The Alberta Securities Commission needs to tighten its enforcement practices and conflict of interest guidelines, but there isn’t enough evidence to support allegations of favouritism in investigations, the province’s auditor general said today.
Auditor General Fred Dunn says he won’t recommend re-opening any cases.
The ASC has been under fire for months, after reports from anonymous employees about unfair enforcement and improper conduct.
Finance Minister Shirley McClellan asked Dunn to investigate the commission’s operations. The ASC then took Dunn to court in an effort to limit his access to its files, citing privacy concerns.
Dunn’s report recommends the ASC needs to improve the enforcement, conflict of interest and governance systems by:
- Improving the recording of its inquiries, discussions and analysis to support the decisions
made on case files. - Ensuring the results of enforcement activities are independently reviewed and appropriate segregation of duties exists in the enforcement system.
- Ensuring enforcement processes are completed in a timely manner.
- Measuring and reporting on the effectiveness of the enforcement system.
- Improving processes to manage conflicts of interest.
- Improving oversight of human resources and the enforcement system.
In a response to the report, ASC Chair Bill Rice said in a statement: “We are pleased that the process has now been completed and, as of today, the Auditor General has released the results of his review to the public.”
“We are even more pleased that, while the Auditor General identifies a number of areas where the systems of the ASC can be improved, the report confirms that there are no apparent or significant flaws identified in the existing systems that support a questioning of integrity.”
A copy of the Report of the Auditor General on the Alberta Securities Commission’s Enforcement System is available from the Office of the Auditor General.