Item - 2020.AU5.3

The Audit Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council receive the report (January 31, 2020) from the Auditor General for information.

2. City Council request the City Manager to forward the report (January 31, 2020) from the Auditor General, to Division Heads and Heads and Boards of the City's major agencies and corporations and request them to review and consider the relevance of the themes identified in the report for their respective operations and any actions that may need to be taken.

3. City Council request the City Manager to include consideration of Audit common themes and issues and continuous improvement as part of leadership training and performance evaluation.

4.  City Council request the City Manager to establish appropriate systems that will break down silos and ensure co-ordination, as needed, between all levels of government, partner agencies and corporations, and City divisions to achieve Council's policy objectives on both ad hoc issues and ongoing initiatives, and report to the Audit Committee by Q4 of 2020.

Over the years, we've noticed that when management is busy working within their division, they may not see or be learning from broader lessons that may help to move their divisions and the City forward as one City. 

In this report, the Auditor General has identified three common themes in audit recommendations that will, if applied City-wide, help the City move forward in a positive way. These themes include:

1. Shifting mindsets and culture so that the Public Service works as one to achieve City-wide objectives and outcomes.

2. Strengthening oversight and accountability for contracts by more effective procurement, management, and monitoring.

3. Modernizing processes, integrating technology, and leveraging data to deliver programs and services more effectively and efficiently.

The number of recurring issues we see in our reports could be reduced if every manager runs their division, agency or corporation with a 'one City' mindset focused on outcomes and accountability. Recurring issues will also be reduced if managers can make better use of technology, leveraging data to inform their business processes.

By narrowing these lessons down to three themes, and by expanding them with examples, the Auditor General hopes these lessons will remain top of mind for each and every manager.

To achieve lasting change, every leader should ask themselves the following questions after each audit report is published: 

- Is our division experiencing similar issues?
- Are there opportunities and lessons learned that we can leverage?
- Who is involved with delivering on the service? Is someone else doing what we are doing? How can we work together? 
- Who has overall responsibility?
- Are we empowered to make the needed changes?
 

We endorse the City Manager's key message that trust and confidence is, in part, achieved "through our actions and decisions," which he stated in the Toronto Public Service’s Corporate Strategic Plan. We also support his move to Results Based Accountability as a performance management and accountability framework. 

The lessons learned from this common themes report supports the City Manager's focus on achieving outcomes, ensuring accountability, and using data.  This report will be helpful in guiding the actions and decisions of staff accountable for achieving results.