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Government
Worried About What's Actually Going on in Your Department?
You are not alone. Those in charge of many government agencies have the same concerns. Why? Because they are also under the same intense scrutiny as you are from many different angles including the media, the Auditor General, the Ombudsman and the Information and Privacy Commissioner, to name a few.
All you have to do is read the paper to see why your sleep patterns are being affected:
- "What is Ontario Hiding? Annual report urges end to province's habit of withholding information."
- "OPP Told to probe lottery scam. Ombudsman blasts the lack of oversight that saw retailers rip off rightful winners."
- "New charges fuel ?slush fund? scandal. More grants to groups with Liberal ties surface as Colle shifts to damage control."
- "I'm not passing the buck. Mounties' deputy commissioner denies responsibility for wasteful spending."
How can you ensure you don't end up in the headlines too? The answer probably won't come as a big surprise: You need to find out exactly what documented internal checks and balances your organization has in place and whether they are working.
The best protection you have against claims that you are not fulfilling your mandate is to ensure you have set the rules and regulations that will help you succeed, and that your employees are following them. It may not make great headlines, but it could prevent bad ones.
So why doesn't everyone do it? Simple: It takes a lot of time. As is the case in many organizations, your employees are probably very busy doing their jobs. Where are they going to find dozens of "free" hours to do a full review of existing internal controls and then many more to formally document what needs to change? Even if they make the time, do they have the specialized skills necessary to carry out the task?
That is where my firm can come in.
Let us Find Out What's Working, What's Not and then Provide Solutions
Our firm has the necessary skills and experience in internal control reviews as well as the next step: detailed policies and procedures documentation. In fact we have just completed a full internal control review for a high-profile government agency on time and on budget.
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