Item - 2026.AU12.2

The Auditor General recommends that:  

1. City Council receive this report for information.

This report provides the outcome of the Auditor General’s Office’s investigation into the procurement of the PayIt platform.[1]

In 2024, after the Auditor General issued an audit report on the procurement and implementation of PayIt’s unsolicited proposal, City Council requested the Auditor General to consider further investigating:

a. the decision-making process that resulted in the score sheet used for the Request for Proposal;
 

b. whether there are additional City records located on the City’s servers or on private cell phones and emails of senior City staff that merit further investigation; and,
 

c. whether a further forensic investigation on the procurement is required.
 

Following City Council’s request, the Auditor General’s Office undertook an investigation that examined two lines of inquiry:

1. an explanation for the removal of the detailed scoring breakdown in the published call document for proponents of the Swiss Challenge negotiated Request for Proposal (SC-nRFP), determining who removed the detailed scoring and who approved this change; and, beyond City Council’s request, whether any wrongdoing occurred on behalf of any current or former City staff and / or Senior Management; and,
 

2. based on additional interviews and any potential additional City records located on City servers or on private cell phones and emails of senior City staff that provide further information and / or merit further investigation and beyond City Council’s request, to determine any further reasoning for not following the City’s policy and process throughout the procurement of the PayIt platform during 2019 to 2021, including the unsolicited proposal, proceeding with the proof of concept and the transparency of reporting to City Council; and whether any wrongdoing occurred on behalf of any current or former staff and / or Senior Management.
 

Our investigation found the following:

- The [then] Senior Corporate Buyer removed the detailed scoring breakdown, but there was conflicting and insufficient evidence to conclude on who directed them to do so and who approved the change, and why the change was made.

- City staff and [then] Senior Management did not always follow City policies, processes, and by-laws during the unsolicited proposal process and procurement of the PayIt platform, including some use of personal email addresses to conduct City business.

- Other observations include the potential reasons and motivation for not complying with City policies and by-laws. Both staff and the former Senior Management interviewees said they felt pressure, for different reasons, to proceed with the digital transformation, which included the PayIt procurement.

Despite the policy and by-law violations noted in the report, based on the interviews and available evidence reviewed and in the Auditor General’s view, these do not meet the threshold of wrongdoing as defined by the Toronto Public Service By-law.

The findings of this investigation reinforce the need to implement the nine recommendations from our 2024 audit. This will improve the City’s unsolicited proposal policy and process and the procedure for conducting a Swiss Challenge, as well as support addressing the proof of concept process concerns. This investigation and our 2024 audit report also reinforce the importance of management’s leadership and commitment to ensuring openness, fairness, and transparency in City procurement. The current Senior Leadership Team can continue to model and promote a culture that encourages compliance with City policies and by-laws.

Given the challenges that arise from the length of time that has passed since the unsolicited proposal and procurement of PayIt began (approximately seven years), including the lack of available information and devices, as well as the inability of individuals to recall accurately or completely, it is the Auditor General’s view that further investigative work is unlikely to yield any further relevant information and / or benefits that would materially impact the findings of this investigation. We also note that Senior Management and the Senior Leadership Team that were involved and referred to in this report are no longer with the City or are in different roles.

We express our appreciation for the co-operation and assistance we received from current and former City staff and Senior Management throughout our investigation.

[1] The PayIt platform refers to a digital government platform offered by PayIt LLC.

The recommendation in this report has no financial impact.