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Archived - Audit of Safeguarding of Moveable Assets

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Audit

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) internal audit function provides the President, senior officials and agency managers with an independent capability to perform audits of the resources, systems, processes, structures and operational tasks of the CFIA. It helps the CFIA accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to assessing and improving the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.

The internal audit function is accountable to the CFIA's Audit Committee, of which the President is a member. All internal audit findings and recommendations must be reported to the Audit Committee, and all audits must be carried out in accordance with federal policy and legislative requirements, including the 2012 Policy on Internal Audit and the 2006 Federal Accountability Act.

CFIA internal audit projects are selected based on highest significance during an annual agency planning process, which are then reflected in the Agency's Audit Plan for review by Audit Committee and approval of the President.

Overview

The object of this audit was to determine whether the CFIA has adequate and effective controls over its assets and that they comply with Agency and Treasury Board policies about safeguarding moveable assets. The audit examines controls over the period from April 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012.

Key Findings

The audit determined that the CFIA has a management control framework in place for th safeguarding of moveable assets. Nonetheless, the audit also recommended changes to improve existing controls and compliance. For each of these recommendations, the Agency has committed to the following actions:

  1. The CFIA should expedite revisions to policy and compliance documents and make them accessible for staff.
    • Work is underway to finalize documents by December 2013 and share them with staff by the spring of 2014.
  2. The CFIA should formalize processes and training to better guide asset managers to perform their jobs.
    • Training asset managers is expected to be complete by the spring of 2014.
  3. The CFIA should formalize a process for the risk identification process of moveable assets.
    • Work is underway to conduct risk assessments of moveable assets and to monitor how assets are tracked through employee departures.
  4. The CFIA should formalize procedures and information management systems to track, monitor and maintain the integrity of asset records.
    • Work is underway to develop monthly consolidated reports for management to see how information technology assets are acquired and disposed.

Complete report:

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