Management Response and Action Plan

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Audit of Maternal and Child Health Programs

October 2015

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Audit of Maternal and Child Health Programs - October 2015 (PDF document - 302 KB- 5 pages)

Recommendations	Management Response and Planned Management Action	Deliverables	Expected Completion Date	Responsibility
Table 1 footnotes Table 1 footnote 1 The process to review the terms of reference will require consultations with provinces and territories and will require additional time due to election year. Return to Table 1 footnote 1 referrer
Recommendation 1 It is recommended that the Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, update the terms of reference for the Joint Management Committees, to better align with their current role.	Management agrees with this recommendation.
	Management will review the current terms of reference, engage the Joint Management Committees and update the document as appropriate.	1.1 Updated terms of reference as required. (Bilateral discussion will be required within each jurisdiction).	March 2017^{Table 1 footnote 1}	Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch (HPCDPB)
Recommendation 2 It is recommended that the Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, develop a program risk register that includes mitigation strategies and performance measures to track the effectiveness of the mitigating actions.	Management agrees with this recommendation.
	Management will develop a program risk monitor consistent with Agency-wide initiatives, to monitor, mitigate and manage risks associated with grants and contributions programs.	2.1 A program risk monitor.	March 2016	HPCDP
Recommendation 3 It is recommended that the Chief Financial Officer: a) Revise the financial oversight requirements in order to support eligible expenditures and to be in compliance with the contribution agreement; and b) Ensure that advance payments to recipients are utilized only when essential to the achievement of a project's objectives.	Management agrees with this recommendation.
	To strengthen grants and contributions administration and compliance, the OCFO, in consultation with the Centre for Health Promotion, will revise the Contribution Agreement's financial reporting requirements to better align with the Risk-based Monitoring Strategy approved by the Executive Committee in March 2015. A comprehensive review will be conducted by the OCFO to determine the full scope of reporting requirements and to ensure that the Agency's agreements align with current management practices.	3.1 Revised Contribution Agreement	March 2016	OCFO
	As well, in March 2015, the Executive Committee approved a revised advance payment approach based on risk level, recipient need and materiality. Starting in March 2016, in order for recipients to receive advance payments, a justification form and the latest audited financial statements will need to be submitted to the Agency for review and approval. This new practice, which aligns with the TB Policy on Transfer Payments, will ensure that advance payments are restricted to those recipients for whom an advance is essential for the achievement of the project's objectives and where a reimbursement approach would result in a serious cash flow problem. In all cases, whether delayed or not, Section 33 of the Financial Administration Act requires supporting documentation (cash flow forecast) prior to issuing an advance payment.	3.2 Implementation of Recipient Justification for Advance Payment Form.	March 2016	OCFO
Recommendation 4 It is recommended that the Chief Financial Officer update the recipient risk assessments and conduct monitoring.	Management agrees with this recommendation.
	Starting in February 2016, the OCFO will conduct an annual risk assessment of all contribution agreements within the Portfolio. This approach expands on the existing Risk-Based Monitoring Strategy requirement to annually assess risk for medium and high-risk projects. As a result, the OCFO will ensure that CAPC and CPNP recipient risk assessments are updated regularly.	4.1 Conduct annual risk assessment of the contribution agreements within the Portfolio.	February 2016	OCFO

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Date modified:: 2016-02-22