ARCHIVED - Management Response and Action Plan – Audit of the Key Financial Controls
December 2011
|
Recommendations
|
Management Response and Planned Management Action
|
Deliverables
|
Expected Completion Date
|
Responsibility
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recommendation 1 It is recommended that the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) ensure that specimen signature cards are terminated through the year on a timely basis. |
Management agrees with this recommendation. The Chief Financial Officer Branch (CFOB) is leading an initiative to enhance the existing process and controls on the various actions required when an employee is leaving the Department. This initiative will result in the development and implementation of a mandatory departure form. This form will include the requirement for the cancellation of the financial specimen signature cards. |
Revised and approved departure form and process. | March 30, 2012 | CFOB - Resource Management Directorate (RMD) in consultation with the Corporate Services Branch (CSB) |
| Development of a communication and implementation strategy for the mandatory usage of the new departure form and process. | March 30, 2012 | CFOB - RMD in consultation with CSB | ||
| In the interim, CFOB will remind all staff of the need to ensure that they request the cancellation of their financial specimen signature cards prior to their departure, as well as the requirement for managers to provide assistance to their staff and to monitor compliance. | Communication to all staff via Health Canada Broadcast News. | November 30, 2011 | CFOB - RMD | |
| CFOB will assess the monitoring tool used by the Audit and Accountability Bureau during the conduct of their audit. If applicable, CFOB will implement this tool once it is modified to function in a PeopleSoft environment. | Implementation of a periodic monitoring tool. | September 28, 2012 | CFOB - Financial Operations Directorate (FOD) - Public Accounts and Policy Division (PAPD) | |
| Recommendation 2 It is recommended that the CFO ensure that the quality assurance process is improved in the following areas:
|
Management agrees with this recommendation. CFOB will enhance the Health Canada Statistical Sampling Plan to provide guidance on the interpretation of error codes and examples of their application to help ensure proper identification and logging of critical errors. |
Updated Health Canada Statistical Sampling Plan. | December 23, 2011 | CFOB - FOD - Accounting Operations and Systems Division (AOSD) |
| CFOB will modify the Health Canada Statistical Sampling Plan to expand the logging of errors for high risk transactions to include errors identified through the quality assurance process on grant and contribution transactions. | Communication of the enhancements and updates by conducting information session(s) with accounting offices. | January 13, 2012 | CFOB - FOD - AOSD | |
| Monitoring the implementation of the procedures by following-up on a sample of the transactions reviewed in the fourth quarter of 2011-2012 and the first quarter of 2012-2013. | October 31, 2012 | CFOB - FOD - AOSD | ||
| CFOB will report the results of the acquisition card transaction quality assurance review, in addition to the results of the quarterly statistical sampling results. | Reporting of acquisition card transaction quality assurance. | March 30, 2012 | CFOB - FOD - PAPD | |
| Recommendation 3 It is recommended that the CFO develop clear guidance on the additional work required when the tolerable error rate has been exceeded in order to demonstrate the adequacy and reliability of account verification. |
Management agrees with this recommendation. CFOB will enhance the Health Canada Statistical Sampling Plan to provide guidance and clarification on the level of analysis and assessment as well as actions and required follow-up where the tolerable error rate has been exceeded. |
Updated Health Canada Statistical Sampling Plan. | December 23, 2011 | CFOB - FOD - AOSD |
| Communication of the enhancements and updates by conducting information session(s) with accounting offices. | January 31, 2012 | CFOB - FOD - AOSD | ||
| The error reports provided by the accounting offices will be reviewed on a quarterly basis to ensure that the required level of analysis has been performed and that the follow-up actions indicated are appropriate. The first review will be performed on the error reports for the third 2011-2012 quarter results. | April 30, 2012 | CFOB - FOD - AOSD | ||
| Recommendation 4 It is recommended that the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of the CSB ensure that:
|
Management agrees with this recommendation. The Compensation Policy Centre will issue a reminder to all Health Canada compensation units that they are required to utilise the verification stamp as stated in Health Canada's Standard Operating Procedures for Pay Verification and Payment Release. The message will also stress the importance of adherence to this process as it provides evidence of pay transaction approval by the Compensation Verifier and work performed by the Compensation Advisor. The Compensation Policy Centre will periodically monitor that the verification stamp is being used for each pay action in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure for Payment Verification and Payment Release. [sensitive security-related information removed in accordance with the exemption provisions of the Access to Information Act] |
All Health Canada compensation units will be reminded of the mandatory requirement to utilize the verification stamp for all pay actions. | November 30, 2011 | ADM, CSB - Human Resources Services Directorate Compensation Policy Centre Compensation Operations (all regions, including the National Capital Region) |
| Monitoring to ensure the usage of the verification stamp will be conducted. | March 31, 2012 | Compensation Policy Centre | ||
| Recommendation 5 It is recommended that the CFO, in collaboration with the ADM, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) and the ADM, Regions and Program Branch (RAPB), ensure that coordination is improved between accounting offices and contribution programs to ensure that all receivables, including those resulting from close-out of contribution agreements, are recorded in the departmental financial system in an accurate and timely manner. |
Management agrees with this recommendation. CFOB in collaboration with the RAPB and the FNIHB initiated work to assess the enhancements required to assist with the identification and recording of contributions receivables in an accurate and timely manner. This work will include an analysis of the assessment status of contribution agreement reports from prior years and reconciliation with the financial information reported in the departmental financial system as well as the development of procedures for the annual financial process including timelines. |
Summary report of the analysis on the assessment status of First Nations and Inuit Health (FNIH) contribution agreement reports from current year and prior years. | November 30, 2011 | CFOB - RMD - Executive Director, Financial Management (EDFM) in consultation with RAPB - FNIH Regional Directors (FNIH RDs) and Regional Senior Financial Officers (RSFOs) |
| Reconciliation of the Management of Contracts and Contributions System (MCCS) with the financial information reported in the Department's financial system and recording of accounting adjustments in the Department's financial system as required. | December 30, 2011 | CFOB - RMD - EDFM in consultation with RAPB - FNIH RDs and RSFOs | ||
| Update of Health Canada Accounts Receivable Policy and procedures. | March 30, 2012 | CFOB - FOD - PAPD | ||
| Communication of the enhancements and updates via Health Canada Broadcast News. | April 30, 2012 | CFOB - FOD - PAPD | ||
| Review of FNIHB's procedure and guideline documents. | July 31, 2012 | CFOB - FOD - PAPD | ||
| If applicable, update of FNIHB procedure and guideline in line with the Accounts Receivable Policy and procedures. | August 31, 2012 | FNIHB in consultation with CFOB - FOD - PAPD | ||
| Monthly status report on all FNIHB contribution agreements to assist with the monitoring of the status of file review as well as the recording of financial information in the Department's financial system in order to enhance the accuracy of the information in the Department Financial Statements. (The first monthly report will be delivered by December 30, 2011) | December 30, 2011 | RAPB - FNIH RDs and RSFOs in consultation with FNIHB and CFOB - RMD - EDFM |
Page details
- Date modified: