Internal Controls Program

With billions of dollars in net assets, this Pension Plan is one of the largest and most successful in Canada. It serves
over 200,000 active members and pensioners from over 400 organizations in Ontario.

As the result of rapid growth the fund management recognised the need to establish an Internal Audit & Controls
Group. The management wanted to ensure that the new function would be an enabler rather than a new layer of
bureaucracy. Following my successful completion of the BCP and Crisis Management engagement, I was asked to
help with the establishment of this function by providing the following services:

· Developed and tested a methodology for risk-aligned application of Internal Controls to business processes and
information systems; applied the methodology to a multi-project Investment Finance Initiative. Customised the
solution assurance framework based on the Trust Services Processing Integrity Principle and Criteria. The framework
was accepted by the Fund management and is used for assessments of existing systems and as processing integrity
requirement for new projects. This improved auditability of projects’ deliverables and saved on re-work of delivered
solutions.
· Positioned the new Internal Controls practice as a quality assurance tool for the Fund business managers,
communicated the message and the methodology to multiple audiences and developed customised methodology
guides. As the result the approach gained acceptance at the top and middle levels of the Fund management and the
new projects are positioned to address management controls of the new solutions.
· Developed an Entity-level risk map for the Fund for presentation to the Audit & Finance Committee of the Board of
Trustees; the map identified and rated the risks and strategic mitigation initiatives.
· Conducted assessment of recently implemented pension plan administration system and investments Data
Warehouse (the plan administration system is outsourced to a third party, while the Data Warehouse is a customised
package implemented in house). The assessment was conducted using the customised Processing Integrity
Assessment methodology, gaps were identified and recommendations were made for closing them.
· Defined a target maturity level and a three year roadmap for the Fund Internal Audit & Control function.

The above activities were completed per the originally committed schedule.