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Audits and Evaluations

Audit of the National Archival Development Program

Audit Report
June 2010

2.0 Audit Mandate

Audit Services Canada was hired to conduct an audit of the NADP in accordance with LAC's audit plan, which states that the NADP would be audited in its fourth year of operation (2009-2010).

2.1 Objectives

The objectives of the audit were to provide LAC senior management with the assurance that:

• the management control framework and the governance structure are adequate and effective;
  
  
• the management of the program is in compliance with the 2000 Policy on Transfer Payments issued by the Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Financial Administration Act;
  
  
• the monitoring, risk management and performance measurement are effectively incorporated into program activities, to ensure that funding allocated to recipients is used as intended.

2.2 Scope

The audit covered all the contributions paid to ultimate recipients in relation to NADP for the years ending March 31, 2008 and 2009. The CCA's operational activities were also audited for the same period, since they were supported by funding provided through the NADP. The audit was performed in June 2009.

2.3 Methodology

The audit was conducted in accordance with the Internal Audit Standards for the Government of Canada issued by the Treasury Board Secretariat, as well as the standards, directives and guidelines issued by the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada.

The audit included the following activities:

• interviews with staff and management of LAC Programs Branch and the CCA;
  
  
• examination of the processes related to the program life cycle, and of the management practices and controls in place at LAC and the CCA;
  
  
• review of a sample of recently issued contribution agreements and of corresponding files maintained by the CCA.

Audit Sample

To review the contribution agreements and corresponding documentation, we selected a random sample of 20 agreements issued between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2009, using a statistical approach. The sample covered all regions.

2.4 Overall Audit Conclusion

In our opinion, the management control framework and the governance structure applied to manage the NADP were found to be adequate. Management of the program was in compliance with the 2000 Treasury Board Secretariat Policy on Transfer Payments and the Financial Administration Act. Project selection followed a rigorous process and all projects were monitored annually by the CCA. At the time of the audit, performance measurements were being developed jointly by LAC and the CCA, and collection of data had begun.

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