Hon. Marty Klyne: Thank you for the question. AOVS is authorized on its own initiative by the Rules of the Senate to retain the services of internal auditors and to oversee the Senate’s internal audits, among other related matters. As outlined in the Senate Audit and Oversight Charter, the chief audit executive, or CAE, will report to our committee, making it a unique position in the Senate. The new position, the CAE, is crucial for us to be able to fulfill our mandate. As you noted, they will be responsible for drafting and implementing a risk-based internal audit plan under our direction.

The hiring process for the chief audit executive is well under way as the Senate adopted the committee’s budget to hire a recruitment firm in June 2022, which was selected following a request for proposal process last summer.

The AOVS committee will be presenting a budget to the Senate in coming days, requesting approval to extend the contract of that recruitment firm. We have just completed first-round interviews and will now be moving to a second round of interviews. I expect the committee will be making an offer in coming weeks, shortly after the break. I hope we can make an announcement of the new CAE soon thereafter and on board in May.

As colleagues know, AOVS was created by the Senate with the intent to be completely independent from the Senate’s management committee, the Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration Committee, known as CIBA. That said, the CAE will need to align the Senate’s internal audit function with the Senate’s existing governance structure, including the role of the Audit and Oversight Committee. The work will focus on matters of relevancy as driven by an approved risk internal audit plan, and, in that regard, make valued contributions, providing insight and recommendations and serving as a catalyst for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Senate’s operations. Thank you.

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