ARCHIVED - Management Response and Action Plan (MRAP) - Audit of the Management Control Framework for Contribution Programs

It is recommended that the Chief Financial Officer, in collaboration with the assistant deputy ministers of the three branches managing contribution programs, ensure that the roles and responsibilities of entities responsible for providing guidance on the management of grants and contributions, both at the departmental and the branch levels, are clarified.

CFOB in consultation with the assistant deputy ministers of the three branches managing contribution programs will clarify roles and responsibilities of the departmental functional authority for grants and contributions (G's and C's), i.e. CFOB Centre of Expertise, and those of branches delivering G's and C's programs.

This will be done via the development of a departmental policy on the management of transfer payments.

It is recommended that the Chief Financial Officer, in collaboration with assistant deputy ministers of the Regions and Programs Branch and the Strategic Policy Branch, ensure that:

• funding approval documents explicitly identify the managers that initiate expenditures against their budgets (FAA-Expenditure Initiation); and
• officers who certify that funds are available under Section 32 of the FAA have the delegated financial signing authority.

CFOB in consultation with branches delivering grants and contributions programs will review current practices and make necessary adjustments to ensure managers with delegated expenditure initiation authority certify expenses against their budget.

CFOB will require that branches confirm that program officers have the appropriate delegations as part of the annual review of the financial signing authorities.

It is recommended that the Chief Financial Officer and the assistant deputy ministers of the three branches managing contribution programs examine methods to reinforce controls to reduce the risks of possible conflicts of interest.

Currently, Health Canada is compliant with standard Government of Canada conflict of interest requirements.

Understanding that grants and contributions program delivery is a high risk area for potential conflict of interests, CFOB in consultation with the assistant deputy ministers of the three branches managing contribution programs will review how existing controls could be reinforced.

It is recommended that the Assistant Deputy Minister of the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, in collaboration with the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Regions and Programs Branch and the Chief Financial Officer, ensure that the rationale for First Nations and Inuit Health program funding decisions for special project initiatives, including links with program objectives and expected outcomes, is documented in project files.

FNIHB in consultation with RAPB and CFOB will develop and implement documentation requirements, for First Nations and Inuit (FN&I) special project initiatives, particularly in terms of substantiation of funding levels and articulation of program objectives and outcomes.