2.5 billion toward achieving its strategic outcome. Only 13 per cent of total spending represents expenditures for its operations. The remainder relates to funds for public service employer payments that the Secretariat manages centrally on the government's behalf.
Figure 3: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Public Service Employer Payments 2011–12 Vote 20 Actual Spending ($ millions)
Total spending on public service employer payments was $2.187 billion in 2011–12. Actual spending includes payments under 16 public service benefit plans and associated expenditures that include the Public Service Health Care Plan, the Public Service and the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan, provincial health insurance plans and payroll taxes. The preceding chart excludes $6.0 million in statutory payments.
Figure 4: Spending Trend for Program Expenditures
Figure 4: Spending Trend for Program Expenditures - Text version
Program expenditures includes Vote 1 for salaries, contributions and costs that support the operations of the Secretariat as well as the statutory items for contributions to employee benefit plans in respect of its own employees, and the salary and motor car allowance for the President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario.
Actual spending for all programs that comprise Vote 1 increased from 2008–09 to 2009–10 by approximately $68 million in total, due to the creation of the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer and increases in collective agreement rates of pay for the Secretariat's employees.
The Secretariat's actual spending increased from 2009–10 to 2010–11 by approximately $12 million, largely due to the following:
The Secretariat's net actual spending increased from 2010–11 to 2011–12 by approximately $26 million largely due to the one-time disbursement of severance cash-outs by employees, pursuant to collective agreements that eliminate future severance pay accumulation ($21 million), and to an increase to cover professional services with external experts to support the review of departmental spending ($15 million). These increases are offset by decreases in funding due to the following:
The Secretariat's planned spending will decrease by almost $48.7 million (net) in 2012–13, when compared with the actual spending in 2011–12, due to the following:
Planned spending will be further decreased by the implementation of the Budget 2012 Economic Action Plan.
The Secretariat's planned spending will decrease by approximately $22.4 million (net) between 2012–13 and 2014–15 due to the 2010 Strategic Review, cost-containment measures announced in previous federal budgets, the Budget 2012 Economic Action Plan, the transfer to support SSC, and the sunsetting of funds for various initiatives within the Secretariat.
Figure 5: Spending Trend for Public Service Employer Payments and Various Statutory Items
The bulk of the amounts presented in the preceding graph relates to the trend of expenditures in public service insurance, which include the payment of the employer's share of contributions required under the various insurance plans sponsored by the Government of Canada, and employment insurance and other related expenses. These amounts also include statutory items for payments under the Public Service Pension Adjustment Act and pay equity settlements, pursuant to section 30 of the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act, and unallocated employer contributions made under the PSSA and other retirement acts and the Employment Insurance Act.
After adjusting for a reversal of charges for 2009–10 of approximately $62 million (refer to the Supplementary Information table Non-Respendable Revenue), the net public service employer payments decreased by approximately $38 million from 2009–10 to 2010–11, largely due to the premium holidays under Disability Insurance and reduced provincial payroll taxes incurred.
Net public service employer payments increased by approximately $224 million from 2010–11 to 2011–12 as a result of a one-time lump sum payment for improvement of long term disability benefits provided under the Service Income Security Insurance Plan for Regular Forces and Primary Reserve Forces and increased payments under the Public Service Health Care Plan, the Public Service Dental Care Plan, the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan, Disability Insurance and payroll taxes. These increases were offset by the transfer of the management of pension, insurance and social security programs for locally engaged staff to Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and to National Defence.
For information on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's organizational Votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the Public Accounts of Canada 2012 (Volume II) publication.
The results achieved in support of the Secretariat's Strategic Outcome strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the federal government; support decision making by Parliament, Treasury Board and Cabinet; and ensure that Canadians are well served by a government that is accountable and transparent. Effective government contributes to Canada's competitive advantage, providing a strong foundation for security, stability and prosperity.
The following links connect to performance summaries for each of the Secretariat's programs that report progress against their expected results, performance indicators and targets in line with the Policy on Management, Resources and Results Structures. Financial and human resources for each program, as well as performance highlights for 2011–12, are also found here.
Planned Spending | Total Authorities See 2011–12 Financial Resources for Strategic Outcome 1 note * | Actual Spending See 2011–12 Financial Resources for Strategic Outcome 1 note * |
---|---|---|
* Excludes amount deemed appropriated to Shared Services Canada. |
||
2,734,649 | 4,088,738 | 2,504,508 |
Most of the variance between planned spending and total authorities, and total authorities and actual spending, can be attributed to the requirement to report the central government-wide funds of $1.4 billion in total authorities (Votes 5, 10, 25, 30 and 33) See footnote [5], which are redistributed to other departments and agencies (i.e. not spent by the Secretariat, but by other departments). These funds remained unallocated at year-end under total authorities. The bulk of the remaining variance of approximately $230.1 million between planned and actual spending is largely due to a lapse/transfer in public service employer payments of $259 million offset by increased authorities of $29.2 million in Vote 1 operating expenditures.
Planned | Actual | Difference |
---|---|---|
2,216 | 2,121 | -95 |
Actual FTEs were fewer than planned largely due to the transfer of employees to Shared Services Canada and the implementation of the 2010 Strategic Review.
Performance Indicators |
Targets | 2011–12 Actual Performance |
---|---|---|
Canada's ranking in The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators for indicator three, “Government Effectiveness.” | Top ten among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries (annually). | The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators rank Canada sixth among OECD countries for government effectiveness. |
The World Bank's Government Effectiveness Index (GEI) is one of six indexes included in the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators, which are issued annually. In 2011, Canada ranked 6th out of 34 OECD countries. The GEI captures perceptions of the quality of public services; the quality of the civil service and the degree of its independence from political pressures; and the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the government's commitment to such policies.
The Management Frameworks program establishes guiding principles and expectations for public sector management. It includes setting government-wide policy directions in targeted areas such as governance, regulatory management, the Management Accountability Framework (MAF), service, information management and technology. Working with all federal organizations, the Secretariat provides leadership, challenge, and a community enablement function in areas related to policy development, compliance, performance reporting, and functional community development. This work includes new and emerging issues and priorities related to the management of the public service, and promoting a cultural shift in how government deals with risk and innovation. In turn, this work informs the policies in the Expenditure, Financial, and People Management programs. This program is underpinned by a broad set of enabling legislation, including the Financial Administration Act.
Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
---|---|---|
73,043 | 80,628 | 72,944 |
The net increase of approximately $7.6 million between planned spending and total authorities can be attributed to the funds provided for paylist requirements (i.e., paylist requirements related to parental benefits, severance and other allowances), initiatives to modernize human resources systems government-wide, one-time severance payouts stemming from new collective agreement provisions, and the operating budget carry-forward (OBCF), less reductions from the implementation of the 2010 Strategic Review. Actual spending was less than total authorities by almost $7.7 million due to timing differences on projects and a general slowdown of spending in advance of Budget 2012. The 2010 Strategic Review also accounts for the majority of the FTE variance shown below.
Planned | Actual | Difference |
---|---|---|
533 | 505 | -28 |
Expected Results |
Performance Indicators |
Targets | Actual Results |
---|---|---|---|
Continuous improvement in the quality of public service management in the Government of Canada. | Averaged percentage improvement in overall MAF scores across departments and agencies for identified areas of weakness from previous round. | 5% | 18% |
The Secretariat exceeded its target for the Management Frameworks program. Between the 2010–11 and 2011–12 rounds of MAF assessments, departments and agencies improved by 18 per cent in the areas of weakness that had been identified.
During 2011–12, the Secretariat supported the government's efforts to consolidate services and standardize government business processes through a number of initiatives. The Secretariat, for example:
The Secretariat led initiatives to reduce administrative and rules burden across the government. The Secretariat, for example:
The Secretariat advanced the federal regulatory agenda by actively supporting the work of the Red Tape Reduction Commission (RTRC). In 2011, the RTRC secretariat held an extensive engagement process to identify irritants to business that stem from federal regulatory requirements. This engagement process included 15 round table sessions in 13 cities. It attracted nearly 200 participants and resulted in the identification of roughly 2,000 irritants. Given the diverse nature of the irritants registered, the “What Was Heard” Report was released in September 2011 with the objective to group these irritants into themes to ultimately provide the government with solutions. To fulfill this objective, the RTRC released its Recommendations Report in January 2012. This report presents 15 systemic recommendations and 90 department-specific recommendations to address red tape. The government received the report and immediately announced that it was moving forward with one of the Commission's key recommendations, namely, to implement a “One-for-One” rule. This rule will reduce regulatory administrative burden on business in two ways:
The Secretariat supported capacity building across government in a number of key areas. The Secretariat, for example:
Through a number of key initiatives, the Secretariat made progress on a government-wide approach to information management and information technology (IM/IT) that is more strategic and cost-effective. The Secretariat, for example:
The Secretariat advanced work on the Policy on Managing Procurement and related directives on Crown procurement contracting, contracting approval, and limiting contractor liability. These initiatives will improve accountability, encourage management efficiency and help government achieve its policy outcomes. At the same time, they will ensure that the procurement process is fair, open and transparent. The Secretariat is developing plans and related guidance to assist departments See footnote [7] with their implementation efforts.
The Secretariat led initiatives to improve government transparency and accessibility through Open Government, which includes three streams: Open Data, Open Information, and Open Dialogue. The Secretariat, for example:
Across the government, the management of IT has been largely centred in “silos” or stand-alone systems within departments and agencies. While this has ensured the alignment of IT services with the mandate of each organization, it has also resulted in significant duplication or customization, costs, and an inability to take advantage of commoditized services. In order to achieve efficiencies moving forward, IT systems across departments and agencies need to be standardized and consolidated, and collaborative solutions that allow for increased information exchange must be created. To enable this change, the Secretariat will focus on developing a government-wide IT strategy and on renewing the current IT policy suite. This exercise will reorient IT policy instruments to support an enterprise model for common back-office applications and related services.
The People Management program supports efforts across the federal public service to achieve strong leadership and a well-managed workforce and workplace. These elements provide the foundation that drives employee engagement and a culture of excellence, leading to high-quality policies, programs and services and a sustained and productive public service. In certain instances this program includes efforts that extend beyond the core public administration to separate employers and Crown corporations. This program undertakes direction-setting activities that include: developing and implementing people management–related frameworks and policies; setting and monitoring departmental people management performance expectations; conducting research and analysis regarding the state of people management; and supporting the effective management of the leadership cadre. The program also provides public service–wide leadership on managing compensation, which it shares with the Expenditure Management program. This includes: collective bargaining and associated labour relations, and establishing and maintaining the public service pension and benefits regime. The People Management program supports enabling infrastructure including the human resources functional community and the underlying business processes and systems, and is underpinned by legislation that includes: the Financial Administration Act; Public Service Employment Act; Public Service Labour Relations Act; Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act; Official Languages Act; and Employment Equity Act.
Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
---|---|---|
59,541 | 67,119 | 65,444 |
The net increase of approximately $7.6 million between planned spending and total authorities can be attributed to funding provided for paylist requirements and the OBCF. Actual spending was almost $1.7 million less than total authorities due to funds not required for the implementation of the Public Service Equitable Compensation Act (PSECA), litigation for challenges to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and delayed staffing.
Planned | Actual | Difference |
---|---|---|
490 | 474 | -16 |
Expected Results |
Performance Indicators |
Targets | Actual Results |
---|---|---|---|
A federal public service characterized by a culture of excellence and highly engaged employees through strong leadership and a well-managed workforce and workplace. | Improvement in the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) in the areas of engagement and culture of excellence. | Improvement in survey results (ongoing). |
Survey results improved by 0.9 points (from an average public service–wide score of 74.7 in 2008 to 75.6 in 2011) on a 100-point scale. Due to changes in the 2011–12 MAF rating scale for the two administrative data measures for retention (a component of employee engagement), we are unable to compare results at this time. |
Improved people management performance across the federal government. | Percentage (%) of departments and agencies demonstrating year-over-year improvement in Area of Management (AoM) 10, people management, as assessed through the MAF. |
25.0% Target is based on 2010–11 MAF scores as benchmarks. |
25.6% Of the 39 organizations assessed, 10 saw an increase in their overall score for people management from the previous MAF round. |
Public service–wide performance indicators for employee engagement and culture of excellence are derived from the results of the 2008 and 2011 PSES by comparing the average scores of identified responses. The actual scores for these two indicators show an overall performance increase of 0.9 points and include the following:
The response rate for the PSES is noteworthy:
People management performance across the public service improved above the targeted measure. Of the 39 departments and agencies assessed, 10 achieved improvements. In addition, almost all of the assessed departments and agencies had an “acceptable” or “strong” rating for values and ethics in the area of culture of excellence (i.e., 85.4 per cent scored “acceptable,” and 12.2 per cent achieved a “strong” rating).
