Doug Hadden, VP Products
I had a chance to speak at the Financial Management Institute of Canada Public Sector Management Workshop “Sustainability in the Public Sector – Securing the Future” in Fredericton New Brunswick last week.
There were some interesting comments and discussions:
- Deficit reduction in government requires much higher upfront costs than usually expected. There can be ramifications to cutting like severance packages, sub-leasing space, environmental studies, training etc.
- The use of IT shared services to reduce overall costs in the Government of Canada has had some unanticipated costs for departments and agencies.
- Departments and agencies in the Government of Canada need plans for cutting 20% to 30% of expenses to achieve the 10% target. Many budget cut proposals are not accepted.
- Internal audit improvements in the Government of Canada is progressing slower than expected.
- The demographic shift and migration means that the Province of New Brunswick is aging faster than any other province in Canada. This has motivated a focus to improve public financial management and introduce performance management in the province.