Audit report

Regional operations

April 1999

Background information

There are 29 passport offices across Canada. These offices are responsible for the issuance of passports to clients. The offices audited are considered small to medium sized. All Regional Passport Offices generally follow the same processes.

In accordance with the Internal Audit Plan established by the Passport Office Secretariat, an audit was conducted on eight Regional Passport Offices.

The current procedures are:

1. receipt of passport applications and fees;
2. expenditures;
3. passport production process; and
4. passport issuance.

Objectives

The audit objectives were to:

• examine the process for passport production to ensure that operations are carried out efficiently and effectively with regard to economy.
• assess the effectiveness of management systems and controls to safeguard public funds and assets.
• assess the quality of service provided to clients.
• assess the technology support provided to the passport issuing offices.
• determine the extent of compliance with prescribed policies and procedures.

Scope

The scope of the audit encompassed the management of the office and activities related to finance, security, client services, passport production, human resources and informatics.

The following locations were visited during the period February to May 1998: Ontario Region, Eastern Region, Western Region and Central Region.

The audit methodology consisted of carrying out a preliminary assessment using internal control questionnaires followed by limited testing to confirm the effectiveness of internal controls. Verbal briefings of the audit results were given to the Managers of the visited offices. The directors of the operations concerned were also briefed.

A detailed point-form report was prepared for each site visited and was electronically distributed to the respective director of operations and to the functional directors. The report was designed to be used as a management tool for taking action and follow up purposes. The report summarizes our overall assessment of the offices visited.

Best practices

During our visits of the Regional Passport Offices, we observed and noted some good management and control practices.

• Site visits to encourage the exchange of management practices.
• Conference calls between regional directors for discussion and exchange of ideas and concerns.
• Travelling passport office.
• Client-friendly waiting room.
• Visits to schools and other organizations to promote the Passport Office's services.
• Good security measures.
• Automated forms and records.
• Use of postage stamps instead of postage meters.

Audit results

The audit results are that:

• Controls over the collecting and recording of fees and the handling of funds were found to be generally satisfactory. However, we noticed some exceptions on internal control of receipts, compliance with Treasury Board and Agency policies and regulations, safeguards and accounting for all public assets, exchange of information.
• Good practices and control systems are in place for the security of documents and for the information contained in the database. We noted that one of the organizational control, segregation of duties, is impossible to implement in a small office.
• Staff were courteous and served the public in the most efficient way. We noted that documentation on client services and performance indicators were areas that could be improved upon.
• Staff were well aware of their responsibilities in matters of human resources management with a good understanding of personnel administration, staffing and training requirements.
• The equipment was adequate and well supported.

Status of action plan

Observations and recommendations are accepted and/or accepted in principle by management.

The following action plans will be put in place:

• New procedures will be established for the control of public funds with the implementation of the new automated passport production system (IRIS).
• Controls over safeguards and accounting for all public funds, passport material and production equipment will be increased by a modification to the organisational structure.
• Access to the salary management system is available for the management of salary budgets and to forecast wages