To support deputy heads across government in managing the impacts of fiscal restraint, the Secretariat undertook the following initiatives:
The Secretariat continued to consult and draft renewed policy instruments to support deputy head accountability and effective management. The Secretariat, for example:
Work continued on improvements to additional Treasury Board policies to reflect and enhance deputy head accountability for the management of their people resources, including workplace, workforce and official languages policies.
The Common Human Resources Business Process (CHRBP) is now the standard for the delivery of human resources services across the Government of Canada. In its role of custodian of the CHRBP, the Secretariat led and facilitated the development and roll-out of this standard and provided support to departments and agencies. The Secretariat undertook the following initiatives to contribute to the ultimate goal of departments fully implementing the CHRBP by March 31, 2014:
The CHRBP is the foundation on which new investments in HR systems will be built.
The Secretariat achieved several milestones in the management of total compensation and in the modernization of the federal public sector pension plans. The Secretariat, for example:
Over the past three years, the Secretariat has focused on designing a more effective and sustainable disability management regime for the federal public service that promotes employee health and wellness. This initiative was advanced in 2011–12 in a number of ways. The Secretariat, for example:
Work on public service–wide strategies, policies and programs regarding employee wellness and productivity is ongoing.
Significant progress was made on developing regulations for the coming into force of the PSECA to position the government to implement a modernized equitable compensation system in the federal public sector. This is a complex undertaking involving many stakeholders, including the Treasury Board, separate agencies, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Forces, bargaining agents, the HR community, federal public sector employees and executives, and the general public. During 2012, all stakeholders are being consulted on the proposed policy directions for the regulations, and the regulations will be made in 2013.
The Report of the Review of the “Public Service Modernization Act” was tabled in Parliament in December 2011. The report concluded that the Public Service Employment Act and the Public Service Labour Relations Act have been technically implemented and that the legislation offers an adequate framework to transform the way that the government hires, manages and supports its employees. The Report recommended that senior public service leaders focus on modernizing staffing, improving learning opportunities, fostering collaborative labour relations, and clarifying managerial roles and accountability. The report also recommended that public service leaders focus on driving behavioural changes needed to modernize the public service.
Many such initiatives were already occurring, and the following accomplishments addressed the results of the PSMA review. The Secretariat, for example:
The Secretariat streamlined departmental and agency reporting to Parliament in 2011–12 by simplifying the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act and the reports on employment equity.
To address duplication in annual reporting, the Secretariat's Official Languages Centre of Excellence, in collaboration with Canadian Heritage, launched a streamlined and coordinated data and information collection process. Institutions subject to the Official Languages Act were asked to fill out a joint questionnaire, thereby helping to reduce reporting burden.
During 2011–12, systems adjustments were made to introduce the public service–wide budget module for the Performance Management Program for Executives to the existing Executive Talent Management System in order to capture reporting on the new collective corporate commitment required of all executives as of June 2011. The result was improved calculation and reduced reporting burden in reflecting the distinction between collective and individual at-risk pay. In addition, the Secretariat identified opportunities to adjust pensioner contribution rates more regularly.
As part of the new approach to people management, the Secretariat is learning that a close link is needed between HR business owners and those responsible for IT in order to ensure a strong alignment between business processes and IT applications. This will require greater collaboration and integrated approaches to governance between the Secretariat's Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer and the Chief Information Officer Branch.
The Expenditure Management program helps ensure alignment of resources to achieve government priorities in a way that maximizes value for money and provides a whole-of-government perspective on matters related to direct program spending. Working with all federal organizations that are subject to budget appropriation, this program undertakes the review, analysis, and challenge of plans and proposals involving departmental spending, expenditure forecasting and strategies, compensation management, and results-based management. This work, as well as the production of government Estimates documents and reporting to Parliament, is facilitated by the Expenditure Management Information System. This program forms part of the Expenditure Management System, the framework for the development and implementation of the government's spending plans and priorities within the limits established by the Budget, which is implemented in coordination with the Department of Finance Canada and the Privy Council Office. The primary piece of legislation underpinning the program's activities is the Financial Administration Act.
Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
---|---|---|
36,312 | 55,275 | 50,893 |
Most of the net increase of almost $19.0 million between planned spending and total authorities can be attributed to funding for paylist requirements and the OBCF, and funding provided for the services of external experts to support the review of departmental spending. Actual spending was less than total authorities by almost $4.4 million because expenditures for services of external experts were less than anticipated and because of the timing of the projects.
Planned | Actual | Difference |
---|---|---|
301 | 255 | -46 |
Expected Results |
Performance Indicators See Program 3: Performance Summary note * |
Targets | Actual Results |
---|---|---|---|
* In Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome of the 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities, the Secretariat reported different indicators for Program 3. The Secretariat has revised the indicators in its endeavour to effectively report on results. The alternative indicators that appear in the above table continue to evolve in order to create stability and alignment against the expected results of the program. |
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Sound analysis of financial information to support decision making on allocating funds to achieve priorities and provide value for money for program expenditures. | Percentage of Treasury Board submissions on new and renewed spending that use Management, Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) results (i.e., performance information) and evaluation data. | 80% | Out of the Treasury Board submissions that were reviewed, 69% used MRRS results data, and 53% used evaluation data. |
Percentage of departments that attain a minimum acceptable rating for use of MRRS results information and evaluation data. | 50% |
Out of the large departments that were assessed through MAF, 90% attained a rating of at least “acceptable” in the use of evaluation information. Out of the departments that were assessed through MAF, 44% attained a rating of at least “acceptable” in the use of MRRS results information. |
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Percentage of direct program spending assessed by departments and agencies undertaking the departmental spending reviews. | 100% | 100% |
The overall use of evaluation and MRRS (i.e., performance) information to support decision making has been improving, as indicated through the departmental MAF assessments. The usage of results-based information and evaluation in decision-making documents such as Treasury Board submissions is improving but slightly below targets. This result, however, is based on a small sample of departments and review of a limited number of Treasury Board submissions. Therefore, this result is not a good indicator for how the whole public service was able to provide credible support to decision makers through Treasury Board Submissions. The Secretariat will continue to work with departments to further improve beyond current levels of performance and accurately demonstrate performance results for this indicator.
The Secretariat supported departments and a committee of Ministers to undertake a comprehensive review of direct program spending, the results of which were reported in Budget 2012. The Secretariat also continued its ongoing monitoring and reporting of the cost-containment initiatives announced in Budget 2010. These initiatives included the three-year operating budget freeze and the results of Strategic Reviews.
Throughout the year, departmental senior officials received guidance from the Secretariat as they prepared Estimates documents to be presented before Parliament for authority to spend public funds. The Secretariat also provided information and advice to Treasury Board ministers and parliamentary committees.
Parliament dissolved on March 26, 2011, for the purposes of a general election without having voted on supply for 2011–12. The Secretariat led the process for Governor General Special Warrants. The Secretariat worked with all appropriated organizations to, for example:
Two Governor General Special Warrants were issued: April 1 to May 15, 2011, for $13.4 billion and May 16 to June 29, 2011, for $11.1 billion, totalling $24.5 billion.
Based on the results of an earlier study, the Secretariat concluded that Treasury Board submissions could be improved through greater use of performance and evaluation information. The Secretariat worked with organizations to raise awareness about the kind of performance information that should be made available for reporting and decision making, and outreach has been extensive to assist them in defining useful data. The Secretariat anticipates that the expected release of the revised Treasury Board submission guide in 2012–13, as well as further outreach activities, will contribute to an increase in the use of performance and evaluation information in Treasury Board submissions.
In the area of compensation expenditure management, the Secretariat introduced an audit framework as part of the modernization of the Public Service Health Care Plan that will lead to more effective plan management through enhanced oversight. This could result in recoveries of overpayments and will ensure value for money by protecting the plan from inappropriate billing practices. An enhanced audit program will ensure that adequate controls are present and will assist in the overall sustainability of the plans.
In 2011–12, an Audit of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Management Control Framework of the Public Service Pension Plan was completed. It concluded that the management control framework that is currently in place is effective and serves to ensure that legislative and policy requirements for the Public Service Pension Plan are being met.
In 2011, the Interim Auditor General noted in his observations regarding the Public Accounts of Canada that current Treasury Board guidance concerning capital votes was dated, because “it allows departments to broadly interpret which capital expenditures may be charged to an operating vote rather than a capital vote,” and that this had led to inconsistencies. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts recommended in its 2011 report that the Secretariat review and update its guidance on these matters in time for the preparation of the 2013–14 Estimates. The Secretariat agreed with this observation, and has worked with organizations to develop a common definition of the items to be charged to a capital vote. Organizations are developing implementation plans and will be phasing in the new definition over three Estimates cycles, beginning with the 2013–14 Estimates.
The Financial Management program promotes good financial management practices across government to ensure financial activities are carried out effectively and efficiently. Working with all federal organizations, the Secretariat delivers on this role by:
Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
---|---|---|
33,057 | 35,176 | 28,830 |
The net increase of approximately $2.1 million between planned spending and total authorities can be attributed to funding provided for paylist requirements, the OBCF, reductions from the implementation of the 2010 Strategic Review and transfers to other government departments for the implementation of the Departmental Audit Software Initiative (DASI). Actual spending was less than total authorities by approximately $6.3 million due largely to contracting delays with respect to DASI, the implementation of the 2010 Strategic Review and the cancellation of agreements due to the wind-down of Consulting and Audit Services at Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Planned | Actual | Difference |
---|---|---|
183 | 168 | -15 |
Expected Results |
Performance Indicators |
Targets | Actual Results |
---|---|---|---|
Effective financial management function in the Government of Canada. | Improving content and timeliness of public financial reporting (data source: Public Accounts). | Clean audit opinion from the Auditor General (annually). | Clean audit opinion received. |
Effective internal audit function in the Government of Canada. | Percentage (%) of planned risk-based horizontal audits conducted in large and small departments and agencies. | 80% annually. | Overall completion to date: 95%. |
In order to strengthen the internal audit function and professional internal audit practices, the Policy on Internal Audit and the Directive on Internal Auditing in the Government of Canada were revised, effective April 1, 2012. Revisions are intended to achieve the following:
Moving forward, the Secretariat will use the MAF process to monitor and assess the implementation of the policy.
To ensure that deputy heads receive consistent financial information, the Secretariat undertook a number of initiatives during 2011–12. The Secretariat, for example:
As the MAF assessments demonstrated, reliable and timely financial information was made available to users of the reports, in compliance with the standards. The Parliamentary Budget Officer concluded in the January 2012 report Interim Financial Reporting: Second Quarter Update that the quality and consistency of organizations' quarterly financial reports has continued to improve. The report further stated that, in general, these documents are a good source of data and information for parliamentarians.
The Secretariat assisted the government in moving toward a standardized financial management structure and in improving the transparency, accountability and timeliness of financial information. To this effect the Secretariat, for example:
To enhance the effectiveness and strength of financial management across government, the Secretariat continued to enable the implementation of the suite of foundational financial management policies, with particular focus on the Policy on Internal Control:
Since the Policy on Internal Control was implemented in 2009–10, departments have made significant progress in assessing the effectiveness of their controls. For example, less than 60 per cent of the largest departments had started the most advanced level of effectiveness testing of some or all of their controls by the fall of 2010. A year later, over 80 per cent of these departments were at this level of progress.
Through the implementation of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) model under the Policy on Financial Management Governance, the financial management community has been seeking to clarify the role and attestations of CFOs with regard to Memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board submissions. In response, the Secretariat, through the Office of the Comptroller General, has developed a guideline that will set the framework for the CFO's due diligence, including a mechanism to communicate the CFO's conclusions to decision makers. It is expected to be in place in 2012–13.
The Government-Wide Funds and Public Service Employer Payments program accounts for funds that are held centrally to supplement other appropriations, from which payments and receipts are made on behalf of other federal organizations. These funds supplement the standard appropriations process and meet certain responsibilities of the Secretariat as the employer of the federal public service. The administration of these funds falls under the Expenditure Management and People Management programs, but their financial resources are shown separately in the Program Alignment Architecture for visibility and reporting purposes. Related information on planned spending is presented as online supplementary information under Financial Highlights and Statements.
Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
---|---|---|
2,452,225 | 3,756,958 | 2,192,869 |
This program involves the Secretariat's administration of centrally managed government-wide funds on behalf of other departments and agencies. Planned spending includes $2.4 billion for public service employer payments and $20 thousand for payments under the Public Service Pension Adjustment Act (PSPA). Total authorities include $2.4 billion for public service employer payments and $1.4 billion in residual authorities for Votes 5, 10, 25, 30 and 33 See footnote [8], which are redistributed to other departments and agencies (i.e. not spent by the Secretariat, but by other departments).This is the reason for the difference between planned spending and authorities. Actual spending includes $2.2 billion for public service employer payments and statutory payments for PSPA, pay equity settlements and employer contributions made under the Public Service Superannuation Act and other retirement acts, and the Employment Insurance Act.
Planned | Actual | Difference |
---|---|---|
0 | 0 | 0 |
Expected Results |
Performance Indicators |
Targets | Actual Results |
---|---|---|---|
Payments and receipts, held centrally by the Secretariat, are made on behalf of other federal government departments and agencies in an administratively sound and efficient manner. | Payments are made appropriately and on time. | Payments made as required (end of fiscal year 2011–12). | Allocations from central votes were made as appropriate. |
Regarding public service employer payments, this past year the Secretariat continued to build on its internal processes for preparing expenditures and revenue forecasts for the public service group insurance and benefit plans (i.e., the Public Service Health Care Plan). This work has culminated in a comprehensive forecasting framework that fully documents the methodologies and assumptions applied when preparing these forecasts. Understanding how these forecasts are prepared is important because they serve as the basis for seeking adjustments to the Secretariat's appropriations under Vote 20 (Public Service Insurance).
Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are:
Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not those provided specifically to a program.
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (Secretariat) participates in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy and contributes to its Greening Government Operations targets through the Internal Services program. The Secretariat contributes to the following target areas of Theme IV: “Shrinking the Environmental Footprint – Beginning with Government”: electronic waste, managed printing devices, paper consumption, green meetings, and green procurement. For additional details on the Secretariat's activities in this area, please refer to the supplementary information in Greening Government Operations.
Expected results are not required for internal services under the Policy on Management, Resources and Results Structures. However, the Secretariat identified key initiatives that support the Internal Services program to ensure that resource management, governance and management support, and asset management are effectively aligned to priorities and programs.
Planned Spending | Total Authorities See 2011–12 Financial Resources for Internal Services note * | Actual Spending See 2011–12 Financial Resources for Internal Services note * |
---|---|---|
* Excludes amount deemed appropriated to Shared Services Canada |
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80,471 | 93,583 | 93,528 |
The net increase of approximately $13.1 million between planned spending and total authorities can be attributed to the sum of funding for litigation support, paylist requirements, the Secretariat's workspace renewal and network separation projects, the cyber security strategy, centralization of the management of second language training, software licence renewal and the operating budget carry-forward, less reductions due to the implementation of the 2010 Strategic Review. The variance between total authorities and actual spending is negligible.
Planned | Actual | Difference |
---|---|---|
709 | 720 | 11 |
In 2011–12, the Secretariat began the implementation of the 2010 Strategic Review while developing additional cost-reduction strategies as part of the review of departmental spending. Efforts to drive efficiencies will continue and will build on initiatives that were undertaken in 2011–12.
The Secretariat, for example:
Efforts and resources to support this management priority are reflected in many of the Secretariat's programs, including Management Frameworks, People Management, Expenditure Management and Financial Management.
The Secretariat, for example:
The Secretariat, for example:
Further details on how the Secretariat supported communities across the government are reflected in the Management Frameworks, People Management, Expenditure Management and Financial Management programs.
Business and workflow processes need to be changed in order to sustain newly implemented efficiency measures. IM practices play an integral role in transforming these processes. Through internal consultations, the Secretariat identified areas in IM that require improvement and outlined actions to address these areas in an IM roadmap implementation plan. The plan has been developed, and steps are underway to ensure that performance objectives, metrics and targets are in line with Secretariat needs. A phased implementation has already begun, which first focuses on updating technology tools and then supports employees through changes to IM processes.
Impacts on Financial and Human Resources Resulting from the Establishment of Shared Services Canada
Planned Spending See Changes to Government Structure - Internal Service note 1 1 | Total Authorities See Changes to Government Structure - Internal Service note 2 2 See Changes to Government Structure - Internal Service note 3 * | |
---|---|---|
* Pursuant to section 31.1 of the Financial Administration Act and Orders-in-Council P.C. 2011-0881, P.C. 2011-0877 and P.C. 2011-1297, this amount was deemed to have been appropriated to SSC, which resulted in a reduction in the appropriation for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. ** Total authorities, as presented in the 2011–12 Financial Resources table (and other relevant tables) in the Summary of Performance section, is the net of any transfers to SSC. Actual spending does not include expenditures incurred on behalf of SSC as of the order-in-council date. 1 No planned spending was reported in the 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities because SSC came into existence in November 2011. 2 Total authorities include the Employee Benefit Plan and are net of revenues. |
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Net transfer post Orders in Council (OIC) See Changes to Government Structure - Internal Service note 4 ** to Shared Services Canada (SSC) | N/A | 3,932 |
Planned | Actual | |
---|---|---|
Deemed to Shared Services Canada | N/A | 15 |
The financial highlights presented in this section are drawn from the Secretariat's financial statements. These financial statements have been prepared using Government of Canada accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards.
The Secretariat's assets consist mainly of accounts receivables from other government departments and agencies, whereas its liabilities are mainly for accounts payable to these government organizations, as well as for payables related to the employer's share of public service insurance. Expenses include $2.1 billion for government-wide programs such as the employer's share of the Public Service Health Care Plan, the Public Service Dental Care Plan, and other insurance and pension programs. Revenues of $12 million consist mainly of government-wide parking revenues, internal support services and recovery of pension administration costs.
Change % | 2011-12 | 2010-11 | |
---|---|---|---|
Total net liabilities | -18.5% | 471,316 | 578,466 |
Total net financial assets | -31.2% | 330,203 | 480,235 |
Departmental net debt | +43.7% | 141,113 | 98,231 |
Total non-financial assets | -42.3% | 8,826 | 15,300 |
Departmental net financial position | +59.5% | (132,287) | (82,931) |
The decrease in total liabilities of $107 million is mostly attributable to a decrease in accounts payable outstanding as at March 31 to external parties for the Public Service Health Care Plan, the Public Service Dental Care Plan, the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan and year-end adjustments for other government departments' share of employee benefit plans.
The decrease of $150 million in net financial assets is related to a decrease in receivables. Almost all of the decrease in receivables is related to year-end adjustments for other government departments' share of employee benefit plans. Most of these receivables from other government departments are cleared within the first two months of the new fiscal year.
Departmental net debt, calculated as the difference between total liabilities less net financial assets, has increased by $42 million compared to the previous year. The net debt indicator represents future revenue requirements to pay for past transactions and events, and is one indicator of a department's financial position. The change in the net debt indicator relates to departmental spending that was in excess of departmental revenues (appropriations received) during the 2011–12 fiscal year. Net debt will fluctuate from year to year in accordance with the level and timing of both departmental spending and revenues received through appropriations.
Total non-financial assets have decreased by $6 million mainly because of the transfer of tangible capital assets to Shared Services Canada.
The overall changes in assets and liabilities are reflected in the departmental net financial position.
Change % | 2011-12 | 2010-11 | |
---|---|---|---|
Total expenses | +8.0% | 2,469,452 | 2,286,344 |
Total revenues | -27.8% | 12,801 | 17,733 |
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers | +8.3% | 2,456,651 | 2,268,611 |
Departmental net financial position | +59.5% | (132,287) | (82,931) |
The increase in total expenses of $183 million is attributable mostly to increases in costs for the various health, dental and insurance plans, and related provincial health care premiums and taxes. Although these expenses are for public servants across all departments and agencies, the costs are recorded by the Secretariat.
The decrease in total revenues of $5 million is due to a decrease in government-wide parking fees and a decrease in revenues from Internal Support Services. Effective April 1, 2011, Public Works and Government Services Canada no longer has the responsibility of providing parking at some locations across the country. Instead, employees make their own arrangements with private sector companies. The change to the policy is being implemented on a site-by-site basis and, therefore, the parking revenue is expected to continue to decline gradually over the next few years. The decline in revenue attributable to Internal Support Services is mainly related to the transition of the Secretariat's Information Management and Technology Directorate from a shared services model to a dedicated model.
The overall changes in expenses and revenues are reflected in the net cost of operations and in the departmental net financial position.
See the complete Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Financial Statements for the Year Ended March 31, 2012, which include the Statement of Management Responsibility Including Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and its Annex for fiscal year 2011–12, at their designated page on the Secretariat's website.
The following outlines the Secretariat’s targets and implementation strategies to meet federal targets identified in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) under Goal 8: Greening Government Operations (GGO). The targets that are relevant to the Secretariat’s operations relate to the areas of electronic waste (8.6), printing units (8.7), paper consumption (8.8), green meetings (8.9), and green procurement (8.10 and 8.11). For more information on the GGO targets, visit the Environment Canada website.
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR | |
---|---|---|---|
Target Status | Achieved | ||
Existence of implementation plan for the disposal of all departmentally-generated EEE. (Optional in RPP 2011–12) | Yes, completed December 2011 | Yes, completed December 2011 | |
Total number of departmental locations with EEE implementation plan fully implemented, expressed as a percentage of all locations, by the end of the given fiscal year. | FY 2011–12 | 100% | 100% |
FY 2012–13 | 100% | ||
FY 2013–14 | 100% |
Strategies / Comments
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR | |
---|---|---|---|
Target Status | On Track | ||
Ratio of departmental office employees to printing units in fiscal year (FY) 2010–11, where building occupancy levels, security considerations and space configuration allow. (Optional) | N/A | N/A | |
Ratio of departmental office employees to printing units at the end of the given fiscal year, where building occupancy levels, security considerations and space configuration allow. | FY 2011–12 | 2.4:1 | 2.4:1 |
FY 2012–13 | 8:1 | ||
FY 2013–14 | 8:1 |
Strategies / Comments
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR | |
---|---|---|---|
Target Status | On Track | ||
Number of sheets of internal office paper purchased or consumed per office employee in the baseline year selected, as per departmental scope. (Optional in RPP 2011–12) | 12,318 per employee in 2011–12 (51 sheets per employee per day) | ||
Cumulative reduction (or increase) in paper consumption, expressed as a percentage, relative to baseline year selected. (Optional in RPP 2011–12) | FY 2011–12 | 12,318 per employee in 2011–12 (51 sheets per employee per day) | 12,318 per employee in 2011–12 (51 sheets per employee per day) |
FY 2012–13 | 10% or 5 fewer sheets per employee per day | ||
FY 2013–14 | 20% or 10 fewer sheets per employee per day |
Strategies / Comments
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR |
---|---|---|
Target Status | Achieved | |
Presence of a green meeting guide. (Optional in RPP 2011–12) | N/A | Yes: March 2012 |
Strategies / Comments
8.10 As of April 1, 2011, each department will establish at least three SMART (specific measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound) green procurement targets to reduce environmental impacts.
