Quarterly Financial Report for the quarter ended June 30, 2017

Quarterly Financial Report for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 (PDF, 627KB)

1. Introduction

This Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) should be read in conjunction with the Main Estimates. It has been prepared by management as required under section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Directive on Accounting Standards, GC 4400 Departmental Quarterly Financial Report. It has not been subject to an external audit or review.

1.1 Raison d'être

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) was established effective June 20, 1996, under the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act. As of November 4, 2015, PWGSC operates as Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). PSPC plays an important role in the daily operations of the Government of Canada. It supports federal departments and agencies in the achievement of their mandated objectives as their central purchasing agent, real property manager, linguistic authority, treasurer, accountant, and pay and pension administrator, and common service provider. The department's vision is to excel in government operations, and its strategic outcome and mission are to deliver high-quality, central programs and services that ensure sound stewardship on behalf of Canadians and meet the program needs of federal institutions.

A summary description of the department's program activities can be found in Part II of the Main Estimates.

1.2 Basis of presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Table 1—Statement of authorities (unaudited) includes the department's spending authorities granted by Parliament, and those used by the department consistent with the Main Estimates for the current 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 money 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 department uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements that are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

1.3 Public Services and Procurement Canada's financial structure

PSPC provides services to many government departments, agencies and Crown corporations through a variety of funding mechanisms. This includes budgetary authorities that are comprised of voted and statutory authorities, as well as non-budgetary authorities. The voted budgetary authorities include operating expenditures, vote-netted revenues and capital expenditures, while the statutory authorities are mainly comprised of revolving funds, employee benefit plans and payments in lieu of taxes (PILT). The non-budgetary authorities consist primarily of the Seized Property Working Capital Account (see description below).

PSPC's complex financial structure may result in significant fluctuations in authorities on a quarterly basis which are due to timing differences that are resolved by year end. These are summarized as follows:

• For the most part, PSPC delivers its services on a cost-recovery basis, generating revenues via revolving fund ("the Funds") organizations and programs within the operating vote. These organizations and programs are mainly designed to provide services to other government organizations, and are expected to recover the cost of their operations through revenues. However, the costs incurred by the Funds are usually disbursed prior to invoicing the client, which generally occurs upon completion of a project or after services are rendered, and thus revenues may be collected in a subsequent quarter
• PSPC manages a variety of real property projects that progress through phases from planning to funding and from procurement to construction. Historical trends have shown that expenditures against these projects are not incurred evenly throughout the year; thus, quarter-to-quarter fluctuations are normal. Such projects include the Alaska Highway, in British Columbia and the Yukon, and the new Champlain Bridge in Montréal, Quebec
• PILT issued by PSPC are funded through a statutory vote and paid on behalf of other participating federal departments. Payments are subsequently recovered from the participating departments and are recorded as statutory grants in the Public Accounts of Canada. Timing fluctuations can occur between the payments and the recoveries
• PSPC also manages seized property for the Government of Canada pursuant to the Seized Property Management Act. The financial management of this activity is undertaken through the non-budgetary Seized Property Working Capital Account. Charged to this account are expenditures and advances made to maintain and manage any seized or restrained property. PSPC recovers its costs from this account once the property owner loses the right to the property and it is disposed of

2. Highlights of fiscal quarter and fiscal year to date results

2.1 Significant changes to authorities

When compared to the same quarter of the previous year, year to date PSPC's authorities available for use increased by $471.9 million ($3,222.5 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017; $3,694.4 million in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018) as reflected in Table 1—Statement of Authorities (unaudited). Major reasons for the increase are outlined below:

Groupings can change between quarters due to materiality of initiatives.

Amounts may not balance with other public documents due to rounding.

The year to date net increase of $471.9 million can be explained by:

Parliamentary Precinct Rehabilitation—increase of $105.5 million

Work continues with the rehabilitation of the Parliamentary Precinct, in order to preserve these key heritage assets and national symbols for years to come. This initiative reduces the environmental footprint of the precinct and enriches visitor experience, while creating thousands of jobs and supporting the development of innovative technologies. This year, PSPC plans to deliver on the rehabilitation of West Block, including the courtyard infill for the interim House of Commons, and the construction of the Visitor Welcome Centre Phase 1.

Real Property Program Integrity—increase of $94.4 million

Being the Federal Government Real Estate Manager, part of PSPC's mandate includes making necessary repairs and maintenance of federal buildings across Canada in order to ensure a safe, healthy, and secure workplace. Major work on key building components will also take place on various buildings, such as Canada's Four Corners, Lester B Pearson and Postal Station B in Ottawa.

Price and Volume Protection—increase of $75.1 million

This funding increase protects for inflation (price) and variation in the number of public servants requiring accommodations (volume). An annual reconciliation exercise will be performed to ensure PSPC is not over / under funded.

Engineering Assets Phase II and Budget 2016—increase of $68.5 million

Through the Engineering Assets initiatives, PSPC is rehabilitating major public infrastructure, reducing risks related to health and safety, and ensuring long-term stewardship of these assets. The funding received through Budget 2016 allows to focus on four projects, that is: the Alexandra Bridge ON, the Timiskaming Dam Complex QC, the Esquimalt Graving Dock BC and the Alaska Highway BC.

Energy Services Acquisition Project—increase of $68.4 million

In support of Government of Canada's commitment towards cleaner technologies, PSPC's Energy Services Acquisition Project will modernize the energy system serving federal buildings in the National Capital Region. This will be achieved by converting the existing heating infrastructure from steam to a more modern low temperature hot water technology; therefore reducing the environmental footprint.

