1.1 This policy takes effect on January 1, 2010.
1.2 This policy replaces the policy on Financial Systems and Controls dated October 1, 1996.
2.1 This policy applies to departments as defined in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act. Throughout this policy, the terms "government-wide"and "across government" refer to these departments.
3.1 This policy sets out responsibilities for deputy heads as they relate to financial management systems (FMS). These responsibilities are in support of legal requirements set out in various Acts of Parliament, including the Financial Administration Act and, more specifically, the accountabilities of accounting officers set out in section 16.4. of that Act.
3.2 FMS are essential to the management of government operations. These systems are designed to ensure strong financial management and internal controls of public resources, reinforce the principles of probity and prudence, and contribute to better decision making (within each department and government-wide), greater efficiency and improved service delivery to Canadians. Direction and leadership in the areas of FMS and the related business processes and data enable and facilitate the achievement of these results.
3.3 The Office of the Comptroller General (OCG) provides government-wide functional direction for the stewardship of FMS and assists in the evaluation and approval of strategic investment plans for FMS.
3.4 Responsibilities for the stewardship of FMS vary because these systems include departmental financial and materiel management systems (DFMS), departmental program systems and central systems, all of which encompass a wide range of business processes, procedures, controls, and data and software applications. Together they enable the recording, processing and reporting of all financial events that form the accounts of the Government of Canada (including the Public Accounts of Canada and Annual Financial Report of the Government of Canada).
3.5 FMS process and collect data on a wide range of government transactions and generate decision-making information in support of programs and policies across government. Standardization, by establishing a common set of rules in place of many,reduces the plethora of different systems, business processes and data that undermine the quality and cost of decision-making information. As government-wide standardization is increased, efficiency, integrity and interoperability are improved.
3.6 FMS cluster groups play an important role in ensuring standardisation by acting as a centre of expertise and central coordinating body for the development and management of more common FMS across government. The chairs of the FMS cluster group management boards inform the CFOs of the departments within the cluster group regarding compliance with this policy and any subordinate policy instruments. The chairs of the management board also ensure that annual business plans for the cluster group are developed and evolve the cluster configuration in alignment with the criteria established by the OCG for cluster configurations supported by appropriate controls;
3.7 This policy builds on the Treasury Board's key principles and approved direction for the Shared Systems Initiative and it is to be read in conjunction with the Policy on Financial Management Governance and the Policy on the Management of Information Technology.
3.8 This policy is issued under the authority of section 7 of the Financial Administration Act.
3.9 The Treasury Board has delegated authority to the President of the Treasury Board to issue, amend or rescind directives and subordinate policy instruments in support of this policy and to approve any exceptions to these subordinate policy instruments.
Definitions are included in the Appendix.
The objective of this policy is to ensure that financial management systems deliver more accurate, reliable, accessible and timely financial information.
This is achieved by setting out the responsibilities of deputy heads as they relate to financial management systems.
The expected results of this policy are the following:
5.2.1 Effective and interoperable FMS;
5.2.2 Improved government-wide reporting and stewardship of financial information;
5.2.3 Improved quality of financial information and related non-financial information for decision making and service delivery; and
5.2.4 Improved effectiveness and timeliness in the way that the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities with respect to FMS are exercised.
The deputy head is responsible for the following:
6.1.1 Providing leadership and strategic direction for their FMS, business processes and data;
6.1.2 Ensuring prudent investments are made in FMS that meet operational requirements and that are aligned with the strategic direction for FMS across government, in compliance with Treasury Board directions;
6.1.3 Allocating appropriate resources to ensure a timely implementation of standardized configurations of FMS, common financial management business processes and common enterprise data requirements as defined by the Office of the Comptroller General; and,
6.1.4 Assigning a departmental representative to the relevant FMS cluster group, where they will actively participate to ensure that departmental business needs are considered in that forum while adhering to OCG direction for FMS.
6.2.1 Deputy Head
The deputy head is responsible for the following:
6.2.2 TBS (Office of the Comptroller General)
The Comptroller General is responsible for the following:
7.1 The deputy head is responsible for investigating and acting promptly when significant issues arise regarding possible non-compliance with this policy. The deputy head is also responsible for ensuring that appropriate remedial action is taken within his or her department to address these issues.