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR |
---|---|---|
Target Status | On Track | |
By March 31, 2012, the Secretariat has surveyed its existing equipment, procures only compliant equipment and has developed an implementation plan. | N/A | 100% |
By April 1, 2014, the Secretariat has implemented its plan. |
Strategies / Comments
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR |
---|---|---|
Target Status | Achieved | |
By March 31, 2012, Secretariat procedures are documented and a monitoring strategy is developed. | N/A | 100% |
By March 31, 2013, the monitoring strategy has been implemented. | 100% | |
By March 31, 2014, all purchases comply with the target. | 100% |
Strategies / Comments
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR |
---|---|---|
Target Status | Achieved | |
By April 1, 2011, all new vehicles are hybrids or ultra-low emissions vehicles | N/A | 100% |
Strategies / Comments
8.11 As of April 1, 2011, each department will establish SMART targets for training, employee performance evaluations, and management processes and controls, as they pertain to procurement decision-making.
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR |
---|---|---|
Target Status | Achieved | |
By March 31, 2013, the Secretariat has developed a procurement training program for fund centre managers that includes green procurement training. | 100% of relevant fund centre managers have received green procurement training as of March 31, 2012. | |
By March 31, 2014, all fund centre managers have completed the green procurement training. | 100% |
Strategies / Comments
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR |
---|---|---|
Target Status | Achieved | |
By December 31, 2011, all procurement strategies developed in support of Secretariat requirements include green procurement considerations. | N/A | 100% |
Strategies / Comments
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR |
---|---|---|
Target Status | Achieved | |
By December 31, 2011, the Secretariat has procurement processes that clearly incorporate green procurement considerations. | Processes and controls have been developed and are in place. |
Strategies / Comments
Performance Measure | RPP | DPR |
---|---|---|
Target Status | Achieved | |
Number of performance evaluations of identified positions that have environmental considerations relative to the total of identified positions. | 100% | 100% |
Progress against measure in the given fiscal year. | 100% | 100% |
Strategies / Comments
Name of Internal Audit | Internal Audit Type | Status | Completion Date |
---|---|---|---|
Audit of Acquisition Cards | Assurance | Completed | May 2011 |
Audit of Electronic Record Keeping | Assurance | Completed | September 2011 |
Audit of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Management Control Framework of the Public Service Pension Plan | Assurance | Completed | December 2011 |
Audit of the Administration of the External Expert Contract for the Strategic and Operating Review | Assurance | Completed | June 2012 |
Audit of Business Continuity Planning | Assurance | Completed | June 2012 |
Audit of the Interdepartmental Settlements Process | Assurance | In progress | October 2012 |
Name of Evaluation | Program Activity | Status | Completion Date |
---|---|---|---|
Mid-Term Evaluation of the Implementation of the Cabinet Directive on Streamlining Regulation | Management Frameworks | Completed | May 2011 |
Evaluation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board Contribution Program | Financial Management | Completed | May 2011 |
Five-Year Evaluation of the 2006 Policy on Internal Audit | Financial Management | Completed | June 2011 |
Evaluation of the Public Service Modernization Act Strategic Investment Framework | People Management (Former Canada Public Service Agency) | Completed | December 2011 |
Evaluation of the Joint Learning Program | People Management | In progress | November 2012 |
Evaluation of the Official Languages Centre of Excellence Initiative in Support of the Horizontal Evaluation of the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008–13: Acting for the Future | People Management | In progress | November 2012 |
Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages: Report 2, The Vitality of Quebec’s English-Speaking Communities: From Myth to Reality
(Adopted by the Committee on October 6, 2011; presented and adopted by the Senate on October 18, 2011)
Summary of Report | Discussion of progress made to address recommendations | Link to the Secretariat's response |
---|---|---|
The report focuses on the challenges experienced by Quebec’s English-speaking communities and reminds the federal government that it has a responsibility to enhance the vitality of both of Canada’s linguistic communities. The Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages seeks to draw the federal government’s attention to, and attract its interest in, the English-speaking minority’s concerns and the measures that should be taken to support its development. |
The Official Languages Centre of Excellence of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat participated in the government response, led by Canadian Heritage, by providing input related to the support and guidance it provides to federal institutions. Analysis of the impact of federal initiatives on official languages: The Committee raised concerns about federal institutions’ compliance with the directives set out in A Guide to Preparing Treasury Board Submissions. The Secretariat requests that all federal institutions ensure that initiatives submitted for Treasury Board approval are systematically analyzed for impact on official languages. The analysis is reviewed by the Secretariat before final recommendations are submitted. The Secretariat is updating A Guide to Preparing Treasury Board Submissions, which will provide an opportunity to remind federal institutions of the official language requirements in Appendix E of the guide. Participation in the public service: The Committee’s report notes the under-representation of English speakers from Quebec in the federal public service. The Secretariat conducts an annual review, through reports prepared by federal institutions, to ensure that institutions are fulfilling their commitment to provide equal opportunities for English-speaking Canadians and French-speaking Canadians to obtain employment and advancement in their organizations. As recommended by the Committee, the Secretariat will analyze, as part of the annual reporting process, the importance of addressing the issue of equitable participation by encouraging federal institutions (particularly those in Quebec or those that have regional offices in Quebec) to submit an annual review. The review would include issues related to measures taken to ensure the equitable participation of English speakers and French speakers in their workforces. Communication with the public and provision of services in both official languages: The Committee reminded the government that communications and services provided in both official languages in Quebec must be of equal quality, and it recommended that the review of its policy instruments be completed in a timely manner. The Secretariat is revising the official languages policy instruments. These will be implemented once approved by the Treasury Board. |
Government Response (Presented to the Senate on March 27, 2012) |
Chapter 1, “Financial Management and Control and Risk Management”
The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada within the Secretariat, and each of the seven selected departments have made satisfactory progress in implementing selected recommendations and in addressing relevant observations reported in the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) 2006 May Status Report, Chapter 1, “Managing Government: Financial Information,” and the OAG’s 2003 April Report, Chapter 1, “Integrated Risk Management.” The Secretariat received one recommendation; the Secretariat’s response can be found in this chapter’s Appendix – List of recommendations.
Chapter 2, “Large Information Technology Projects”
The objective of the OAG’s audit was to determine whether the selected departments and agencies have made satisfactory progress in implementing the recommendations related to the 2006 November Report, Chapter 3, “Large Information Technology Projects.” The Secretariat received one recommendation; the Secretariat’s response can be found in this chapter’s Appendix – List of recommendations.
The overall audit objective was to assess the progress that the government has made in addressing the concerns the OAG raised in Chapter 1, “Internal Audit in Departments and Agencies of our 2004 November Report.” This follow-up audit assessed whether the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada is carrying out its duties and responsibilities to provide leadership and direction to the internal audit community. The Secretariat received one recommendation; the Secretariat’s response can be found in this chapter’s Appendix – List of recommendations.
Chapter 4, “Programs for First Nations on Reserves”
The overall audit objective was to determine whether then Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Health Canada, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat have made satisfactory progress in addressing key observations and in implementing key recommendations on First Nations programs from previous chapters related to Aboriginal issues appearing in reports of the Office of the Auditor General. The Secretariat received no recommendations.
Chapter 1, “Expenditures for the 2010 G8 and G20 Summits”
The objectives of this audit were: to determine whether, at selected entities, the processes used to plan for and estimate the budget and allocate funding for the G8 and G20 summits included senior management challenge and whether financial plans were linked to operational plans; to determine whether, at selected entities, the funding specifically requested from Parliament for the G8 and G20 summits was used for approved purposes; and to present information on how the cost of the events was estimated and authority to spend was received from Parliament. The Secretariat received one recommendation; the Secretariat’s response can be found in this chapter’s Appendix – List of recommendations.
Chapter 2, “G8 Legacy Infrastructure Fund”
The objectives of this audit were to examine the process for allocating federal funds for the G8 Legacy Infrastructure Fund to determine how the fund was established and how projects were selected. The Secretariat received one recommendation; the Secretariat’s response can be found in this chapter’s Appendix – List of recommendations.
Chapter 1, “Canada’s Economic Action Plan”
The objective of the OAG’s audit was to determine whether selected federal departments and agencies monitored and reported on progress and federal spending for selected Economic Action Plan programs. The Secretariat received two recommendations; the Secretariat’s responses can be found in this chapter’s Appendix – List of recommendationsNot applicable
Program | 2009-10 Actual ($ thousands) |
2010-11 Actual ($ thousands) |
2011-12 ($ thousands) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Main Estimates |
Planned Revenue |
Total Authorities |
Actual | |||
1 Respendable revenue is received to cover salaries and operating costs from public service superannuation with respect to chargeable costs associated with administering the Public Service Superannuation Act. In previous years, it was reported under the Management Policy Development and Oversight program activity. 2 Respendable revenue is received to cover health care insurance plans’ costs from revolving funds and from departments and agencies that pay for employee benefit plans from a non-statutory appropriation. This account is also used to record pensioners’ share of pensioners’ dental services plan contributions. 3 Effective April 1, 2012, and pursuant to section 29.2 of the Financial Administration Act, departments are authorized to provide internal support services to, and receive such services from, one or more other departments. In previous years, these costs for services provided were recovered from other departments and offset against the related expenses. |
||||||
People Management | ||||||
Revenue related to the administration of the Public Service Superannuation Act See Respendable Revenue note 1 | 3,913 | 4,564 | 6,243 | 6,243 | 6,243 | 4,375 |
Internal Services See Respendable Revenue note 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,860 | 8,407 |
Government-Wide Funds and Public Service Employer Payments | ||||||
Revenue related to public service insurance See Respendable Revenue note 2 | 361,321 | 371,986 | 469,252 | 469,252 | 469,252 | 425,959 |
Total Respendable Revenue | 365,234 | 376,550 | 475,495 | 475,495 | 484,355 | 438,742 |
Program Activity | 2009-10 Actual ($ thousands) |
2010-11 Actual ($ thousands) |
2011-12 ($ thousands) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Main Estimates |
Planned Revenue |
Total Authorities |
Actual | |||
1 The revenue represents parking fees collected from public servants in government-owned or government-leased facilities. This revenue is deposited directly to the Consolidated Revenue Fund and cannot be used to offset operating expenditures. Revenue has been decreasing due to the implementation of the 2010 policy requiring employees to pay market rates for government parking. 2 Revenue received from public service superannuation with respect to costs associated with administering the Public Service Superannuation Act and covers the costs of employee benefit plans, health and accommodation. 3 The reversals of the payables at year end (PAYE) are attributed to estimated claims based on plan experience for the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP), the Public Service Dental Care Plan and the Pensioners’ Dental Services Plan. The majority of the PAYE reversals relate to a 2009–10 actuarial estimate for a one-time expected increase in paper claims to be submitted by members for benefits that were not previously claimed during the transition to the PSHCP benefit card. These increases in paper claims did not occur as expected. |
||||||
Revenue from parking fees See Non-Respendable Revenue note 1 | 11,595 | 10,672 | 0 | 8,965 | 7,545 | 7,545 |
External revenue from access to information | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Revenue related to the administration of the Public Service Superannuation Act See Non-Respendable Revenue note 2 | 860 | 931 | 0 | 1,557 | 981 | 981 |
Refunds of previous year’s expenditures See Non-Respendable Revenue note 3 | 384 | 590 | 0 | 0 | 62,449 | 62,449 |
Disciplinary penalties | 63 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 23 |
Proceeds from the disposal of surplus Crown assets | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other | 15 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Total Respendable Revenue | 12,919 | 12,269 | 0 | 10,522 | 71,000 | 71,000 |
Project See Status Report on Projects Operating note 2 | Original Estimated Total Cost ($ thousands) |
Revised Estimated Total Cost ($ thousands) |
Actual Cost Total ($ thousands) |
2011-12 ($ thousands) | Expected date of close-out |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Main Estimates |
Planned Spending |
Total Authorities |
Actual | |||||
* PPA—preliminary project approval ** EPA—effective project approval Notes: 1 As a result of Treasury Board approval in March 2012 of the Secretariat's Investment Plan and Organizational Project Management Capacity Rating (Class 2) only projects rated above Class 2 (based on their level of complexity and risk) require approval by the Treasury Board. For this reporting period, the Secretariat does not have any projects ranked Class 3 or higher. Projects included in the Departmental Performance Report are those that received Treasury Board approval prior to receipt of the new authorities. 2 Project details and expenditures include salaries (e.g., FTEs), contracts (e.g., services) and assets (e.g., goods), where applicable. The figures provided above do not include GST/HST. 3 The Human Resource Business Solution pilot project received approval late in the year; therefore, funds for 2011–12 were accessed on an as-required basis. As a result, the 2011–12 actual funds spent were lower than the original planned spending. Planned project work has been moved to later years. 4 The remaining funds from fiscal year 2011–12 are expected to be reprofiled to fiscal year 2012–13 to complete project work. |
||||||||
Real Property Services | ||||||||
Workspace Renewal Project (PPA See Status Report on Projects Operating note 5 *) | 54,000 | 54,000 | 962 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 962 | 2016 |
Management of Information Technology | ||||||||
Human Resource Business Solution Pilot See Status Report on Projects Operating note 3 (EPA See Status Report on Projects Operating note 6 **) | 13,189 | 13,189 | 3,284 | 0 | 5,990 | 3,284 | 3,284 | 2014 |
Human Resource Data Interoperability See Status Report on Projects Operating note 4 (PPA See Status Report on Projects Operating note 5 *) | 2,960 | 2,960 | 0 | 0 | 600 | 0 | 0 | 2014 |
Responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the accompanying financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2012, and all information contained in these statements rests with the management of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. These financial statements have been prepared by management using the government's accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards.
