Annual Integrated Audits and IT Audit Work
1. We recommend the Ministry of Government Relations regularly review and update the processes it uses to make key accounting
estimates (e.g., for education property tax revenues, treaty land entitlement obligations).
The Ministry of Justice and Attorney General and its agencies had effective rules and procedures to safeguard public resources except that staff did not always ensure prompt removal of unneeded access for former employees to the Ministry’s computer systems. Not following established processes makes the Ministry’s data and systems vulnerable to unauthorized access or inappropriate modifications.
During 2018–19, the Ministry, its agencies, and its special purpose funds complied with the financial authorities governing their activities related to financial reporting, safeguarding public resources, spending, revenue raising, borrowing, and investing.
The 2018–19 financial statements of the Ministry’s agencies and special purpose funds are reliable.
The mandate of the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General is to provide a fair justice system that upholds the law and protects the rights of all individuals in Saskatchewan;
promotes safe and secure communities; and provides legal and justice policy advice to the Government.1
The Ministry of Justice and Attorney General and the Ministry of Corrections and Policing jointly share supports for aspects of their activities, called Integrated Justice Services. This enables the strategic integration of the justice system through the provision of joint services, processes and functions to these ministries.2 Areas of joint support include finance, planning, communications, capital investments and improvement, and certain community safety initiatives and programming.
This chapter includes the results of our annual integrated audit of Justice and Attorney General, its agencies, and its special purpose funds for the year ended March 31, 2019.
For the year ended March 31, 2019, the Ministries of Justice and Attorney General and Corrections and Policing had combined revenues totalling $109.6 million comprised primarily of fines and fees, and transfers from federal and municipal governments.3 In addition, as shown in Figure 1, they spent $644 million on their programs in 2018–19. At March 31, 2019, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General had $13 million accounts receivable and $3 million accounts payable.
1 Ministry of Corrections and Policing, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, Annual Report for 2018–19, p. 5.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid, p. 24.
Figure 1—Combined Expenses of the Ministries of Justice and Attorney General and Corrections and Policing, and Integrated Justice Services by Program
Original
Estimates 2018–19A Actual 2018–19B (in millions)
Central Management and ServicesC,D,E $ 51.1 $ 49.2
Integrated ServicesC 35.1 37.9
Capital and ImprovementsC 13.3 10.7
Jointly Administered 99.5 97.8
Courts and Civil JusticeD 65.8 64.7
Innovation and Legal ServicesD 38.1 36.5
Boards, Commissions, and Independent OfficesD 38.5 40.3
Ministry of Justice and Attorney General 142.4 141.5
Policing and Community Safety ServicesE 221.9 217.0
Custody, Supervision, and Rehabilitation ServicesE 175.9 185.2
Demand Reduction and ModernizationE 5.0 3.5
Saskatchewan Police CommissionE 1.5 1.5
Ministry of Corrections and Policing 404.3 407.2
Total AppropriationsC,D,E 646.2 646.5
Capital Asset AcquisitionsC,D,E (13.3) (9.2)
Capital Asset AmortizationC,D,E 6.5 7.1
Total Expense $ 639.4 $ 644.4
Source: Ministry of Corrections and Policing, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, Annual Report for 2018–19, pp. 22–23.
A During 2018–19, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General received a supplementary estimate of $1 million, and the Ministry of Corrections and Policing received a supplementary estimate of $2.78 million.
B Integrated Justice Services’ actual expense is overstated by $1.9 million due to including an unauthorized government transfer.
C Vote 91 Integrated Justice Services.
D Vole 3 Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.
E Vote 73 Ministry of Corrections and Policing.
We have reported the results of our audits of special purpose funds in blue font in the chapter identified. This chapter reports the results of our audit of Justice and Attorney General, the five remaining special purpose funds, and two Crown agencies.
At March 31, 2019, Justice and Attorney General was responsible for the following special purpose funds and Crown agencies, each with a March 31 year-end.
Special Purpose Funds:
Office of Residential Tenancies – Director’s Trust Account Provincial Mediation Board Trust Accounts
Public Guardian and Trustee of Saskatchewan Queen’s Printer Revolving Fund
Victims’ Fund (Chapter 9)
Crown Agencies:
Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission
In our opinion, for the year ended March 31, 2019, we found, in all material respects:
The Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, two of its agencies, and one of its special purpose funds had effective rules and procedures to safeguard public resources except for the matter described in this chapter4
The Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, its agencies, and its special purpose funds complied, in all significant respects, with the provisions of the legislative and related authorities listed in Section 5.0 pertaining to their financial reporting, safeguarding public resources, revenue raising, spending, borrowing, and investing activities
The financial statements of the Ministry’s agencies and funds are reliable We used standards for assurance engagements published in the CPA Canada Handbook—Assurance (including CSAE 3001 and 3531) to conduct our audit. We used the control framework included in COSO’s Internal Control—Integrated Framework to make our judgments about the effectiveness of the Justice and Attorney General’s and its agencies’ controls.
