Agency Governance and the Board of Management

The Board of Management is responsible for overseeing the organization and administration of the Agency and the management of its resources, services, property, personnel, and contracts. This includes development of the CRA’s Corporate Business Plan.

The Board replaces many of the oversight and control functions hitherto performed by the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Public Service Commission, and Public Works and Government Services Canada. The Board brings private sector rigour and expertise to the CRA. It also presents a diversity of perspectives as the provinces and territories nominate eleven of its fifteen members--members who come from a variety of professional backgrounds.

Information about Board and committee membership, as well as Directors’ participation rates, is presented in Schedule A.

Fiduciary Oversight Activities of the Board in 2006-2007

Each year, the Board of Management fulfils its fiduciary oversight responsibility by ensuring that the Canada Revenue Agency is well-managed. In 2006-2007, the key areas of focus included the following.

Risk Management

Part of the Board’s role in the governance of the CRA and the stewardship of its resources is ensuring that strategies and systems are in place for the identification, assessment, and management of risks on an Agency-wide basis. In 2006-2007, the Board monitored progress on the development of the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Program, including the development of pilot projects and a corporate risk inventory.

Information Technology

The Board also played an increased role in ensuring that information technology resources were properly managed, and that risks to the systems that support the CRA’s core business were sufficiently identified and mitigated. The Board monitored progress against, and risks to, information technology (IT) projects such as initiation of the upgrading of CRA’s data centre, and Secure Channel, a government-wide initiative to support delivery of services online.

Corporate Policies, Plans, and Reports

In 2006-2007, the Board approved both new and revised versions of several corporate policies, including policies on internal audit and program evaluation, health and safety, workplace committees, employee travel, and sustainable development and the environment.

One of the major policies the Board approved was the CRA project management policy. The purpose of the policy is to ensure that all projects undertaken by the CRA shall have appropriate accountability structures and be well managed in accordance with project management principles and best practices to provide a maximum benefit to the CRA. One of the requirements of the policy is that the Board will approve and monitor all project plans for projects with lifecycle costs that are expected to exceed $20 million. As a result, three project plans were brought to the Board for approval in 2006-2007.

The Board also reviewed the audit plans and reports of the CRA’s Internal Auditor and the Office of the Auditor General. In addition, the CRA’s spending against its budget was monitored on a quarterly basis. And in keeping with governance best practices, the Chair of the Audit Committee reviewed and reported back to the Board on the expense reports of the Commissioner-CEO.

As it does each year, the Board provided input to and approved the Corporate Business Plan 2007-2008 to 2009-2010, the CRA Annual Report to Parliament 2005-2006, and the CRA’s financial statements.

Human Resources

The Board reviewed several activities and initiatives related to its oversight responsibilities for human resources.

The largest of these was the Agency Classification Standard - Services and Programs initiative (ACS-SP). ACS-SP is a large, multi-year project designed to streamline the Services and Programs job categories in the CRA. The Board received regular updates on the progress of the initiative throughout the year.

The Board provided input to the performance assessment of the Commissioner-CEO and Deputy Commissioner, and reviewed the performance assessments of the Chief Financial Officer and Internal Auditor of the CRA. Performance objectives were also developed for the Commissioner-CEO.

Other significant human resources items and initiatives that the Board reviewed were a national job hazard analysis, employee performance management, compensation of executives, and succession planning for key CRA positions.

Strategic Oversight Activities of the Board in 2006-2007

A key accountability of the Board is to ensure that management has a sound strategy for the future of the corporation and to ensure that management successfully implements this strategy.

Agency 2010

In 2005-2006, the Board worked closely with management on the development of the CRA’s major corporate strategy, Agency 2010. In 2006-2007, it shifted its focus to monitoring management’s implementation of the strategy. As part of this overall strategy, the Board reviewed and approved the CRA’s Business Development Strategy objectives.

The Board also provided input to the initiative to provide Corporate Tax Administration for Ontario, the largest new business undertaking ever for the CRA. Specifically, the Board reviewed the project management of the initiative, and its human resources dimensions.

Board Governance

The Board of Management continually seeks to improve its governance policies and practices. In 2006-2007, its focus was on Board evaluation and Director orientation and development.

Board Evaluation

In 2006-2007, the Board conducted a formal evaluation of its performance and processes. Issues and suggestions raised are being addressed to further enhance the Board’s effectiveness. The Board also clarified and improved its procedures with respect to the conduct of meetings, and revised its committee charters to reflect the changing roles and responsibilities of its committees.

Director Orientation and Development

Key factors in the strengthening of the Board’s performance are the orientation and ongoing development of Board members to enhance their knowledge of the CRA and their core competencies as Directors.

In the past year, there were four new members appointed to the Board. In February 2007, these new members attended a comprehensive, two-day orientation session. In addition, in the fall of 2006, the Board agreed to support continuing education opportunities for Directors, including self-study and onsite presentations, in order to keep them abreast of corporate governance best practices and developments in substantive areas, such as audit practices.

Date modified:

2007-11-01