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/ Canadian Government Executive
// February 2016
The Interview
Bill
Matthews
Bill Matthews
was appointed Comptroller General of Canada in July 2014. He studied commerce
at Dalhousie University and then earned his designation as a Chartered Professional Accountant. He
started his career in the private sector and eventually became an Associate Partner with IBM, formerly
PriceWaterhouseCoopers Consulting. He joined the Office of the Comptroller General of the govern-
ment of Canada in 2004 and was named Assistant Comptroller General in the Financial Management
and Analysis Sector in 2009. In 2011, he was named Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management
Sector, at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. CGE Editor Patrice Dutil caught up with him to
discuss the cultural impact of internal audit, the future of comptrollership, and innovation.
Q:
Where is Comptrollership
going?
Comptrollership in the Government of
Canada is evolving to reflect a changing
environment, one that entails the need
for increased transparency and enhanced
accountability. Going forward, the vision
for comptrollership will need to include:
strengthening the culture of measure-
ment and innovation in program and
policy design and delivery; providing
evidence to inform decision-making; in-
creased openness; and, most importantly,
strengthening oversight of taxpayer dol-
lars and the clarity and consistency of fi-
nancial reporting.
Q:
Comptrollership seems to be
moving beyond numbers. You
often talk about its “cultural”
influence. What do you mean?
For me, the focus of today’s modern comp-
trollership is instilling core values of
sound resource management and effec-
tive decision-making within and across
the public service. This not only includes
managers, but all public servants, wheth-
er they are engaged in front-line program
and service delivery, policy or program
design, or corporate service and support
functions. Comptrollership is about en-
suring that federal public service man-
agers and employees understand their
roles and responsibilities, and that they
are equipped with the requisite skills and
competencies. A comptrollership culture
is one in which all public servants are able
to see their work in the policies that guide
their occupations and are able to take a
risk-based approach to financial controls
that supports flexibility and decision-mak-
ing. This is howwe develop programs that
reflect fundamental public service values
such as stewardship and accountability.
Q:
What can Comptrollership
bring to decision-making?
Good management and sound decision-
making are at the heart of good govern-
ment. My view is that comptrollership
should ensure that decision-making is
on the Cultural
Influence of
Internal Audit
occurring at the right levels within the or-
ganization. Today’s digital environment
increases access and inputs to decision
points in government processes. It also
provides opportunities to use this data to
support evidence-based decision-making.
This process is just as critical as the results
it produces because it empowers manag-
ers and prevents administrative bottle-
necks. It allows public servants to see their
work in terms of responsibilities rather
than tasks. It’s the job of comptrollership
to find the opportunities to create better
services and improved effectiveness that
can save time and money.
Q:
What is your view on the role
of Internal Audit in
risk-management?
The Policy on Internal Audit goes into
detail concerning the responsibilities of
internal audit shops with regard to risk.
What’s not explicitly included in the Policy
is the need for organizations to identify
their risk thresholds. Risk is everywhere
but we can’t audit everything. Internal au-