2018 to 2019 Public Accounts: Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—March 12, 2020
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2018 to 2019 Public Accounts and report
In this section
Background: Public accounts
The Public Accounts of Canada is a report prepared annually by the Receiver General, as required under section 64 of the Financial Administration Act. The information contained summarizes the financial transactions of all government departments and agencies, as well as the detailed records maintained by each department and agency, including Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).
The Public Accounts of Canada covers the fiscal year of the government ending on March 31. It provides information to Parliament, and thus to the public, which will enable them to understand and evaluate the financial transactions of the government for transparency and to present a fair picture of the country’s financial position.
Each department is responsible for submitting financial information to the Receiver General who then consolidates the government-wide information into the Public Accounts of Canada. Responsibility for the form and content of the Public Accounts of Canada rests with the minister of Finance, as well as the president of the Treasury Board who is responsible for tabling the Public Accounts of Canada in the House of Commons.
The department is accountable for preparing its financial information and undertakes a rigorous annual process to ensure that what is reflected in the Public Accounts of Canada accurately captures the relevant information and proper recording of financial transactions. The Office of the Auditor General performed an audit of our Public Accounts of Canada and determined that no material misstatements were identified.
In the past few years, our department has not received significant media attention. However, areas that could attract interest have been detailed in this document.
Key messages: Public accounts
- The government is committed to open, transparent and accurate accounting
- Public Services and Procurement Canada’s 2018 to 2019 public accounts reflect sound financial management and responsible spending in the delivery of its mandate as a common service provider
Contractual obligations
- PSPC plays an important role in the daily operations of the Government of Canada as the central purchasing agent for federal departments and agencies. The nature of government's activities requires negotiation of contracts that are significant in relation to their current financial position or that will materially affect the level of future expenses
- PSPC’s goal is to manage the business in a way that demonstrates integrity, accountability, transparency, and adds value for our client departments and for Canadians by leveraging private sector expertise
Environmental liabilities
- Since 2005, PSPC and other departments have made significant progress in remediating contaminated sites by treating contaminated water and soil and removing and destroying hazardous wastes
- As a responsible custodian, PSPC actively continues to deploy efforts to properly evaluate and take remediation measures for each contaminated site, within its portfolio
Losses of public money
- Losses of public money represents any amount of money misused illegally or by accident even if the amount is recovered
- In the instances where misdirected payments are made, a sustained effort is made by the Receiver General and the financial institutions, within the parameters of the law, to recover them
- The total losses decreased in 2018 to 2019 mainly due to a reduction in misdirected direct deposits. An average of 0.002% of direct deposits were misdirected in 2018 to 2019 compared to 0.003% in 2017 to 2018
- Of the total amount that was lost in 2018 to 2019, 75% was recovered in the current year and 17% is expected to be recovered in future years
Losses of public property
- Losses of public property are attributed to accidental loss, destruction or damage that occurred or were discovered such as damages to buildings, losses of electronic devices or damages to Crown vehicles
- PSPC has rigorous and effective security practices and controls in place
- In regards to electronic devices, once an item is reported lost, supplementary security steps and controls are taken to eliminate threats and risks to the departmental networks
- PSPC continues to safeguard its assets through ongoing improvements to its inventory management processes
Payments of claims against the Crown
- These are out-of-court settlements of claims related to general damages, damages to a property, employment, grievances, etc.
- Although PSPC is one of the largest departments as well as a key provider of services to federal departments and agencies, PSPC presents a decrease of 27% in payments of claims against the crown in 2018 to 2019 compared to previous fiscal year
Court awards
- Payment of court awards are a result of any court judgment whether it is federal, provincial or from another jurisdiction
- As a common service provider for procurement the department is called upon at time to pay court awards on behalf of other departments, for which PSPC is ultimately reimbursed
Professional and special services
- Professional services ensure the delivery of common services for specialized work, short-term service needs or to meet unforeseen fluctuations in demands
- PSPC calls upon professional services to leverage private sector expertise and efficiency for specific services while simultaneously continuing to generate private sector jobs and benefits to Canadians
Expenses for the Minister’s Office
- The Minister’s Office expenses include costs for the provision of minister’s regional offices available for use by all ministers when conducting official government business across the country. The costs are comprised of personnel, transportation and communications expenses as well as material and supplies
- The expenses increased mainly as a result of the implementation of planned additional capacity in the ministerial regional offices (MROs)
Accountable advances
- Accountable advances are advances accounted for a recovery that are not repaid by the end of the fiscal year
- The accountable advances are comprised of petty cash, advances to employees, such as travel, salary advances to employees and recoverable advances to bargaining agents
- PSPC is doing their part in providing recoverable advances to bargaining agents
- As an employer, it recognizes the importance of its role in providing employees with salary advances to alleviate stress and hardship with pay-related issues. It also provides help by allowing for more flexibility in the recovery of these payments
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