Refit/fit-up—increase of $60.0 million

Part of PSPC's mandate includes the preparation of the space for occupancy to meet client departments' program requirements. This service can range from smaller refit projects, such as constructing a new boardroom, to larger full scale fit-ups where tenants are relocated in new space.

Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan—Phase II and III – increase of $35.7 million

The Phase II and III of the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP) allow for the continuation of remediation activities at various contaminated sites to reduce associated liabilities, as well as mitigate human health and environmental risks. Through the FCSAP, PSPC supports skills development and employment of Canadians, while encouraging Canada's environmental industry to develop innovative and sustainable technologies. Major sites include the Esquimalt Graving Dock BC, the Alaska Highway BC and the Former Sambault Garbage Dump QC. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the funding for FCSAP was received later in the year.

Capital Vote Implementation—total variance of $0 million

PSPC must comply with the new Government of Canada Capital Vote definition which will come into effect April 1, 2018. Under this more elaborate definition, PSPC identified recurring operating costs currently funded by the Capital Vote and requested a vote transfer to the Operating Vote, as part of the current fiscal year Main Estimates. Work is ongoing to finalize this initiative.

Capital Leases—decrease of $7.5 million

PSPC's portfolio of real property assets is comprised of facilities owned by the Crown and leased from the private sector, some with special conditions such as options to purchase. This decrease is the result of implementing PSPC's long term capital lease investment strategy approved by Treasury Board in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015.

Grande Allée Armoury—decrease of $14.0 million

After the 2008 fire which caused heavy damage, the Government of Canada announced the reconstruction of the Grande Allée Armoury in Québec City, as it is a significant federal Crown heritage building. Following the completion of the exterior work in summer 2017, minor work will continue on the interior in order to prepare it for occupancy.

Other—decrease of $14.2 million

The total variance of $14.2 million is the result of miscellaneous funding variances, mainly related to Real Property initiatives. The Statutory variance is mainly explained by the decrease of the Employee Benefit Plans rate from 17.2% in previous year to 15.7% in current year, as directed by the Treasury Board Secretariat.

2.2 Significant changes to year-to-date net expenditures

As presented in Table 2-Departmental budgetary expenditures by standard object (unaudited), year to date total net budgetary expenditures have increased by $19.1 million when compared to the same quarter of the previous year ($1,142.0 million in the previous fiscal year compared to $1,161.1 million in the current fiscal year).

Overall, total spending at the end of the first quarter represents 31% of annual planned expenditures for this current fiscal year, which compares to the first quarter of previous year at 35%.

The year over year net increase of $19.1 million is mainly attributable to:

• Other subsidies and payments—increase of $21.6 million
  • The increase is due to timing differences between when a payment is issued and when the cost is recovered from other government departments
• Professional and special services—increase of $21.5 million
  • Increase in the professional, architectural, engineering and consulting services on the Visitor Welcome Centre, Rehabilitation of the West Block, including the courtyard infill for the interim House of Commons, and other projects
• Personnel—increase of $12.0 million
  • Increase mainly due to higher salary expenditures resulting from retroactive salary payments and increases in pay rates of various collective agreements
  • Increase also partly due to additional compensation advisors at the Public Service Pay Centre and additional resources hired to support the stabilization of the Phoenix pay system
• Rentals—decrease of $58.6 million
  • Timing difference in the billing cycle between the previous fiscal year and the current fiscal year
• Transfer payments—decrease of $18.3 million
  • Timing differences between when a payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) is issued and when the cost is recovered from other government department
• Other expenditures—decrease of $8.2 million
  • The net increase in other expenditure categories not listed above is the result of increased activity in various projects
• Revenues netted against expenditures—decrease of $49.1 million
  • The majority of the decrease is attributable to a timing difference in the billing cycle between the previous fiscal year and current fiscal year

3. Risks and uncertainties

PSPC integrates risk management principles into business planning, decision-making and organizational processes to minimize negative impacts and maximize opportunities across our diverse range of services and operations. Risk management in PSPC is carried out in accordance with the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Framework for the Management of Risk, the Management Accountability Framework and the PSPC Policy on Integrated Risk Management.

The following key risks were identified as having a potential financial impact:

• PSPC's dependency on clients' expenditures: More than half of PSPC's financial and human resources are tied directly to cost-recovered services and activities. In a context of reduced expenditures on the part of client departments and agencies, there is a risk that PSPC could face unpredictable and reduced business volumes and associated reduced resources. In response to this risk, PSPC continually adjusts to fluctuations in operational demands while maintaining the quality of its services. This includes sustaining rigorous management of revenues, expenditures, forecasting and commitment monitoring and working closely with other departments through the client service network to identify changing requirements and their impacts on the department
• PSPC's ability to undertake and deliver complex, transformational and interdepartmental major projects and procurements: There are inherent risks in PSPC undertaking and delivering complex, transformational and interdepartmental major projects and procurements on time, within the approved budget and according to scope which could ultimately have an impact on the department's service strategy. In order to address these risks, PSPC has implemented disciplined investment and project management processes; established service agreements and service standards with clear identification of responsibilities; ensured sound contract management; engaged early with client departments and other stakeholders; and developed the departmental Integrated Investment Plan (IIP)
• as previously outlined in last year's Quarterly Financial Reports, the department implemented a new pay system as part of the Pay Transformation Initiative. The implementation was a major undertaking that experienced challenges. The department is leading a significant effort to address and resolve pay issues. Progress is continuing as we work closely with departments, unions and stakeholders

4. Significant changes to operations, personnel and programs

There were no significant changes to operations, personnel and programs in the first quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Approved by:

Table 1—Statement of authorities (unaudited)

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