Statement outlining results, risks and significant changes in operations, personnel and programs

1. Introduction

This quarterly report has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Treasury Board, and it should be read in conjunction with the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates. This quarterly report has not been subject to an external audit or review.

Mandate

The Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada (PSIC) is an independent Agent of Parliament established to administer the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (the Act), which came into force in April 2007. The Office is mandated to provide a confidential, independent and effective response to: 

• disclosures of wrongdoing in the federal public sector from public servants or members of the public; and
• complaints of reprisal from public servants and former public servants.

Further details on the Office’s authority, mandate and program activities can be found in its Reports on Plans and Priorities, Departmental Performance Reports and Annual Reports.

Basis of Presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the PSIC's spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the Office, consistent with the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates for the 2012-13 fiscal year. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before moneys can be spent by the Government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes.

The Office uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements that are part of the departmental performance reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

2. Highlights of Fiscal Quarterly and Fiscal Year to Date (YTD) Results

This section highlights the significant items that contributed to the net increase or decrease in resources available for the year and actual expenditures for the quarter ended December 31, 2012 and year to date in comparison to the prior year. 

As of December 31, 2012, total authorities available for the fiscal year were $6.1 million, a decrease of $1.3 million, or 17 percent, when compared to the same quarter of the prior year. This decrease reflects the Office returning to its base budget.  In 2009-10, $1.2 million of lapsed funds were reprofiled to 2011-12 to fund anticipated onetime costs, such as a new case management system. These additional funds were not utilized in the prior year as priorities, operating requirements and the initiative to standardize government wide systems evolved.

Program expenditures in the third quarter of 2012-13 were $1,380,010, a decline of 7 percent or $102,890 from the $1,482,900 in the same period last year, with the following major changes by standard object:

• An increase in personnel costs of $14,926 as a result of severance payments processed in the quarter, offset in part by a reduction of salaries as staffing levels declined.
• A decrease in professional services of $92,783 mainly due to the timing of payments for financial and IT services.
• An increase in rental costs of $31,156 as a result of additional space leased to accommodate the growth in the staff complement.
• A decrease in equipment acquisitions of $34,900 due to the IT hardware purchased in the third quarter of the prior year to provide staff with remote access to systems.

For the first nine months of 2012-13, program expenditures were $3,857,967, up 4 percent from the $3,699,324 in the same period of 2011-12, with the following major changes by standard object:

• An increase in personnel costs of $263,845 primarily due to the growth in staffed positions during 2011-12 resulted in added salary costs in the current year, which has resulted in a 2.3 full time equivalents (FTE) increase in the first nine months as compared to the same nine months in the prior year, from 21.7 FTE to 24.0 FTE. 
• A decrease in professional and special services of $161,437 as a result of reduced costs for outsourced services for staffing and other human resource services of $118,407 as activity levels declined. The balance of the decrease is comprised of a number of items that include: the completion of one time activities in 2011-12 such as the independent review of case files initiated in 2010 and a focus group study that was conducted, offset in part by added external resourcing of investigators in 2012-13 and a timing difference in the payments to the service provider for finance and IT services.
• The remaining variance of significance year to date is the $138,969 increase in rental costs, of which $91,116 is for additional space to accommodate the growth in the staff complement and the balance of the increase is largely the impact of a change in the reporting classification for renewals of informatics licenses to be included in rentals.  

3. Risks and Uncertainties

Budget Constraints

Senior management has addressed the cost containment measures set out in Budget 2010 to deal with the continued need to fund salary increases up to 2012-13.

Increasing Case Volumes

The intake of new cases has increased by 21% in the first nine months over the same period in the prior year; however volume can vary by month throughout the year. The number of cases may not necessarily reflect a pressure on resources required to monitor and address cases in a timely manner, as the complexity of each case can vary significantly. Further, the Office continues to improve processes and build precedents which will add to the efficiency of the operations. However, after consideration of the forecasted government environment of workforce adjustments arising from the strategic and operating reviews, there is the potential that case volumes will continue to increase. Under these circumstances there is a risk that PSIC’s ability to address a significant rise in case volumes in a timely manner may be impacted. 

4. Significant Changes in Relation to Operations, Personnel and Programs

There have been no significant changes in relation to the operations, personnel or program this quarter.

5. Budget 2012 Implementation

As part of the measures announced in the Budget 2012, PSIC`s reference levels for its operating budget will be reduced by 5% or $283,000 in 2014-15. The timing of the reduction provides the Office opportunity over the next two years to streamline, standardize and consolidate functions and improve business processes to achieve the operating savings by 2014-15.

Approved by:

Ottawa, Canada
February 21, 2013

Statement of Authorities (unaudited)

* Includes only Authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end.

Departmental budgetary expenditures by Standard Object (unaudited)