August 25, 2022
The most effective Public Accounts Committees (PACs) are those that have a follow-up process in place. Follow-up is essential to improving public financial management and the oversight of public money as it provides a strong incentive for audited departments to respond to recommendations in a timely fashion.
CAAF has identified a number of key steps to effective follow-up, and the Yukon PAC is doing all of these things:
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Requesting action plans |
- Prior to each public hearing, the PAC receives an action plan from the audited department. This action plan provides the status of the department’s implementation of the auditor’s recommendations, with a timeline for when each recommendation will be implemented. While the Yukon PAC has long been receiving action plans, the format of these reports has become more accessible and easier to read and understand. Click here to see a sample action plan report.
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Issuing a substantive report containing the PAC’s own recommendations in addition to endorsing the auditor general’s recommendations |
- The Yukon PAC issues a report following meetings on an audit report. Sometimes these reports will include the PAC’s own recommendations, in addition to endorsing the auditor general’s recommendations. These reports also append the audited department’s action plan.
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Requesting status update reports from management |
- While the Yukon PAC has a long track record of issuing its own recommendations in addition to endorsing those of the auditor general, it may also, if necessary, issue a recommendation that the audited department provide a status report on progress made in implementing outstanding recommendations by a specific date.
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Holding follow-up hearings |
- The PAC’s report also makes it clear that the committee’s follow-up may include holding further public hearings.
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“As part of the PAC’s responsibility to scrutinize public spending, we believe that it is important to keep departments accountable for the commitments they make in response to the Auditor General’s recommendations. I’m proud of the great strides we’ve made in ensuring that this happens.” |
Currie Dixon, PAC Chair |
Yukon PAC Members
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Kate White, PAC Vice-Chair |
Scott Kent |
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Hon. Richard Mostyn |
Hon. Jeanie McLean |
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On top of these great steps for ensuring effective follow-up, the Yukon PAC has also started to standardize this process and track all past outstanding recommendations. In November 2019, the committee released a status report on outstanding recommendations. Currently, the PAC is reviewing progress since 2019 for a future status report.
And that’s not all! The Yukon PAC has adopted other good practices to enhance its transparency and effectiveness:
- ➥Starting in 2019 it began holding dedicated hearings on the territory’s annual public accounts.
- ➥In 2020, it adopted a motion making PAC meeting minutes publicly available.
The Yukon is a great example of how even PACs in small jurisdictions can be practice leaders!
See more Featured Oversight Practices
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