Management is responsible for the integrity and objectivity of the information in these financial statements. Some of the information in the financial statements is based on management's best estimates and judgment, and gives due consideration to materiality. To fulfill its accounting and reporting responsibilities, management maintains a set of accounts that provides a centralized record of the Secretariat's financial transactions. Financial information submitted in the preparation of the Public Accounts of Canada and included in the Secretariat's Departmental Performance Report is consistent with these financial statements.
Management is also responsible for maintaining an effective system of internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance that financial information is reliable, that assets are safeguarded and that transactions are properly authorized and recorded in accordance with the Financial Administration Act and other applicable legislation, regulations, authorities and policies.
Management seeks to ensure the objectivity and integrity of data in its financial statements through careful selection, training, and development of qualified staff; through organizational arrangements that provide appropriate divisions of responsibility; through communication programs aimed at ensuring that regulations, policies, standards, and managerial authorities are understood throughout the Secretariat; and through conducting an annual risk-based assessment of the effectiveness of the system of internal control over financial reporting.
A risk-based assessment for the year ended March 31, 2012 was completed in accordance with the Policy on Internal Control, and the results and action plans are summarized in the Annex.
The system of internal control over financial reporting is designed to mitigate risks to a reasonable level based on an ongoing process to assess key risks, to assess effectiveness of associated key controls, and to make any necessary adjustments.
The system of internal control is monitored by Internal Audit, which conducts periodic audits and reviews of different areas of the Secretariat's operations. In addition, the Chief Audit Executive has free access to the Audit Committee, which oversees and provides advice to management on its responsibilities for maintaining adequate control systems and the quality of financial reporting. The Committee undertakes a review of the financial statements, including all significant accounting estimates and judgments therein, and advises the Secretariat on any apparent material concerns.
The financial statements of the Secretariat have not been audited.
The original version was signed by:
Michelle d'Auray
Secretary of the Treasury Board
Ottawa, Canada
August 31, 2012
Christine Walker
Chief Financial Officer
Ottawa, Canada
August 31, 2012
2012 | 2011 Restated (note 13) |
|
---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||
Contractual obligations (note 8) The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements. |
||
Liabilities | ||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (note 4) | 438,134 | 530,343 |
Vacation pay and compensatory leave | 8,805 | 9,093 |
Employee future benefits (note 5) | 24,377 | 39,030 |
Total liabilities | 471,316 | 578,466 |
Financial assets | ||
Due from Consolidated Revenue Fund | 128,899 | 128,815 |
Accounts receivable and advances (note 6) | 206,195 | 353,385 |
Total gross financial assets | 335,094 | 482,200 |
Financial assets held on behalf of government | ||
Accounts receivable and advances (note 6) | (4,891) | (1,965) |
Total financial assets held on behalf of government | (4,891) | (1,965) |
Total net financial assets | 330,203 | 480,235 |
Departmental net debt | 141,113 | 98,231 |
Non-financial assets | ||
Prepaid expenses | 81 | 58 |
Tangible capital assets (note 7) | 8,745 | 15,242 |
Total non-financial assets | 8,826 | 15,300 |
Departmental net financial position | (132,287) | (82,931) |
The original version was signed by:
Michelle d'Auray
Secretary of the Treasury Board
Ottawa, Canada
August 31, 2012
Christine Walker
Chief Financial Officer
Ottawa, Canada
August 31, 2012
2012 Planned Results RestatedSee endnote 1* (note 2) |
2012 | 2011 Restated (note 13) |
|
---|---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | |||
Segmented information (note 12) The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements. Return to endnote reference 1 * Planned results were presented in the 2011–12 future-oriented financial statements and included in the 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP), which are based on plans as at February 14, 2011 (see also note 2a). |
|||
Expenses | |||
Government-Wide Funds and Public Service Employer Payments | 2,388,305 | 2,126,950 | 1,904,123 |
Management Frameworks | 79,204 | 75,528 | 71,415 |
People Management | 71,546 | 74,872 | 73,571 |
Expenditure Management | 39,972 | 52,424 | 33,519 |
Financial Management | 36,171 | 30,766 | 31,410 |
Internal Services | 90,947 | 101,195 | 105,260 |
Total Expenses | 2,706,145 | 2,461,735 | 2,219,298 |
Revenues | |||
Parking fees – Government-wide | 8,965 | 7,544 | 10,672 |
Internal support services | 8,016 | 8,016 | 12,493 |
Recovery of pension administration costs | 7,800 | 5,356 | 5,495 |
Other | 47 | 68 | 156 |
Revenues earned on behalf of government | (10,569) | (8,574) | (11,746) |
Total revenues | 14,259 | 12,410 | 17,070 |
Net cost from continuing operations | 2,691,886 | 2,449,325 | 2,202,228 |
Transferred operations (note 11) | |||
Expenses | 76,388 | 7,717 | 67,046 |
Revenue | 391 | 391 | 663 |
Net cost of transferred operations | 75,997 | 7,326 | 66,383 |
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers | 2,767,883 | 2,456, 651 | 2,268,611 |
Government funding and transfers | |||
Net cash provided by government | 2,705,567 | 2,389,068 | 1,970,862 |
Change in due from Consolidated Revenue Fund | (41,552) | 84 | (101,933) |
Services provided without charge by other government departments (note 10) | 24,619 | 23,801 | 25,129 |
Transfer of assets and liabilities from (to) other government departments (note 7 and note 11) | 0 | (5,658) | 129 |
Net cost of operations after government funding and transfers | 79,249 | 49,356 | 374,424 |
Departmental net financial position – Beginning of year | (105,829) | (82,931) | 291,493 |
Departmental net financial position – End of year | (185,078) | (132,287) | (82,931) |
2012 Planned ResultsSee endnote* |
2012 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | |||
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements. Return to endnote reference * Planned results were presented in the 2011–12 future-oriented financial statements and included in the 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP), which are based on plans as at February 14, 2011 (see also note 2a). |
|||
Net cost of operations after government funding and transfers | 79,249 | 49,356 | 374,424 |
Change due to tangible capital assets | |||
Acquisition of tangible capital assets | 922 | 3,110 | 3,693 |
Amortization of tangible capital assets | (3,830) | (2,983) | (3,302) |
Proceeds from disposal of tangible capital assets | 0 | (23) | 0 |
Gain on disposal of tangible capital assets | 0 | 9 | 0 |
Transfer from (to) other government departments | 0 | (6,610) | 129 |
Total change due to tangible capital assets | (2,908) | (6,497) | 520 |
Change due to prepaid expenses | 0 | 23 | (6) |
Net increase (decrease) in departmental net debt | 76,341 | 42,882 | 374,938 |
Departmental net debt – Beginning of year | 120,453 | 98,231 | (276,707) |
Departmental net debt – End of year | 196,794 | 141,113 | 98,231 |
2012 | 2011 Restated (note 13) |
|
---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements. | ||
Operating activities | ||
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers | 2,456,651 | 2,268,611 |
Non-cash items: | ||
Amortization of tangible capital assets | (2,983) | (3,302) |
Gain on disposal of tangible capital assets | 9 | 0 |
Services provided without charge by other government departments (note 10) | (23,801) | (25,129) |
Variations in Statement of Financial Position: | ||
Decrease in accounts receivable and advances | (150,116) | (307,577) |
Increase (decrease) in prepaid expenses | 23 | (6) |
Decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 92,209 | 36,432 |
Decrease in vacation pay and compensatory leave | 288 | 1,044 |
Decrease (increase) in future employee benefits | 14,653 | (2,904) |
Transfer of liabilities to other government departments (note 11) | (952) | 0 |
Cash used in operating activities | 2,385,981 | 1,967,169 |
Capital investing activities | ||
Acquisitions of tangible capital assets | 3,110 | 3,693 |
Proceeds from disposition of tangible capital assets | (23) | 0 |
Cash used in capital investing activities | 3,087 | 3,693 |
Net cash provided by the Government of Canada | 2,389,068 | 1,970,862 |
Under the broad authority of sections 5 to 13 of the Financial Administration Act, the Secretariat supports the Treasury Board as a committee of ministers in its role as the general manager and employer of the public administration. It is headed by a Secretary, who reports to the President of the Treasury Board.
The mission of the Secretariat is to ensure that the rigorous stewardship of public resources achieves results for Canadians.
The core business of the Secretariat is currently organized into the following key areas of program activities:
The Government-Wide Funds and Public Service Employer Payments program activity accounts for funds that are held centrally by the Secretariat to supplement other appropriations, and from which payments and receipts are made on behalf of other federal organizations. These funds supplement the standard appropriations process and meet certain responsibilities of the Treasury Board as employer of the core public administration.
In support of Treasury Board's role as management board, the Secretariat provides the framework for the management of government operations. It does so by developing specific policies, regulations, directives, and guidelines that, once approved by the Treasury Board, provide the parameters within which deputy heads manage their departments. The Secretariat also helps build understanding and capacity by reaching out to the different communities within departments and agencies (e.g., finance, human resources) that support deputy heads in implementing Treasury Board policies.
The Treasury Board's people management role is supported by the Secretariat's People Management program activity. The Secretariat provides analysis and recommendations to Treasury Board to ensure that deputy heads across government have the policies and guidance they need to manage all aspects of human resources within their departments and agencies. This program activity also includes the Secretariat's responsibilities for overseeing collective bargaining, labour relations, and pension and benefits plans.
Of all the Treasury Board's roles, the budget office is probably the best known. It is supported by two program activities: Expenditure Management and Financial Management. Through the Expenditure Management program activity, the Secretariat provides analysis and support to the President of the Treasury Board to report to Parliament, first on the funding estimated for government operations in a specific year and then on the amounts actually expended. The Expenditure Management program activity also includes the Secretariat's responsibility for managing public sector compensation (i.e., the costs of pay and benefits), as well as its role in reviewing, analyzing, and challenging departmental spending proposals to ensure a focus on results and values for Canadians.
The Financial Management program activity is the other aspect of the budget office function. Through this program activity, the Secretariat develops policies and guidance to ensure that the financial management community across government has the right direction to carry out its financial responsibilities. The quality of financial management across departments is important for maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the government's financial records and accounts. This program activity also includes the Secretariat's efforts to build capacity within the financial and audit communities, as well as its audit responsibilities.
The Secretariat must implement Treasury Board policies to ensure the smooth running of its internal operations. Efforts in this area are captured in the Internal Services program activity. These include support functions such as communications, financial and human resources management, real property, information technology, legal and procurement. These services support all the Secretariat's other program activities.
