Audit of the Management of the Honorary Consul Program
Audit report
Office of the Chief Audit Executive
December 16, 2022
Table of Contents
- Background
- Audit Objective, Criteria, and Scope
- Summary of Audit Results
- Audit Conclusion and Recommendations
- Audit Results – Detailed Findings
- Annex A: Management Response and Action Plan
- Annex B: About the Audit
Background
Honorary Consul at GAC
- In existence since the early 1970s and governed internationally by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963).
- Honorary consuls are private individuals who provide services on behalf of the Canadian government, usually in places where no Canadian diplomatic mission or consular office exists. Although, these honorary consuls serve as an additional and low-cost resource to missions, their activities have a significant impact on the reputation to Canada.
- Honorary consuls are appointed by Order in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
- GAC has two honorary consul networks: The global network (all honorary consuls outside the United States) and the U.S. network (U.S. plus San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Key stakeholders
- Consular Policy and Programs Directorate, within the Consular, Security and Emergency Management Branch, is responsible for administering the honorary consul program with the exception of the United States network.
- North America Advocacy & Hemispheric Support Directorate, within the Americas geographic branch is responsible for administering the honorary consul program in the United States.
- Supervising missions are responsible for the selection, oversight and supervision of services provided by any honorary consul in their region of representation.
Functions of honorary consul
- Their functions are determined by the supervising mission and vary according to the needs and the nature of the locations where they are established.
- Generally, consular services are the primary function; however, in the United States network, honorary consuls are focused on trade activities.
Financial information
- Honorary consuls within the global network receive an annual honorarium according to a set scale ranging between $5,000 and $20,000 CAD, depending on workload. Within the United States network, the honorarium is $20,000 USD.
- Honorary consuls are entitled to the reimbursement of certain operating expenses (i.e.: office rent, utilities).
- The table below provides a breakdown of honorary consuls operating and honorarium expenses:
| Type of Expense | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hon. Cons operating expenses | $ 3,046,807 | $ 2,904,903 | $ 2,568,237 |
| Hon. Cons honorarium | $ 911,613 | $ 913,105 | $ 871,812 |
| Total (CAD) | $ 3,958,420 | $ 3,818,008 | $ 3,440,049 |
Number of Honorary Consul Positions per Geographic Branch
- Americas – U.S. network – 15
- Americas – 23
- Europe, Artic, Middle East and Maghreb – 40
- Sub-Saharan Africa – 19
- Asia Pacific – 18
- Total:
- 115 Honorary Consuls positions
- 102 Active Honorary Consuls
2. Audit Objective, Criteria, and Scopel
Audit Objective
To determine whether effective management practices are in place to support the delivery of the honorary consul program in alignment with departmental objectives.
Criteria
- There are effective mechanisms in place to provide direction and oversight to the honorary consul program.
- There are processes, practices, and controls in place to effectively administer the honorary consul program.
- There are processes, practices, and controls in place to support the effective delivery of services by honorary consuls.
Audit Scope
The audit examined the management practices and activities at missions and headquarters that support the delivery of the honorary consul program from April 2019 to present.
The audit covered all honorary consuls including those in the United States but excluding the consular agencies in Mexico. The audit did not assess the Order in Council appointment process.
Statement of conformance
The audit was conducted in conformance with the Institute of Internal Auditors' International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing and with the Treasury Board Policy and Directive on Internal Audit, as supported by the results of the quality assurance and improvement program
3. Summary of Audit Results
| Criteria | Assessment | Findings | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criterion 1 | There are effective mechanisms in place to provide direction and oversight to the honorary consul program. | Needs minor improvement | Satisfactory | Headquarters provides general oversight, direction, and guidance for the honorary consul function while missions provide direct oversight and supervision of the honorary consuls. |
| Satisfactory | Supervising missions have the flexibility to plan and manage honorary consul activities to meet mission-specific objectives. | |||
| Satisfactory | Accountabilities, roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, communicated, and understood. | |||
| Needs moderate improvement | Although there are certain monitoring mechanisms in place, program personnel in headquarters do not receive baseline information about the activities of honorary consuls, which is required to align program direction and resources to needs. | |||
| Criterion 2 | There are processes, practices, and controls in place to effectively administer the honorary consul program. | Needs moderate Improvement | Needs minor improvement | Headquarters has developed sufficient documented guidance, resources, and training for supervising missions to administer the honorary consul program. Missions noted the need for additional guidance on specific topics. |
| Satisfactory | Honorary consul selection processes are being conducted in line with departmental requirements. Headquarters provides good support throughout these processes. | |||
| Needs improvement | Honorary consul operating expenses are generally being managed as per departmental policies and procedures; however, only a few supervising missions have established a documented financial agreement to ensure clarity of eligible expenses. | |||
| Needs improvement | There is insufficient guidance available to supervising missions to help them prevent the perception of an employer-employee relationship between the mission and the honorary consul assistants. | |||
| Criterion 3 | There are processes, practices, and controls in place to support the effective delivery of services by honorary consuls. | Needs moderate Improvement | Satisfactory | Honorary consuls’ activities are in line with supervising missions’ objectives and priorities. |
| Needs minor improvement | Honorary consuls and their administrative staff are provided adequate direction, information, and training to fulfill their responsibilities. The pandemic had a negative impact on availability and consistency of training. | |||
| Needs improvement | Access to the departmental network and IM/IT systems is not consistent among honorary consuls to allow them to discharge their responsibilities, securely manage information, and allow supervising missions to oversee activities. | |||
| Needs improvement | Supervising missions are not regularly providing honorary consuls with annual tasking letters and completing annual performance assessments. |
4. Audit Conclusion and Recommendation
Conclusion
Sufficient management practices are working effectively to support the delivery of the honorary consul program. In addition, the flexibility of the program supports alignment with departmental objectives. Generally, adequate training and tools were provided to honorary consuls. There are, however, opportunities to improve in areas related to program results, guidance on specific topics, and tasking letter and performance assessments.
