The purpose of this audit was to explain all the decisions made during this project. During audits, we can only verify all of the evidence. We must therefore provide the necessary explanations based on all the facts available.
Of course, deputy ministers are responsible for all the decisions made and all the activities carried out within their departments. It's important that deputy ministers be responsible for the decisions made, and that they be able to justify them.
All the other deputy ministers had no authority in the structure of this project. Of course, they flagged problems and shared their concerns, but they were told that those problems were already known and that there were ways to manage them. The deputy ministers therefore flagged certain problems, but that did not sway the people in charge of the project, who didn't change how they managed and completed it.