Audit Committee
The full agenda, as filed
All 8 items in the clerk’s order. Each carries the city’s own words: the staff recommendation, what the body decided, and its status. Nothing below is written by us.
AU8.1amended
Auditor General's 2024 Annual Report - Demonstrating the Value of the Auditor General's Office
This report provides information about the Auditor General's Office 2024 activities and the financial and non-financial benefits achieved by the City through its implementation of report recommendations. In 2024, the Auditor General's Office presented 10 audit, investigation, and cybersecurity reports with 86 recommendations, as well as a consolidated report on the status of previous Auditor General recommendations to City divisions, agencies and corporations. Additionally, our Forensic Unit managed 679 complaints (representing approximately 1,050 allegations) received through our Fraud and Waste Hotline, and conducted and / or provided oversight of some complex investigations. Every year, we demonstrate the value our Office brings with a quantified return on investment. The City has achieved cumulative one-time and annually recurring savings projected over a five-year period totaling over $376 million (as reported in our 2020 to 2024 Annual Reports) by implementing our recommendations. The cumulative cost of operating the Auditor General's Office from 2020 to 2024 was approximately $33.3 million. Based on these numbers, for every dollar invested in the Auditor General's Office there was a return of about $11. Equally important is the value that our reports bring through the non-quantifiable benefits, including enhanced cybersecurity and internal controls, robust data analytics, improved policies and procedures, more effective management and use of City resources, better customer service, and stronger security of City assets. Our reports also help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of programs, systems and processes, the impacts of which are not always easily quantified in financial terms.
The Audit Committee recommend that: 1. City Council receive the report (January 29, 2025) from the Auditor General for information.
Staff recommendation as filed
The Auditor General recommends that: 1. City Council receive this report for information.
AU8.2adopted
Auditor General's 2024 Annual Report on the Fraud and Waste Hotline
This report represents the 2024 annual report on fraud, waste and wrongdoing at the City including the activities of the Fraud and Waste Hotline Program (the Hotline Program). It highlights the complaints that have been communicated to the Auditor General's Office. It does not represent an overall picture of fraud or other wrongdoing across the City. In 2024, 679 complaints, representing approximately 1,050 allegations, were received by the Auditor General's Office. This is a reduction from 2023 by approximately 36 per cent or 375 complaints, primarily the result of receiving fewer complaints outside of our jurisdiction (not related to the City of Toronto), as well as subsidy fraud complaints. Despite the decrease in the number of complaints, we continue to manage a high volume of allegations, which has remained relatively consistent over the past five years at an average of approximately 1,250 allegations per year. The Hotline Program has helped to reduce losses and resulted in the protection of City assets. The actual and potential losses from complaints received from 2020 to 2024 are $2.0 million (actual losses) plus $1.1 million (potential losses) had the fraud not been detected. Additional benefits that are not quantifiable include: - the deterrence of fraud or wrongdoing - strengthened internal controls - improvements in policies and procedures - increased operational efficiencies - the ability to use complaint data to identify trends and emerging issues, make results-oriented recommendations to management, and inform our Audit Work Plan.
The Audit Committee recommend that: 1. City Council receive the report (January 29, 2025) from the Auditor General for information.
Staff recommendation as filed
The Auditor General recommends that: 1. City Council receive this report for information.
AU8.3adopted
The Toronto Shelter and Support Services Division is responsible for managing a coordinated and effective system of shelter and homelessness services. Toronto Shelter and Support Services' top priority is "to ensure that those experiencing homelessness have access to temporary accommodation when they need it, as well as wrap-around and housing-focused supports to help ensure homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring." People experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to illness and injury as a result of exposure to cold temperatures. Each year, the City releases a Winter Services Plan to provide additional capacity (including through Warming Centres and Winter Respite Sites) and services to support individuals experiencing homelessness during the cold winter months (November 15 to April 15), when health and safety risks are higher than normal. Toronto Shelter and Support Services works with various community partners to provide these services and programs. The Auditor General's 2024 Work Plan included an audit of the City's Winter Respite Sites and Warming Centres for people experiencing homelessness. This report presents the results of the audit. Our audit identifies opportunities for Toronto Shelter and Support Services to stretch its funding further and make more beds available in warm indoor spaces to people experiencing homelessness during the winter season by: a. Making improvements to better understand and address demand for Winter Respite Site and Warming Centre beds. b. Improving financial accountability, including more thorough reviews of budgets and actual costs incurred.
