Audit of Business and Regulatory Law – British Columbia Regional Office
October 03, 2012

Appendix C – Approach and Methodology

The approach and methodology used for the audit were consistent with the Internal Audit standards as outlined by the Institute of Internal Auditors and were aligned with the Treasury Board (TB) Policy on Internal Audit and related guidelines and procedures.

The planning and on-site examination phases of the audit were carried out between February and June, 2012. The planning phase consisted of a review and analysis of relevant documents, interviews with key personnel involved and the development of a preliminary risk assessment. The examination phase consisted of a detailed review and validation of those areas which were identified as having potentially higher risk during the planning phase of the audit. The on-site detailed examination was undertaken at the British Columbia Regional Office in Vancouver from April 23rd to 27th, 2012, and included interviews with senior management and staff, a walkthrough of legal files and an examination of relevant documentation.

Interviews were conducted with the following individuals from the Litigation section – Director, Business and Regulatory Law – Litigation; Deputy Regional Director and Senior Counsel; Senior Counsel and Team Lead; Manager, Office and Legal Support; iCase Coordinator; two Paralegals; three Counsel; and, two Legal Assistants. Interviews were conducted with the following individuals from the Advisory Services section – Director, Business and Regulatory Law – Advisory; Deputy Regional Director Advisory Fisheries and Senior Counsel; Senior Counsel; two Counsel; two Paralegals; two Legal Assistants. Individuals in the paralegal, counsel and legal assistant positions were randomly selected. The following individuals were interviewed from Regional Corporate Services – Associate Regional Director General; Regional Director, Corporate Services; Director, Human Resources; Counsel, Legal Risk Management and Policy; Manager, Information Management; and, three staff members from the Financial Division staff who were interviewed together. Interviews in the Financial Division included an acting Manager, Financial Management, Contracts & Material Management; a Cost Recovery Specialist and Financial Management; and, a Financial Review & Monitoring Officer.

In addition, relevant processes and documentation were examined and testing was conducted against the audit criteria. Documentation and a judgmental sample of files were from the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 fiscal years. Based on an analysis of the information and evidence collected, the audit team formulated audit findings, which were validated through discussions with the auditee.

Upon completion of the Examination phase, audit findings were presented to Regional management for validation.