The Auditor General of Québec issues the follow-up results of a performance audit concerning the management of contracts presenting risk situations by the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation - Press Release no. 6

QUÉBEC, Nov. 23, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, Ms. Guylaine Leclerc makes public the Fall 2016 Volume of the Report of the Auditor General of Québec to the National Assembly for 2016‑2017. In Chapter 6, she makes known the results of her work carried out at the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation (MAPAQ).

Conclusions. Eight of the 10 recommendations made regarding the management of contracts presenting risk situations are applied or result in satisfactory progress. As for the three recommendations made by the Committee on Public Administration (CPA), they are all applied.

Recommendations that are applied or for which progress is satisfactory. When it updated its plan for the delegation of signatures, the MAPAQ established a maximum financial limit for each of the hierarchical levels authorized to sign, by type of contract. Progress is satisfactory with regard to the production of reliable management information, and the actions carried out and planned should make it possible to apply the associated recommendations. This is also the case for the recommendations concerning the application of the internal directive, compliance with regulations, the authorization of payments as well as the information sent to the Conseil du trésor.

Recommendations for which progress is unsatisfactory. There are still deficiencies related to compliance with the authorization process leading to the signing of contracts. Nearly half of the audited authorization requests were signed after the contract itself has been concluded or after the work has begun, not beforehand. In addition, the information entered in the electronic call for tenders system (SEAO) still contains inaccuracies and is not always published within the prescribed time frames.

Recommendations from the CPA. The MAPAQ acted upon these recommendations. It sent to the CPA a dashboard used to monitor data entry in the SEAO, and the results of its reflection on the development of an ongoing training program as well as on taxation and the decisions made concerning its project relating to the farm property tax credit program.

The Highlights are available at www.vgq.qc.ca. The full report is available only in French.

Source:	Lucie Roy, Director of Communications
	Auditor General of Québec
	Tel.: [phone]

SOURCE Vérificateur Général du Québec

Lucie Roy, Director of Communications, Auditor General of Québec, Tel.: [phone]