Internal Audit

The role of internal audit is to provide deputy heads and the public with assurance that governance, risk management, and control processes are operating effectively and efficiently within government departments/agencies. The internal audit function contributes to promoting the transparency of decision-making, and government efforts to provide value and accountability to Canadians.

This page is comprised of two sections:

Internal Audit Performance Results

Publishing departmental key compliance attributes provides Canadians and parliamentarians with important information regarding the performance and impact of the internal audit function.

The Key Compliance Attributes are published in accordance with the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada (OCG) Technical Bulletin 2023-1: Policy on Internal Audit. It states:

"The objective of the Treasury Board Policy on Internal Audit is to ensure that the oversight of public resources throughout the federal public administration is informed by a professional and objective internal audit function that is independent of departmental management."

The key compliance attribute with the policy and standards are:

  • internal auditors that are trained to effectively perform the work
  • audit work that is performed in conformance with the international standards for the profession
  • audit work that is performed according to a systematically developed risk-based audit plan, which has been approved by the head of the organization, and that results in management actions being taken in response to report recommendations
  • audit work that is perceived by stakeholders as adding value in the pursuit of organizational objectives

Date of information: January 2024

2023-2024 Key Compliance attributes:

Certification:

  • % of staff with an internal audit or accounting designation (Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Professional Accountant (CPA)): 75%
  • % of staff with an internal audit or accounting designation (CIA,CPA) in progress: 0%
  • % of staff holding other designations (CGAP,CISA, etc.): 50%

Conformance with international standards for the profession of internal audit as required by Treasury Board Policy

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 and improvement program (QAIP):

  • December 2023

Date of last external assessment:

  • March 2022

Execution of the Audit Plan:

Engagement title Engagement status Report approved date Report published date Original planned MAP completion date MAP Implementation status as of September 2023
Audit of Internal Communication Practices Published – MAP fully implemented 2020-11-19 2021-02-09 2022-10-31 100%
Audit of Budgeting and Forecasting Approved –Published 2022-09-21 2022-11-29 2024-07-31 25%
Independent Review of the Courts and Registry Management System (CRMS) Project Approved – Not published 2023-01-30 N/A 2025-03-31 33%
Consultation on Data Maturity Approved – Not published 2023-10-18 N/A 2024-09-13 0%
Assessment of Management of Fraud Risks at CAS In progress - - - -

Added Value in support of the mandate and strategic objectives of the organization:

Average overall usefulness rating from senior management (ADM-level or equivalent) of areas audited: N/A

CAS has one ADM-level equivalent position; posting of results would limit confidentiality of satisfaction survey.

Internal Audit Reports

Internal audit reports provide assurance as to whether government activities are managed in a responsible way. Once an internal audit is complete, the audit team addresses any gaps or issues by recommending areas of improvement throughout the organization. In response to the recommendations, the sector responsible creates a management action plan that is monitored by the Internal Audit Division.

* The CRMS project was formally terminated in the summer of 2022. The recommendations from the Consultation on CRMS that were assessed as still relevant were integrated into the MAP for the Independent Review of CRMS (approved 30 January 2023).

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