These financial statements have been prepared using the government's accounting policies stated below, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards. The presentation and results using the stated accounting policies do not result in any significant differences from Canadian public sector accounting standards.
Significant accounting policies are as follows:
The Secretariat is financed by the Government of Canada through parliamentary authorities. Financial reporting of authorities provided to the Secretariat do not parallel financial reporting according to generally accepted accounting principles since authorities are primarily based on cash flow requirements. Consequently, items recognized in the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and in the Statement of Financial Position are not necessarily the same as those provided through authorities from Parliament. Note 3 provides a reconciliation between the bases of reporting. The planned results amounts in the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and the Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt are the amounts reported in the future-oriented financial statements included in the 2011–12 Report on Plans and Priorities. The planned results amounts have been restated to reflect the revenue net of non-respendable amounts. This restatement resulted in a $10,569 thousands increase in net costs of operations before government funding and transfers. In addition, the planned results amounts have also been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.
The Secretariat operates within the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), which is administered by the Receiver General for Canada. All cash received by the Secretariat is deposited to the CRF and, all cash disbursements made by the Secretariat are paid from the CRF. The net cash provided by government is the difference between all cash receipts and all cash disbursements including transactions between departments of the government.
Amounts due from or to the Consolidated Revenue Funds (CRF) are the result of timing differences at year-end between when a transaction affects authorities and when it is processed through the CRF. Amounts due from the CRF represent the net amount of cash that the Secretariat is entitled to draw from the CRF without further authorities to discharge its liabilities.
Revenues are accounted for in the period in which the underlying transaction or event that gave rise to the revenue takes place.
Revenues that are non-respendable are not available to discharge the Secretariat's liabilities. While the Secretary is expected to maintain accounting control, he or she has no authority regarding the disposition of non-respendable revenues. As a result, non-respendable revenues are considered to be earned on behalf of the Government of Canada and are therefore presented in reduction of the entity's gross revenues.
Expenses are recorded on an accrual basis:
Eligible public service employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, a multi-employer pension plan sponsored by the Government of Canada. In its role as employer for the public service, employer contributions to the Plan for all departments and agencies, including additional contributions in respect of any actuarial deficiencies, are funded via centrally managed funds by the Secretariat and they are expensed in the year incurred. The Secretariat recovers a portion of the employer contributions to the Public Service Pension Plan from other departments and agencies.
Eligible employees of the Secretariat also participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, and the Secretariat's financial reporting responsibility in respect of its own employees' participation in the Plan is limited to its employer contributions.
The Government of Canada also sponsors a variety of other current and future employee benefit plans that the Secretariat is responsible to administer and/or fund through its centrally managed funds. Benefit payments for these plans are recognized as expenses when they become due and no accruals are recorded for future benefits. A portion of these benefits is also recovered from other departments and agencies. This accounting treatment corresponds to the funding provided to the Secretariat through parliamentary appropriations.
For all pension and other employee future benefits, the actuarial liabilities and related disclosures, as well as actuarial surpluses or deficiencies for the whole of government are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, which ultimately bears actuarial and investment risks inherent to these defined benefit plans as the plans' sponsor.
Certain employee groups are entitled to severance benefits under labour contracts or conditions of employment. These benefits are accrued as employees render the services necessary to earn them. The obligation relating to the benefits earned by employees is calculated using information derived from the results of the actuarially determined liability for employee severance benefits for the Government of Canada as a whole. As part of collective agreement negotiations with certain employee groups, and changes to conditions of employment for executives and certain non-represented employees, the accumulation of severance benefits under the employee severance pay program ceased for these employees commencing in 2012. Employees subject to these changes have been given the option to be immediately paid the full or partial value of benefits earned to date or collect the full or remaining value of benefits on termination from the public service. As a result, the obligation related to those employee groups has ceased to accumulate.
Accounts receivable and advances are stated at the lower of cost and net recoverable value; a valuation allowance would be recorded for receivables where recovery is considered uncertain.
Contingent liabilities are potential liabilities that may become actual liabilities when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. To the extent that the future event is likely to occur or fail to occur, and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made, an estimated liability is accrued and an expense recorded. If the likelihood is not determinable or an amount cannot be reasonably estimated, the contingency is disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.
All tangible capital assets and leasehold improvements having an initial cost of $10,000 or more are recorded at their acquisition cost. The Secretariat does not capitalize intangibles, works of art and historical treasures that have cultural, aesthetic, or historical value.
Amortization of tangible capital assets is done on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset as follows:
Asset class | Amortization period |
---|---|
Computer hardware | 3 years |
Computer software | 3 to 10 years |
Machinery and equipment | 3 to 10 years |
Motor vehicles | 3 years |
Leasehold improvements | Lesser of the remaining term of the lease or useful life of the improvement |
The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses reported in the financial statements. At the time of preparation of these statements, management believes the estimates and assumptions to be reasonable. The most significant items where estimates are used are contingent liabilities, the liability for employee future benefits and the useful life of tangible capital assets. Actual results could significantly differ from those estimated. Management's estimates are reviewed periodically and, as adjustments become necessary, they are recorded in the financial statements in the year they become known.
The Secretariat receives most of its funding through annual parliamentary authorities. Items recognized in the Statement of Operations and the Statement of Financial Position in one year may be funded through parliamentary authorities in a prior, current or future year. Accordingly, the Secretariat has different net results of operations for the year on a government funding basis than on an accrual accounting basis. The differences are reconciled in the following tables:
2012 | 2011 Restated (note 13) |
|
---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers | 2,456,651 | 2,268,611 |
Adjustments for items affecting net cost of operations but not affecting authorities: | ||
Amortization of tangible capital assets | (2,983) | (3,302) |
Gain on disposal of tangible capital assets | 9 | 0 |
Services provided without charge by other government departments | (23,801) | (25,129) |
Decrease in vacation pay and compensatory leave | 74 | 1,044 |
Decrease (increase) in employee future benefits | 13,915 | (2,904) |
Refund of prior years' expenditures | 62,742 | 10,711 |
Increase in accrued liabilities related to workforce adjustment costs | (8,095) | 0 |
Other | 2,857 | 1,634 |
Subtotal | 44,718 | (17,946) |
Adjustments for items not affecting net cost of operations but affecting authorities: | ||
Acquisitions of tangible capital assets | 3,110 | 3,693 |
Proceeds from disposal of tangible capital assets | (23) | 0 |
Decrease (increase) Advances | 52 | (378) |
Subtotal | 3,139 | 3,315 |
Current year authorities used | 2,504,508 | 2,253,980 |
2012 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||
Authorities provided | ||
Vote 1 — Operating expenditures | 299,631 | 262,656 |
Vote 5 — Government contingencies | 750,000 | 230,668 |
Vote 10 — Government-wide initiatives | 8,511 | 6,563 |
Vote 20 — Public service insurance | 2,380,408 | 2,223,794 |
Vote 25 — Operating budget carry-forward | 8,061 | 128,041 |
Vote 30 — Pay list Requirements | 361,781 | 175,324 |
Vote 33 — Capital budget carry-forward | 241,899 | 0 |
Subtotal | 4,050,291 | 3,027,046 |
Statutory authorities: | ||
Contributions to employee benefit plans | 32,073 | 30,466 |
Unallocated employer contributions made under the Public Service Superannuation Act and other retirement Acts, and the Employment Insurance Act | 6,200 | 6,200 |
Payments for the pay equity settlement pursuant to section 30 of the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act | 72 | (470) |
President of the Treasury Board - Salary and car allowance | 78 | 78 |
Spending of proceeds from the disposal of surplus Crown assets | 24 | 1 |
Subtotal | 38,447 | 36,275 |
Less: | ||
Lapsed authorities: | ||
Vote 1 — Operating expenditures | (20,141) | (7,697) |
Vote 5 — Government contingencies | (750,000) | (230,668) |
Vote 10 — Government-wide initiatives | (8,511) | (6,563) |
Vote 20 — Public service insurance | (193,813) | (261,047) |
Vote 25 — Operating budget carry-forward | (8,061) | (128,041) |
Vote 30 — Pay list Requirements | (361,781) | (175,324) |
Vote 33 — Capital budget carry-forward | (241,899) | 0 |
Spending of proceeds from the disposal of surplus crown assets | (24) | (1) |
Subtotal | (1,584,230) | (809,341) |
Current year authorities used | 2,504,508 | 2,253,980 |
The following table presents the details of the Secretariat accounts payable and accrued liabilities:
2012 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||
Accounts payable to other government departments and agencies | 289,031 | 340,182 |
Accounts payable to external parties | 11,301 | 9,400 |
Subtotal | 300,332 | 349,582 |
Accrued liabilities | 137,802 | 180,761 |
Total accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 438,134 | 530,343 |
In Canada's Economic Action Plan 2012, the Government announced savings measures to be implemented by departments over the next three fiscal years starting in 2012–13. As a result, the department has recorded at March 31, 2012, an obligation for termination benefits for an amount of $8,095 thousand as part of accrued liabilities to reflect the estimated workforce adjustment costs.
The Secretariat's employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, which is sponsored and administered by the government. 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 five consecutive years of earnings. The benefits are integrated with Canada/Québec Pension Plans benefits and they are indexed to inflation.
Employees and the Secretariat both contribute to the cost of the Plan. The 2011–12 employer expense amounts to $23,059 thousand ($21,387 thousand in 2010–11) in respect of its own employees, which represents approximately 1.8 times (1.9 times in 2010–11) the contributions by employees.
The Secretariat's financial reporting responsibility regarding the pension plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies for the Secretariat and the whole of government are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the pension plan's sponsor.
The Secretariat provides severance benefits to certain employee groups based on eligibility, years of service and final salary. These severance benefits are not pre-funded. Benefits will be paid from future authorities. Information about the severance benefits, measured as at March 31, is as follows:
2012 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||
Accrued benefit obligation - Beginning of year | 39,030 | 36,126 |
Transferred to other government departments, effective November 15, 2011 (note 11) | (738) | 0 |
Subtotal | 38,292 | 36,126 |
Expense for the year | 5,005 | 6,676 |
Benefits paid during the year | (18,920) | (3,772) |
Accrued benefit obligation - End of year | 24,377 | 39,030 |
As part of collective agreement negotiations with certain employee groups, and changes to conditions of employment for executives and certain non-represented employees, the accumulation of severance benefits under the employee severance pay program ceased for these employees commencing in 2012. Employees subject to these changes have been given the option to be immediately paid the full or partial value of benefits earned to date to collect the full or remaining value of benefits on termination from the public service. These changes have been reflected in the calculation of the outstanding severance benefit obligation.
The following table presents details of the Secretariat accounts receivable and advances balances:
2012 | 2011 Restated (note 13) |
|
---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||
Receivables - Other government departments and agencies | 200,200 | 350,669 |
Receivables - External parties | 5,920 | 2,633 |
Advances to employees | 71 | 78 |
Deposits in transit to the Receiver General | 4 | 5 |
Gross accounts receivable and advances | 206,195 | 353,385 |
Accounts receivable held on behalf of government | (4,891) | (1,965) |
Net accounts receivable and advances | 201,304 | 351,420 |
The bulk of receivables from other government departments and agencies are related to receivables established at year-end as a result of employee benefit plans. These receivables have decreased as a result of a reduced variance between planned benefits recovered during the year from other government departments and actual year end benefits expense.
The increase in receivables from external parties is largely due to a recoverable of the advance for the Public Service Dental Plan.
