Audit of Key Financial Processes at the Saskatchewan South Field Unit

Parks Canada

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• Publié par: Racin
• Nombre de lectures: 32
• Langue: English

Extrait

AUDIT OF KEY FINANCIAL PROCESSES AT
THE SASKATCHEWAN SOUTH FIELD UNIT









Prepared by:

Samson & Associates



FINAL REPORT



October 2006








Report tabled and approved by the A&E CommitteeParks Canada Agency Audit of Key Financial Processes
Saskatchewan South Field Unit

















































©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by
the Chief Executive Officer of Parks Canada, 2007

Catalogue No.: R60-3/2-12-2007E-PDF

ISBN: 978-0-662-45808-1
2PEAG OCTOBER 2007 Parks Canada Agency Audit of Key Financial Processes
Saskatchewan South Field Unit

TABLE OF CONTENTS




EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................................4
1. BACKGROUND.................................................................................................................. 9
2. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE............................................................................................... 9
3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................... 9
4. ASSURANCE STATEMENT ............................................................................................ 10
5. CONCLUSION 10
6. OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................. 11
6.1. Management Control Framework................................................................................ 11
6.2. Revenues..................................................................................................................... 12
6.3. Contracting .................................................................................................................. 15
6.4. Acquisition Cards......................................................................................................... 17
6.5. Travel........................................................................................................................... 18
6.6. Financial Coding.......................................................................................................... 19
6.7. Payments to Suppliers................................................................................................. 20
6.8. Stores Inventory and Safeguard of High Risk Valuable Small Items .......................... 22








Rapport présenté et approuvé par le comité de vérification et évaluation lors de la réunion
du 26 mars 2007
3PEAG OCTOBER 2007 Parks Canada Agency Audit of Key Financial Processes
Saskatchewan South Field Unit

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background
Parks Canada Agency (PCA) conducts cyclical audits of field units, service centres and
the national office to review key financial, administrative and management practices. The
audits focus is on compliance with Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and PCA policies
and practices. The audit of the Saskatchewan South Field Unit (SSFU) was conducted as
part of this cyclical audit program.

The SSFU includes the Grasslands National Park, the historic sites of Motherwell, Fort
Walsh, Batoche and Fort Battleford. There is also a small administrative office in
Saskatoon. Administrative and financial management of the SSFU is partially located at
the different sites, with the main finance function being in Val Marie, Saskatchewan
where the Grasslands National Park is located.

Objectives and Scope
The objectives of this audit were to confirm whether due diligence is being exercised in
key management processes and to provide assurance to senior management that processes
and controls in place at the SSFU are adequate to mitigate the risk of non-compliance to
Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and PCA policies and practices.

The scope of the audit covered the following areas: Revenues, Contracting, Use of
Acquisition Cards, Expenditures for Travel, Financial Coding, Payments to Suppliers and
Stores Inventory and Safeguarding of High Risk Valuable Small Items.

The scope of the audit covered processes in place and transactions entered into between
April 1, 2006 and July 31, 2006, except for contracting which included the latter months
of fiscal year 2005-2006.

The audit included a visit to the SSFU during the period of August 21 to 28, 2006 and
included the following activities:

Interviews with the SSFU management and personnel, at all sites, who are
responsible for all the areas being reviewed;
Review of relevant documentation provided by Parks Canada National Office and
the SSFU, including the SSFU Business Plan for fiscal year 2005-2006, the SSFU
delegated signing authorities chart, policies and guidelines concerning the
management control framework, revenues, contracting, payments to suppliers,
acquisition cards, travel expenses and financial coding; and
An on-site examination of a sample of transactions in each of the key areas
covered by the assignment.

4PEAG October 2006 Parks Canada Agency Audit of Key Financial Processes
Saskatchewan South Field Unit
At the conclusion of the fieldwork, a debriefing of our preliminary observations was
made to SSFU’s Chief Financial Authority (CFA) and the Superintendent of the field
unit.

Statement of Assurance
In our opinion, sufficient audit work has been performed and the necessary evidence has
been gathered to support the conclusions contained in this report. Our observations and
recommendations have been made in accordance with the Audit Reporting Rating System
used by Parks Canada.

Conclusion
Overall, we found that due diligence is being exercised in the management processes and
that systems and controls in place to monitor revenues, contracting, payments to
suppliers, acquisition cards, travel expense, and financial coding are adequate. However,
we have identified areas where improvements should be made.

The following table illustrates the rating summary for the SSFU.


FINANCIAL PROCESS RATING

Management Control BLUE Many of the controls are functioning as intended.
Framework However, some minor changes are necessary to make
the control environment more effective and efficient.
Revenues BLUE Many of the controls are functioning as intended.
However, some minor changes are necessary to make ent more effective and efficient.
Contracting YELLOW Some controls are in place and functioning. However,
major issues were noted and need to be addressed.
These issues could impact on the achievement or not
of program/operational objectives.
Acquisition Cards BLUE Many of the controls are functioning as intended.
However, some minor changes are necessary to make
the control environment more effective and efficient.
Travel BLUE Many of the controls are functioning as intended.
However, some minor changes are necessary to make ent more effective and efficient.
Financial Coding GREEN Many of the controls are functioning as intended.
However, some minor changes are necessary to make
the control environment more effective and efficient.
5PEAG October 2006 Parks Canada Agency Audit of Key Financial Processes
Saskatchewan South Field Unit
Payment to Suppliers YELLOW Some controls are in place and functioning. However,
major issues were noted and need to be addressed.
These issues could impact on the achievement or not
of program/operational objectives.
Stores Inventory & Safeguard Some controls are in place and functioning. However, YELLOW
of High Risk Valuable Small major issues were noted and need to be addressed.
Items These issues could impact on the achievement or not
of program/operational objectives.

We have made the following recommendations to the Field Unit Superintendent:

Revenues

Recommendation # 1: We recommend that the Motherwell site keep its safe locked at
all times. In addition, in order to maintain better control over the items in the safe, we
recommend that they consider reducing the number of persons who have access to the
safe.

Recommendation # 2: We recommend that all sites ensure that bank deposits are made
at least once a week as per PCA Policy, unless the cash on hand is very small.

Recommendation # 3: We recommend that Fort Walsh include a copy of the cash
register tape with the cash report sent to Grasslands.

Recommendation # 4: We recommend that the cash balancing sheet be signed by the
person verifying its accuracy in Fort Walsh.

Recommendation # 5: Any discrepancies between the cash tape and the sales or cash <