Quarterly financial report for the quarter ended December 31, 2021

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

Introduction

This Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) is prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act. It should be read in conjunction with the 2021-22 Main Estimates.

Authority, mandate and programs

When the Accessible Canada Act became law in July 2019, it created the Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization. In January 2020, the organization adopted the title Accessibility Standards Canada because it is easier to remember and also follows Treasury Board requirements. The legal title of the organization is still the Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization, as per the Accessible Canada Act.

Accessibility Standards Canada will help to achieve a Canada without barriers, on or before January 1, 2040. It will do this by:

• developing new, and changing existing, accessibility standards
• supporting innovative research
• sharing information about identifying, removing and preventing accessibility barriers

The December 2019 Mandate Letter to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion from the Prime Minister highlighted the importance of Accessibility Standards Canada’s work. The letter asked the Minister to: 

• continue her efforts in leading the Government’s work to promote disability inclusion
• support the operationalization of Accessibility Standards Canada, in consultation with the disability community

Accessibility Standards Canada’s priorities for the 2021 to 2022 year are in line with the directives in the Mandate Letter: 

• Accessibility Standards Canada will focus on hiring new people, particularly persons with disabilities
• The organization will continue to build organizational capacity. 

The Board will work with persons with disabilities and partners across the country to guide the work. 

Further information on Accessibility Standards Canada’s mandate and program activities are found in Part II of the Main Estimates and in the Departmental Plan.

Basis of presentation

This quarterly report was prepared by management using: 

• an expenditure basis of accounting
• a special-purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities 

The accompanying Statement of Authorities (Table 1) includes Accessibility Standards Canada’s spending authorities granted by Parliament. It is consistent with the Main Estimates and the budgetary authorities used by the Department for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

Parliament must approve spending by the Government. Approvals are provided annually in allocated limits through appropriation acts or through legislation.

As part of the departmental performance reporting process, Accessibility Standards Canada prepares its annual financial statements on a full accrual basis. It follows Treasury Board accounting policies, which are based on Canadian accounting principles for the public sector. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

The quarterly report has not been subject to an external audit or review.

Highlights of fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date results

This section highlights the significant items that contributed to: 

• the net increase in resources available for the year
• the net increase in actual expenditures for the quarter ending December 31, 2021

Significant changes to budgetary authorities

As of December 31, 2021, Accessibility Standards Canada’s total available authorities for fiscal year 2021 to 2022 amounted to $20.5 million, compared to $17.1 million for the same period last year. This increase of $3.4 million is due to a $3 million increase in grants and contributions funding and a $0.4 million in operational and statutory funding. Available authorities are unchanged since the second quarter.

Significant changes to authorities used

As of December 31, 2021, Accessibility Standards Canada spent $11.2 million, compared to $8.5M in the previous year. There are two main reasons for this $2.7 million increase. Personnel costs increased $1.4 million compared to the previous year at this time. This is due to increased staffing as the organization completes its’ initial ramp-up, and the repatriation of salary expense processing. In the prior year, there were delays with salary invoicing that caused personnel expenses to be understated. 

A further $1.2 million increase relates to the increased grants and contributions that the organization is now managing. Payments related to multi-year grants and contributions programs that were approved in previous years were issued in the first quarter. Payments for new agreements were made in the third quarter and additional payments are scheduled for the fourth quarter. 

Total operational authorities used by the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2021 to 2022 ($11.2 million) represents 55 per cent of total available authorities ($20.5 million). This is lower than expected at the end of the third quarter, but this discrepancy can be attributed to remaining salary invoicing that still needs to be completed, as well as large payments related to service level agreements with other government departments that are all scheduled for the fourth quarter.

Risks and uncertainties

To ensure that corporate objectives are met, key risks were highlighted in the organization’s Departmental Plan. In addition to these risks, an Enterprise-wide Risk Management Framework was presented to the Board to highlight the risks that the organization faces, and how to mitigate them. ASC is still assessing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on operations in both the present and the future.

The primary financial risk is the ramp-up of operations. With a new organization comes a steep learning curve. This uncertainty manifests itself when defining the optimal workforce and financial requirements to achieve its mandate. The agility exhibited by senior management and its Board of Directors is a key mitigation factor that allows Accessibility Standards Canada to build its operations. Decisions are made in a timely manner, which allows for great efficiency and minimizes the impact COVID-19 could have had on the ramp-up of its operations. 

Significant changes related to operations, personnel and programs

As a fledgling department, Accessibility Standards Canada is meeting unique challenges: 

• how to establish an optimal workforce
• how to operationally meet its mandate

Integrated and multi-year planning, initiated earlier this year, has created a baseline for what the organization’s operations will look like in the future. The process of re-patriating currently outsourced processes is largely complete for two key areas - grants and contributions and human resources. Since the second quarter, ASC has been managing all new grants and contributions agreements and the payments for all exisiting agreements (including those previously managed by ESDC). For human resources, the transition was completed in the third quarter. ASC now has control over pay files for its own employees as well as all other required human resources functions.

Approval by Senior Officials

Original signed by CEO Philip Rizcallah

Original signed by CFO Philipe Sarrazin

Table 1: Statement of authorities (unaudited)

(in thousands of dollars)	Fiscal year 2021-22	Fiscal year 2021-22	Fiscal year 2021-22	Fiscal year 2020-21	Fiscal year 2020-21	Fiscal year 2020-21
Budgetary Authorities	Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2022	Used during the quarter ended December 31, 2021	Year to date used at quarter-end December 31, 2021	Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2021	Used during the quarter ended December 31, 2020	Year to date used at quarter-end December 31, 2020
Vote 1 – Operating Expenditures	11,193	2,339	4,001	10,878	1,209	2,443
Vote 5 – Grants and Contributions	8,500	2,376	6,624	5,500	1,375	5,500
Statutory authorities –  Contributions to the Employee Benefit Plan	829	207	621	697	174	523
Total Budgetary Authorities	20,522	4,922	11,246	17,075	2,758	8,466

*Includes only Authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end

Table 2: Departmental budgetary expenditures by standard object (unaudited)

(in thousands of dollars)	Fiscal year 2021-22	Fiscal year 2021-22	Fiscal year 2021-22	Fiscal year 2020-21	Fiscal year 2020-21	Fiscal year 2020-21
Expenditures:	Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2022	Expended during the quarter ended December 31, 2021	Year to date used at quarter-end December 31, 2021	Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2021	Expended during the quarter ended December 31, 2020	Year to date used at quarter-end December 31, 2020
Personnel	6,428	1,964	3,511	5,405	1,055	2,278
Transportation and communications	1,116	-	1	776	9	18
Information	466	30	111	371	28	63
Professional and special services	1,263	381	825	1,275	280	593
Rentals	891	168	168	338	5	5
Repair and maintenance	57	-	-	-	-	-
Utilities, materials and supplies	57	3	3	-	-	-
Acquisition of land, building and works	1,355	-	-	3,166	-	-
Acquisition of machinery and equipment	389	-	3	244	6	9
Other subsidies and payments	-	-	-	-	-	-
Transfer Payments	8,500	2,376	6,624	5,500	1,375	5,500
Total Budgetary Authorities	20,522	4,922	11,246	17,075	2,758	8,466

*Includes only Authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end.