Campaigning is easy, governing is hard. Public Sector entities face tough situations as they are held to a higher standard than private companies. Given the spotlight, public sector entities must mitigate their reputation risk to the extent possible.
Policies and Procedures
The Public Sector is held to a higher standard than those in the private sector; therefore, its documentation must be of high caliber. We can help design, document and implement key policies and procedures based on your sector’s needs. Having documented numerous business processes, and evaluated policies and procedures, we can perform the assignment in an efficient manner and minimize disruption to your current staff.
Expense Analysis
Are you paying too much for products/services or incurring costs your organization doesn’t require? We can help perform analysis to help you identify such costs. A qualified 3rd party observer can identify expense items which might not be so obvious to individuals entrenched within the organization.
In larger organizations, a particularly effective method of controlling expenses is to perform periodic Expense Report reviews. The purpose of this is to have an independent 3rdparty review submitted and approved expense reports to ensure they are in compliance with documented policies and procedures. The review also has a positive psychological impact as it will make employees less inclined to test limits as they know their expense reports will be reviewed on a periodic basis.
Internal Controls
We can help implement key internal controls to ensure the achievement of the organization’s objectives in operational effectiveness and efficiency, reliable financial reporting, and compliance with laws, regulations and policies.
Key processes to implement controls over include:
- Governance
- Revenues
- Human Resources
- Payables
- Receivables
- Cash
- Treasury
- Capital Projects
We have access to an exhaustive list of controls and will implement those that apply specifically to your organization.
In addition, PSH staff has worked on the Report on Public Accounts issued by the Auditor General of British Columbia, which summarizes internal control deficiencies throughout the various organizations within the BC provincial government.
Staffing
Based on the size of your organization and the time commitments required, it might be time to bring on an additional employee(s) to help manage your growth/time. We will analyze your current business structure and make recommendations on whether an employee should be hired and whether that would be a part-time or full time employee(s).
In addition, we can help you with the hiring process. Please refer to the recruitment tab.
Board Governance
Public sector entities require strong Boards to ensure their viability and success. We can help implement best practises to ensure the effectiveness of Boards.
Examples of best practises include:
- Board Composition– does the Board have the right people and mix of individuals?
- Defined roles and responsibilities– does the Board delegate tasks and effectively communicate with other members to ensure the organization’s goals are being reached?
- Ethics– does the Board hold itself to high ethical standards? Public Sector entities are held to higher standards than private companies; therefore, they have a lower tolerance for reputation risk.
- Evaluating Performance– are you tracking the individual Board members and the Board as a whole?
- Risk Management– Is the Board actively identifying and mitigating key risks to the organization?
Special Projects
Are there special projects that you need to perform but don’t have the time or necessary skillset in house to complete? We are happy to discuss any such projects and let you know if we can complete the desired project.