|
TO: All Senior Financial Officers
RE: Reporting Requirements for Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2006
The
purpose of this communication is to advise you of the reporting requirements
related to the allowances for valuation of assets, unrecorded liabilities,
contaminated sites and departmental financial statements. It should be
noted that there are significant changes this year
Valuation of Assets and Unrecorded Liabilities
As
per the Treasury Board Policy on Allowances for Valuation of Assets and
Liabilities, departments must perform an annual assessment of the collectability
of financial claims, and report to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) any
liabilities or allowances of a material amount affecting their accounts that are
not or cannot be recorded through their departmental entries.
In
fiscal year 2005-06, TBS has devolved to departments the responsibility for
recording most allowances on assets and unrecorded liabilities that were
previously recorded centrally. However, there continue to be situations
where central entries will be required on behalf of departments. These
include:
1.
An accounting entry that cannot be recorded by the department because
access to CFMRS has closed. Only amounts that are significant to the
department should be reported. This situation may occur as a result of:
-
Transactions resulting from events that occur between March 31st and the
date of completion of the Government's financial statements which provide
evidence of conditions that existed at year-end (e.g. the bankruptcy of a
recipient of a significant unconditionally repayable contribution or loan
guarantee, or the unexpected loss of a claim against the department, etc.); or
-
The correction of a
significant error discovered either by the department or their auditor following
the close of CFMRS
In
the situations described in paragraph 1, departments should notify TBS of the
possible requirement for a central accrual by providing the amount of the
allowance and details of the nature of the allowance as soon as the information
is available. It should be noted that even though the accounting entry is
recorded centrally, the department's financial statements will need to reflect
the transaction as if it had been recorded in the department's trial balance.
2.
Allowances for likely contingent liabilities that cannot be recorded by
the department because of one of the exception listed in TBAS 3.6 -
Contingencies. Specifically:
-
Where the magnitude of the estimated liability is so significant that its
inclusion in expense/liabilities risks revealing the estimate of potential
liability; or
-
Where the contingency
relates to TBS as the Public Service employer and the potential impact of the
claim extends across many departments.
In the situations
described in paragraph 2, departments should notify TBS, by April 28, 2006, of
the amount of the allowance, the details of the nature of the allowance and the
reasons why the department cannot record the allowance. For any developments
after April 28, 2006, departments are to provide the information to TBS as soon
as it is available.
Responses should be treated as
confidential and forwarded to:
Brenda Abramson (613) 957-9676
Senior Analyst
Government Accounting Policy and Reporting
Financial Management and Analysis Sector
Office of the Comptroller General
Treasury Board Secretariat
L'Esplanade Laurier
8th Floor, West Tower
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R5
Liabilities related to contaminated sites
Departments are
required to report on liabilities related to contaminated sites as required by
the Policy on Accounting for Costs and Liabilities Related to Contaminated
Sites. Note that this liability was devolved to departments in 2004-2005.
For fiscal year 2005-06, the process for providing information on contaminated
sites has significantly changed. Departments will no longer provide
information on their contaminated sites directly to TBS. Departments must
provide summary financial information on environmental liabilities to the Deputy
Receiver General on Table TA5a as per the Public Accounts Instructions found at http://publiservice.pwgsc.gc.ca/rg/pdf/chap15r4-e.pdf.
Departments may wish to attach cover letters with additional details on their
environmental liabilities to Table TA5a, similar to those they had submitted to
TBS in previous years. However, departments must ensure these cover
letters are properly labelled "Attachment to Table TA5a".
Additionally,
departments are to provide detailed information on their contaminated sites
through their year-end update of the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory (FCSI).
Departments must update the FCSI by May 25, 2006 so that the information is
available for TBS to review. The FCSI can be found at: http://publiservice.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dfrp-rbif/cs-sc/home-accueil.asp?Language=EN.
If there are any
questions on the financial reporting requirements for contaminated sites, please
contact Marianna Gee at (613) 957-7168, Gee.Marianna@tbs-sct.gc.ca,
or Evelyne Verner at (613) 957-9853, Verner.Evelyne@tbs-sct.gc.ca.
Departmental financial statements
Departments are
reminded that starting with fiscal year 2005-2006, the financial statements are
to be published in the Departmental Performance Report (DPR). Instructions on
their publication will be included in the preparation guide for the 2005-2006
DPR. To ensure the greatest quality of the financial statements prior to
their release, departments are being provided with additional time this year-end
prior to their finalization:
-
June 15th, unsigned version of the financial statements (i.e. near final
draft) to be submitted to the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG) for
review. Comments will be provided back to departments within a month of
receipt.
-
August 15th, final signed version to be submitted to the OCG.
Departments are encouraged to provide earlier drafts of their financial
statements without 2005-2006 amounts, so that the OCG can discuss any proposed
changes with the department as early as possible.
The financial
statements are to be forwarded to:
Chantal
Lemyre (613) 957-2527
A/Director
Government Accounting Policy and Reporting
Financial Management and Analysis Sector
Office of the Comptroller General
Treasury Board Secretariat
L'Esplanade Laurier
8th Floor, West Tower
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R5
A nil response to
this call letter is not required.
c.c.:
Senior Full-Time Financial Officers
|
