Quarterly financial report for the quarter ended September 30, 2022

Introduction

This quarterly report has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Treasury Board. It should be read in conjunction with the Main Estimates. This quarterly report has not been subject to an external audit or review. However, it has been reviewed by the OCL Audit and Evaluation Committee.

The OCL mandate is stated in the Lobbying Act and covers three areas of activity:

• Establish and maintain the Registry of Lobbyists, which contains and makes public the information disclosed by lobbyists;
• Develop and implement educational programs to foster public awareness of the requirements of the Act; and
• Undertake investigations to ensure compliance with the Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.

Further details on the OCL’s programs may be found in the 2022-23 Departmental Plan and in the Main Estimates.

Basis of presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the OCL’s spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the organization consistent with the Main Estimates for the 2022-23 fiscal year. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before moneys can be spent by the Government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes.

When Parliament is dissolved for the purposes of a general election, section 30 of the Financial Administration Act authorizes the Governor General, under certain conditions, to issue a special warrant authorizing the Government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. A special warrant is deemed to be an appropriation for the fiscal year in which it is issued.

The OCL uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual financial statements that are part of the departmental performance reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

Highlights of fiscal quarter and fiscal year to date (YTD) results

Statement of authorities

The total authorities available for use as at September 30, 2022, increased by $720,000 compared to the same quarter of the prior year. The increase reflects the approval of the Budget 2021 funds sought in the Supplementary Estimates B ($653,000) and ARLU compensation.

Statement of Budgetary Expenditures by Standard Object

The OCL has spent approximately 42% of its authorities at the end of the second quarter of 2022-23.

The most significant expenditures are for personnel, representing approximately 75% of the net budgetary expenditures as at September 30, 2022. Actual personnel costs versus planned total spending at the end of Q2 are 31% and are similar to the prior year, which was 32.6%. Staffing of new and vacated positions remains a priority for OCL.

Actual other operating costs represent approximately 38% of the annual planned expenditures related to other operating costs, whereas for the previous year and for the same period it was 42%. Although these other operating costs have increased by $44,000 this year it represents a smaller portion of the planned expenditures which increased by $247,000. The overall expenditures are lower than expected and can be explained, in part, because the OCL acquires some of its corporate services from other government entities through Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) for information technology, human resources and financial services, and some of the invoices for services rendered for the second quarter were not received before the end of the quarter and consequently, not reflected in this report.

The organization’s spending at the end of the second quarter increased by $207,000 when compared to the previous year results. The increase is composed of higher personnel expenditures of $163,000 and an increase in operating expenditures of $44,000.

Risks and Uncertainties

In connection with Budget 2021, Treasury Board approved ongoing funding to hire five employees to enhance IM/IT systems as well as ongoing funding for evergreening IT equipment. All but one of these new positions has been staffed. As of September 30, 2022, there is some degree of uncertainty as to when the remaining newly created IT position will be filled. Consequently, a portion of the personnel funds that are included in the newly approved funding will be lapsed if the position remains unfilled. In addition, Treasury Board approved a one time increase for FY 2021-22 for an analysis of the feasibility of moving some OCL IT systems to a cloud platform. OCL encountered difficulty finding consultant resources for this analysis in FY 2021-22 and the money was not spent. We have received confirmation from TBS that funding of $175,000 for this project would be reprofiled to FY 2022-23.

A financial risk always exists since the Commissioner’s decisions with respect to investigations and applications for exemption from the five-year prohibition on lobbying may be subject to judicial review by the Federal Court. The current amount allocated for funding legal work would be insufficient in the event of a significant litigation.

Significant changes in relation to operations, personnel and programs

There have been no significant changes in the organization during the current quarter.

Approval by senior officials

Approved by:

Ottawa, Canada
November 25, 2022

Statement of Authorities (unaudited)

Budgetary expenditures by Standard Object (unaudited)