Corporate Structure and Activities

The Office of the Comptroller General (OCG) provides oversight and direction to government-wide efforts to improve the stewardship of tax payers' dollars and government assets. The OCG is composed of three operational sectors.

• Acquired Services and Assets Sector
• Financial Management Sector
• Financial Management Transformation Project Office
• Internal Audit Sector

Acquired Services and Assets Sector

The Acquired Services and Assets Sector supports the Comptroller General of Canada in strengthening the management of real property and materiel, investment planning, project management and procurement across the government. The ASAS promotes excellence in resource stewardship, governance, and public sector accountability by providing policy advice and support to the Treasury Board in the following areas:

• Procurement;
• Investment planning, project management;
• Real property and materiel;
• Development of the concerned communities of public servants.

Led by the Assistant Comptroller General, the Acquired Services and Assets Sector (ASAS) provides leadership, expertise and innovation to the government's procurement, investment planning, project management, real property and materiel policy suites. ASAS also helps improve the quality of information available for enterprise-wide decision making and analysis. This is accomplished through ongoing efforts to enhance the integration and standardization of policies, processes, training and data.

ASAS works closely with the procurement, materiel management, real property, investment planning and project management communities and stakeholders to develop and implement management strategies, enabling infrastructures, programs and tools that support the communities in fulfilling their roles in the delivery of programs and services.

Key Activities

Procurement

• Develop, implement, monitor and renew a broad range of procurement-related Treasury Board policies instruments;
• Monitor and assess departmental performance and compliance with policies and standards;
• Provide professional leadership, advice, and support to the Treasury Board and its Secretariat, to senior departmental officials, parliamentarians and others;
• Provide advice on issues related to legislation and regulations concerning procurement (e.g. Government Contracts Regulations);
• Provide policy input and advice regarding broader horizontal national objectives and policies administered by other departments that leverage procurement such as: Green Procurement (Public Works and Government Services Canada [PWGSC]), Industrial and Regional Benefits (Industry Canada) and Intellectual Property (Industry Canada); and
• Provide expert advice to Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), Industry Canada and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) on procurement-related matters concerning international trade agreements (e.g. Canada/EU), internal trade and comprehensive land claims agreements.

For more information, visit the Contract Management site.

Investment Planning, Project Management

• Develop, implement, monitor and renew investment planning and project management-related Treasury Board policies instruments;
• Monitor and assess departmental performance and compliance with policies and standards;
• Provide professional leadership, advice, and support to Treasury Board and its Secretariat, to senior departmental officials, parliamentarians and others; and
• Develop investment and project management guidance material for use government-wide; and
• Manage the central, online application (Callipers) for the creation and submission of organizational project management capacity assessment and project complexity and risk assessment.

For more information, visit the Investment Planning and/or Project Management sites.

Real Property and Materiel

• Develop, implement, monitor and renew real property and materiel management-related Treasury Board policies instruments;
• Monitor and maintain the Common Services Policy;
• Monitor and assess departmental performance and compliance with policies and standards;
• Provide real property, materiel, fleet, common services and contaminated sites advice and support to Treasury Board and its Secretariat, to senior officials, parliamentarians and others;
• Provide policy advice and support to horizontal programs and initiatives administered by other departments: Corporate Asset Management Program (Finance), Office Accommodation Program, the Office of the Greening of Government Operations and Crown Assets Disposal Directorate (PWGSC), Consultation and Accommodation Unit (AANDC); and
• Manage the central registry of all federal real property and federal contaminated sites as well as co-manage the Federal Contaminated Sites Accelerated Action Plan with Environment Canada.

For more information, visit the Materiel Management site.

Community Development

• Develop and implement an integrated and sustainable human resource management framework, strategies, initiatives, tools and methodologies to build the capacity, and enhance the professionalism of the Procurement, Materiel Management and Real Property Communities;
• Provide a comprehensive engagement strategy targeting the Procurement, Materiel Management and Real Property Communities and their stakeholders; including government-wide initiatives for branding and recruitment, classification, and professional development and certification (procurement and materiel); and
• Lead and facilitate the creation of communities of practice.

For more information, visit the Procurement, Materiel Management and Real Property Communities Management site.

Financial Management Sector (FMS)

The Financial Management Sector (FMS) supports the Comptroller General of Canada in bringing rigorous standards to financial management, oversight, and reporting across the government. The FMS plays a lead role in enhancing, integrating, and standardizing business systems, policies, processes, and data to make quality information available for decision making and analysis. Key roles include the following:

• financial management;
• financial oversight; and
• financial reporting.

Led by the Assistant Comptroller General, the Financial Management (FMS) works to bring excellence and innovation to the government’s financial management policy suite. FMS also helps improve the quality of information available for enterprise-wide decision making and analysis. This is accomplished through ongoing efforts to enhance integration and standardization of business systems, policies, processes, and data.

Key Activities

Financial management

• Develops financial management and accounting frameworks, policies, directives standards, and guides
• Monitors and assesses departmental performance and compliance with policies and standards
• Monitors the management of the Government of Canada's systems of internal control
• Provides professional leadership, advice, and support to departments, senior officials, ministers, and others
• Supports the development of professional accounting standards

Financial oversight

• Provides central allowances, provisions, and other accounting adjustments
• Provides advice on appropriate accounting treatment
• Monitors and provides support on major litigation and contingent liabilities
• Monitors departmental financial activities and reporting for compliance with legislative authorities, and policy instruments
• Provides advice and due diligence on new initiatives, including spending and charging

Financial reporting

• Manages the preparation and maintenance of the Public Accounts of Canada and government financial statements
• Provides support for public sector pension plans and departmental financial statements and reporting
• Provides analysis and reporting of government-wide financial results
• Develops and maintains the government-wide Chart of Accounts
• Monitors accounting standards activities nationally and internationally and develops and maintains government accounting policies

Community development and capacity building

• Provides comprehensive HR strategies and targeted professional development, recruitment and support for the financial management community
• Provides leadership and advice on human resources matters related to the transition to the chief financial officer (CFO) model, including advice on recruitment, staffing, succession planning, and professional accreditation of CFOs
• Provides competency development and career management strategies to the financial management community.
• Conducts community outreach and engagement, including community events such as executive financial management conferences and financial officer information sessions and strategic workshops.

