Special Examination—Export Development Canada—Corporation did not keep pace with industry risk management practices and many Board members had expired terms

Special Examination—Export Development CanadaCorporation did not keep pace with industry risk management practices and many Board members had expired terms

Ottawa, 30 April 2018—Today, Export Development Canada made public the results of an audit conducted over the last year by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. Under the Financial Administration Act, federal Crown corporations are subject to such audits by the Auditor General at least every 10 years.

The audit found a number of weaknesses in risk management that, when combined, amount to a significant deficiency. Specifically, the Corporation did not keep up with evolving industry practices. Some of the weaknesses in risk management were not new. For instance, Export Development Canada had yet to implement an operational risk management framework recommended in the 2009 special examination report. These concerns will persist until the Corporation addresses them in its risk management transformation project, which it expects to complete in 2019.

With regards to its organizational transformation project—which was underway during the audit—the Corporation was doing a good job of managing its two major initiatives: the transformations of its risk management framework and of its credit insurance systems. However, the Corporation needed to consolidate its reporting to ensure that it could effectively address impacts of these initiatives across the organization.

The audit also found a significant deficiency in the appointment of the Corporation’s Board members by the government. By the end of 2017, the terms of 8 out of 12 sitting Board members were expired, although they were continuing to serve. These expired terms could compromise the continuity of the Board’s oversight if many positions are filled by new appointments at about the same time. It must be noted that the Corporation does not control the process to appoint Board members.

The audit report will be included in the Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to Parliament in Spring 2018. It is available on the link to a portable document format (PDF) fileCrown Corporation’s website.

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