The Audit Committee recommends that: 1. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, in collaboration with Winter Respite Site and Warming Centre operators, to review methodologies for collecting data to better understand unmet demand and how many winter program spaces are needed, by taking into consideration: a. the number of overflow space users each day (i.e., people who are able stay inside at a site but are not able to access a bed therein); and b. the number of individuals who try to access a bed on a drop-in basis but are turned away, directed elsewhere, or leave without accessing a bed or overflow space each day. 2. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to review procedures and practices for deactivation (including leaving beds vacant), taking into consideration information on demand, unmatched callers, overflow, and turnaway. Such review should evaluate the costs and benefits of different practices for deactivation that do not compromise client health and safety (potentially informed by pilots to determine the impacts on unmet demand and turnaway). 3. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, in collaboration with the Corporate Real Estate Management Division where necessary, to maximize the beds made available (within funding constraints) by Winter Respite Sites, Warming Centres, and Surge Sites during the winter period by: a. negotiating lease terms that allow access to the premises for these operations for the entirety of the winter period, and working to secure temporary sites for periods when this is not possible; b. signing operating agreements and completing necessary planning, capital and site preparation work so that all funded beds can be made available at the start of the winter season or as early as possible after the start of the agreement period; c. standardizing Toronto Shelter and Support Services methodology to determine reasonable timelines for ramping up and ramping down Winter Respite programs and communicating such guidelines to operators; d. evaluating the costs and benefits of closing programs on April 15 and / or staggering program closures beyond the end of the winter period; e. prioritizing the use of public real estate assets for future Winter Respite Sites, Warming Centres, and Surge Sites; and f. developing a formal contingency plan to make spaces available when the shelter system is full, including Winter Respite Sites and Warming Centres, during the winter period. 4. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to review the services provided at winter programs, taking into consideration the costs and benefits of opportunities to offer some degree of case management and support services that aligns with the needs of their clients. 5. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to a. review costs related to the 2023/24 winter season as reported by third-party operators of Warming Centres and Winter Respite Sites, including requesting further information and supporting records, where necessary; and b. expedite the finalization of costs and recover any surplus funds paid to the operators related to the 2023/24 winter season. 6. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to establish and implement procedures and guidelines to review the reasonableness and appropriateness of reported costs and obtain documented explanations of budget-to-actual variances that are supported by source documents provided by operators. Reconciliations should be reviewed and approved by management, as appropriate. 7. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to enforce contractual requirements for third-party operators of Warming Centres and Winter Respite Sites to provide, on an annual basis, an audited financial statement and reconciliation report with respect to the services provided by the Service Provider pursuant to their agreements with the City, where Toronto Shelter and Support Services needs to obtain a higher level of assurance from third-party operators of the accuracy and validity of reported costs by program / site. 8. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to implement processes requiring third-party operators of Warming Centre and Winter Respite Sites to obtain pre-approval, in writing, for any significant changes that may have an impact on operations and / or costs before the changes are implemented, as well as, for any reallocation or redeployment of funding or resources designated for the operation of Warming Centres and Winter Respite Sites to other programs. Toronto Shelter and Support Services should consider whether any changes are needed to the purchase of service agreements with its third-party operators to reflect these requirements. 9. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to make sure staff have sufficient financial knowledge and / or training to analyze and review the operating budget to ensure rates and assumptions are consistent and reasonable, as well as to ensure actual reported costs are accurate, valid, and appropriate. 10. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to establish procedures, guidelines, benchmarks for rates or ratios for key cost categories, and / or criteria to ensure that when Toronto Shelter and Support Services staff develop and review program and site-specific budgets, that they: a. determine what rates are considered reasonable for different cost categories; b. identify and follow-up on inconsistencies; c. request and review source documentation (e.g. third-party operators' agreements with their vendors) or additional information to corroborate explanations; and d. identify opportunities to reduce costs and stretch funding further to serve more clients, when possible. 11. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, in consultation with the Purchasing and Materials Management Division, to review its catering contracts for opportunities to obtain better pricing and further savings including the potential for: a. leveraging economies of scale to provide catering services to multiple shelter locations and programs; and b. scaling and cooperative purchasing with other City program areas, like Long-Term Care Homes and Children's Services, who also require meal services. 12. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to review the practice applied to deactivating and closing Warming Centres (including how sites are prioritized for deactivation and closure) taking into consideration the client experience, cost structure, and potential opportunities to stretch existing funds further and potentially provide more beds. 13. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to ensure that, going forward for winter 2025/26 and beyond, all Purchase of Service agreements with third-party operators for Warming Centres and Winter Respite programs are executed before sites begin operation. 14. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to strengthen the review and analysis of budget information submitted in response to the Requests for Expression of Interest and / or Requests for Proposals for Warming Centres, and other shelter programs, as appropriate. 15. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to review the Auditor General's observations and recommendations to strengthen financial controls for applicability to the other shelter programs operated by third-party service providers, and implement the recommendations for those programs, as appropriate.
