Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador, Denise Hanrahan, today tabled a monitoring report on outstanding performance audit recommendations to the House of Assembly. The report covers reports issued from 2018 to 2022 and provides a status update on audit recommendations.

The Office of the Auditor General undertakes performance audits, also known as value-for-money audits, that examine how well the provincial government and its entities manage resources and operations. Performance audits seek to determine if specific programs or functions are working as intended and they offer recommendations for improvement.

“Implementing my Office’s recommendations is a key way for government to demonstrate accountability and improve the delivery of programs and services. However, this year’s monitoring indicates that twenty six percent – basically one in four – of the recommendations we made between 2018 and 2022 are not fully implemented, with almost half of them over five years old. This is concerning, because when recommendations are not fully implemented, the issues we found in the audits are not corrected,” commented Denise Hanrahan, Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Analysis of the 15 outstanding recommendations indicates that some departments and entities have areas where they could improve; where services could be more efficient; and where savings may be realized with more effective program delivery. For example, the Department of Justice and Public Safety has not implemented six of seven recommendations (86 per cent) including five related to the audit of Adult Custody and Community Corrections which were recommended to ensure effective offender rehabilitation and to promote public safety.

“Recommendations are a vital component of audit reports, and it is essential departments and entities fully implement or otherwise resolve them,” added Auditor General Hanrahan. “The number of unresolved recommendations – after seven years – highlights ongoing gaps that require attention. Of particular concern are entities that continue to have low implementation rates years after the recommendations were issued, such as those from the 2019 audit into provincial wellness priorities at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation and the 2020 recommendation to the Department of Justice regarding conflict of interest.”

The Office of the Auditor General monitors previous performance audit report recommendations over seven years. An initial follow-up is conducted approximately two years after the release of a report, followed by continuous monitoring annually for an additional five years or until recommendations are fully implemented or otherwise resolved. While three reports from 2017 with seventeen outstanding recommendations are no longer being actively monitored, they will be considered for new audits in late 2026.

The full report can be found by visiting the link below.

– 30 –

Learn more
www.ag.gov.nl.ca/reports/all-reports

Follow us on Bluesky: @OAG_NL 

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on LinkedIn

Media contact
Chrysta Collins
Office of the Auditor General
709-730-1568
chrystacollins@oag.nl.ca

 

BACKGROUNDER
Outstanding Recommendations by Entity

Education and Early Childhood Development
Healthy Eating in Schools – 2019

• The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (formerly Newfoundland and Labrador English School District) should develop and communicate a nutrition policy which applies to all regions.
• The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (formerly Newfoundland and Labrador English School District) should identify information needed from schools to assist its ongoing oversight of healthy eating policies.

Justice and Public Safety
Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation – 2020

• The department should adequately address conflicts of interest within the public service and Crown entities, including consideration of any legislative amendments required to improve accountability and transparency.

Adult Custody and Community Corrections – 2022

• The Department of Justice and Public Safety should ensure that all adult custody and community corrections policies are complete, current, reflect best practice, communicated, and monitored regarding the rehabilitation and management of offenders.
• The Department of Justice and Public Safety should ensure classification and probation officers have current, adequate training in all aspects of managing adult offenders, including the establishment of formal information transfer processes to improve correctional services.
• The Department of Justice and Public Safety should ensure that rehabilitation programming is available and accessible to all offenders
• The Department of Justice and Public Safety should ensure that release planning is available and accessible to all offenders in custody.
• The Department of Justice and Public Safety should ensure that probation officers are supervising offenders in the community in accordance with established standards and are monitoring and enforcing compliance with court ordered conditions.

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (formerly Nalcor Energy)
Nalcor Energy – 2022

• Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (formerly Nalcor Energy) should ensure it has processes for the staffing of projects, particularly as it relates to assessing the cost-effectiveness of temporary employees versus contractors; consistent contract terms for allowances; and the continuous management of staffing mix and cost.

Nalcor Energy – Compensation – 2022

• Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (formerly Nalcor Energy) should re-evaluate its compensation policies and practices to ensure the best possible use of public money, including consideration of alignment with government classification, pay scales, and benefits policies.

Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation
Oversight of Provincial Wellness Priorities – 2019

• The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation should continue to develop an action plan for healthy active living to support government’s health outcome targets and bring indicators in line with the Canadian average by 2025.
• The department should develop a monitoring/evaluation framework for overall healthy active living programming and ongoing assessment of progress against established targets and desired outcomes.
• The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation should develop a reporting framework for partnering departments on the information required to monitor, evaluate and report on the progress of healthy active living priorities.
• The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation should work with partnering departments to improve the effectiveness of oversight of provincial healthy active living priorities across government.

Transportation and Infrastructure
MV Veteran and MV Legionnaire – 2021

• The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (formerly Transportation and Works) should ensure root causes for significant mechanical issues and recurring mechanical issues of vessels are identified and addressed in a timely manner.

We commend the departments and entities that fully implemented the 21 recommendations on the following three report topics:

• Management of Firearms and Ammunition (2018); and
• Management of the Procurement of Goods and Services (2018); and
• Student Transportation (2019).

The Office of the Auditor General is no longer monitoring the remaining outstanding recommendations that were originally reported in three reports from 2017:

• Compensation Practices in Government Entities
• Provincial Home Support Program
• Road Quality

These three areas will be considered for new performance audits starting in late 2026.