In our audit, we paid particular attention to the following: the Ministry’s processes to track its contractual obligations and its processes to ensure timely removal of user access to IT systems.
We recommended the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General follow its established procedures for removing unneeded user access to its computer systems and data. (2015 Report – Volume 2, p. 74, Recommendation 2;
Public Accounts Committee agreement January 11, 2017) Status—Partially Implemented
Justice and Attorney General inconsistently followed its procedures for ensuring only authorized individuals retain access to its IT systems and data. Its policies require users’
IT access be removed immediately once they leave the Ministry.
4 Our Office issues a separate report on internal controls for the Public Guardian and Trustee of Saskatchewan, Financial and
Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan, and Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission.
For the 2018–19 fiscal year, we found:
For 1 of 12 users tested, Justice and Attorney General staff did not ask the Ministry of Central Services to remove network access promptly; staff submitted the request 19 days after the user no longer worked at the Ministry
For three of six users tested, Justice and Attorney General staff did not ask for the removal of access to significant applications on a timely basis (e.g., two users had access for over 150 days after the user no longer worked at the Ministry)
Significant applications include the Criminal Justice Information Management System (CJIMS) and the Multi-Informational Database Applications system (MIDAS Financials). Justice and Attorney General uses CJIMS to maintain data on custody, supervision, and rehabilitation of offenders; and to track the collection of fines. It uses MIDAS Financials to record its revenue and expense transactions.
In early 2018–19, the Public Service Commission started notifying staff at Justice and Attorney General when employees no longer worked at the Ministry. Management noted this process helped them improve timeliness in requesting removal of access when employees no longer worked at the Ministry.
Justice and Attorney General continues to work on establishing additional processes to ensure it promptly and consistently requests removal of unneeded user access.
Not promptly removing unneeded user access increases the risk of unauthorized access to IT systems and data, including confidential information, and of inappropriate modifications to IT systems or data.
Justice and Attorney General The Administration of Estates Act The Administration of Estates Regulations The Community Justice Programs Regulations The Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act, 1997 The Enforcement of Maintenance Orders
Regulations, 2009
The Executive Government Administration Act The Financial Administration Act, 1993 The Justice and Attorney General Act The Ministry of Justice Regulations, 2016 The Provincial Court Act, 1998
The Provincial Court Compensation Regulations The Public Service Act, 1998
The Purchasing Act, 2004 The Queen's Bench Act, 1998 The Queen's Bench Regulations
The Summary Offences Procedure Act, 1990 The Fine Option Program Regulations, 1991 The Summary Offences Procedure Regulations,
1991
The Victims of Crime Regulations, 1997 The Youth Justice Administration Act
Orders in Council issued pursuant to the above legislation
Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan
The Cemeteries Act, 1999 The Collection Agents Act The Collection Agents Regulations The Consumer Protection and Business
Practices Act
The Credit Union Act, 1998 The Credit Union Regulations, 1999 The Direct Sellers Act
The Direct Sellers Regulations, 1997 The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority
of Saskatchewan Act
The Mortgage Brokers and Mortgage Administration The Mortgage Brokers and Mortgage Administration Act
Regulations The Motor Dealers Act The Motor Dealers Regulations The Payday Loans Act The Payday Loans Regulations The Pension Benefits Act, 1992 The Pension Benefits Regulations, 1993 The Saskatchewan Insurance Act
The Saskatchewan Insurance Regulations, 2003
Public Guardian and Trustee of Saskatchewan The Administration of Estates Act
The Administration of Estates Regulations
The Adult Guardianship and Co-decision-making Act The Adult Guardianship and Co-decision-making
Regulations
The Children’s Law Act, 1997 The Dependent’s Relief Act, 1996
The Executive Government Administration Act The Missing Persons and Presumption of Death Act The Missing Persons and Presumption of Death
Regulations
The Pension Benefits Act, 1992 The Pension Benefits Regulations, 1993 The Pension Benefits Standard Regulations 1985
(Canada)
The Public Guardian and Trustee Act The Public Guardian and Trustee Regulations The Trustee Act, 2009
Orders in Council issued pursuant to the above Legislation
Queen’s Printer Revolving Fund The Queen’s Printer Act
The Queen’s Printer Fees Regulations, 2004 The Purchasing Act, 2004
The Executive Government Administration Act The Financial Administration Act, 1993 Orders in Council issued pursuant to the above
legislation
Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan The Law Reform Commission Act
The Executive Government Administration Act Orders in Council issued pursuant to the above
legislation
Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (Continued)
The Securities Act, 1988 The Securities Regulations
The Trust and Loan Corporations Act, 1997 The Trust and Loan Corporations Regulations,
1999
The Executive Government Administration Act Orders in Council issued pursuant to the above
legislation
Office of Residential Tenancies – Director’s Trust Account
The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 The Residential Tenancies Regulations, 2007 The Executive Government Administration Act The Financial Administration Act, 1993 Orders in Council issued pursuant to the above
legislation
Provincial Mediation Board Trust Accounts The Provincial Mediation Board Act
The Provincial Mediation Board (Fees) Regulations The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada), Part
III and X
Orderly Payments of Debt Regulations The Tax Enforcement Act
The Executive Government Administration Act The Financial Administration Act, 1993 Orders in Council issued pursuant to the above
legislation
Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission The Legal Aid Act
The Legal Aid Regulations, 1995
The Executive Government Administration Act Orders in Council issued pursuant to the above
legislation
In 2018–19, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General did not prepare, in a timely way, key supporting documents for the Victims’ Fund's financial statements for management's review. Preparing key supporting documents at the same time as draft financial statements allows management to effectively review financial statements for accuracy and completeness.
