Audit of the Staffing Management Accountability Framework

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Internal Audit Report

May 2008

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
  • Background
  • Risk Assessment
  • Audit Objective and Scope
  • Audit Approach and Methodology
• Findings, Recommendations and Management Action Plans
  • Governance
  • Planning
  • Communication
  • Policy
  • Control
• Appendix A - Mandatory Measures of the Staffing Management Accountability Framework (SMAF)
• Appendix B - Lines of Enquiry and Audit Criteria
• Appendix C - Acronyms

Executive Summary

Background

The Audit Committee approved the Audit of Human Resources (HR) Planning on June 21, 2006, as part of the Canada Border Services Agency's (CBSA) Risk-Based Multi-Year Audit Plan. This, in part, addresses the People Management component of the Management Accountability Framework (MAF). During the planning phase of the audit, it was determined that HR planning was in the early stages of development at the Agency and a review of the CBSA's accountability framework under the Staffing Management Accountability Framework (SMAF) would be beneficial for the Agency.

In November 2003, the Government of Canada enacted the Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA) to promote an integrated approach to HR management that would allow both flexibility and accountability in HR practices in federal organizations. Subsequently, the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), a component of the PSMA, was introduced on December 31, 2005, to ensure that HR planning, including broader staffing processes, was aligned with overall business plans and priorities of federal organizations.

To ensure that staffing is planned and conducted properly, the SMAF was put in place by the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC). The SMAF identifies the indicators and measures issued by the PSC that all delegated organizations, including the CBSA, are required to demonstrate when carrying out their staffing authorities.

The SMAF is broken down into five elements — governance, planning, policy, communication and control — and each of these elements has associated mandatory measures. There are 32 measures in total, of which nine were required to be in place by December 31, 2005, when the PSEA came into force. Non-compliance could result in additional conditions or limitations being imposed on departments/agencies.

Alternatively, partial or complete withdrawal of delegated authorities pertaining to staffing may also be undertaken by the PSC. The remainder of the mandatory measures did not have a required implementation date at the time of the audit.

Objective and Scope

The objective of the audit was to provide assurance to senior management that the Agency is taking the necessary steps to ensure compliance with the PSEA. The audit consisted of a high-level assessment of the status of the SMAF implementation at the CBSA as of November 2007.

Audit Opinion

The Agency has made progress toward addressing the five elements of the SMAF; however, the CBSA has not implemented all the necessary steps to comply with the mandatory "control element" of the SMAF.

Key Audit Findings

The CBSA has implemented a governance infrastructure that supports the management of staffing actions and it has established policies that support the new PSEA. A communications strategy was developed to ensure that staff has access to timely staffing information, strategies and decisions. However, interviews at certain branches and regional offices indicated the insufficient number of HR specialists has affected the provision of timely HR