PERFORMANCE (VALUE FOR MONEY) AUDITING COURSE PILOTED IN OTTAWA

CCAF presented the first of three pilot offerings of our newly developed Fundamentals of Performance (Value for Money) Auditing course in Ottawa the week of November 6 -10, 2006.

The course was developed drawing on materials from CCAF's existing courses and from course material provided by several legislative audit offices. The course is heavily oriented to skills development, with a great deal of hands-on experience through the use of case studies.

The introduction of these courses marks CCAF's re-entry in the business of audit training. CCAF is certainly not new to the training business. Since its founding in 1980, CCAF has offered approximately 300 course offerings to about 5,000 people.

Thanks to the many people who contributed, the first of three pilots went off very well.

The 13 participants (see photo below) included representatives from federal and provincial legislative audit offices as well as from the internal audit sector. Some had little or no experience with performance auditing; others had prior experience and wanted to refresh their knowledge. Also in attendance, as observers and commentators, were senior audit practitioners. We thank them for their expertise, constructive guidance and advice throughout the week.

Seated left to right: Yves Denis, Vérificateur général du Québec; Brendan Thiessen, Office of the Auditor General of Manitoba; Mike Stratford, Office of the Auditor General of Alberta; Johan Boer, Office of the Auditor General of Ontario; Instructor Bill Rafuse, Rafuse Consulting, Nova Scotia

Standing left to right: Nicole Wieczorek, CCAF-FCVI; Jean-Paul Gobeil, Conseil Gobeil Consultancy, Manitoba; Diane Charron, Office of the Auditor General of Canada; Dena Palamedes, Office of the Comptroller General of Canada; Collette Gallant, Office of the Auditor General of Prince Edward Island; Vicki Plant, Office of the Auditor General of Canada; Philip Chin, CCAF-FCVI; Shelley Creighton, Office of the Auditor General of Nova Scotia; Instructor Bonnie Lysyk, Office of the Auditor General of Manitoba; Asifa Baig, Treasury Board Office, Ministry of Finance; Brian Smith, Bank of Canada

The feedback we received from participants will be used to adjust the course prior to offering it in Halifax (December 4-8, 2006) and Edmonton (January 15-19, 2007).

Our thanks also go to: Bill Rafuse and Bonnie Lysyk, the course instructors. In additional to his significant role as lead consultant in helping CCAF develop the course, Bill has also accepted to act as instructor for the first three pilots and to provide guidance in training our cadre of instructors for future offerings. Bill is president of Rafuse Consulting and is a former Principal with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. Bill will also be the lead consultant in helping CCAF develop an intermediate level course. Bonnie is Deputy Auditor General and Chief Operating Officer with the Office of the Auditor General of Manitoba. She brings to the table her extensive knowledge from the legislative audit community as well as her prior experience in public sector internal audit. We are delighted that Bonnie has accepted to join our teaching faculty. Legislative auditors across Canada. They gave us access to their course materials and encouraged their staff to participate in the pilot. They also made available some of their key personnel to provide advice and guidance during the development process. This group - CCAF - CCOLA Working Group (see box) - helped us determine the scope and approach of the course.

Bill Rafuse Rafuse Consulting Nova Scotia Bonnie Lysyk Office of the Auditor General of Manitoba

Ernst & Young, Ottawa - Deanna Monaghan, Managing Partner, and a new CCAF governor, and her assistant, Carolyn Laidlaw thoughtfully arranged for us to use Ernst & Young Ottawa offices for the pilot course. Nicole Racine and Shelley Cochrane – warmly welcomed the course participants and took excellent care of them throughout the week. The view of Canada's Federal Parliament (see below) from their offices were conducive to an inspiring learning experience.

In addition to the pilots in Halifax and Edmonton, we plan to offer the course in French in Quebec City next year. One of the participants in Ottawa, Jean-Paul Gobeil, will be the instructor for the Quebec City offering. Jean-Paul is a long-time associate of the CCAF, having helped develop and deliver our earlier courses. We are pleased to welcome him back to the instructors' faculty.

Later in 2007 we will begin to offer the course in its final format. We are exploring several delivery options, including delivery on demand in major regional centres, and open registration for sessions offered on a national basis.

In addition to the two courses on performance auditing, we are also discussing with KPMG the development and delivery across Canada of an Annual Update on changes to accounting and auditing standards in the public sector. Legislative auditors identified these three courses as high priorities.

Working with the Human Resources Network of CCOLA, we have put in place a process to identify and meet short and long-term audit training needs.

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