S-5, r. 3 - Regulation respecting the financial management of institutions and regional councils

Schedule Disposition versions

2012-09-01

SCHEDULE I

(s. 5)

AUDIT PROGRAM THAT MUST BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ENGAGEMENT ENTRUSTED BY AN INSTITUTION OR A REGIONAL COUNCIL TO ITS EXTERNAL AUDITOR

1. Object of the audit program: This Schedule describes the basic program to be followed when auditing the annual financial statements of institutions or regional councils. The program limits neither a board of directors which may add to it the consideration of any specific matter on which the program is silent, nor the auditor himself.

2. Scope of the audit program: The purpose of the audit program is to assist the Minister to discharge the responsibilities which the Act vests in him in respect of institutions and regional councils and, in particular, his responsibility to ensure that the sums he has put at their disposal have been used for the purposes for which they are intended and that the services and activities within their competence have been rendered or performed.

In aid of this objective, the auditor shall express an opinion on the following matters:

(1) the institution or regional council’s compliance with the Act respecting health services and social services for Cree Native persons (chapter S-5) and with the regulations made under the Act regarding any matter having an effect on its expenditures or revenues or on the volume of services or activities performed;

(2) compliance, in the preparation of financial statements of the institution or regional council, with the form published in that regard by the Minister as well as the accompanying definitions and explanations;

(3) the compliance of the accounting practices of the institution or regional council with the standards and definitions in the Manuel de gestion financière published yearly by the Minister;

(4) the accuracy of the quantitative data respecting the transactions and operation of the institution or regional council in the light of an examination of the method of gathering and recording such data and the possibilities of verification. The auditor shall examine the operational data compiled for the centres of activity and note any difference between a definition in the Manuel de gestion financière and that in use. The auditor shall indicate the cases where the number of units of measure was determined from an estimate rather than from regularly accumulated data and, in each case, the basis of such estimation;

(5) the comprehensive and exhaustive nature of the financial statements and the operational data. In particular, no account of expenditure may be reduced before it is recorded by an item of revenue. On the other hand, the breakdown of the volume of activity must not omit any unit of measure for any centre of activity; and

(6) the value of the internal control procedures followed by the institution or regional council and the evaluation of their possible contribution to resolving the difficulties noted during the audit.

3. Auditor’s report: No audit engagement shall be interpreted as requiring a judgment by the auditor on the expediency or soundness of any decision of a board of directors or of the directors. But he shall ensure that the administrative decisions comply with the official written authorization of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux or with the administration rules and practices approved by the Minister.

It is neither the responsibility nor the duty of the auditor to judge the changes in the cost or volume of services. His work shall bear upon determining the accuracy of amounts (in dollars) and of quantitative statistics. He shall refrain from commenting on the reasons that have warranted any expansion, thereby respecting the jurisdiction of the authorities of the institution or regional council.

If the auditor is of the opinion that it would be useful to make recommendation concerning an improvement in the control and procedure of accounting and of statistics, he may do so. The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux encourages the offer of such recommendations for discussion with institution or regional council authorities.

O.C. 1127-84, Sch. I.