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ARCHIVED - Audit of Account Verification


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Appendix A—Audit Criteria

Line of Enquiry

Audit Criteria*

*Source: The Office of the Comptroller General's Core ManagementControls, which are organized around the federal government's MAF.

Management of Human Resources—Management Accountability Framework (MAF): Accountability

Employees receive sufficient training on current account verification requirements.

Current and formal instruction materials, guidelines and/or checklists are available and used by employees to support account verification activity.

Verification of FAA-Certified Payment Requests—MAF: Stewardship

Business processes and controls to validate key aspects of account verification for goods and services payment requests operate in accordance with authorities.

Business processes and controls to validate key aspects of account verification for acquisition card post-payment requests operate in accordance with authorities.

Business processes and controls to validate key aspects of account verification for employee payable requests (awards, conferences, hospitality, memberships, training and travel) operate in accordance with authorities.

Monitoring and Reporting of Results—MAF: Results and Performance

Compliance monitoring is performed effectively and on a periodic basis.

The results of monitoring, including the causes of errors and remedial action, are reported to various levels of management on a periodic basis.

Appendix B—Management Action Plan

Recommendation 1: 

It is recommended that the Assistant Secretary, CSS, implement account verification business process improvements, including:

  • An account verification checklist for processing acquisition card payment requests;
  • Modification to the existing checklist for goods and services to indicate that supporting documentation is required for receipt of goods and/or services rendered; and
  • Modification of existing account verification checklists to specify requirements for the date of pre-authorization, FAA Section 34 certification, and a record of account verification follow-up.

Priority Ranking

Management Accountability Framework/ Core Management Control

Management Action

Completion Date

Office of the Primary Interest

Medium

Stewardship/ (AC-1, RM-3 ST-5, ST-7, ST-10)

Management agrees with the  recommendation

 

Accounting Services and Management Practices for all

A checklist for account verification of acquisition card payments will be prepared and disseminated to clients

June 2010

Checklists will be amended to include a requirement for evidence of goods receipt/services rendered in cases where this is practical, material and cost effective

August 2010

Checklists will be modified as recommended.

May 2010

Recommendation 2:

It is recommended that the Assistant Secretary, CSS, implement, as practicable:

  • A risk-based approach to payment verification; and
  • Periodic monitoring and reporting of results to support management of account verification.

Priority Ranking

Management Accountability Framework/ Core Management Control

Management Action

Completion Date

Office of the Primary Interest

Medium

Results and Performance

(RP-3)

Management agrees with the recommendation

 

Accounting Services and Management Practices for all

Risk Criteria will be developed and applied to key transaction types. An Account Verification Sampling Plan will be prepared.

Completed

Risk based post audit of domestic travel expenditures will be implemented

Completed

Error rates for other payment types (Goods and Services – External Vendors) will be analyzed to determine eligibility for risk based approach to account verification.

November 2010

Development of long term plan for monitoring account verification error rates including determination of frequency of monitoring and reporting.

December 2010

Implementation of Monitoring and Reporting Plan.

February 2011