Government organizations give progress reports on audit recommendations
Press Release
July 25, 2023
VICTORIA – The auditor general’s office has followed-up on 112 recommendations it made to B.C. government organizations in 18 audits of programs and services. The performance audits were reported in 2019, 2020 and 2021, and government agreed to address all of the recommendations.
Organizations said they have completed 42 per cent of the recommendations (40 per cent from 2019, 64 per cent from 2020, and 30 per cent from 2021) and continue work on all of the remaining recommendations, except one. In that case, the organization explained why it can’t complete the recommendation.
The audits included in the follow-up report involved 18 ministries, Crown corporations and other public sector entities, and covered topics ranged from emergency health services to public transit in the province’s northern region.
This is a new follow-up process for the Office of the Auditor General. Each organization submitted a report of their progress as of November 30, 2022. The auditor general’s office conducted reviews to confirm that the reports were reliable, relevant and understandable.
“We asked the organizations to tell us, and MLAs, what they’ve done to complete the improvements they committed to when they accepted our recommendations,” Auditor General Michael Pickup said. “I’m pleased to see that, where recommendations remain incomplete, organizations have indicated these recommendations still make sense and they are working to complete them.”
Performance audits often include recommendations to address risks or deficiencies found in government programs and services.
“The work needed to complete these recommendations can be quite complex,” Pickup said. “Recommendations don’t have deadlines, so a report like this can help MLAs understand whether organizations are making timely progress.”
The follow-up report will be issued annually and includes a summary, the auditor general’s review reports, and progress reports from each organization. It provides the public accounts committee with a new tool to track the status of past audit recommendations.
Related links
Annual Follow-up Report: Status of Performance Audit Recommendations (2019 – 2021)
For general questions and interview requests:
Nicholas Johnson
Manager, Communications
njohnson@bcauditor.com
250-419-6117
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