2023–24 Departmental Results Report - Financial Statements

(Back to the Report.)

Statement of Management Responsibility, including Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the accompanying financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2024, and all information contained in these statements rests with the management of the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada (the Office). These financial statements have been prepared by management using the Government of Canada’s accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards.

Management is responsible for the integrity and objectivity of the information in these financial statements. Some of the information in the financial statements is based on management’s best estimates and judgment, and gives due consideration to materiality. To fulfill its accounting and reporting responsibilities, management maintains a set of accounts that provides a centralized record of the Office’s financial transactions. Financial information submitted in the preparation of the Public Accounts of Canada, and included in the Office’s Departmental Results Report, is consistent with these financial statements.

Management is also responsible for maintaining an effective system of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) designed to provide reasonable assurance that financial information is reliable, that assets are safeguarded and that transactions are properly authorized and recorded in accordance with the Financial Administration Act and other applicable legislation, regulations, authorities, directives and policies.

Management seeks to ensure the objectivity and integrity of data in its financial statements through careful selection, training and development of qualified staff; through organizational arrangements that provide appropriate divisions of responsibility; through communication programs aimed at ensuring that regulations, policies, standards, and managerial authorities are understood throughout the Office and through conducting an annual risk-based assessment of the effectiveness of the system of ICFR.

The system of ICFR is designed to mitigate risks to a reasonable level based on an ongoing process to identify key risks, to assess effectiveness of associated key controls, and to make any necessary adjustments. A risk-based assessment of the system of ICFR for the year ended March 31, 2024, was completed in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Financial Management and the results and action plans are summarized in the annex.

The effectiveness and adequacy of the Office’s system of internal control are reviewed by an independent Audit and Evaluation Committee, which oversees management’s responsibilities for maintaining adequate control systems and the quality of financial reporting, and which recommends for approval the financial statements to the Commissioner.

The Auditor General of Canada, the independent auditor for the Government of Canada, has expressed an opinion on the fair presentation of the financial statements of the Office which does not include an audit opinion on the annual assessment of the effectiveness of the Office’s internal controls over financial reporting.

(Original signed by:)

• Harriet Solloway
  Public Sector Integrity Commissioner
• Ludovic Noubissi, MBA, CPA
  Chief Financial Officer

Ottawa, Canada
September 5, 2024

Statement of Financial Position

As at March 31

Notes:

• Contingent liabilities (note 8)
• Contractual obligations (note 9)
• The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

(Original signed by:)

• Harriet Solloway
  Public Sector Integrity Commissioner
• Ludovic Noubissi, MBA, CPA
  Chief Financial Officer

Ottawa, Canada
September 5, 2024

Statement of Operations and Net Financial Position

For the year ended March 31

Note: Segmented information (note 11)

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Statement of Change in Net Debt

For the year ended March 31

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Statement of Cash Flow

For the year ended March 31

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.

Notes to the Financial Statements

1. Authority and Objectives

The Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada (the Office) was set up to administer the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, which came into force on April 15, 2007. The Office is established under the authority of Schedule I.1 of the Financial Administration Act and is funded through annual appropriations. The Commissioner is accountable for, and reports directly to Parliament on the results achieved.

The Office is mandated to establish a safe, independent, and confidential process for public servants and members of the public to disclose potential wrongdoing in the federal public sector. The Office also helps to protect public servants who have filed disclosures or participated in related investigations from reprisal. The disclosure regime is an element of the framework which strengthens accountability and management oversight in government operations.

Disclosure and Reprisal Management Program

The objective of the program is to address disclosures of wrongdoing and complaints of reprisal and contribute to increasing confidence in federal public institutions. It aims to provide advice to federal public sector employees and members of the public who are considering making a disclosure and to accept, investigate and report on disclosures of information concerning possible wrongdoing. Based on this activity, the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner will exercise exclusive jurisdiction over the review, conciliation and settlement of complaints of reprisal, including making applications to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal which determines whether reprisals have taken place and orders appropriate remedial and disciplinary action.

Internal Services

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization, and not those provided to a specific program. The groups of activities are Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Management Services; Materiel Management Services; and Acquisition Management Services.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

These financial statements have been prepared using the Government of Canada’s accounting policies stated below, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards. The presentation and results using the stated accounting policies do not result in any significant differences from Canadian public sector accounting standards.

