Audit of the Food Mail Program

Objective The objectives of the audit were to provide reasonable assurance to senior management on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the management controls supporting the operations of the Food Mail Program and, in particular, that: • Governance structures are in place and are sufficient to provide effective strategic direction and support achievement of program objectives • Program objec [...] The audit noted that issues related to the design of the program such as the rationale for the extent of subsidies, the list of eligible goods and the agreement with Canada Post, have not undergone a significant review in many years. [...] Budget and Staffing Total funding for the program has increased from $27.6M in 2002-2003 to $47.8M in 2007-2008 primarily due to the increase in the volume of goods shipped, the increased cost of shipping and the fact that the postage rate charged for shipping has remained unchanged during the period. [...] In the overall context of the review, Program Management requested that an audit of the managerial controls of the program be undertaken. [...] Page 2 Audit Objectives and Scope The objectives of the audit were to provide reasonable assurance to senior management on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the management controls supporting the operations of the Food Mail Program and in particular that: • Governance structures are in place and are sufficient to provide effective strategic direction and support achievement of program obje