7.2 If the Comptroller General determines that a department may not have complied with any of the requirements of this policy or subordinate policy instruments, the Comptroller General may request that the deputy head:
7.2.1 Conduct an audit or review to assess whether requirements of this policy or its subordinate policy instruments have been met. The cost of such an audit or review will be paid from the department's reference level; and
7.2.2 Take corrective action and report back on the results achieved.
7.3 If the Office of the Comptroller General determines that a department has complied with the requirements of this policy and subordinate policy instruments, the Comptroller General may reduce the number or scope of audits or reviews.
This section identifies organizations that have a role in support of this policy. In and of itself, this section does not confer an authority.
The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) is responsible for supporting the Treasury Board in the general management of the Government of Canada and the various initiatives, programs and activities that cut across all departments and organizational entities as reported in the Main Estimates. TBS is also responsible for the comptrollership function of the Government of Canada.
8.1.1 Within the area of FMS, the Office of the Comptroller General provides functional leadership in determining business process and data requirements by:
Other TBS organizations with significant FMS-related responsibilities include the following:
8.1.2 Chief Information Officer Branch, whichprovides functional leadership on the Information Management and Information Technology (IM/IT) support required to meet the requirements of the OCG and other policy centres.
8.1.3 The Government Operations Sector (GOS), whichsupports Treasury Board with policy responsibilities for governance and Crown corporations, as well as assets and acquired services, in addition to program sector responsibilities for departments, agencies, Crown corporations, agents of Parliament and parliamentary entities. GOS, along with other sectors within TBS, brings all transformative initiatives to Treasury Board and continues to play a significant role in the implementation of the Federal Accountability Act and Action Plan.
8.1.4 The Expenditure Management Sector (EMS), whichprovides a central focus for the functions that support and strengthen the role of TBS in the government's expenditure management system with the collection and reporting of aggregate information held in FMS on program expenditures in order to assess program outcomes through the program activity architecture (PAA).
The Department of Finance, in collaboration with the Canada Revenue Agency and the Receiver General for Canada, is a key stakeholder in the collection and reporting of aggregate information held in FMS on economic, fiscal and taxation data and in the resulting issuance of financial statements in the Government of Canada.
The mandate of the Department of Public Works and Government Services is to be a common service agency for the Government of Canada's various departments, agencies and boards.
8.3.1 Receiver General for Canada (RG)—The RG is responsible for the operations of the federal treasury, including issuing payments and collecting revenue for all government departments, maintaining the Accounts of Canada, preparing the Public Accounts and producing the government's Monthly Statement of Financial Operations. These activities ensure the government's financial stability and public confidence through accurate and timely issuance of payments to Canadians and reporting of the government's financial activities. The RG is also responsible for the collection and reporting of aggregate information in FMS on the financial transactions of the Government of Canada.
8.3.2 Common and Shared Services—With respect to the shared services agenda, PWGSC delivers common, central and shared services to federal departments in support of government operations and manages major shared service initiatives. PWGSC is a key stakeholder in the collection and reporting of financial data related to travel, assets, real property and the procurement of goods and services from FMS.
Statistics Canada is a key stakeholder in the collection and reporting of aggregate information from central systems at the RG by following the TBS-approved data structure and the reporting of information on Government of Canada expenditures so that the effect on the Canadian economy can be assessed.
Enquiries about this policy should be directed to your department's headquarters. For interpretation of this policy, departmental headquarters should contact:
Financial Systems Authority
Office of the Comptroller General of Canada
Treasury Board Secretariat
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa ON K1A 0R5
Email: fsa-asf@tbs-sct.gc.ca
Telephone: 613-952-3208
Is any combination of business processes (end-to-end, automated and manual), procedures, controls, data and software applications, all of which are categorized as either departmental financial and materiel management systems (DFMS) or program systems and central systems that produce financial information and related non-financial information.
Financial management systems are used for any of the following: