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Quarterly Financial Report for the period ended September 30, 2023

Table of contents

Statement outlining results, risks and significant changes in operations, personnel and programs

Introduction

This report for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Treasury Board. The report has not been subject to an external audit or review, and should be read in conjunction with the Main Estimates and the Supplementary Estimates for the current year.

A summary description of ¶¶ÒùÊÓƵ's (GAC) programs can be found in Part II of the .

Basis of Presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared using an expenditure basis of accounting. The authority of Parliament is required before money can be spent by the Government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts, or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes.

The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes GAC's spending authorities granted by Parliament, and those used by GAC, consistent with the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (as applicable) for the fiscal year 2023-2024. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

GAC uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements that are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament are on an expenditure basis.

Highlights of Fiscal Quarter and Fiscal Year to Date Results

1. Significant Changes to Authorities

The following table shows the total budget available for use by GAC, which includes authorities available for use and granted by Parliament as at September 30.

(in thousands of dollars)

Total available for use for the year ending
March 31, 2024

Total available for use for the year ending
March 31, 2023

Variance

$

%

Authorities

Vote 1 - Operating expenditures

2,004,370

1,977,987

26,383

1%

Vote 5 - Capital expenditures

212,348

230,464

(18,116)

(8%)

Vote 10 - Grants and contributions

4,946,750

4,904,814

41,936

1%

Vote 15 - Payments of pension, insurance and social
security programs for locally-engaged staff

102,536

91,817

10,719

12%

Statutory authorities

Payments to international financial institutions

241,075

257,362

(16,287)

(6%)

Contributions to employee benefit plans

126,899

122,728

4,171

3%

Debt forgiveness to Pakistan

22,187

22,187

-

0%

Other statutory authorities

3,980

3,612

368

10%

Total budgetary authorities

7,660,145

7,610,971

49,174

1%

i. Authorities for Operating, Capital and Grants and Contributions

The variances for these three types of expenditures are consistent to the variances reported in the first quarter ended June 30, 2023, with addition of the following:

ii. Total Budgetary Authorities

The overall variance for total budgetary authorities is not significant, as it represents a small increase of 1% compared to the same quarter in previous year. This small increase for this quarter is consistent to the variances observed for quarters ending September 30th, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Significant Changes to Cumulative Budgetary Expenditures by Standard Object and by Authorities

The following table shows the net budgetary expenditures and authorities used for the first six months of the fiscal year and their comparison for the same period last year.

(in thousands of dollars)

April to September
2023-24

April to September
2022-23

Variance

$

%

Expenditures

Salaries and employee benefits

746,267

696,114

50,153

7%

Professional and special services

136,385

116,575

19,810

17%

Rentals

126,795

118,643

8,152

7%

Transportation and communications

59,284

50,501

8,783

17%

Information

8,223

7,015

1,208

17%

Repair and maintenance

11,760

10,133

1,627

16%

Utilities, materials and supplies

18,635

16,727

1,908

11%

Acquisition of land, buildings and works

3,512

3,013

499

17%

Acquisition of machinery and equipment

12,915

12,132

783

6%

Other

1,940

1,997

(57)

(3%)

Total Operating and Acquisition

1,125,716

1,032,850

92,866

9%

Transfer payments

1,693,193

1,798,760

(105,567)

(6%)

Total Gross Budgetary Expenditures

2,818,909

2,831,610

(12,701)

(0%)

Less revenues netted against expenditures

Revenue credited to the vote

53,800

46,037

7,763

17%

Total net budgetary expenditures

2,765,109

2,785,573

(20,464)

(1%)

Authorities

Vote 1 - Operating expenditures

939,643

863,002

76,641

9%

Vote 5 - Capital expenditures

31,500

23,687

7,813

33%

Vote 10 - Grants and contributions

1,498,053

1,606,817

(108,764)

(7%)

Vote 15 - Payments of pension, insurance and social
security programs for locally-engaged staff

36,207

37,833

(1,626)

(4%)

Statutory authorities

Payments to international financial institutions

194,850

191,726

3,124

2%

Contributions to employee benefit plans

64,431

62,152

2,279

4%

Other statutory authorities

425

356

69

19%

Total budgetary authorities

2,765,109

2,785,573

(20,464)

(1%)

i. Operating and Acquisition Expenditures

Operating and acquisition expenditures increased by $93 million, which is mainly explained by:

ii. Transfer Payments

Transfer payments decreased by $106 million, which is mainly explained by:

3. Significant Changes to Quarterly Budgetary Expenditures by Standard Object and by Authorities

The following table shows the net budgetary expenditures and authorities used for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, and the comparison for the same period last year.

(in thousands of dollars)

July to September
2023-24

July to September
2022-23

Variance

$

%

Expenditures

Salaries and employee benefits

413,200

349,289

63,911

18%

Professional and special services

83,654

69,794

13,860

20%

Rentals

59,441

58,345

1,096

2%

Transportation and communications

31,758

30,226

1,532

5%

Information

5,285

4,481

804

18%

Repair and maintenance

8,542

7,456

1,086

15%

Utilities, materials and supplies

10,847

9,507

1,340

14%

Acquisition of land, buildings and works

3,244

2,264

980

43%

Acquisition of machinery and equipment

9,157

8,622

535

6%

Other

1,672

1,182

490

41%

Total Operating and Acquisition

626,800

541,166

85,634

16%

Transfer payments

985,347

1,010,631

(25,284)

(3%)

Total Gross Budgetary Expenditures

1,612,147

1,551,797

60,350

4%

Less revenues netted against expenditures

Revenue credited to the vote

32,804

31,269

1,535

5%

Total net budgetary expenditures

1,579,343

1,520,528

58,815

4%

Authorities

Vote 1 - Operating expenditures

522,274

448,107

74,167

17%

Vote 5 - Capital expenditures

23,141

16,062

7,079

44%

Vote 10 - Grants and contributions

862,024

989,984

(127,960)

(13%)

Vote 15 - Payments of pension, insurance and social
security programs for locally-engaged staff

16,332

14,631

1,701

12%

Statutory authorities

Payments to international financial institutions

123,169

20,580

102,589

498%

Contributions to employee benefit plans

32,139

31,026

1,113

4%

Other statutory authorities

264

138

126

91%

Total budgetary authorities

1,579,343

1,520,528

58,815

4%

i. Operating and Acquisition Expenditures

Operating and acquisition expenditures increased by $86 million, which is mainly explained by:

ii. Transfer Payments

Transfer payments decreased by $25 million, which is mainly explained by:

iii. Payments to International Financial Institutions

Payments to international financial institutions increased by $103 million, which is mainly explained by the fact, that a significant initial payment was made in the current quarter compared to the first quarter in the previous year.

4. Risks and Uncertainties

As a federal department delivering a complex mandate in a rapidly changing international environment, GAC is influenced by many factors. These factors include the political conditions, economic controls, global inflation, social contexts and shifting global trends, including geopolitical dynamics and climate risks.

At any time, each of the aforementioned factors, or a combination thereof, could expose GAC, whether domestically, abroad, or both. As such, effective risk management is critical to GAC’s ability to deliver results for Canadians. For such reasons, GAC undertakes reviews, either annually or every two years, to validate key operational risks and to assess the progress and effectiveness of their proposed responses. Risks are managed diligently, and an agile approach is undertaken to avoid undue risk to program integrity.

The GAC Enterprise Risk Management Strategy guides departmental officials in managing risks that affect strategic plans and priorities. With this approach, GAC’s Strategic Risk Landscape and the Enterprise Risk Profile serve to identify unique pressures associated with resource management and fiduciary oversight associated with geographically dispersed operations. Key strategic risks that are being tracked are mitigated by allocating more resources are related to: health, safety and well-being of the workforce, IT Infrastructure, cyber/digital security and resilience and the management and security of real property and assets. These risks have also been reflected in GAC’s Corporate Management Agenda, an internal process put in place to ensure senior-level and department-wide engagement on key corporate priorities in support of a more agile and responsive department.

GAC continues to be pragmatic and versatile in its management of risks and uncertainties associated with resources. GAC is in the process of implementing certain strategies to identify investment opportunities while working to improve grants and contributions project costing analytics, by strengthening financial data capabilities. GAC is also implementing strategies to manage the financial pressures related to non-discretionary activities and absorb the recent budget reductions announced in the budget 2023 which have an impact on the current year and the coming years.

GAC has applied a range of measures to manage risks associated with fraud, such as training on awareness and detection. The risk of fraud is considered in audit and advisory engagements and two audits of missions are planned during this fiscal year. Further, an Audit of Procurement of Consulting Services will be presented to the Departmental Audit Committee in December. GAC continues to assess, on a risk basis, its internal controls over financial reporting at headquarters and at missions, and will be reporting on its internal controls over financial management, as per the requirements of the Treasury Board Policy on financial management. On the transfer payment programming side, GAC considers fraud risk as part of its recipient audit and continues to strengthen the fraud management capacity of recipient organizations via dedicated team.

5. Significant Changes in Operations, Personnel and Programs

During the quarter, changes occurred in relation to the following positions:

Approval by Senior Officials

Approved, as required by the TB Policy on Financial Management:

David Morrison
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

Shirley Carruthers
Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Planning, Finance and Information Technology

Ottawa, Ontario

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