The Ministry submitted claims for its federal cost-sharing agreements related to the Fund's activities within a reasonable timeframe during 2018–19.
In 2018–19, the Fund had reliable financial statements. The Ministry also complied with the authorities governing the Fund's activities related to financial reporting, safeguarding public resources, revenue raising, spending, borrowing, and investing.
The Victims’ Fund receives all provincial and federal fine surcharges assessed under The Victims of Crime Act, 1995, and under the Criminal Code of Canada.1 The Act permits expenditures from the Fund to promote and deliver services and benefits to victims;
conduct research and distribute information respecting victims' services, needs, and concerns; and for crime prevention and administration.
The Ministry of Justice and Attorney General administers and collects assessed surcharges on behalf of the Fund.
As shown in Figure 1, for the year ended March 31, 2019, the Fund had revenues of
$16.5 million and expenses of $22.6 million resulting in an annual deficit of $6.1 million.
At March 31, 2019, the Fund had an accumulated surplus of $5.0 million (March 31, 2018:
$11.1 million).
Figure 1—Summary of 2018–19 Financial Results
Budget
2018–19 Actual 2018–19 (in millions)
Surcharge revenue $ 13.8 $ 14.2
Federal cost sharing revenue - 1.5
Investment income, gain and other 1.2 0.8
Total Revenue $ 15.0 $ 16.5
1 The Victims of Crime Act established the Victims’ Fund; it continues under the authority of The Victims of Crime Act, 1995.
Budget
2018–19 Actual 2018–19 (in millions)
Administration costs $ 0.9 $ 1.0
Bad debt 1.0 1.6
Crime prevention grants and crisis intervention services 4.7 5.1
Compensation payments 1.2 1.1
Research, evaluation, and prevention 0.8 1.0
Interpersonal violence and abuse programs 10.1 10.1
Federal cost sharing agreements 1.2 1.0
Other 1.6 1.7
Total Expense $ 21.5 $ 22.6
Annual Deficit $ 6.5 $ 6.1
Net Financial Assets $ -- $ 5.0
Source: Ministry of Justice and Attorney General – Victims’ Fund Financial Statements for the Year Ended March 31, 2019.
In our opinion, for the year ended March 31, 2019, we found, in all material respects:
The Ministry complied with the following authorities governing the Fund's activities related to financial reporting, safeguarding public resources, revenue raising, spending, borrowing, and investing:
The Victims of Crime Act, 1995 The Executive Government Administration Act The Victims of Crime Regulations, 1997 The Financial Administration Act, 1993
Criminal Code (s. 737) Orders in Council issued pursuant to the above legislation
The Fund had reliable financial statements
In addition to the above opinions, in Section 4.0, we bring the results of other significant matters to the attention of the Legislative Assembly.
We used standards for assurance engagements published in the CPA Canada Handbook—Assurance (including CSAE 3001 and 3531) to conduct our audit. The audit included reviewing the data and assumptions used to determine the collectability of the Fund's accounts receivable, including fine surcharges. It also assessed the Fund's accounting treatment of transfers for the federal–provincial cost-sharing agreements (Family Information Liaison Unit, legal advice for victims of sexual offenders, engaging victims in a restorative process, and enhancement of services to victims of crime).
The Ministry did not prepare, in a timely way, key supporting documents for the Fund's financial statements for management's review.
The Ministry did not give us all of the key documents to support the Fund's draft 2018–19 financial statements until two months after we received the initial draft of the statements (July 2019). It gave us an initial draft in May 2019.
In addition, the Ministry's initial draft of the Fund's 2018–19 financial statements incorrectly included a $1.9 million unauthorized government transfer. Management, after it prepared these statements, determined this transaction was not properly authorized; but it did not make that determination and share its rationale until five months after year-end in September 2019. The Ministry appropriately corrected this error.
Preparing key supporting documents at the same time as draft financial statements allows management to effectively review financial statements for accuracy and completeness.
It also reduces the time it takes to perform an audit.