Selecting Audit Criteria

1. Oversight roles and responsibilities

Criterion: The oversight body has clearly defined oversight roles and responsibilities.

Criterion: The oversight body fulfills its assigned oversight roles and responsibilities.

2. Independence

Criteria:

The oversight body has established clear policy and guidance about independence requirements. Specific prohibitions are listed and guidance covers the various forms of independence threats (self review, self-interest, advocacy, familiarity, and intimidation) and how they are to be addressed.

Oversight body members have to sign an annual independence declaration that requires them to disclose any known independence threats and confirm their understanding of the applicable independence policy.

Criterion: The oversight body has the independence necessary to perform its oversight responsibilities objectively.

Sub-criteria:

Members of the oversight body comply with applicable independence policies.

Independent members of the oversight body hold regular in camera meetings without initiative management in attendance.

3. Skills and knowledge

Criterion: The skills, knowledge and experience required of oversight body members have been defined and communicated.

Criterion: Collectively, oversight body members have the skills and knowledge they require to effectively discharge their oversight responsibilities.

Sub-criteria:

• Oversight body members have the qualifications, skills, and competencies necessary to effectively fulfill the committee’s role and responsibilities, as defined in its terms of reference.
• The oversight body has access to and uses outside expertise when necessary to fill gaps in its skills and expertise profile.
• All oversight body members receive sufficient, appropriate training and guidance to provide them with a working knowledge of the selected initiative and the environment within which it operates.

4. Sufficient and appropriate information

Criterion: The oversight body has defined the information and knowledge it needs to effectively exercise its oversight role.

Criterion: The oversight body has sufficient relevant and reliable information about the selected major initiative to fulfill its oversight responsibilities.

Sub-criteria:

• The oversight body ensures that it receives sufficient and appropriate information on a timely basis to support decision making overall.
• The oversight body ensures that it receives appropriate (credible, complete, and timely) financial, performance, and risk information to allow it to:
  • fully assess the initiative’s performance at regular intervals;
  • ensure that the initiative complies with applicable legislation, regulations, and policies; and
  • ensure that key initiative risks are being adequately managed.
• Where additional information is required to make an assessment or a decision, the oversight body requests such information from initiative management and/or external sources, and ensures that it is obtained on a timely basis. The oversight body defers decisions when appropriate information has not yet been received.
• Periodically, the oversight body looks critically at the quality and quantity of information it receives from initiative management and external sources to ensure that this information allows it to effectively discharge its oversight responsibilities.

5. Risk management

Criterion: The oversight body ensures that appropriate risk management policies and internal controls are put in place to mitigate the initiative’s key risks in a cost-effective manner.

Criterion: The oversight body effectively overseesthe initiative’s risk management policies and processes.

Sub-criteria:

• The oversight body understands the initiative’s key risks and ensures that a risk assessment process is in place for the initiative.
• The oversight body reviews and challenges management’s plans on how to avoid, control, accept, or transfer key initiative risks before approving them.
• The oversight body monitors the implementation of risk management processes and internal controls applicable to the initiative to ensure they are working as intended.

6. Performance monitoring

Criterion: The oversight body ensures that performance targets and pertinent indicators are in place to enable it to properly monitor the initiative’s performance.

Criteria:

The oversight body is effectively monitoring the initiative’s performance in relation to its stated objectives and intended outcomes.

The oversight body challenges management about the quality and reliability of the available performance information.

7. Compliance

Criterion: Systems and practices are in place to monitor the compliance of the initiative with applicable legislation, regulations and policies.

Criterion: The oversight body obtains assurance that the initiative is in compliance with applicable legislation, regulations, and policies.

8. Taking corrective actions

Criterion: The oversight body has put in place adequate controls to ensure that corrective actions are taken in a timely manner.

Criterion: Evidence exists that, based on the initiative information they receive, oversight body members make decisions, provide direction, and follow up on actions taken in response.

9. External reporting

Criterion: The oversight body has determined which accountability reports it needs to receive, review and approve.

Criterion: The oversight body regularly reviews and approves key accountability reports produced by initiative managers.

10. Performance Assessment

Criterion: A process is in place to periodically assess the performance of the oversight body in discharging its oversight responsibilities.

Criterion: The performance of the oversight body in discharging its oversight responsibilities is assessed periodically.

Sub-criteria:

• The collective performance of the oversight body is assessed periodically.
• The oversight body complies with the department’s values and ethical requirements.
• The oversight body holds a sufficient number of meetings each year to fulfill its roles and responsibilities.
• The oversight body keeps adequate meeting minutes and supporting documentation.
• The oversight body works well as a team and has effective decision-making processes in place.