Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has an independent and objective assurance and consulting internal audit function designed to add value and improve the Department's operations. It supports AAFC in accomplishing the departmental objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to assess and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes.
As prescribed by the office of the Comptroller General of Canada, the following Key Compliance Attributes demonstrate that the fundamental elements necessary for oversight are in place, and that the internal audit function is operating as intended.
Internal auditors are trained to effectively perform the work
- 50% of staff involved in the conduct of internal audits hold an internal audit or accounting designation — Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)
- 19% of staff involved in the conduct of internal audits are in the processFootnote 1 of obtaining their internal audit or accounting designation (CIA, CPA)
- 19% of staff involved in the conduct of internal audits hold other designations such as Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP) Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
Notes
Staff included 16 Indeterminate employees involved in the internal audit function from the Internal Audit Division, the Practice Management Unit, and the Chief Audit Executive’s office. Some employees may hold more than one designation.
Internal audit work is performed in conformance with the international standards for the profession of Internal Audit as required by the Treasury Board Policy on Internal Audit
- The 2019-20 external assessment concluded that internal audit work was performed in conformance with the international standards for the profession of internal audit.
- Date of last comprehensive briefing to the Departmental Audit Committee on the internal processes, tools and information considered necessary to evaluate conformance with the IIA Code of Ethics and the Standards and the results of the quality assurance improvement program (QAIP) was March 10, 2020.
Internal audit work is perceived by stakeholders as adding value
- The Office of Audit and Evaluation (OAE) provided recommendations through its 2019-20 audit work that supported decision-making and improved the functioning of AAFC, such as a new approach to senior executive committees and changes to the control structure for the revenue control framework.
- In 2019-20, the OAE adjusted its audit and evaluation plan to enable targeted and timely engagements that are aligned with departmental priorities, thereby providing faster and more targeted results to support senior departmental management.
Internal audit work is performed according to the approved risk-based audit plan and management is implementing management action plans approved to address audit recommendations.
| Internal audit engagement | Audit status | Report approved date | Report published date | management action plan planned completion date | management action plan implementation status (December 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit of the Revenue Control Framework | Completed | December 20, 2019 | April 24, 2020 | R1. June 30, 2020 R2. January 31, 2020 R3. June 30, 2020 R4. September 30, 2020 |
Spring 2020 update delayed due to COVID-19. |
| Audit of Governance | Completed | October 24, 2019 | March 5, 2020 | R1. January 2020 R2. January 2020 |
Spring 2020 update delayed due to COVID-19. |
| Audit of the Grants and Contributions Digital Platform: Phase 1 | Completed | July 17, 2019 | November 29, 2019 | R1. July 30, 2019 R2. July 30, 2019 R3. August 31, 2019 R4. July 30, 2019 |
R1. Fully implemented R2. Fully implemented R3. Fully implemented R4. Revised to February 2020. On track — substantive implementation |
| Preliminary Assessment — Trade and Market Expansion — Joint Audit and Evaluation | Completed | ||||
| Preliminary Assessment — Foundational Science and Research — Joint Audit and Evaluation | Completed | ||||
| Preliminary Assessment: Cost-Shared Programming — Joint Audit and Evaluation | Completed | ||||
| Audit of Occupational Health and Safety | In progress — carry forward to 2020-2021 | ||||
| Audit of the Grants and Contributions Digital Platform: Phase 2 | In progress — carry forward to 2020-2021 | ||||
| Audit of Investment Planning | In progress — carry forward to 2020-2021 | ||||
| Preliminary Assessment —Sector Engagement and Development — Joint Audit and Evaluation | In progress — carry forward to 2020-2021 | ||||
| Review of the Information Technology Client Services | Cancelled / completed | October 14, 2019 DAC | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Review of the Service Transformation Strategy | Rescheduled |
| Internal audit engagement | Audit status | Report approved date | Report published date | MAP planned completion date | MAP implementation status (December 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audit of the Management of Intellectual Property | Completed | September 18, 2018 | January 28, 2019 | R1.: September 2019 R2.: April 2019 |
R1. Fully Implemented R2. Fully Implemented |
| Audit of AAFC MOUs and Service Agreements | Completed | May 23, 2018 | August 23, 2018 | R1.: December 2018 | R1. Revised to March 2020. On track — Substantive Implementation |
| Audit of Travel and Hospitality | Completed | December 20, 2018 | May 2, 2019 | R1.: August 2019 R2.:February 2019 March 2019 |
R1. Revised to December 2019 — Substantive Implementation R2. Fully Implemented |
| Audit of the Revenue Control Framework | In progress — carry forward to 2019-2020 | ||||
| Audit of Governance | In progress — carry forward to 2019-2020 | ||||
| Audit of the Grants and Contributions Digital Platform: Phase 1 | In progress — carry forward to 2019-2020 |