Appendix A

Document Navigation for "Appendix A" Previous Page Table of Contents

Statement of Operations for the year ended March 31, 2012

**Statement of Operations**
Expenses	2012
	($000)
Salaries and employee benefits	2,589
Professional services	480
Operating expenses	38
Information and communication	30
Materials and supplies	49
Corporate services provided by PWGSC (note 3)	428
Total	3,614

The following notes are an integral part of the Statement of Operations.

Office of the Procurement Ombudsman
Notes to the Statement of Operations for the year ended March 31, 2012

1. Authority and objective

The position of Procurement Ombudsman was created through the Federal Accountability Act and established through amendments to the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act. OPO is an independent organization with a government-wide mandate, which is defined in the Procurement Ombudsman Regulations. Its overall objective is to ensure the fairness, openness and transparency of government procurement.

2. Parliamentary authority

The funding approved by the Treasury Board for the operation of the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman is part of Public Works and Government Services Canada's (PWGSC's) appropriation, and consequently, the Office is subject to the legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks that govern PWGSC. Nonetheless, implicit in the nature and purpose of the Office is the need for OPO to fulfill its mandate in an independent fashion, and be seen to do so, by maintaining an arm's-length relationship with PWGSC.

3. Related party transactions

The Office has a memorandum of understanding whereby PWGSC provides corporate services to the Office in the areas of finance, human resources and information technology. In 2011, the Office incurred expenses of $428,000 for these services, which are broken down as follows:

Corporate services provided by PWGSC	($000)
Finance	88
Human resources	75
Information technology	216
Services received from Government Consulting Services	49
Total	428

4. Comparative figures

In 2011-12, the Office undertook several key initiatives and projects in the areas of environmental scanning, human resources, procurement research and formative evaluation, leading to an increase in professional services expenses over the previous fiscal year. This resulted in an overall increase in expenditures of approximately $190,000.

Expenses	2011-12	2010-11
	($000)	($000)
Salaries and employee benefits	2,589	2,611
Professional services	480	261
Operating expenses	38	67
Information and communication	30	27
Materials and supplies	49	53
Corporate services provided by to PWGSC	428	405
Total	3,614	3,424