The following table presents the details of Tangible Capital Assets:
Capital Asset Class | Cost | Accumulated Amortization | Net Book Value | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opening Balance | Acquisitions | Adjustments See endnote 2 * | Disposals and Write-Offs | Closing Balance | Opening Balance | Amortization | Adjustments See endnote 2 * | Disposals and Write-Offs | Closing Balance | 2012 | 2011 | |
(in thousands of dollars) | ||||||||||||
Return to endnote reference 2 * The adjustments columns mainly include transfer of computer hardware, software, and machinery and equipment with a net book value of $6,221,561 (cost of $12,271,926) and of $409,783 (cost of $1,798,565) to Shared Services Canada and to the Department of Finance Canada respectively and a transfer of the President's motor vehicle from Industry Canada with a net book value of $21,190 (cost of $24,929). |
||||||||||||
Machinery and equipment | 382 | 88 | (78) | 227 | 165 | 313 | 23 | (32) | 227 | 77 | 88 | 69 |
Motor vehicles | 151 | 0 | 25 | 56 | 120 | 94 | 39 | 4 | 42 | 95 | 25 | 57 |
Leasehold improvements | 1,952 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,952 | 1,952 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,952 | 0 | 0 |
Computer hardware | 13,565 | 2,911 | (13,716) | 2,750 | 10 | 8,538 | 1,482 | (7,260) | 2,750 | 10 | 0 | 5,027 |
Computer software | 14,661 | 111 | (275) | 317 | 14,810 | 4,572 | 1,439 | (146) | 317 | 5,548 | 8,632 | 10,089 |
Total | 30,711 | 3,110 | (14,044) | 3,350 | 16,247 | 15,469 | 2,983 | (7,434) | 3,336 | 7,682 | 8,745 | 15,242 |
The nature of the Secretariat's activities can result in some large multi-year contracts and obligations whereby the Secretariat will be obligated to make future payments when the services/goods are received. Significant contractual obligations that can be reasonably estimated are summarized as follows:
2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 and thereafter | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||||||
Public Service Health/Dental Plans | 40,446 | 31,178 | 32,523 | 35,373 | 21,224 | 160,744 |
Other professional services | 13,443 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 65 | 13,748 |
Management consulting | 1,195 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,242 |
Computer services | 1,869 | 74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,943 |
Total | 56,953 | 31,379 | 32,603 | 35,453 | 21,289 | 177,677 |
Shared Services Canada's portion of contractual obligations for an amount of $2,319 thousand is not included in the above table. These contractual obligations were transferred to Shared Services Canada.
Claims have been made against the Secretariat in the normal course of operations. These claims include items with pleading amounts and other for which no amount is specified. Claims for which the outcome is not determinable and a reasonable estimate can be made by management amount approximately to $65 billion ($65 billion in 2010–11) at March 31, 2012. Some of these potential liabilities may become actual liabilities when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. To the extent that the future event is likely to occur or fail to occur, and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made, an estimated liability is accrued and an expense recorded in the financial statements. No accrual for these contingent liabilities has been made in these financial statements.
The most significant of these legal actions is described as follows:
In September 1999, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act (Bill C-78) was passed by Parliament, providing for improvements in the financial management of federal public service pension plans, including the Public Service (PSSA), RCMP (RCMPSA), and Canadian Forces (CFSA) superannuation plans. The new Act authorized the President of the Treasury Board to debit the accounts in order to reduce the amount of certain excess balances in the superannuation accounts. In late 1999, the major public service unions and pensioner associations launched three lawsuits against the Crown challenging the validity of the legislation. On November 20, 2007, the plaintiffs' actions were dismissed. In February 2008, all three plaintiffs appealed the decisions to the Ontario Court of Appeal. The appeal was heard in April 2010. On October 8, 2010, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the plaintiffs' appeal. The plaintiffs applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada which granted leave to appeal on May 5, 2011. The hearing was held on February 9, 2012 and the judgment is yet to be delivered.
The Secretariat is related as a result of common ownership to all Government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations. The Secretariat enters into transactions with these entities in the normal course of business and on normal trade terms. In addition, the Secretariat has the responsibility to administer on behalf of other government departments, and fund the employer's contribution to the Public Health and Dental insurance plans through its centrally managed funds. During the year, the Secretariat received and provided common services as disclosed below.
During the year, the Secretariat received services without charge from certain common service organizations, related to accommodation and legal services. These services provided without charge have been recorded in the department's Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position as follows:
2012 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||
Accommodation | 20,294 | 19,734 |
Legal services | 3,507 | 5,395 |
Total | 23,801 | 25,129 |
The government has centralized some of its administrative activities for efficiency, cost-effectiveness purposes and economic delivery of programs to the public. As a result, the government uses central agencies and common service organizations so that one department performs services for all other departments and agencies without charge. The costs of these services, such as the payroll and cheque issuance services provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada are not included in the department's Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position.
The Secretariat provided services without charge to other government departments, related to the provision of the employer's contribution to the health, dental and other employee insurance plans and payroll benefits in the amount of $1,690,387 thousand in 2011–12 (compared with $1,643,251 thousand in 2010–11).
2012 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||
Expenses – Other government departments and agencies | 24,808 | 23,423 |
Revenues – Other government departments and agencies | 13,372 | 17,988 |
Effective November 15, 2011, the Secretariat transferred the control and supervision of the portion of its administration costs and functions related to email, network and data centre to Shared Services Canada in accordance with order-in-council OIC-2011-1297, including stewardship responsibility of the assets related to these functions.
Effective October 1, 2011, the Secretariat transferred computer hardware and machinery and equipment to the Department of Finance Canada.
Effective January 1, 2012, the management of pension, insurance and social security programs for locally engaged staff was transferred from the Secretariat to Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and to National Defence. The transfer of these programs is the result of the 2008 Human Resources Agency Horizontal Strategic Review including Public Service Employer Payments.
The impact of transfers from (to) other government departments in the financial statements is as follows:
2012 | |
---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | |
Assets | |
Tangible capital assets transfer (from) to other government departments | |
To Shared Services Canada (net book value) (note 7) | 6,222 |
To the Department of Finance Canada | 409 |
From Industry Canada | (21) |
Total assets transferred (from) to other government departments | 6,610 |
Liabilities | |
Vacation pay and compensatory leave transferred to Shared Services Canada | 214 |
Employee future benefits transferred to Shared Services Canada | 738 |
Total liabilities transferred to Shared Services Canada | 952 |
Adjustment to the departmental net financial position | 5,658 |
In addition, the 2011 comparative figures have been reclassified on the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position to present the revenues and expenses of the transferred operations related to Shared Services Canada, and the transfer to Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and to National Defence the management of pension insurance and the social security program for locally engaged staff.
During the transition period, the Secretariat continued to administer the transferred activities on behalf of Shared Services Canada. The administered expenses and revenues amounted to $4,898 thousand and to $316 thousand respectively, for the period from November 15, to March 31, 2012. These expenses and revenues are not recorded in these financial statements.
a) Presentation by segment is based on the Secretariat's program alignment architecture. The presentation by segment is based on the same accounting policies as described in the summary of significant accounting policies in note 2. The following table presents the expenses incurred and revenues generated for the main program activities, by major object of expenses and by major type of revenues. The segment results for the period are as follows:
GF & PSEP |
MF | PM | EM | FM | IS | 2012 total | 2011 total Restated (note 13) |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||||||||
Legend:
|
||||||||
Transfer payment | ||||||||
Industry | 0 | 252 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 0 | 452 | 253 |
Total transfer payment | 0 | 252 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 0 | 452 | 253 |
Operating Expenses | ||||||||
Government-wide funds and publics ervice employer payments | 2,126,950 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,126,950 | 1,904,123 |
Salary and employee benefits | 0 | 60,486 | 54,724 | 31,182 | 20,940 | 63,475 | 230,807 | 219,896 |
Professional and special services | 0 | 8,311 | 10,260 | 17,993 | 7,258 | 20,461 | 64,283 | 55,408 |
Accommodation | 0 | 4,668 | 4,668 | 2,434 | 1,624 | 6,900 | 20,294 | 19,734 |
Transport and telecommunications | 0 | 664 | 945 | 128 | 250 | 864 | 2,851 | 3,615 |
Machinery, equipment, parts and tools | 0 | 410 | 406 | 410 | 247 | 5,160 | 6,633 | 2,632 |
Repair and maintenance | 0 | 71 | 74 | 15 | 6 | 1,167 | 1,333 | 2,517 |
Utilities, materiel and supplies | 0 | 229 | 274 | 102 | 123 | 552 | 1,280 | 3,335 |
Information | 0 | 93 | 99 | 82 | 20 | 305 | 599 | 784 |
Rentals | 0 | 113 | 289 | 54 | 86 | 403 | 945 | 1,175 |
Amortization | 0 | 19 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1,610 | 1,640 | 1,825 |
Other Expenses | 0 | 212 | 3,122 | 24 | 12 | 298 | 3,668 | 4,001 |
Total Operating Expenses | 2,126,950 | 75,276 | 74,872 | 52,424 | 30,566 | 101,195 | 2,461,283 | 2,219,045 |
Total expenses | 2,126,950 | 72,528 | 74,872 | 52,424 | 30,766 | 101,195 | 2,461,735 | 2,219,298 |
Revenues | ||||||||
Parking fees – Government-wide | 7,544 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,544 | 10,672 |
Internal support services | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,016 | 8,016 | 12,493 |
Recovery of pension administration costs | 0 | 0 | 5,356 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,356 | 5,495 |
Other Revenue | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 68 | 156 |
Revenues earned on behalf of government | (7,589) | 0 | (983) | 0 | 0 | (2) | (8,574) | (11,746) |
Total Revenues | 0 | 0 | 4,375 | 0 | 0 | 8,035 | 12,410 | 17,070 |
Net cost from continuing operations | 2,126,950 | 75,528 | 70,497 | 52,424 | 30,766 | 93,160 | 2,449,325 | 2,202,228 |
The Government of Canada sponsors defined benefit pension plans covering most of its employees. The Secretariat funds the employer's contributions to the Public Service Pension Plan and Retirement Compensation Arrangement, including additional contributions in respect of actuarial deficiencies.
The Secretariat also funds payments to or in respect of:
Generally, Public Service Pension Plan contributions, Public Service Death Benefit Account contributions, Canada/Québec Pension Plan contributions, and Employment Insurance premiums are recovered from all departments, agencies, and revolving funds pro rata, based on salaries and wages incurred. Contributions to health care plans are recovered from certain departments and agencies, and all revolving funds based on 8.5 per cent (8.5 per cent in 2010–11) of salaries and wages incurred.
A breakdown by major category is as follows:
2012 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|
(in thousands of dollars) | ||
Public Service Pension Plan and Retirement Compensation Arrangement contributions (Statutory) | 2,682,048 | 2,669,956 |
Public Service Health Care Plan (Vote 20) | 906,252 | 865,819 |
Canada/Québec Pension Plan contributions (Statutory) | 659,944 | 634,762 |
Provincial payroll taxes (Vote 20) | 535,107 | 509,187 |
Group disability and life insurance (Vote 20) | 610,817 | 432,887 |
Employment Insurance premiums (Statutory) | 285,759 | 272,083 |
Public Service Dental Care Plan (Vote 20) | 279,270 | 258,821 |
Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (Vote 20) | 136,980 | 129,135 |
Pension and other government employee benefits in respect of locally engaged staff employed in Canadian missions abroad (Vote 20) | 106 | 55,646 |
Provincial health insurance plan premiums (Vote 20) | 33,576 | 31,452 |
Québec Parental Insurance Plan premiums (Vote 20) | 35,484 | 32,181 |
Public Service Death Benefit Account contributions (Statutory) | 12,753 | 12,083 |
Public Service Pension Plan and Retirement Compensation Arrangement contributions in respect of actuarial deficits (Statutory) | 6,200 | 6,200 |
Operating expenses (Vote 20) | 3,375 | 5,627 |
Pension and similar payments to former government employees (Vote 20 and Statutory) |
3,684 | 3,626 |
Employment Insurance premium reduction (Vote 20) | 2,092 | 1,645 |
Miscellaneous special payments (Statutory) | 72 | (470) |
Total Expenses | 6,193,519 | 5,920,640 |
Recoveries | ||
Employer's contributions to government employee benefit plans recovered from government departments and agencies (Statutory) | 3,640,503 | 3,588,885 |
Employer's contributions to government employee insurance plans recovered from government departments and agencies (Vote 20) | 184,421 | 174,059 |
Employee's contributions to the Public Service Health Care Plan recovered from government departments and other organizations (Vote 20) | 171,806 | 136,419 |
Pensioners' contributions to the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (Vote 20) |
69,733 | 61,508 |
Total Recoveries | 4,066,463 | 3,960,871 |
Net Expenses before reclassified activities | 2,127,056 | 1,959,769 |
Less: Reclassified activities (note11) | 106 | 55,646 |
Net Expenses after reclassified activities | 2,126,950 | 1,904,123 |
During 2011, amendments were made to Treasury Board Accounting Standard 1.2 – Departmental and Agency Financial Statements to improve financial reporting by government departments and agencies. The amendments are effective for financial reporting of fiscal years ending March 31, 2012, and later. The significant changes to the Secretariat's financial statements are described below. These changes have been applied retroactively, and comparative information for 2010–11 has been restated.
