Audit of the Agency's Response to the Office of the Auditor General's 2017 and 2018 Recommendations Regarding Payroll Transactions in the Government of Canada

Internal audit

Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) internal audit is an independent, objective assurance and consulting function designed to add value and improve the Agency's operations. It helps the CFIA accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes.

Internal audit engagements are authorized as part of the CFIA's risk-based audit plan, which is updated at least annually for approval by the President. Internal audits are carried out in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Internal Audit and the Institute of Internal Auditors' International Professional Practices Framework. Final internal audit reports are approved by the President on the recommendation of the CFIA audit committee.

Overview

In its 2017 and 2018 audits of the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Government of Canada, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) made recommendations regarding the payroll transactions.

In 2017 and 2018, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) performed self-assessments to determine whether any of the OAG recommendations applied. The Agency determined that

• there were opportunities for improvement with four recommendations, which required a Management Action Plan, and
• the remaining five recommendations were already addressed by its existing processes.

The scope of the internal audit focused on the Agency's assessment of, and response to, each of the nine recommendations from the OAG. The audit focused on the period from April 1, 2018 to November 30, 2019.

Key findings

The Agency's self-assessment, corrective actions and existing processes that are under the Agency's control fully address five of nine OAG recommendations from the 2017 and 2018 Audits of the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Government of Canada.

The CFIA internal audit found that there were opportunities for improvement to the Agency's corrective actions and processes to address the four remaining recommendations.

Complete report

• Audit of the Agency's Response to the Office of the Auditor General's 2017 and 2018 Recommendations Regarding Payroll Transactions in the Government of Canada
• Management Response and Action Plan