Attestation of Departmental Staffing Report Reliability

Table of Contents Attestation of Departmental Staffing Report Reliability Model of Attestation of the Reliability of Departmental Staffing Performance Reports

Information Management and Review Directorate Policy, Research and Communications Branch Public Service Commission of Canada

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Attestation of Departmental Staffing Report Reliability

The new accountability framework and approach to delegation are based on a relationship of trust between the Public Service Commission and departments and on the development of tailor-made Accountability Agreements. However, in accordance with the comptroller's agenda, and to respect due diligence required of the PSC as the Parliamentary agent in managing the Public Service Employment Act, the PSC must ensure that Deputy Head Accountability Reports are reliable. The PSC can not blindly rely on the accuracy of these reports; its Attestation of Reliability must result from a rigorous assessment.

Reporting to the Commission and Attesting the Reliability of the Reports

Departments will report to the PSC annually and the Deputy Head will be required to seek the employee representatives' input into the departmental staffing performance report before submitting it to the PSC.

Following reception of a departmental performance staffing report, the PSC will attest to its validity. To do so, the PSC will take into account the information related to:

• the departmental infrastructure in place, which should contribute to the good management of the staffing activities; and
• the content of the departmental report, which should be in line with the values and agreed upon performance indicators.

The PSC will maintain a capacity to obtain further assurance about the reliability of the reports where the information related to the infrastructure in place is judged insufficient and where there is a lack of evidence in the content of the reports. The PSC may then conduct on-site reviews to ascertain the relevance of the information.

Following completion of the attestation of reliability process, the Information Management and Review Directorate (IMRD) will provide information to help the Commission assess the performance of the organization and make appropriate suggestions and/or recommendations. These will be communicated to the Deputy Head.

The following section identifies and explains the elements that the IMRD will use to proceed to the Attestation of Reliability of Departmental Staffing Reports.

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Model of Attestation of the Reliability of Departmental Staffing Performance Reports

The new accountability and reporting regime will result in the PSC being more dependent than ever on information provided by departments and agencies. It is important, therefore, that there be provisions for the Commission to receive objective evidence about the reliability of the information coming from these sources. The reports submitted by departments and agencies should be able to meet the test of an audit based on a generally accepted audit standard, used in conjunction with the provision of assurance services by auditing professionals.

Reliance on departmental reports cannot be blind: the PSC will maintain a capacity to evaluate the reliability of these reports.

The expression * attestation of reliability * applies to the department's infrastructure in place for generating their performance assessment and to the content of the report itself.

The elements used to proceed to an * attestation of reliability * are shown in the following example:

Department's Performance Assessment Infrastructure If non conclusive results						Department's Performance Staffing Report Content/ PSC Risk Analysis If non conclusive results
PSC Conducts Potential On-Site Review of the Activities Reports (if and where needed) Level Varies: Interviews (HR Specialists and Sub-delegated Line Managers) Spot checks (limited sample of activities) More in-depth focus in specific areas (e.g. Recruitment)
Overall Rating						Overall Rating
-					+	-		+

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