Net debt (calculated as liabilities less financial assets) is now presented in the Statement of Financial Position. Accompanying this change, the Secretariat now presents a Statement of Change in Net Debt and no longer presents a Statement of Equity.
Revenue and related accounts receivable are now presented net of non-respendable amounts in the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position and Statement of Financial Position. The effect of this change was to increase the net cost of operations before government funding and transfers by $8,574 thousand for 2012 ($11,746 thousand for 2011) and decrease total financial assets by $4,891 thousand for 2012 ($1,965 thousand for 2011).
Government funding and transfers, as well as the credit related to services provided without charge by other government departments are now recognized in the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position below “net cost of operations before government funding and transfers.” In previous years, the Secretariat recognized these transactions directly in the Statement of Equity of Canada. The effect of this change was to decrease the net cost of operations after government funding and transfers by $2,407,295 thousand for 2012 ($1,894,187 thousand for 2011).
Comparative figures have been reclassified to conform to the current year's presentation.
The Treasury Board Policy on Internal Control, effective April 1, 2009, requires departments to demonstrate the measures they are taking to maintain effective systems of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR).
As part of this policy, departments are expected to conduct annual assessments of their system of ICFR, establish action plan(s) to address any necessary adjustments, and attach to their Statements of Management Responsibility a summary of their assessment results and action plan.
Effective systems of ICFR aim to achieve reliable financial statements and to provide assurances that:
It is important to note that the system of ICFR is not designed to eliminate all risks, rather to mitigate risk to a reasonable level with controls that are balanced with and proportionate to the risks they aim to mitigate.
The system of ICFR is designed to mitigate risks to a reasonable level based on an ongoing process to identify key risks, to assess the effectiveness of associated key controls, to adjust them as required, and to monitor the system in support of continuous improvement. As a result, the scope, pace and status of those departmental assessments of the effectiveness of their system of ICFR will vary from one organization to the other based on risks and on taking into account their unique circumstances.
This document is the annex to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's (the Secretariat's) Statement of Management Responsibility Including Internal Control Over Financial Reporting for the fiscal year 2011–12. It is the third annex prepared by the Secretariat following on those prepared in 2010–11 and 2009–10. As required by the Treasury Board Policy on Internal Control, effective April 1, 2009, this document provides summary information on the measures taken by the Secretariat to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR). In particular, it provides summary information on the internal control assessments conducted by the Secretariat as at March 31, 2012, including progress, results and related action plans along with some financial highlights pertinent to understanding the control environment unique to the Secretariat.
The Secretariat is the administrative arm of the Treasury Board. The Treasury Board is a Cabinet committee of ministers invested with a broad range of responsibilities for management excellence, policy development, and budget and human resources oversight. The Secretariat supports Treasury Board ministers and strengthens the way government is managed to better serve Canadians and ensure value for money in government spending. The Secretariat achieves these objectives by:
While both of these roles are important, the overwhelming majority of the expenditures, in these financial statements, relate to the central payments for pensions and benefits.
Detailed information on the Secretariat's authority, mandate and programs can be found in its Departmental Performance Report and in its Report on Plans and Priorities.
Financial statements (unaudited) of the Secretariat for fiscal year 2011–12 can be found on the Secretariat's website. Information can also be found in the Public Accounts of Canada website.
Financial highlights of the Secretariat:
The Secretariat relies on other organizations for the processing of certain transactions that are recorded in its financial statements. These arrangements include but are not limited to:
Common Arrangements:
Specific Arrangements:
The Secretariat relies on the internal controls of a number of companies that provide specific services such as medical plan administration, dental plan administration, and insurance services.
Other government departments rely on the Secretariat for the processing of certain transactions or the provision of information that impacts their financial statements:
Common Arrangements:
Specific Arrangements:
Effective November 15, 2011, the responsibility for email, data centre and network services, including associated resources, was transferred from the Secretariat to Shared Services Canada (SSC) including the stewardship responsibility of the assets related to these functions, which had a total net book value of $6.2 million. The administration and delivery of these services were shared during the 2011–12 transition period while SSC was being established.
Effective January 1, 2012, the Secretariat transferred funding in the amount of $70.2 million to Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and to National Defence for the management of pension, insurance, and social security programs for locally engaged staff. The impact of this change is $55.5 million, which represents the year-over-year reduction in recorded expenses (actual expenses of $106,000 for 2011–12).
Treasury Board Accounting Standard 1.2 was recently revised and is effective for the preparation of the 2011–12 departmental financial statements. It requires the presentation of the departmental Net Debt in the Statement of Financial Position and the preparation of a new Statement of Change in Departmental Net Debt and the integration of the elements formally presented in the Statement of Equity with the Statement of Operations and Departmental Net Financial Position.
The Secretariat recognizes the importance of senior management leadership in ensuring that staff at all levels understand their roles in maintaining effective systems of ICFR and are well equipped to exercise these responsibilities. The Secretariat's objective is to continually improve its internal control environment using a risk-based approach and targeted resource investment so that the required level of effectiveness is achieved at a manageable cost.
Below are the Secretariat's key positions and committees with responsibilities for maintaining and reviewing the effectiveness of its system of ICFR.
The Secretariat's deputy head, as accounting officer, assumes overall responsibility and leadership for the measures taken to maintain an effective system of internal control. In this role, the Secretary chairs the Secretariat Executive Committee and is a member of the Departmental Audit Committee.
The Secretariat's CFO reports directly to the Secretary and provides leadership for the coordination, coherence and focus on the design and maintenance of an effective and integrated system of ICFR, including its annual assessment.
The Secretariat's senior departmental managers in charge of program delivery are responsible for maintaining and reviewing the effectiveness of the system of ICFR falling within their mandate.
The Secretariat's CAE reports directly to the Secretary and provides assurance through periodic internal audits, which are instrumental to the maintenance of an effective system of ICFR.
The GCAC is an advisory committee to the Secretary that provides objective views on the Secretariat's financial statements, risk management, control and governance frameworks. It is comprised of three external members, a deputy minister external to the Secretariat, and the Secretary of the Treasury Board. As such, it reviews the Secretariat's Corporate Risk Profile, its internal audit reports, and its system of internal control, including the assessment and action plans relating to the system of ICFR.
The Secretariat's control environment includes measures and tools to help raise awareness and to develop employees' internal control knowledge and skill sets. These include:
In support of the Policy on Internal Control, an effective system of ICFR has the objective to provide reasonable assurance that:
Over time, this includes assessment of the design and operating effectiveness of the departmental system of ICFR leading to ensuring the ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement of its departmental system of ICFR.
means to ensure that key control points are identified, documented and in place, and that they are aligned with the risks (i.e., controls are balanced with and proportionate to the risks they aim to mitigate) and that any remediation is addressed. This includes the mapping of key processes and IT systems to the main accounts.
means that the application of key controls has been tested over a defined period and that any required remediation is addressed. Such testing covers all departmental control levels, which include corporate or entity, general computer and business process controls.
In the third fiscal year since the introduction of the Policy on Internal Control, the Secretariat continued to improve its approach to assessing internal controls. As the Secretariat follows a risk-based approach to assessing internal controls over financial reporting, it continued to look at the largest programs impacting the financial statements.
As part of its annual assessment, the Secretariat completed the following:
The Secretariat also took into account information from relevant audits and assessments including the following internal audit reports (which are hyperlinked):
The business processes within the Secretariat are grouped into two categories: 1) those that concern the Secretariat as a department and 2) those that concern the Secretariat in its role of managing government-wide funds and public service employer payments.
Business processes for the Secretariat as a department are as follows:
Business processes for the Secretariat as the manager for government-wide funds and public service employer payments are as follows:
In 2010–11, the Secretariat focused on business processes associated with its role as the manager of government-wide funds and public service employer payments. The assessments of the design effectiveness of internal controls for the PSPP, the PSHCP and the DI began during 2010–11 and were completed during 2011–12. The design effectiveness assessment involved identifying the specific risks, the related internal controls as well as whether the controls were effective at mitigating the specified risks.
In assessing its key controls, the Secretariat assessed design effectiveness for its government-wide pension and employee benefit plans and conducted operational effectiveness testing for departmental business processes.
The Secretariat conducted in-depth design effectiveness testing on the PSPP, the PSHCP and the DI. The Secretariat identified those controls that were effectively designed and those that were missing or required improvement. The Secretariat began implementation of the corrections, and this will be continued into 2012–13. As a result of these assessments, the Secretariat identified the need for remediation in the following areas:
Governance and Oversight:
Information and Communication:
Financial Analysis:
Documentation of Controls and Evidence of Controls:
Accounting:
In 2011–12, the Secretariat conducted operating effectiveness testing on regular and priority payments for departmental goods and services transactions. The assessment covered a one-year period from November 1, 2010, to October 31, 2011. A representative sample of transactions was reviewed to determine if the key control activities were operating effectively. The assessment identified that the majority of controls were operating effectively. There were two controls that required remediation, and the responsible organizational unit made the required changes.
Efforts in fiscal year 2012 focused on the various pension and insurance benefit programs operated and administered by the Secretariat. This emphasis will continue through 2012–13 and 2013–14 due to the complexity and number of insurance plans involved. In addition, the Secretariat will continue to expand the operating effectiveness testing of internal controls.
During 2011–12, the Secretariat continued to make significant progress in assessing and improving its controls. Below is a summary of the main progress made by the Secretariat:
Overall, the Secretariat completed the following activities that were planned in the 2010–11 Annex for ICFR:
In addition, the Secretariat completed the following activity, which had not been planned:
As a department, the Secretariat completed the following as planned:
As the manager of government-wide funds and public service employer payments, the Secretariat reviewed the processes and control activities for the following programs:
In 2011–12, the Secretariat's focus was on the various government-wide pension and insurance benefit plans operated by the Secretariat. This will remain its primary focus over the next three years as the internal controls are assessed, strengthened and tested for operational effectiveness.
Overall, the Secretariat plans to:
As a department, the Secretariat plans to:
As the manager of government-wide funds and public service employer payments, the Secretariat plans to:
Overall, the Secretariat plans to:
As a department, the Secretariat plans to:
As the manager of government-wide funds and public service employer payments, the Secretariat plans to:
Return to footnote reference [1] For a definition of “deputy head” see the Public Service Employment Act, subsection 2(1).
Return to footnote reference [2] As of April 1, 2012, refinements to the Policy on Management, Resources and Results Structures took effect. As a result, the title “Performance Activity Architecture” was changed to “Performance Alignment Architecture.”
Return to footnote reference [3] Further information regarding Votes 5, 10, 25, 30 and 33 can be found in the 2012–13 Estimates.
Return to footnote reference [4] This refers to the 16 Government of Canada outcome areas in the whole-of-government framework.
Return to footnote reference [5] Further information regarding Votes 5, 10, 25, 30 and 33 can be found in the 2012–13 Estimates.
Return to footnote reference [6] The word “departments” is used as defined in the Financial Administration Act.
Return to footnote reference [7] Once this policy is approved, it will apply to all departments listed in Schedules I, I.1 and II of the Financial Administration Act, with the exception of the Canada Revenue Agency. It also applies to a Commission established pursuant to the Inquiries Act that is designated as a department for the purposes of the Financial Administration Act through an order-in-council.
Return to footnote reference [8] Further information regarding Votes 5, 10, 25, 30 and 33 can be found in the 2012–13 Estimates.