Planned work for April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024
Through our performance audit work, we examine the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of government programs and processes to provide assurance to Albertans that these are working as intended. The focus of our work is the result of extensive planning and is based on significance, level of risk, and relevancy to Albertans.
Our performance audits commencing and continuing in fiscal 2023-2024 are as follows. This list is not exhaustive and is subject to change.
Performance audits that centre around program design and delivery with a focus on the accountability for reporting on results.
| Ministry | Audit Topic | Description |
|---|
| Children and Family Services | Alberta’s Child Care Subsidy | This audit will provide assurance on the design and effectiveness of the department’s processes to ensure that payments are accurate, including childcare subsidies, staff wage top-ups and training subsidies. |
| Energy and Minerals | Benefit Analysis for Energy Business Arrangements | This audit will provide assurance on the control framework for reviewing, approving, and reporting on energy related business proposals. |
| Environment and Protected Areas | Surface Water Management | This audit will provide assurance on effectiveness of processes to manage water allocation and use, and adequate public reporting on the outcomes of surface water management. |
| Forestry and Parks | Forestry Management | To assess whether the department has adequate systems, policies, and procedures to ensure compliance with legislation, regulations, and policies and to reliably measure and report on their effectiveness in ensuring the long-term sustainability of Alberta’s Crown forests. |
| Health | Home Care Oversight Processes | To provide assurance that Alberta Health Services has effective oversight processes to deliver quality home care services, focusing on processes/policies/ standards, training, monitoring, and reporting. |
| Jobs, Economy and Trade | Alberta Jobs Now Program | This audit examines the effectiveness of the department’s systems to design, deliver, monitor, and report on the Alberta Jobs Now Program, up to the design of the program’s second intake of applications. |
| Mental Health and Addiction and Alberta Health Services | Responding to the Opioid Poisoning Crisis | The purpose of this audit is to determine whether Mental Health and Addiction and Alberta Health Services (AHS) opioid addiction related programs and services support Albertans with opioid use disorders.
Our audit will examine aspects of accessibility, coordination, and accountability of opioid responses, programs and services funded, administered, contracted, or regulated by Mental Health and Addiction or AHS. |
| Seniors, Community and Social Services | Effectiveness of Processes to Manage Condition of Affordable Housing Facilities | This audit will provide assurance on the effectiveness of the department’s processes to assess and manage the condition of provincially owned affordable housing facilities. |
| Various Ministries | Contracts (Recurring) | To provide assurance on Infrastructure and Transportation and Economic Corridor’s contract management processes. |
| Various Ministries | Grants (Recurring—NEW) | We will select a group of departments to audit each year using a rotational and risk-based approach. Specifically, this project will provide assurance on the effectiveness of the selected departments’ processes to deliver grant programs in compliance with the underlying grant agreement. |
| Various Ministries | Ministers’ Expenses
(Recurring) | This audit examines whether there are effective processes to verify that travel, meal and hospitality expenses comply with policies and whether the Treasury Board Committee has effective processes to oversee the expenses of the Premier, Ministers and associate Ministers. Departments we will examine include:
– Executive Council (Premier’s Office)
– Health
– Immigration and Multiculturalism
– Jobs, Economy and Trade
– Mental Health and Addiction
– Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction
– Technology and Innovation
– Treasury Board and Finance |
| Various Ministries | Performance Reporting (Recurring) | To provide assurance on the effectiveness of processes related to performance reporting on results (standard, objective, criteria related to results reporting). Two areas of focus include: performance reporting from AHS, including on the Health Action Plan and the Department of Education’s processes to ensure school jurisdiction reporting is in accordance with the Education Act. |
Assessments of Implementation
Management is responsible for implementing our recommendations. We work with management to determine the timing of our assessments which impacts the reporting of results. Once management advises our office that they have implemented our recommendations, we assess progress against management’s implementation plan and report to the Legislative Assembly on whether our recommendations have been implemented. The value of our work is not fully realized until our recommendations are acted on.
Financial statement audits
We provide assurance on the financial statements of the province, regulated funds, agencies, boards, and commissions, and reports on management’s internal controls over financial reporting, compliance with authorities and legislation. See the financial audit page for a full list of entities.