Information gathered from four like-minded countries regarding the management of their honorary consuls may be helpful for comparison purposes when the Honorary Consul Program seeks to review/modernize its model and processes.
Recommendations
- The Assistant Deputy Minister of Consular, Security and Emergency Management should develop and communicate guidance, including best practices, on how to appropriately establish and manage the relationship between the supervising mission and honorary consul assistants to avoid a perceived employer-employee relationship with the Government of Canada.
- The Assistant Deputy Minister of Consular, Security and Emergency Management should establish a mechanism to:
- obtain information periodically on the activities of honorary consuls to align program direction and guidance; and
- remind heads of mission to reinforce the requirement to provide honorary consuls with a tasking letter, an up-to-date financial agreement, and a formal performance assessment on an annual basis.
5. Audit Results – Detailed Findings
Findings: Oversight and Strategic Direction
Criterion: There are effective mechanisms in place to provide direction and oversight to the honorary consul program. Services provided by honorary consuls are aligned with supervising missions’ objectives and priorities and are taken into account in operational planning.
FINDINGS
Headquarters provides general oversight, direction, and guidance regarding the honorary consul function while missions provide direct oversight and supervision of the honorary consuls under their purview.
Accountabilities, roles and responsibilities for all parties involved are clearly defined, communicated, and understood.
Missions have the flexibility to manage honorary consuls based on local demands. Missions align activities of honorary consuls with their mission-specific objectives and priorities.
The role of honorary consuls, as outlined in departmental guidance documents, is aligned to departmental strategic objectives and programming.
Other than the Americas Branch, the other geographic branches have minimal involvement in honorary consul activities except for the selection of candidates and determination of program budget for missions.
The Americas Branch manages the U.S. honorary consul network, and oversees supervising U.S. missions, which allows for strong alignment of activities to regional program priorities, and provides a clear line of accountability for those activities.
Conclusion: There are sufficient mechanisms at headquarters and in supervising missions to provide oversight and direction to the honorary consul program. Roles and responsibilities are clear, and the work of honorary consuls is aligned to departmental priorities.
Findings: Oversight ad Strategic Direction - Monitoring
Criterion: The program monitors data and information related to honorary consul activities and services to measure performance, and to inform decision-making.
FINDINGS
Headquarters personnel for the global and U.S. networks track details of honorary consul appointment terms, including expiry dates.
Some missions take honorary consul activities into consideration when doing business planning at the beginning of the year. U.S. missions include them in advocacy reports, as expected.
Americas Branch will produce an annual report on the activities of specific U.S. honorary consuls if they receive performance assessment information from the supervising mission.
Some missions (e.g. Islamabad, Tokyo, Rome) are establishing their own mechanisms to monitor honorary consular activity.
For the global network, there are no formal program information and data collection or monitoring expectations regarding the activities and performance of honorary consuls. Generally, this information is either not collected, or not used.
- Supervising missions do not have complete, accurate, and timely information on the activities and workload of honorary consuls. This negatively impacts the ability to measure performance, take corrective actions, and plan future activities.
- Consular Policy & Programs does not receive information from missions on activities of the honorary consuls, which limits the ability to make decisions about program direction, and aligning training, guidance, and resources to the needs of the network.
Conclusion: While there are some monitoring practices in place, program personnel in headquarters receive limited information about the activities of honorary consuls. An information gathering mechanism, such as a periodic survey to missions and honorary consuls, could provide some baseline information about activities that could allow program direction and resources to be aligned to needs.
Recommendation: See Recommendation 2.
