Newsroom
2002
February 27, 2002
CWB releases Auditor General report
Winnipeg - The CWB's accounting and reporting systems are economical and efficient according to a 'special audit' conducted by the Auditor General of Canada. The audit examined the CWB's financial accounting and reporting systems as well as the corporation's management systems and practices.
Sheila Fraser, the Auditor General, presented the special audit to the CWB's Board of Directors this morning. "In our opinion, the financial accounting and reporting systems of the Corporation were managed economically and efficiently," the report states.
"We see the audit results as a confirmation that the CWB is an effective marketing organization," said Ken Ritter, CWB Board Chairman. "The Auditor General's report also points to certain deficiencies or areas where improvement is needed in our operations. These are issues we are committed to addressing."
At the news conference, Ritter quoted several passages from the Auditor General's report that highlight the CWB's capacity as an efficient marketer of Prairie grain:
- "all revenues from the sale of grain, less operating costs were distributed to producers in accordance with the requirements of the Canadian Wheat Board Act and the CWB's price pooling policies."
- "the CWB has a solid reputation as a strong and capable marketer of quality grains. Its key strengths include very good intelligence and market information, well-developed annual sales strategies and plans, competent and tough negotiators and good relations with customers…."
Significant deficiencies were found in the areas of governance, strategic planning, performance measurement and reporting and information technology.
The Auditor General also acknowledged the Board of Directors for making the report public.
"The fact we are making everything public - the positive and the negative - demonstrates our commitment to being open and accountable. That is also why the farmer-elected directors are taking this report directly to Western Canadian farmers in the next month as part of our corporate accountability meetings. We want to hear their suggestions on how we should handle these issues," said Ritter.
A copy of the special audit's executive summary is attached. A full copy of the report is posted on www.cwb.ca.
Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. As one of Canada's biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based organization sells grain to more than 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less the costs of marketing, to Prairie farmers.