Internal audit and evaluation

The goal of internal audits is to provide information, analysis and advice to the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada as to whether the organization's risk management, control and governance processes are appropriately designed and effectively operated.

The objective of evaluations is to provide information, analysis and advice to the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada as to whether the organization’s programs and initiatives are producing the outcomes that they were designed to produce and at an affordable cost, and to identify lessons learned and best practices that can be used to improve programs and policies.

Audit and Evaluation Committee

• Audit and Evaluation Committee Charter

• Annual reports:

  • 2015–2016

• External members:

  • Michael Nelson

    Michael Nelson has served as Chair of the Audit and Evaluation Committee since 2020.

    He began his career as an engineering officer in the Canadian Armed Forces. In 1980, he left the military and joined the federal public service.

    During his career, he was involved in researching, writing and producing two public administration books authored by Gordon Osbaldeston (former Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet), Keeping Deputy Ministers Accountable and Organizing to Govern. Michael later held senior appointments in the federal government, including Group Chief at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, where he was responsible for federal government policies in information management, access to information, privacy, security, communications and federal identity; Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Forces Housing Agency; Vice-President of the Public Service Commission of Canada; and Assistant Deputy Minister of Comptrollership and Administration at Industry Canada.

    Michael was appointed Registrar of Lobbyists for the Government of Canada in 2004. During his time in that position, he chaired an international symposium on lobbying legislation in France organized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Michael retired from the federal public service in 2008 and is currently President of S.A.G.E. Consulting Inc.

    Michael graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada with a degree in Applied Science and holds an MBA from the University of Ottawa.

  • Serge Gaudet

    Serge Gaudet (CPA, CA) brings extensive experience and broad knowledge of financial governance, risk and control management in complex business environments. He held several senior positions during a career that started in 1976 as an audit trainee in the private sector.

    In his 20 years at the Office of the Auditor General, Serge led several attest audits of federal departments, crown corporations and agencies. He led value-for-money audits focusing on key areas such as the immigration and refugee programs. These audits resulted in important recommendations to improve the programs’ effectiveness and were brought to the attention of Parliament and to various parliamentary committees.

    At the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Serge was a member of the Agency Management Committee and Secretary of the Internal Audit/Program Evaluation Committee. The administration of hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenue was a considerable challenge in terms of fairness, integrity and achievement of results. As Director General of Financial Administration and Director General of Corporate Audit and Evaluation, he ensured that his teams were focused on understanding the many significant business risks, identifying opportunities for improvement and taking the necessary actions. For example, he led the development and implementation of a project that provided assurance to the provinces and territories that the CRA management controls for their tax revenues were effective.

    Serge joined the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation in 2006 and served as member of the executive committee. He provided useful advice to the President and the Board on the adequacy of systems and the effectiveness in achieving corporate results. He showed great flexibility and adaptability by successfully taking on additional high-level functions, including Acting Chief Financial Officer and Vice-President of Corporate Services, Sector Head of Technology and Administration, and Chief of Own Risk and Solvency Assessment. Following his retirement in 2014, he provided professional advice to the new Vice-Presidents of Audit and Evaluation until 2018.

    Serge Gaudet is a board member of a number of non-profit organizations.

Audit and evaluation

• Internal Audit Charter

• Evaluation Charter

• Chief Audit Executive Annual Report:

  • 2019–2020

• Internal audit reports:

  • Audit of Information Technology Systems Development Lifecycle (2020)

  • Audit of Information Management (2019)

  • Audit of Budgeting and Forecasting (2018)

  • Audit of the Management of Follow-up on OCOL Official Language Investigations (2018)

  • Audit of the Management of Legal Services (2017)

• Internal audit plans:

  • At a glance – 2019–2020; Update to Three-Year Risk-Based Audit and Evaluation Plan, 2017–2020

  • Three-Year Risk-Based Advisory Project and Evaluation Plan 2017–18 to 2019–20 (updated December 19, 2017)

  • Three-Year Risk-Based Advisory Project and Evaluation Plan 2017–18 to 2019–20

• Evaluation reports:

  • Evaluation of the Liaison Function – Final Report (2016)