Findings: Program Administration – Selection and Appointment Process
Criterion: The selection of honorary consuls conforms to established program requirements.
FINDINGS
Headquarters personnel for both the global and U.S. networks actively support and guide missions through the appointment process.
Based on a sample selected, the selection and reappointment processes conformed with program requirements and priorities.
The appointment of an honorary consul is only complete once an Order in Council is signed, and the host country has approved. The initial selection processes are generally being conducted in a timely manner, with processes being started over six months before the expiry of an Order in Council. However, the most significant challenge is delays in the appointment, which is outside of mission and program control. This can lead to gaps in service delivery as noted by several missions.
Conclusion: Overall, missions are conducting selection and reappointment processes in conformance with program requirements and priorities.
Findings: Program Administration – Financial Management
Criterion: Expenditures related to honorary consul services are appropriately managed as per departmental policies and procedures.
| FINDINGS | Applicable to: | |
|---|---|---|
| Global | U.S. | |
Overall, audit testing found that expenditures related to honorary consul services (honorarium, office expenses) are appropriately managed as per departmental policies and procedures. Transaction testing identified a few instances of non-compliance with policy requirements and guidance, and coding errors. These included:
| Yes | N/A |
| Multiple missions (global and US networks) have not established separate cost centres to manage expenses for individual honorary consuls, as required by the consular manual. | Yes | Yes |
| Many missions do not have an up-to-date financial agreement in place with their honorary consul, as recommended by Consular Policy & Programs, resulting in a lack of clarity of eligible expenditure claims. | Yes | N/A |
Conclusion: Overall, expenditures are managed appropriately; however, the absence of financial agreements in many missions has created a lack of clarity regarding office expenses that honorary consuls are entitled to claim.
Recommendation: See Recommendation 2.
Findings: Management of Honorary Consuls – Training and Tools
Criterion: Honorary consuls and their staff are provided adequate direction, information, tools, and training from supervising missions and headquarters to effectively discharge their responsibilities.
| FINDINGS | Applicable to: | |
|---|---|---|
| Global | U.S. | |
Headquarters provide guidance, resources, and support to the supervising missions.
| Yes | Yes |
Overall, honorary consuls and their staff are provided adequate direction and information from supervising missions and headquarters to effectively discharge their responsibilities. Multiple missions and honorary consuls did, however, note the need for additional specific guidance and tools for:
| Yes | N/A |
| The pandemic caused gaps in the availability and consistency of training for honorary consuls and staff provided by supervising missions and Headquarters. | Yes | Yes |
| Information Technology Support Many missions and honorary consuls report Information Technology (IT) infrastructure deficiencies and lack of network access and support. IT issues inhibit the honorary consul’s ability to fulfill responsibilities, and leads to use of non-secure methods to conduct official business. (e.g. personal email). It also reduces their ability to take advantage of online training. While guidance and funding are provided for connectivity and network access when setting up an honorary consul office, there is a lack of clarity regarding ongoing IT support and troubleshooting available for existing offices. Missions noted that IT professionals at mission are not permitted to support honorary consuls. Information is needed on the extent to which IT support is available to assist honorary consuls to fulfill their responsibilities. | Yes | N/A |
| Honorary consuls often hire assistants to help them execute their responsibilities, which comprise various administrative tasks. A portion, or all, of the assistant’s salary may be an expense eligible for reimbursement from the department. Many missions report concerns around the perception of an employer-employee relationship between supervising missions and the honorary consul assistants based on the nature of the employment, the work tasks performed, and mission involvement in aspects of their management. If these relationships are not made clear, there is a risk that assistants could seek compensation from the Government of Canada through local courts in the event of any dispute based on the employment laws of that country. An initial step to mitigate this risk is to ensure the assistants’ contracts clearly identify the honorary consul as their employer, and not the Government of Canada. The consular manual provides some guidance on steps for missions to follow when approving the hiring of staff by honorary consuls, but it does not include specifics on elements to be avoided. This guidance could be strengthened by developing a contract template, and a list of hiring “dos and don’ts” for honorary consuls. In addition, some missions are involved in ongoing discussions related to pay, terms of employment, and working conditions for assistants. These missions indicated there is insufficient information, guidance, and best practices available to them to help maintain an arm’s length relationship with assistants on an ongoing basis. | Yes | N/A |
Conclusion: Overall, missions and honorary consuls are provided with sufficient direction, information, and training to effectively discharge their responsibilities. There is, however, the opportunity to develop additional guidance on specific topics, particularly on how missions can manage the relationship with assistants in order to avoid the appearance of an employer-employee relationship.
Recommendation 1:
The Assistant Deputy Minister of Consular, Security and Emergency Management should develop and communicate guidance, including best practices, on how to appropriately establish and manage the relationship between the supervising mission and honorary consul assistants to avoid a perceived employer-employee relationship with the Government of Canada.
