Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the 2013-2014 Public Accounts and commends it to the House.
Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the 2013-2014 Public Accounts and commends it to the House.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to present its third and final report on its review of the public accounts during the term of the 17th Legislative Assembly. The review of the 2013-2014 Public Accounts of the Northwest Territories took place in two parts this year:
1.
On January 22 and 23, 2015, the standing committee examined the public accounts of the GNWT, with the assistance of staff from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and the Office of the Comptroller General in the GNWT’s Department of Finance.
2.
On February 12, 2015, with the assistance of staff from NT Hydro, the standing committee reviewed the consolidated financial statements of the Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation (NT Hydro) and its subsidiary companies, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Northwest Territories Energy Corporation (03) Limited [NT Energy Corp. (03) Ltd.].
The standing committee thanks officials from the offices of the Auditor General of Canada, the Comptroller General in the GNWT’s Department of Finance and NT Hydro Corporation for appearing before the committee.
The standing committee wishes to acknowledge the dramatic improvement made by the Department of Finance and all GNWT departments, boards and agencies in the timely completion of the public accounts.
The practice of reviewing the public accounts fell out of favour with previous Assemblies owing, in part, to the late completion of the public accounts. The GNWT has improved the timeliness of completion of the public accounts to the point where it may not be practically feasible to complete the public accounts any earlier than they are now being done.
The standing committee encourages continued improvement for those public agencies still struggling to complete their public accounts on time and encourages the GNWT, as a whole, to keep up the good work in the years to come.
As a result of this year’s review of the 2013-2014 Public Accounts, the Standing Committee on Government Operations makes the following recommendations to the Government of the Northwest Territories:
1.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations again recommends that the Minister of Finance provide the committee with the interim public accounts by August 31st, in time for committee review of the government’s business plans.
2.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations again recommends that the Department of Finance continue to work with the Auditor General of Canada and GNWT departments, boards and agencies to complete the interim and final public accounts at the earliest possible date each year and in time for their respective statutory reporting deadlines.
3.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations again recommends that, as part of the standard reporting process, the comptroller general include a list of public agencies in the consolidated public accounts that did not meet the deadline for completion of their audits.
4.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations again recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories continue to provide updated timetables or schedules for the environmental assessment of all known potentially contaminated sites for which the GNWT is responsible, to be included annually in the public accounts.
5.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that, to enhance transparency, the Government of the Northwest Territories improve the quality-of-reporting in the public accounts, including providing a detailed explanation of how the government met the requirements of its Fiscal Responsibility Policy for the year in question.
6.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that, in the interests of transparency and accountability, the Department of Finance share the findings and recommendations of the Internal Audit Bureau with the committee in confidence, particularly where the Government of the Northwest Territories relies on those findings and recommendations as substantiation for actions taken.
7.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Finance require all public agencies to include a management discussion analysis in their year-end reports.
8.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this report within 120 days.
Mr. Speaker, that concludes the executive summary of Committee Report 16-17(5). Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report in its entirety on the review of the 2013-2014 Public Accounts and commends it to the House.
