A much-anticipated audit of House of Commons and Senate expenses has found weaknesses in contracting procedures in both chambers.
Auditor General Michael Ferguson's new report on the administration of the House of Commons found "weaknesses" in contracting practices and a "widespread lack of compliance" with procedures for procurement. Approximately $60 million was spent on procurement in the 2010-11 fiscal year and 41 of the 59 procurements tested did not follow the rules.
"Errors included missing documentation, unsigned contracts and one case where a contract was awarded to a bidder that did not meet a mandatory requirement," Ferguson said at a news conference after tabling both reports in their respective chambers.
In other areas of financial transactions that were looked at, Ferguson said the House of Commons administration has appropriate controls to oversee expenditures by MPs and that for the transactions that were tested, there were no major issues of non-compliance.
The audit did not examine spending by individual MPs, but tested a sampling of spending and checked whether the proper rules were followed.
More in link...
Less Ottawa.