Transfer payments management

• Develops policies and guides
• Monitors and assesses departmental performance and compliance with policies
• Provides sustained leadership and support in promoting and facilitating collaboration among departments for the harmonization of transfer payment programs, the standardization of administrative processes and the sharing of best practices
• Conducts outreach and engagement with federal practitioner community involved in the design, delivery and management of transfer payment programs

For more information on FMS activities and resources, visit the Financial Management site.

Financial Management Transformation Project Office

The Financial Management Transformation (FMT) project office supports the Comptroller General of Canada in transforming the financial management function across government in order to standardize financial management data, modernize the delivery model for financial management services and build enterprise systems for financial management.

The FMT project office plays a lead role in advancing the transformation initiative by aggressively moving forward on financial management data standardization and the government’s enterprise reporting capacity; by managing investments in financial management to implement a common government SAP enterprise solution; by developing a financial management services strategy. The Office’s key areas of business include:

• Financial data and analytics;
• Investment alignment; and
• Financial systems and services.

Led by the Assistant Comptroller General, the FMT project office has the following program objectives:

• Delivering more timely, consistent and responsive financial information to support decision making across government;
• Improving financial management services to make more efficient use of resources; and
• Achieving efficiencies and cost savings by standardizing, streamlining and consolidating financial management processes and systems. 

Key Activities

Leadership of the Financial Management Transformation Initiative

• Enhances, develops, integrates and standardizes the policies and processes that enable the provision of quality enterprise data and information for decision-making and analysis
• Provides the governance model for the government’s common financial management enterprise and develops a sustainable approach to community outreach and engagement
• Leads the consolidation of the government’s common financial management systems and develops its financial management business model and architecture
• Standardizes the financial management services delivery model by developing the government’s financial management shared services strategy and implementation approach in collaboration with key stakeholders

Financial Systems

• Ensures that the Government of Canada has effective and efficient business processes and financial systems to provide quality financial information through standardization and consolidation
• Facilitates provision of quality financial information by enhancing definitions and standards for key financial data and information requirements
• Ensures investment alignment across the Government of Canada

Corporate Financial Systems

• Provides a turnkey financial and materiel management ERP operational system and corporate reporting system by providing help desk services, training, end-user communications, and software maintenance and development
• Plans and facilitates the evolution and deployment of effective business systems in conjunction with Central Agency Cluster – Shared Systems (CAC-SS) division ,  the OCG and PWGSC’s SAP Program Office

Ensures investment alignment across the CAC-SS cluster via annual development and maintenance plans and governance in line with annual Memoranda of Understanding and Service Level Agreements with all client organizations

Internal Audit Sector (IAS)

The Internal Audit Sector (IAS) supports the Comptroller General of Canada in strengthening the internal audit function across government. A strong audit function provides a basis on which decision makers can exercise sound oversight and control of their organization, manage risk intelligently, target their attention to areas in need of improvement, and report in a fair and complete manner to ministers, legislators, and the public. In this context, the key roles of the sector include the following:

• functional leadership of internal audit;
• horizontal Audits of Large and Small Departments;
• core control audits in Small Departments;
• internal audit services to Regional Development Agencies; and,
• assessment of and assurance pertaining to the practice of internal audit.

Led by the Assistant Comptroller General, the sector brings leadership and innovation to government efforts to maintain the highest standards of public sector governance, risk management, resource stewardship, and accountability within government departments and agencies.

Policy on Internal Audit (2012)

Much of the Sector's work centres on sustaining the Treasury Board's new Policy on Internal Audit. The Policy enhances the oversight, monitoring, and reporting role of internal audit; bolsters its independence; and strengthens the professionalism with which it is practiced. It also clarifies the relationships between deputy heads, who are responsible for ensuring an internal audit capacity appropriate to the needs of their departments, and the Comptroller General, who is responsible for providing focussed, sustained leadership of the internal audit function across government.

For more information, visit the Policy on Internal Audit.

Key Activities

Functional leadership role

• Develop internal audit policy, professional standards, and practice guidance
• Put enablers in place that assist the internal audit community in meeting policy requirements and expectations
• Maintain a functional reporting relationship with chief audit executives
• Provide support to the operation of independent departmental audit committees
• Promote and develop data analytics strategies and audit automated tools to enable government-wide internal audit operations
• Provide support to pilot projects and encourage innovation pertaining to internal audit thinking and practice

Operational role

• Develop Office of the Comptroller General Risk-based Audit Plan, tailored to large and small departments
• Lead horizontal audits across large and small departments, conduct core control audits in small departments
• Provide internal audit services to Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), develop the Risk-based Audit Plan for RDAs and conduct identified audits.

Assessment and assurance role

• Monitor, assess, and evaluate policy implementation and compliance
• Support the role of the Comptroller General of Canada to report on internal audit and on the state of governance, risk management, and control processes across government

Community role

• Provide HR strategies and targeted professional development for the internal audit community
• Provide leadership and advice on human resources matters related to recruitment staffing and succession planning
• Conduct community and outreach and engagement, including community events
• Coordinate the government-wide process to recruit and appoint departmental audit committee members. For more information, visit the Departmental Audit Committees site.

For more information on IAS activities and resources, visit the Internal Audit site.