Findings: Management of Honorary Consuls – Performance Assessment
Criterion: Performance management practices are in place to regularly assess the performance of honorary consuls against established objectives.
| FINDINGS | Applicable to: | |
|---|---|---|
| Global | U.S. | |
| Headquarters has established guidance and a template for conducting performance assessments of honorary consuls. | Yes | Yes |
Missions do not consistently provide honorary consuls with annual tasking letters, and complete formal performance assessments, as required by the Consular and U.S. Honorary Consul manuals.
| Yes | Yes |
| Several missions indicated that they would find it helpful to receive an annual notification/reminder about performance assessment requirements. | Yes | Yes |
Conclusion: While performance assessment practices and expectations have been established by the program, they are not being consistently performed by supervising missions.
Recommendation 2:
The Assistant Deputy Minister of Consular, Security and Emergency Management should establish a mechanism to:
- obtain information periodically on the activities of honorary consuls to align program direction and guidance; and
- remind heads of mission to reinforce the requirement to provide honorary consuls with a tasking letter, an up-to-date financial agreement, and a formal performance assessment on an annual basis.
6. Annex A: Management Response and Action Plan
| Audit Recommendation | Management Response | Management Action Plan | Area Responsible | Expected Completion Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The Assistant Deputy Minister of Consular, Security and Emergency Management should develop and communicate guidance, including best practices, on how to appropriately establish and manage the relationship between the supervising mission and honorary consul assistants to avoid a perceived employer-employee relationship with the Government of Canada. | Management agrees with the recommendation. Management recognizes the importance of avoiding perceived employer-employee relationships between the Government of Canada and honorary consul assistants. To this end, Management commits to develop and communicate guidance, including best practices, on how to appropriately establish and manage the relationship between the supervising mission and honorary consul assistants. | 1.1 Review Chapter 5 of the Consular Manual (chapter on honorary consuls) to strengthen language on the employment of assistants by honorary consuls and provide additional information, clarification and guidance to missions on how to appropriately establish and manage the relationship between the supervising mission and honorary consul assistants. (also refer to 2.2 – Communications Plan) | The Assistant Deputy Minister of Consular, Security and Emergency Management | June 2023 |
2. The Assistant Deputy Minister of Consular, Security and Emergency Management should establish a mechanism to:
| Management agrees with the recommendation. Management commits to establish mechanisms to:
| 2.1 Through new Strategia reporting mechanisms, missions will report on the activities and services delivered by honorary consuls under their supervision, assess if it meets the objectives of the programme, and confirm if current annual letter of instructions and financial agreement are in place. | The Assistant Deputy Minister of Consular, Security and Emergency Management | August 2023 |
| 2.2 Develop a communications plan for the year for missions who supervise honorary consuls. The communications plan would remind missions to follow the management framework of their honorary consul(s) including updated instructions letters, financial agreements, and yearly reporting in Strategia on objectives and results. Reminders regarding management of honorary consul assistants would also be included. Communications tools available are training sessions, conference calls with Management Consular Officers, Ubique consularis newsletter, broadcast messages to Consular sections at missions, Head of Mission calls with geographic branches. | August 2023 |
7. Annex B. About the Audit
Audit Objective
To determine whether effective management practices are in place to support the delivery of the honorary consul program in alignment with departmental objectives.
Criteria
1. There are effective mechanisms in place to provide direction and oversight to the honorary consul program.
2. There are processes, practices, and controls in place to effectively administer the honorary consul program.
3. There are processes, practices, and controls in place to support the effective delivery of services by honorary consuls.
Audit Scope
The audit examined the management practices and activities at missions and headquarters that support the delivery of the honorary consul program from April 2019 to present.
The audit covered all honorary consuls including those in the United States but excluding the consular agencies in Mexico. The audit did not assess the Order in Council appointment process.
Methodology
- Interviews
- 24 Missions plus 5 Heads of Mission
- 12 Honorary Consuls
- Personnel in Consular Policy and Programs, North America Advocacy & Hemispheric Support Directorate and Geographic Branches.
- Financial Transaction Testing
- Review and analysis of 30 operating expenses and 5 honorarium payment transactions.
- Transactions were selected based on financial and non-financial risk indicators.
- Questionnaire
- Sent to 41 missions
- Received 28 complete responses.
- Document Review
- Review and analysis of documents prepared by missions and headquarters.
- Selection Process Testing
- Review of documentation related to 13 selection processes.
- Selection processes were chosen based on the profiles of missions and consulates.
- Like-minded Country Comparison
- Interviews with a sample of like-minded countries to understand their Honorary Consul programs and operations.
- Date modified:
