Thank you for the question, Mr. Chairman.
The two processes are in fact connected.
They are linked, but they are different. The processes relating to internal controls in government, financial controls and others, are largely the responsibility of the financial community, the financial management community. All public servants are involved, but the focus point is the financial management community, which Mr. Ralston is also responsible for.
The internal audit community is separate from that community. Their role is to provide the deputy minister with that independent assurance that those controls, that those risks...that the departments have those fundamental processes in place independently of the community itself. So they are a check and balance, an important management tool, and an important source of assurance for
the deputy minister, letting him know that the department is being managed properly.
So they're linked but separate.