Staff recommendation as filed
The Auditor General recommends that: 1. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, in collaboration with Winter Respite Site and Warming Centre operators, to review methodologies for collecting data to better understand unmet demand and how many winter program spaces are needed, by taking into consideration: a. the number of overflow space users each day (i.e., people who are able stay inside at a site but are not able to access a bed therein); and b. the number of individuals who try to access a bed on a drop-in basis but are turned away, directed elsewhere, or leave without accessing a bed or overflow space each day. 2. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to review procedures and practices for deactivation (including leaving beds vacant), taking into consideration information on demand, unmatched callers, overflow, and turnaway. Such review should evaluate the costs and benefits of different practices for deactivation that do not compromise client health and safety (potentially informed by pilots to determine the impacts on unmet demand and turnaway). 3. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, in collaboration with the Corporate Real Estate Management Division where necessary, to maximize the beds made available (within funding constraints) by Winter Respite Sites, Warming Centres, and Surge Sites during the winter period by: a. negotiating lease terms that allow access to the premises for these operations for the entirety of the winter period, and working to secure temporary sites for periods when this is not possible; b. signing operating agreements and completing necessary planning, capital and site preparation work so that all funded beds can be made available at the start of the winter season or as early as possible after the start of the agreement period; c. standardizing Toronto Shelter and Support Services methodology to determine reasonable timelines for ramping up and ramping down Winter Respite programs and communicating such guidelines to operators; d. evaluating the costs and benefits of closing programs on April 15 and / or staggering program closures beyond the end of the winter period; e. prioritizing the use of public real estate assets for future Winter Respite Sites, Warming Centres, and Surge Sites; and f. developing a formal contingency plan to make spaces available when the shelter system is full, including Winter Respite Sites and Warming Centres, during the winter period. 4. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to review the services provided at winter programs, taking into consideration the costs and benefits of opportunities to offer some degree of case management and support services that aligns with the needs of their clients. 5. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to a. review costs related to the 2023/24 winter season as reported by third-party operators of Warming Centres and Winter Respite Sites, including requesting further information and supporting records, where necessary; and b. expedite the finalization of costs and recover any surplus funds paid to the operators related to the 2023/24 winter season. 6. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to establish and implement procedures and guidelines to review the reasonableness and appropriateness of reported costs and obtain documented explanations of budget-to-actual variances that are supported by source documents provided by operators. Reconciliations should be reviewed and approved by management, as appropriate. 7. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to enforce contractual requirements for third-party operators of Warming Centres and Winter Respite Sites to provide, on an annual basis, an audited financial statement and reconciliation report with respect to the services provided by the Service Provider pursuant to their agreements with the City, where Toronto Shelter and Support Services needs to obtain a higher level of assurance from third-party operators of the accuracy and validity of reported costs by program / site. 8. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to implement processes requiring third-party operators of Warming Centre and Winter Respite Sites to obtain pre-approval, in writing, for any significant changes that may have an impact on operations and / or costs before the changes are implemented, as well as, for any reallocation or redeployment of funding or resources designated for the operation of Warming Centres and Winter Respite Sites to other programs. Toronto Shelter and Support Services should consider whether any changes are needed to the purchase of service agreements with its third-party operators to reflect these requirements. 9. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to make sure staff have sufficient financial knowledge and / or training to analyze and review the operating budget to ensure rates and assumptions are consistent and reasonable, as well as to ensure actual reported costs are accurate, valid, and appropriate. 10. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to establish procedures, guidelines, benchmarks for rates or ratios for key cost categories, and / or criteria to ensure that when Toronto Shelter and Support Services staff develop and review program and site-specific budgets, that they: a. determine what rates are considered reasonable for different cost categories; b. identify and follow-up on inconsistencies; c. request and review source documentation (e.g. third-party operators' agreements with their vendors) or additional information to corroborate explanations; and d. identify opportunities to reduce costs and stretch funding further to serve more clients, when possible. 11. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, in consultation with the Purchasing and Materials Management Division, to review its catering contracts for opportunities to obtain better pricing and further savings including the potential for: a. leveraging economies of scale to provide catering services to multiple shelter locations and programs; and b. scaling and cooperative purchasing with other City program areas, like Long-Term Care Homes and Children's Services, who also require meal services. 12. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to review the practice applied to deactivating and closing Warming Centres (including how sites are prioritized for deactivation and closure) taking into consideration the client experience, cost structure, and potential opportunities to stretch existing funds further and potentially provide more beds. 13. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to ensure that, going forward for winter 2025/26 and beyond, all Purchase of Service agreements with third-party operators for Warming Centres and Winter Respite programs are executed before sites begin operation. 14. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to strengthen the review and analysis of budget information submitted in response to the Requests for Expression of Interest and / or Requests for Proposals for Warming Centres, and other shelter programs, as appropriate. 15. City Council request the General Manager, Toronto Shelter and Support Services, to review the Auditor General's observations and recommendations to strengthen financial controls for applicability to the other shelter programs operated by third-party service providers, and implement the recommendations for those programs, as appropriate.
AU8.4adopted
The Parks and Recreation Division's mission is to improve the quality of life of Toronto's diverse communities by providing safe, clean, and beautiful parks; a healthy, expanding urban forest; and high quality, community-focused recreational experiences. The Parks Branch is responsible for on-going care and maintenance of City-operated parks, including various amenities found in each park. The Auditor General's 2024 Work Plan included an operational review of how the Parks and Recreation Division manages and maintains over 1,500 parks in the City of Toronto. Our first phase of the operational review, presented at the October 15, 2024 Audit Committee meeting, focused on day-to-day maintenance and compliance with established service levels. This report presents the second phase of the operational review, which focuses on the Parks Branch's processes related to park inspections, non-capital repairs and maintenance of various park assets and amenities, and public complaints. The audit aimed to address whether parks maintenance and non-capital repair needs were being identified, prioritized, and addressed in a timely manner.[1] Our audit identified opportunities for improvement in the following areas: a. Improving Park Maintenance Inspections and Monitoring of the Resolution of Deficiencies b. Implementing Consistent Practices for Repair-Related Service Requests and Work Order Tracking c. Establishing a Comprehensive System for Monitoring Public Complaints from Intake to Resolution [1] This audit focused on maintenance and non-capital repairs that fall within the mandate of Parks Branch's Technical Services group. The audit does not address repairs referred to groups outside of the Parks Branch or to other City divisions (e.g. Corporate Real Estate Management).
The Audit Committee recommends that: 1. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to: a. Review and analyze data from the park inspections system to ensure repair-related deficiencies identified in past inspections have been resolved and / or appropriate work orders have been created to track repairs where action is still pending to resolve the deficiency. b. Establish a process and / or supporting systems for tracking, through to their resolution, deficiencies that have been transferred to other groups or divisions. 2. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to develop additional guidance and / or training to outline or clarify: a. requirements for documenting inspection results, including noting of deficiencies and creating work orders for necessary maintenance; and b. processes for monitoring and following-up of deficiencies. 3. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to develop and implement a service request and work order policy or procedure and provide training to staff, where the guidance provided should include: a. criteria for creating work orders, specifying any exceptions for cases where a work order may not be required and how resolution of service requests without work orders should be documented and tracked; b. criteria for prioritizing work orders based on the urgency and impact (e.g. safety risk); and c. data entry standards outlining specific information required for each work order (e.g. descriptions linking work to be completed and prioritization or risks, task detail, start and end dates) and expected timeframes for entering a service request and generating and closing a work order in the work order management system. 4. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, in consultation with the Chief Technology Officer, to modernize work order management practices to reduce inefficiencies arising from manual processes. In doing so, Parks Branch should consider the capability of enabling technologies to support the integration of work order management, work assignments and time tracking. Consideration should also be given to integrating the tracking of work transferred to other groups or divisions. 5. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to: a. implement management reviews of open, in-progress, and completed work orders to monitor compliance, identify backlogs, and to assess productivity, efficiency, and workload; and b. establish and implement guidelines for supervisors to conduct site visits to monitor the completion and quality of work performed by Parks Branch - Technical Services staff. Site visits should be documented, and feedback be provided to staff for training and process improvements. 6. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to: a. establish benchmarks for work order completion timeframes starting from the receipt of the service request to the time of work order completion, considering different priority and complexity levels; and b. develop key performance indicators to measure and report the achievement of the established service standards, taking into consideration resource and funding constraints, and ensure the reasons for any delays impacting achievement of key performance indicators are tracked, analyzed, and addressed. 7. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to develop and implement procedures for documenting and tracking daily activities of Parks Branch - Technical Services staff and provide training on these procedures, where the procedures should set expectations for: a. using a standard template for logging daily activities to ensure consistency across the districts; b. the types of activities staff must record, including tasks completed and time spent on each task (as well as linkages to work orders and information required for work orders, where applicable); c. supervisory review of activity logs for accuracy and completeness, leveraging Global Positioning System where applicable; and d. reviewing and analyzing data from activity records to support accountability and workload management. 8. City Council request the General Manager, Parks, and Recreation, in collaboration with Customer Experience and Technology Services, to: a. implement a centralized system for tracking all public complaints (regardless of the method or mechanism by which it was submitted) and recording key data on any related service requests through to their resolution; and b. create reports and dashboards for management to monitor complaints / service request types, volumes, aging, and trends. 9. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation to review and revise the Division's current complaints policy and processes, provide training to staff on their responsibilities and expectations, and monitor compliance with the policy, including targeted timeframes for responding to complaints.
Staff recommendation as filed
The Auditor General recommends that: 1. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to: a. Review and analyze data from the park inspections system to ensure repair-related deficiencies identified in past inspections have been resolved and / or appropriate work orders have been created to track repairs where action is still pending to resolve the deficiency. b. Establish a process and / or supporting systems for tracking, through to their resolution, deficiencies that have been transferred to other groups or divisions. 2. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to develop additional guidance and / or training to outline or clarify: a. requirements for documenting inspection results, including noting of deficiencies and creating work orders for necessary maintenance; and b. processes for monitoring and following-up of deficiencies. 3. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to develop and implement a service request and work order policy or procedure and provide training to staff. The guidance provided should include: a. criteria for creating work orders, specifying any exceptions for cases where a work order may not be required and how resolution of service requests without work orders should be documented and tracked; b. criteria for prioritizing work orders based on the urgency and impact (e.g. safety risk); and c. data entry standards outlining specific information required for each work order (e.g. descriptions linking work to be completed and prioritization or risks, task detail, start and end dates) and expected timeframes for entering a service request and generating and closing a work order in the work order management system. 4. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, in consultation with the Chief Technology Officer, to modernize work order management practices to reduce inefficiencies arising from manual processes. In doing so, Parks Branch should consider the capability of enabling technologies to support the integration of work order management, work assignments and time tracking. Consideration should also be given to integrating the tracking of work transferred to other groups or divisions. 5. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to: a. implement management reviews of open, in-progress, and completed work orders to monitor compliance, identify backlogs, and to assess productivity, efficiency, and workload; and b. establish and implement guidelines for supervisors to conduct site visits to monitor the completion and quality of work performed by Parks Branch - Technical Services staff. Site visits should be documented, and feedback be provided to staff for training and process improvements. 6. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to: a. establish benchmarks for work order completion timeframes starting from the receipt of the service request to the time of work order completion, considering different priority and complexity levels; and b. develop key performance indicators to measure and report the achievement of the established service standards, taking into consideration resource and funding constraints, and ensure the reasons for any delays impacting achievement of key performance indicators are tracked, analyzed, and addressed. 7. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation, to develop and implement procedures for documenting and tracking daily activities of Parks Branch - Technical Services staff and provide training on these procedures. The procedures should set expectations for: a. using a standard template for logging daily activities to ensure consistency across the districts; b. the types of activities staff must record, including tasks completed and time spent on each task (as well as linkages to work orders and information required for work orders, where applicable); c. supervisory review of activity logs for accuracy and completeness, leveraging Global Positioning System where applicable; and d. reviewing and analyzing data from activity records to support accountability and workload management. 8. City Council request the General Manager, Parks, and Recreation, in collaboration with Customer Experience and Technology Services, to: a. implement a centralized system for tracking all public complaints (regardless of the method or mechanism by which it was submitted) and recording key data on any related service requests through to their resolution; and b. create reports and dashboards for management to monitor complaints / service request types, volumes, aging, and trends. 9. City Council request the General Manager, Parks and Recreation to review and revise the Division's current complaints policy and processes, provide training to staff on their responsibilities and expectations, and monitor compliance with the policy, including targeted timeframes for responding to complaints.
