Office of the Auditor General of Canada—Quarterly Financial Report for the quarter ended 30 September 2020

Office of the Auditor General of Canada Quarterly Financial Report for the quarter ended 30 September 2020

Statement outlining results, risks, and significant changes in operations, personnel, and program

Introduction

This quarterly report has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Treasury Board, and it should be read in conjunction with the Main Estimates. This quarterly report has not been subject to an external audit or review.

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) has 1 program activity: legislative auditing. The OAG conducts independent audits and studies that provide objective information, advice, and assurance to Parliament, government, and Canadians.

Mandate

The Auditor General of Canada is an Officer of Parliament, who is independent from the government and reports directly to Parliament. The duties are set out in the Auditor General Act, the Financial Administration Act, and other acts and orders-in-council. These duties relate to legislative auditing and, in certain cases, to monitoring of federal departments and agencies, Crown corporations, territorial governments, and other entities.

Basis of presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the OAG’s spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the OAG, consistent with the Main Estimates for the 2020–21 fiscal year. This quarterly report provides financial information on the use of spending authorities. The OAG uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual financial statements that are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

Highlights of quarterly and year-to-date results

In the 2019–20 fiscal year, the full supply of authorities was provided in the first quarter. As a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and limited sessions in the spring for Parliament to study supply, the full supply of authorities for the 2020–21 fiscal year is expected to be received in December 2020. This change explains the decrease in authorities available for use at the end of the second quarter compared with last year.

The authorities used increased as a result of the growing workforce and the revised salary structures that were announced in previous quarters.

Figure 1—text version

Authorities available and used as at September 30
(in millions of dollars)

Authorities available and used as at September 30 (in millions of dollars)

	AvailableNote *	Year to date used
2020–21	71.6	46.0
2019–20	91.2	40.5

Figure 2—text version

Authorities used in the quarter ended September 30
(in millions of dollars)

• 2020–21: 24.7
• 2019–20: 20.3

Risks and uncertainties

The primary risk currently facing the OAG is its limited capacity to deliver on its performance audit mandate. This risk has emerged because of significant underfunding of the OAG in recent years, which resulted in a reduction in the number of audits delivered by the performance audit practice. This risk has been compounded by the stress imposed on the OAG’s operations by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the fact that the House of Commons has requested specific performance audit work, which will require substantial resources to complete.

Another risk that the OAG faces is its capacity to invest in necessary information technology systems and architecture for the audit and corporate services. These investments have been delayed because of insufficient funding of the OAG.

Significant changes in operations, personnel, and program

There were no significant changes in operations, personnel, and program during the second quarter of the 2020–21 fiscal year.

Approved by:

Ottawa, Canada
27 November 2020

Statement of authorities (unaudited)
(in thousands of dollars)

Departmental budgetary expenditures by standard object (unaudited)
(in thousands of dollars)