Significant accounting policies are as follows.

a) Parliamentary Authorities

The Office is financed by the Government of Canada through Parliamentary authorities. Financial reporting of authorities provided to the Office do not parallel financial reporting according to generally accepted accounting principles since authorities are primarily based on cash flow requirements. Consequently, items recognized in the Statement of Operations and Net Financial Position and in the Statement of Financial Position are not necessarily the same as those provided through authorities from Parliament. Note 3 provides a reconciliation between the bases of reporting. The planned results in the Expenses section of the Statement of Operations and Net Financial Position are the amounts reported in the Future-Oriented Statement of Operations included in the 2023–24 Departmental Plan. The planned results in the Government funding section of the Statement of Operations and Net Financial Position and in the Statement of Change in Net Debt were prepared for internal management purposes and have not been previously published.

b) Net Cash Provided by Government of Canada

The Office operates within the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), which is administered by the Receiver General for Canada. All cash received by the Office is deposited to the CRF, and all cash disbursements made by the Office are paid from the CRF. The net cash provided by Government of Canada is the difference between all cash receipts and all cash disbursements, including transactions between departments of the Government of Canada.

c) Due from or to the CRF

Amounts due from the CRF are the result of timing differences at year-end between when a transaction affects authorities and when it is processed through the CRF. Amounts due from the CRF represent the net amount of cash that the Office is entitled to draw from the CRF without further authorities to discharge its liabilities.

d) Expenses

Expenses are recorded on the accrual basis:

• Transfer payments are recorded as an expense in the year the transfer is authorized, and all eligibility criteria have been met by the recipient.
• Vacation pay and compensatory leave are accrued as the benefits are earned by employees under their respective terms of employment.
• Services provided without charge by other government departments for accommodation, the employer’s contributions to the health and dental insurance plans and audit services are recorded as operating expenses at their carrying amount.

e) Employee Future Benefits

Pension benefits

Eligible employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, a multiemployer pension plan administered by the Government of Canada. The Office’s contributions to the Plan are charged to expenses in the year incurred and represent the total Office obligation to the Plan. The Office’s responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan’s sponsor.

Severance benefits

The accumulation of severance benefits for voluntary departures ceased for applicable employee groups. Due to the size of the Office, the remaining obligation for employees who did not withdraw benefits is calculated using employee specific information.

f) Financial Instruments

A contract establishing a financial instrument creates, at its inception, rights, and obligations to receive or deliver economic benefits. The financial assets and financial liabilities portray these rights and obligations in the financial statements. The Office recognizes a financial instrument when it becomes a party to a financial instrument contract.

The Office’s financial instruments consist of accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities. All financial assets and liabilities are recorded at cost or amortized cost. Any associated transaction costs are added to the carrying value upon initial recognition. Accounts receivable are stated at the lower of cost and net recoverable value. A valuation allowance is recorded for accounts receivable where recovery is considered uncertain. Credit risk is the risk that one party to a financial instrument will cause a financial loss for the other party by failing to discharge an obligation. The Office is not exposed to significant credit risk. Accounts receivable are due on demand. The majority of accounts receivable are due from other Government of Canada departments and organizations where there is minimal potential risk of loss. The maximum exposure the Office has to credit risk is equal to the carrying value of its accounts receivable.

g) Non-Financial Assets

The costs of acquiring land, buildings, equipment, and other capital property are capitalized as tangible capital assets and, except for land, are amortized to expense over the estimated useful lives of the assets, as described in note 7.

h) Contingent Liabilities

Contingent liabilities which may become actual liabilities when one or more future events occur or fail to occur. If the future event is likely to occur or fail to occur, and a reasonable estimate of the loss can be made, a provision is accrued, and an expense recorded to other expenses. If the likelihood is not determinable or an amount cannot be reasonably estimated, the contingency is disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.

i) Measurement Uncertainty

The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported and disclosed amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes at March 31. The estimates are based on facts and circumstances, historical experience, general economic conditions and reflect the Office’s best estimates of the related amount at the end of the reporting period. The most significant items where estimates are used are contingent liabilities, the liability for employee future benefits, and the useful life of tangible capital assets.

Actual results could significantly differ from those estimated. Management’s estimates are reviewed periodically and, as adjustments become necessary, they are recorded in the financial statements in the year they become known.

j) Related Party Transactions

Related party transactions, other than inter-entity transactions, are recorded at the exchange amount.

Inter-entity transactions are transactions between commonly controlled entities. Inter-entity transactions, other than restructuring transactions, are recorded on a gross basis, and are measured at the carrying amount, except for the following:

1. Services provided on a recovery basis are recognized as expenses on a gross basis and measured at the exchange amount.
2. Certain services received on a without-charge basis are recorded for departmental financial statement purposes at the carrying amount.