AU8.5adopted
Over the past five years, the City of Toronto, like many other organizations, accelerated the use of online collaboration and meetings (e.g. using Webex, Teams), in particular due to the Covid-19 pandemic.[1] The use of online meeting platforms continues, owing to factors such as ease of use and hybrid work arrangements. Hybrid meetings, a combination of in-person and online video conferencing, have become common, including for conducting legislative meetings.[2] This format will stay in use for the foreseeable future. While these meetings have benefits in terms of ease and efficiency, they also introduce cybersecurity and confidentiality risks. It is therefore important to review and further strengthen the practices and controls used in initiating and conducting these meetings, particularly for confidential (in-camera) meetings. This report highlights the importance for the City to enhance and standardize cybersecurity guidance to City divisions, and to share those best practices with its agencies and corporations for consideration, to proactively prevent unauthorized access to confidential information discussed in these meetings. Legislative meetings may be closed (in-camera) to the public for specific reasons as outlined in the City of Toronto Act, 2006.[3] The City Clerk has developed processes and staff training to secure the electronic portion of closed meetings of City Council, Committees, and local board meetings that are managed by the City Clerk. Similarly, some agencies and corporations have also developed processes for securing electronic meetings of their boards and committees. We have noted that while the City has guidelines in place for securing online confidential meetings, these guidelines require further strengthening for cybersecurity considerations, and these need to be distributed across all City divisions, agencies, and corporations for awareness. We have provided examples in this report of observations made by our staff that suggest the need for further strengthening the guidelines. This report recommends revising the guidelines to be used for online confidential meetings and disseminating them to City divisions, and its agencies and corporations. The critical controls required in initiating and conducting online confidential meetings can also be included in the Chief Information Security Officer's mandatory cybersecurity training. While the recommended guidance to maintain the security of online confidential meetings in this report relates to meetings of City Council, its committees, and the boards and committees of the City's agencies and corporations, the Chief Information Security Officer can also encourage use of these best practices in the City's internal working meetings where confidential matters are discussed. The work performed in relation to this report does not constitute an audit conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards. However, we believe we have performed sufficient work and gathered sufficient appropriate evidence to provide for a reasonable basis to support our observations and recommendations. This public report contains two recommendations to further strengthen and improve controls in initiating and conducting online confidential meetings. [1] In July 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Provincial government amended the meeting rules of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to allow for electronic participation. In 2023, City Council and most local boards made electronic participation permanent. [2] Legislative meetings include those held by City Council, Committees and the boards and committees of the City's agencies and corporations [3] https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06c11 (refer to Section 190)
The Audit Committee recommends that: 1. City Council request the Chief Information Security Officer, in consultation with the Chief Technology Officer and the City Clerk, to: a. Review and revise the existing guidelines to further strengthen best practices and cybersecurity controls for initiating and conducting online confidential meetings for City Council and its committees, and for the consideration of the boards and committees of the City's agencies and corporations. b. Incorporate the critical controls required in initiating and conducting online confidential meetings in the City's annual mandatory Cyber Awareness training. 2. City Council request the City Manager to distribute the Chief Information Security Officer's cybersecurity guidelines for conducting online confidential meetings, to: a. City divisions, on securing online City meetings where confidential subject matters are discussed, particularly committee and City Council meetings, and b. City agencies and corporations, including restricted entities, for their consideration to adopt as a best practice for committee and board meetings.
Staff recommendation as filed
The Auditor General recommends that: 1. City Council request the Chief Information Security Officer, in consultation with the Chief Technology Officer and the City Clerk, to: a. Review and revise the existing guidelines to further strengthen best practices and cybersecurity controls for initiating and conducting online confidential meetings for City Council and its committees, and for the consideration of the boards and committees of the City's agencies and corporations. b. Incorporate the critical controls required in initiating and conducting online confidential meetings in the City's annual mandatory Cyber Awareness training. 2. City Council request the City Manager to distribute the Chief Information Security Officer's cybersecurity guidelines for conducting online confidential meetings, to: a. City divisions, on securing online City meetings where confidential subject matters are discussed, particularly committee and City Council meetings, and b. City agencies and corporations, including restricted entities, for their consideration to adopt as a best practice for committee and board meetings.
