Summary
Results analysis is management’s identification and presentation of information for users to understand and assess the ministry’s progress in achieving its ministry business plan stated outcomes. Identifying, assessing, and reporting lessons learned creates opportunities for ministries to improve operations and future plans.
Objective and Scope
In 2012, we examined processes used by ministries to analyze and report on performance measure variances in their annual reports. In 2014, we examined the quality of overall results analysis information publicly reported to Albertans through ministry annual reports. These two audits are closely linked. Performance measure variance analysis is one of the components of results analysis. For this reason, we combined our followup audit work into this one report.
Conclusion
In our report released on August 29, 2019, we conclude that for the 2016-2017 ministry annual reports, the department did not implement all our audit criteria to improve results analysis guidance and training and processes to monitor ministry compliance with results analysis reporting standards. We conclude that for the 2016-2017 ministry annual reports, the department implemented all our audit criteria to improve variance analysis guidance and standards and ministry processes to identify and explain performance measure variance analysis in ministry annual reports.