3. Parliamentary Authorities

The Office receives its funding through annual parliamentary authorities. Items recognized in the Statement of Operations and Net Financial Position and the Statement of Financial Position in one year may be funded through parliamentary authorities in prior, current or future years. Accordingly, the Office has different net results of operations for the year on a government-funding basis than on an accrual-accounting basis. The differences are reconciled in the following tables.

a) Reconciliation of Net Cost of Operations to Current Year Authorities Used

b) Authorities Provided and Used

4. Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities

The following table presents details of the Office’s accounts payable and accrued liabilities.

5. Employee Future Benefits

a) Pension Benefits

The Office’s employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan (Plan), which is sponsored and administered by the Government of Canada. Pension benefits accrue up to a maximum period of 35 years at a rate of 2% per year of pensionable service, times the average of the best five consecutive years of earnings. The benefits are integrated with Canada/Québec Pension Plans benefits and they are indexed to inflation.

Both the employees and the Office contribute to the cost of the Plan. Due to the amendment of the Public Service Superannuation Act following the implementation of provisions related to Economic Action Plan 2012, employee contributors have been divided into two groups: Group 1 relates to existing plan members as of December 31, 2012, and Group 2 relates to members joining the Plan as of January 1, 2013. Each group has a distinct contribution rate.

The 2023–24 expense amounts to $403,090 ($356,067 in 2022–23). For Group 1 members, the expense represents approximately 1.02 times (1.02 times in 2022–23) the employee contributions and, for Group 2 members, approximately 1.00 time (1.00 time in 2022–23) the employee contributions.

The Office’s responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the consolidated financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan’s sponsor.

b) Severance Benefits

Severance benefits provided to the Office’s employees were previously based on an employee’s eligibility, years of service and salary at termination of employment. However, since 2011 the accumulation of severance benefits for voluntary departures progressively ceased for substantially all employees. Employees subject to these changes were given the option to be paid the full or partial value of benefits earned to date or collect the full or remaining value of benefits upon departure from the public service. As at March 31, 2024, substantially all settlements for immediate cash out were completed and the remaining obligation will be disbursed upon departure from the public service. Severance benefits are unfunded and, consequently, the outstanding obligation will be paid from future authorities.

The changes in the obligation during the year were as follows.

6. Accounts Receivable and Advances

7. Tangible Capital Assets

Amortization of tangible capital assets is done on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset as follows.

Assets under construction are recorded in the applicable asset class in the year they are put into service and are not amortized until they are put into service.

The “Acquisition of tangible capital assets” and the “Increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities” presented in the Statement of Cash Flow exclude an amount of $1,436 in 2023–24, as the amount relates to capital investing activities that remain to be paid as at March 31, 2024. For 2022–23, the remaining amounts to be paid in capital investing activities as at March 31, 2023, were $54,703.

8. Contingent Liabilities

In the normal course of its operations, the Office may face legal challenges. No contingent liabilities are recognized in the Office’s financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, since the outcome of potential claims and litigation are not determinable, and no reasonable estimate can be made.

9. Contractual Obligations

The nature of the Office’s activities can result in some large multi-year contracts and obligations whereby the Office will be obligated to make future payments when the services or goods are received. Significant contractual obligations that can be reasonably estimated are summarized as follows.

10. Related Party Transactions

The Office is related, in terms of common ownership, to all government departments, organizations, and Crown corporations. Related parties also include individuals who are members of key management personnel (KMP) or close family members of those individuals, and entities controlled by, or under shared control of, a member of key management personnel or a close family member of that individual. The Office has defined its KMP to be the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel and Director of Operations.

The Office enters into transactions with these entities in the normal course of business and on normal trade terms.

a) Services Provided without Charge by Other Government Departments

During the year, the Office received services without charge from common service organizations. These services provided without charge have been recorded at the carrying value in the Office’s Statement of Operations and Net Financial Position as follows.

The Government has centralized some of its administrative activities for efficiency, cost-effectiveness purposes and economic delivery of programs to the public. As a result, the Government uses central agencies and common service organizations so that one department performs services for all other departments and agencies without charge. The costs of these services, such as the payroll and cheque issuance services provided by Public Services and Procurement Canada are not included in the Office’s Statement of Operations and Net Financial Position.

11. Segmented Information

Presentation by segment is based on the Office’s core responsibility. The presentation by segment is based on the same accounting policies as described in the Summary of significant accounting policies in note 2. The following table presents the expenses incurred for the main core responsibilities, by major object of expense. The segment results for the period are as follows.