AU8.6adopted
On June 21, 2023, the Office of Auditor General issued an audit report titled "City of Toronto's Modular Housing Initiative: The Need to Balance Fast Delivery with Stronger Management of Contracts and Costs" in relation to City's Modular Housing Initiative. As a result of this audit, the Office of Auditor General provided twenty (20) recommendations to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Modular Housing Initiative projects. In response to these recommendations, Housing Secretariat, in collaboration with Corporate Real Estate Management and CreateTO, formally committed to strategizing and developing a comprehensive implementation plan. The Housing Secretariat and Corporate Real Estate Management divisions have been engaged in a series of coordinated efforts to establish a more robust framework of policies, processes, programs and tools targeted at Modular Housing Initiative projects. These measures ensure alignment with the recommendations and effectively address the key areas identified for improvement. Housing Secretariat and Corporate Real Estate Management remain focused on promoting sustainable improvements and are actively working to ensure that all the actions taken are in full compliance with the audit recommendations. Council requested staff to provide a status update on the implementation of the recommendations to Audit Committee by the end of 2024. In response to that direction, this report presents a comprehensive overview of the implementation plan, providing a detailed account of the status of the recommendations. It outlines the progress made to date, categorizing the recommendations as fully implemented or partially implemented. The report further highlights the key milestones achieved, as well as ongoing efforts aimed at ensuring the full realization of the remaining recommendations, in alignment with the audit's objective. Out of the twenty (20) recommendations, the divisions have self-assessed fifteen (15) recommendations as fully implemented. Work completed to implement recommendations includes establishing improved financial and project controls and enhanced due diligence measures to ensure projects are executed more efficiently and meet quality standards, while minimizing risk and enhancing accountability through the clear articulation of roles and responsibilities. Five (5) recommendations are partially completed and are on track for completion before the end of 2025. These recommendations relate to tracking expenditures, ensuring the use of shared financial data, standard file documentation and retention, and a consideration of lessons learned from past modular housing projects. Notably, these status updates have not yet been verified by the Office of Auditor General. The Office of Auditor General has a separate process to follow up on audit recommendations.
The Audit Committee recommend that: 1. City Council receive the report (January 29, 2025) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, and the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, for information.
Staff recommendation as filed
The Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, and the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management recommend that: 1. City Council receive this report for information.
AU8.7adopted
City of Toronto Audit Planning Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2024
This report presents the external auditor (KPMG LLP)'s audit planning report for the City of Toronto (City)'s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024.
The Audit Committee: 1. Received KPMG LLP's audit planning report for the City of Toronto's audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024 for information.
Staff recommendation as filed
The Controller and Chief Accountant recommends that: 1. Audit Committee receive KPMG LLP's audit planning report for the City of Toronto's audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024 for information.
AU8.8adopted
The purpose of this report is to provide the Audit Committee and City Council with the 2023 audited financial statements and a status update on the outstanding 2023 audited financial statements of Arenas. The 2023 audited financial statements for the eight City Arenas are presented to the Audit Committee after approval by their respective Boards or Committees of Management. Of the eight City Arenas, the audited financial statements for two Arenas were previously presented at the July 5, 2024 Audit Committee meeting and one arena was presented at the October 15, 2024 Audit Committee meeting. At the time of preparation of this report, there were two 2023 audited financial statements available for Arenas, and the audits for three Arenas were in progress. Depending on when the audits are completed, the Independent Auditor's Reports, accompanying financial statements and management control letters (if applicable) will be presented at a subsequent meeting of the Audit Committee.
The Audit Committee recommends that: 1. City Council receive the 2023 audited financial statements and management letter for the North Toronto Memorial Arena in Attachment 1 to the report (January 30, 2025) from the Auditor General for information. 2. City Council receive the 2023 audited financial statements and management letter for the William H. Bolton Arena in Attachment 2 to the report (January 30, 2025) from the Auditor General for information.
Staff recommendation as filed
The Auditor General recommends that: 1. City Council receive the 2023 audited financial statements and management letter for the North Toronto Memorial Arena in Attachment 1 to this report for information. 2. City Council receive the 2023 audited financial statements and management letter for the William H. Bolton Arena in Attachment 2 to this report for information.