Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event activities are essential to the effective delivery of government services. At Veterans Affairs Canada, these activities can include:
- a staff member travelling to a Veteran’s home to complete an assessment;
- refreshments being provided to guests of the Department during a meeting;
- health professionals attending a conference to discuss the latest developments in the field; or
- a commemoration event celebrating the sacrifice of Veterans.
Effective April 1, 2014, the Treasury Board Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures was updated with new requirements. The intent of these changes was to strengthen oversight and accountability to ensure sound fiscal management of public funds.
The objective of this audit was to assess compliance with the Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures and ensure that the new changes had been properly implemented. Audit results confirmed that Veterans Affairs Canada was mostly compliant with the requirements of the Directive. There is one recommendation on ensuring the committing of funds are actioned in accordance with governing authorities. Overall, the audit team determined the results to be "Generally Acceptable".