The purpose of this audit is to provide assurance that departmental activities with respect to the processing of overpayments are in compliance with policies, procedures, and regulations. The audit reviewed the overpayments of four programs: Disability Award, Disability Pension, War Veterans Allowance, and Earnings Loss. An overpayment is any amount paid to a beneficiary to which there is no entitlement, or which exceeds entitlement and are "debts to the Crown". Veterans Affairs Canada is required to pursue and collect any outstanding amounts of overpayments.

The Audit of the Veterans Independence Program (VIP) was approved by the Departmental Audit Committee in 2009. The objectives of the audit were to determine if: 1. up-to-date policies and procedures were in place to support program delivery; 2. program payments were accurately calculated and paid to eligible clients and approved providers; 3. regulatory and policy requirements were complied with; and 4. the quality assurance function provides an ongoing assessment of compliance requirements and identifies opportunities for improvement.

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) provides a wide range of health care benefits and services to eligible program recipients as specified under the authority of the Veterans Health Care Regulations. These entitlements are made available under the Treatment Benefits Program and Veterans Independence Program (VIP). The objective of these programs is to ensure program recipients are provided, according to their treatment eligibility, with reasonable and timely services that the Department considers to be an appropriate response to their assessed health needs. This audit was recommended for Deputy Minister approval by VAC’s Departmental Audit Committee on September 17, 2010. The objectives of the Federal Health Claims Processing System (FHCPS) Service Provider Audit were as follows: 1. To assess the adequacy of the service provider registration process; 2. To assess the adequacy of the requirements for service providers; 3. To determine compliance with service provider requirements; 4. To assess the efficiency of the appointment of service providers.

In 2011, Veterans Affairs Canada initiated a five-year Transformation Agenda to respond to the changing needs and expectations of the Veteran population. The goal was to fundamentally change how the Department delivers programs and services. The targeted efforts of the Department included overhauling service delivery, simplifying processes and cutting red tape for Veterans. To simplify the process for Veterans and expedite decision making, Veterans Affairs Canada case managers were given the responsibility to make medical/psychosocial decisions for Rehabilitation Program participants and to properly document these decisions. By delegating this new authority to the level closest to program recipients, case managers were expected to be more efficient and effective in responding to Veterans' needs and be more empowered in their position. To assist staff in making these decisions, the Department developed training courses for staff and introduced tools such as the six-step decision-making model. Recent internal audits have identified risks relating to the absence of quality assurance on decisions and the lack of supporting documentation on files. Veterans Affairs Canada must ensure that there are sufficient internal controls and that staff are complying with the directives of the Department when making decisions. Through interviews, documentation review, and an analysis of 120 sample files, this audit provides assurance that the delegated decision-making controls are working as intended to deliver planned results in accordance with related authorities.

In January 2011, the Audit & Evaluation Division commenced a Risk Assessment of Information Management within the Department. The purpose of this Risk Assessment was to provide Senior Management with a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of information management within the Department to ensure that Veterans Affairs Canada had appropriately responded to all potential risks. A total of 14 entities relating to Information Management were analyzed utilizing risk assessment methodology developed by the Office of the Comptroller General.

Healthcare professional service contractors are individuals with “significant training, qualifications and expertise in a professional field.” With the support of Public Works and Government Services Canada, these contractors are used to obtain expert knowledge and to complement the existing workforce. At Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), these healthcare professional service contractors review or conduct assessments of Veterans' health needs for services or benefits as well as provide consultation with VAC staff. During the 2012/13 fiscal year, there were 55 healthcare professional service contracts for Occupational Therapists, Nurses, Doctors and a Dentist, excluding those at Ste. Anne’s Hospital. The purpose of the audit was to provide assurance that the departmental activities relating to healthcare professional service contracts were conducted in compliance with VAC procedures, and Treasury Board (TB) policies and regulations. Overall governance and the payment process were also assessed. Fieldwork was conducted from April to July 2013.

In the approved 2008-2011 Audit and Evaluation Plan, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) identified the Residential Care Program at Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Building (CHVMB) for audit. The Chief Audit Executive of VAC engaged Audit Services Canada (ASC) to plan and conduct the audit. CHVMB is a part of the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre under the Capital District Health Authority (CDHA) of the Province of Nova Scotia. It is the largest Veterans facility in the Atlantic Region providing, under contract with VAC, long-term beds on a priority access basis to eligible Veterans under VACs Residential Care Program. This audit focused on VACs controls to manage CDHAs delivery of the Residential Care Program at CHVMB.

Veterans Affairs Canada has 60 points of service or responsibility centres, including regional and district offices that provide a wide range of services and programs. District offices provide direct service for programs, with regional offices providing functional direction and oversight. The three largest points of direct service are the Quebec, Halifax and Edmonton district offices which combined serve almost one-third of participants in the Rehabilitation Program. All three District Offices have approximately three client service teams and a varied mix of program participants. This audit was the second of two phases and was developed at the request of senior management to assess the internal controls surrounding the delegated authorities, the adequacy of the management control framework and to identify opportunities to improve efficiency. The first phase of the cyclical audit which was completed October 2010, focussed on operations in the Quebec District Office. This site was chosen because new delegated authorities were being piloted there. The audit team used the results from the Quebec audit to focus and inform the planning for the second phase, which focussed on operations in the Halifax and Edmonton district offices.

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) is in the process of implementing risk management with the goal of it becoming a natural part of Departmental culture. Ensuring effective learning from experience by undertaking regular reviews of the risk management process is significant to the advancement of the maturity of this process at VAC. Thus, this review of the adequacy of corporate risk management at VAC has been undertaken. The results of the review are one year after the development of a Risk Management Framework within VAC. The maturity of the implementation and functioning of VAC’s risk management policies and practices remains a work-in-progress. The Department must plan for the long-term; recognizing that effective implementation of risk management will take time. Critical to the success of full implementation is development of risk management capacity gaps, effective communication, training and development of internal expertise, identification, definition and clarity of roles.