Annual report of the Auditor General Alberta. Office of the Auditor General. PDF
Preview Annual report of the Auditor General Alberta. Office of the Auditor General.
Alberta Legislature Annual Report of the Auditor General 1993 - 9 4 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 http://archive.org/details/annrepalbaud1994 CANADIAN* N0V 22 1994 ISSN 0228-314X Alberta Legislature Office of t he Auditor General Mr. R. Hierath, MLA Chairman Standing Committee on Legislative Offices I have the honour to transmit herewith my Report to the Legislative Assembly for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1994, to be laid before the Legislative Assembly in accordance with the requirements of section 19(4) of the Auditor General Act. Acting Auditor General Edmonton. Alberta October 14, 1994 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE 1 INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS 1 2 AUDIT COVERAGE, OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 9 ADVANCED EDUCATION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT 23 AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT 33 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 43 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM 45 EDUCATION 47 ENERGY 53 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 57 FAMILY AND SOCIAL SERVICES 67 FEDERAL AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 75 HEALTH 77 JUSTICE 89 LABOUR 93 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 95 MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS 97 PUBLIC WORKS, SUPPLY AND SERVICES 101 TRANSPORTATION AND UTILITIES 107 TREASURY 113 IRRIGATION DISTRICTS 133 SECTION 12(b) AUDITS 135 Auditor General of Alberta TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE 3 REPORTING PROCESS, RESERVATIONS AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTS REPORTING PROCESS 137 RESERVATIONS IN AUDIT REPORTS ON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 138 REPORT UNDER SECTION 18 OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ACT 138 PUBLIC ACCOUNTS 139 4 THE AUDIT OFFICE LEGISLATIVE MANDATE 141 MISSION 144 ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES AND AUDITING STANDARDS 145 ORGANIZATION OF THE AUDIT OFFICE 146 AUDITOR GENERAL ACT 149 INDEX OF ENTITIES 157 Auditor General of Alberta Auditor General of Alberta Section 1 Introductory Comments Report For The Year Ended March 31, 1994 This report is issued pursuant to section 19 of the Auditor General Act. It is the sixteenth such report to the Legislative Assembly issued by the Auditor General of Alberta. The report is for the year ended March 31, 1994. Some of the observations and recommendations it contains resulted from audit work carried out since that date. Auditor General Act The Auditor General Act requires that I perform financial audits to provide assurance that financial statements are fairly presented. In addition to adding credibility to financial statements, the Auditor General Act requires me to identify systems that could be improved This report contains recommendations which I believe will help the government improve the financial administration of the Province. Scope of work The scope and extent of audit work completed for 1993-94 and recommended improvements for the specific financial and management control systems examined by my Office are described in section 2 of this report. For every financial statement audited. I have issued an Auditor's Report. Section 3 contains information on those auditor's reports that contained reservations. For those transactions and activities examined in financial statement audits, apart from the instances of non-compliance described in this report, I am satisfied that they complied in all significant respects with relevant legislative authorities. The instances of non- compliance reported herein should not be used as a basis for drawing conclusions as to compliance or non-compliance with respect to matters not examined. Auditor General of Alberta 1 Section 1 Introductory Comments Improving The Financial Administration Of The Province Introduction The 1992-93 annual report was released on January 12, 1994 — just nine months ago. In that report, the then Auditor General discussed the government's progress in providing information on what was intended and achieved as a result of spending public resources. The report said that measuring and reporting on the effectiveness of Provincial programs was in its infancy. The critical first step in measuring and reporting on the effectiveness of programs was to know the cost of each service provided. Once the cost of program outputs was known, the government's financial systems could be further improved to more comprehensively assess program performance. There has been progress since the beginning of the year. Collectively, Members of the Legislative Assembly continue to demand improvements in the effectiveness of public spending. The government has become more specific when talking about its goal of being open and accountable. The overview to the consolidated financial statements released in June 1994 acknowledges the need to know the cost of outputs. As an accountant, I know that measuring the cost and effect of services invariably leads to reduced cost and improved service. Currently, there are large areas of government activity where the cost and effect of services is not usefully measured. Correcting this deficiency has the potential to produce significant savings. I am convinced that measuring performance is critical to improving performance. However, the last thing my Office wants to encourage is an army of accountants and evaluators measuring everything in sight and reporting in mind-numbing detail. ML As, ministers and managers need performance measures which are easily understood and which lead to wise decisions. Simplicity, clarity and candour are the essence of good accountability. These attributes separate systems that work from those that complicate and clog. To continue the momentum to improve the financial administration of the Province, my staff and I will: explain and promote government accountability, encourage Provincial departments and agencies to measure the cost and effect of their outputs, encourage the reporting of performance information in financial reports, and apply the concepts of accountability to our own operations. 2 Auditor General of Alberta
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