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Technical bulletin 2019: Internal audit key compliance attributes

Why publish key compliance attributes of internal audit

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”. It is important that the public know that heads of government organizations are receiving assurance and that activities are managed in a way that demonstrates responsible stewardship.

Departments with internal audit functions are required to meet public reporting requirements as prescribed by the Comptroller General of Canada (section A.2.2.3 of the Treasury Board Directive on Internal Audit) including:

  • A.2.2.3.1 Performance results for the internal audit function
  • A.2.2.3.2 A list of planned audit engagements for the coming fiscal year

The attributes in this report have been selected because they demonstrate to an external audience that, at a minimum, the fundamental elements necessary for oversight are in place, are operating as intended and are achieving results. The key attributes of compliance with the policy and standards are:

  • internal auditors who 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

Publishing departmental key compliance attributes provides information to Canadians and parliamentarians about the professionalism, performance and impact of the internal audit function in departments. The attributes are not performance measures, and no targets are attached to them. Under the policy, the Comptroller General has the authority to amend these attributes in response to changes in the internal audit environment and/or due to the evolving maturity of the internal audit function.

Results of key compliance attributes
Performance indicator Key compliance attribute Fiscal year 2019 to 2020 (First quarter) Definition or comments

Do internal auditors in departments have the training required to do the job effectively?

Are multidisciplinary teams in place to address diverse risks?

 Number of internal audit employees 21 The number of current full-time equivalent positions
Percentage of staff with an internal audit or accounting designation (Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)) 57% n/a
Percentage of staff with an internal audit or accounting designation (CIA, CPA) in progress 24% In progress: The staff member (an indeterminate employee) has formally registered with and has been accepted by the certifying body to complete the requirements of the professional designation in a prescribed time frame and has registered for at least one component of the certification process.
Percentage of staff holding other designations (for example, Certified Government Auditing Professional, Certified Information Systems Auditor) 33% Several staff also held other designations, for example:
  • Certified Government Auditing Professional
  • Certified Information Systems Auditor 
  • Certified Fraud Examiner
  • Certification in Risk Management Assurance
  • Certification in Control Self-Assessment
  • Internal Audit Practitioner
  • Certified Exercise Physiologist
Is internal audit work performed in conformance with the 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 Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Code of Ethics and the standards and the results of the quality assurance and improvement program (QAIP)

May 2019
(Small Departments Audit Committee)

June 2019
(Government of Canada Audit Committee)

Last comprehensive briefing: A comprehensive briefing includes updates on all pertinent elements of the QAIP. In accordance with IIA Standard 1320, this comprehensive briefing would include:

  • the scope and frequency of both the internal and external assessments
  • the qualifications and independence of the assessor(s) or the assessment team, including potential conflicts of interest
  • conclusions of assessors
  • corrective action plans

External assessments (practice inspections) must be conducted at least once every five years by a qualified, independent assessor or assessment team from outside the organization.
Date of last external assessment March 2019

Are the risk-based audit plans submitted to audit committees and approved by deputy heads implemented as planned with resulting reports published?

Is management acting on audit recommendations for improvements to departmental processes?

 Refer to table below for internal audit status and related information for fiscal year 2019 to 2020. n/a n/a
Is internal audit credible and adding value in support of the mandate and strategic objectives of the organization? Average overall usefulness rating from senior management (assistant deputy minister-level or equivalent) of areas audited Good

Average “overall usefulness” rating: Post-audit surveys to senior management of the area audited should include a question on the overall usefulness of the audit and should be done for all audits approved in the applicable fiscal year.

Only three post-audit surveys were sent out during the last fiscal year, and only one was returned. The rating is therefore based on the results of only that survey.

Internal audit status and related information for fiscal year 2019 to 2020

Additions and adjustments to the internal audits listed in the Departmental Plan may have occurred in order to address emerging risks and priorities of the organization.

Internal audit engagements

Audit status

Report approved date

Report published date

Original planned management action plan (MAP) completion date

MAP implementation status

Core Control Audit: Administrative Tribunals Support Services of Canada Phase I

Published – MAP not fully implemented

Audit report was consolidated to include phases I and II

June 26, 2019

July 29, 2019

Fiscal year 2019 to 2020

Second quarter

Validation in progress

Core Control Audit: Administrative Tribunals Support Services of Canada Phase II

Published – MAP not fully implemented

June 26, 2019

July 29, 2019

Fiscal year 2019 to 2020

Second quarter

Validation in progress

Office of the Comptroller General Special Internal Audit

(Due to the nature of this audit, the details cannot be released at this time)

In progress

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Blended Horizontal Engagement on Information Technology (IT) Security Phase II

Part 1: Review of IT Security Risks Related to the Government of Canada IT Strategic Direction

In progress

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Blended Horizontal Engagement on IT Security Phase II

Part 2: Small Departments IT Security Self‑Assessment

In progress

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Blended Horizontal Engagement on IT Security Phase II

Part 3: Review of the Effectiveness of User Awareness and Training, and Incident Detection

In progress

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Audit of Project Management Phase I

In progress

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Regional Development Agency: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Assessment of Innovation Capacity (Advisory)

Approved – Not published

July 11, 2019

n/a

n/a

n/a

Regional Development Agency: Canada Economic Development for Québec Regions Assessment of Innovation Capacity (Advisory)

Approved – Not published

October 8, 2019

n/a

n/a

n/a

Departmental Implementation of Digital Standards

Planned

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Treasury Board Submission Information for Decision‑Making

Planned

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Departmental Performance Measurement

Planned

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Human Resource Planning

Planned

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Regional Development Agency: Audit of the Management Control Framework over Monitoring and Reporting for Transfer Payments

In progress

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Core Control Audit: Veterans Review and Appeal Board

In progress

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Frameworks

In reservetable 1 note 1

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Project Management Phase II

In reservetable 1 note 1

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Table 1 Notes

Table 1 Note 1

“In reserve” means that the engagement is included as a placeholder to allow flexibility so that the plan can be reviewed and adjusted as appropriate.

Return to table 1 note 1 referrer

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