Background:
The entity: The Special Areas Board (SAB) is the governing body responsible for providing rural municipal government services and public land management to residents and businesses. The Board looks after roads and parks, provides water and emergency services, manages public land and community pastures, and develops economic and conservation strategies.
Special Areas is made up of the communities of Consort, Empress, Hanna, Oyen, Veteran, and Youngstown, and the surrounding Special Areas. These areas function similarly to municipal districts but are unique because their elected advisory councils are supervised by four representatives appointed by the province under the authority of Alberta Municipal Affairs.
The Special Areas Board provides a wide range of services to residents and businesses, including:
- Road maintenance and infrastructure management
- Water and emergency services
- Public land and community pasture management
- Economic development and conservation planning
- Dust abatement programs and controlled burn notifications
Additional information about the Special Areas Board operations and its latest audited financial statements can be found on its website Special Areas Board - Special Areas Board
We strongly encourage proponents to examine the financial statements on SAB ‘s Website to understand the required reporting and disclosure.
Proponents shall familiarize themselves with the accounting policies in the financial statements of SAB and identify in their response any areas where they disagree with such accounting policies.
Key Timelines:
The Agent will need to be available to provide services as outlined in section 3.3 of the RFP with the timelines as follows: For the next four fiscal years ending December 31, 2026; December 31, 2027, December 31, 2028, and December 31, 2029:
a. Preparation and presentation of the audit plan for the fiscal year December 31, 2026, with the Oversight Leader to the audit committee – November to December 2026.
b. Preparation and presentation of the audit plan for the next 3 fiscal years with the Oversight Leader to the audit committee – September to November.
c. Interim audit work for fiscal year December 2026 – January to February 2027.
d. Interim audit work for the next 3 fiscal years – between October and February.
(see RFP)
Work Required:
The agent will have to complete the audit of the financial statements of the entity in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards. The agent’s audit report will be addressed to the Auditor General who will rely upon it to issue his own audit report. The agent’s audit opinion to the Auditor General will not be provided to or discussed with the auditee or in any way made public.
The agent will have to complete the audit of the Financial Information Return of the entity in accordance with the required presentation and financial reporting provisions of the Financial Information Return: FIR Manual for December 31, 20xx as provided by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. The agent’s audit report will be addressed to the Auditor General who will rely upon it to issue his own audit report. The agent’s audit opinion to the Auditor General will not be provided to or discussed with the auditee or in any way made public.
The agent will also be responsible for preparing and appropriately supporting any derivative communications (e.g., audit plan, exit document and management letter) arising from the audit in collaboration with the oversight leader with the form and content acceptable to the audit general. To support the Auditor General in his role, an agent is expected to identify issues and develop recommendations. Outstanding recommendations to the entity can be found in the public Reports of the Auditor General of Alberta. The agent may be required to participate in the follow-up on outstanding recommendations made to SAB.
SAB prepares its financial statements in accordance with Public Sector Accounting Standards. We strongly encourage proponents to examine the financial statements in the Alberta Municipal Affairs ‘s annual report to understand the required reporting and disclosure.
Proponents shall familiarize themselves with the accounting policies in the financial statements of SAB and identify in their response any areas where they disagree with such accounting policies.
