PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
National Defence Needs to Improve Financial Management
Ottawa, December 03, 2009 -
The Department of National Defence needs to follow through with actions to improve its financial management systems and controls, according to a report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts presented in the House of Commons today.
Financial management has long been identified as a concern at National Defence. A 2009 performance audit conducted by the Office of the Auditor General found that National Defence has some elements of good financial control, but the audit also found that the Department did not have an overall corporate plan, senior managers did not have timely and accurate financial information, and integrated risk management had not been fully implemented.
The Department has a detailed action plan to address the findings of the audit, and the Committee recommended that the Department provide a progress report in a year’s time in order to ensure that the action plan has been put in place.
A further issue is that National Defence must manage its $19 billion annual budget within one percent of that amount. While most government departments are permitted to carry forward up to five percent of their operating budget into the next fiscal year, the Department is limited to carrying forward $200 million. This means that the Department must spend a great deal of effort “landing the organization on a dot,” in order to not exceed its appropriation or unduly lapse funds. The Committee recommended that Treasury Board consider raising National Defence’s carry forward limit.
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