Background

The BPS Business Documents Directive outlines requirements for designated BPS organizations to post business plans and other business and financial documents to their public website.

The Directive applies to all designated BPS organizations, as defined under the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010.

Purpose of Directive

The purpose of the Directive is to set out the requirement for all designated BPS organizations to prepare and publish online their business plans and other business or financial documents.

The Directive is intended to provide the public with a means to understand the business objectives and overall operations of these organizations, and to bring consistency and transparency across designated BPS organizations.

Effective date

The Directive came into effect on January 1, 2016 and was last updated on July 1, 2020.

Application of the Directive

The Directive applies to all designated broader public sector organizations under the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010, defined as follows:

  1. every hospital;
  2. every school board;
  3. every university in Ontario;
  4. every college of applied arts and technology and post-secondary institution in Ontario, whether or not affiliated with a university, whose enrolments are counted for the purposes of calculating annual operating grants and entitlements;
  5. every agency designated as a children’s aid society under subsection 34 (1) of Part III of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017,
  6. every corporation controlled by one or more designated broader public sector organization that exists solely or primarily for the purpose of purchasing goods or services for the designated broader public sector organization or organizations; and
  7. every publicly funded organization that received public funds of $10 million or more in the previous fiscal year from the Government of Ontario.

Organizations not covered by the Directive

Publicly funded organizations that received less than $10 million in public funds in the previous fiscal year from the Government of Ontario are not required to follow the Directive. However, all publicly funded organizations as defined under the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010 that received under $10 million may use it as a guideline when developing or reviewing their practices related to making business documents and information available to the public.

The Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010 and Ontario Regulation 219/11 made under the Act exclude some entities from the definition of publicly funded organizations. The Directive does not apply to these excluded entities, which include:

  • municipalities;
  • local boards;
  • long-term care homes;
  • boards of health;
  • organizations that undertake their activities for the purpose of profit to their shareholders;
  • District Social Services Administration Boards; and
  • First Nations.

Required documents for posting

The Directive requires designated BPS organizations to post business plans that contain at minimum the following information:

  • an organization’s mandate and strategic direction;
  • an overview of current and future programs and key activities; and
  • performance measures and targets.

The Directive also requires designated BPS organizations to post additional business or financial documents that contain at minimum the following information:

  • a description of key activities over the previous fiscal year of the organization;
  • an analysis of operational performance;
  • a discussion of outcome and output-based performance targets achieved and actions to be taken if not achieved;
  • audited financial statements;
  • a discussion of risks and other factors impacting performance and results, including mitigation plans where performance and results were not achieved; and
  • an analysis of financial performance, including variances between actual financial results against budgeted/forecasted amounts for the prior year.

For further information on recommendations made by the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, organizations are encouraged to review Chapter 4 of the 2017 Annual Report: Toward Better Accountability – Quality of Annual Reporting, and the 2019 Annual Report Follow-Up Report on Audit Recommendations.

Best practices

BPS organizations should consider the following best practices to improve the quality of reporting in their annual reports and business documents:

  • Annual Reports: Include performance information required by the Directive and referenced in best practices in your annual reports rather than in separate business documents. For example, ensure your annual report includes performance measures, targets and results. When targets are not met, ensure your annual report includes planned actions to achieve these targets in the future.
  • Costs of Results: Link your financial and non-financial information to report on the costs of achieved results.

Timing for posting

The requirements for when documents and information should be posted are set out in the Directive. However, designated BPS organizations are encouraged to post information as soon as it is available.

The Directive states the following:

  • Designated BPS organizations must post business plan information each year, within six months of the beginning of the organization’s fiscal year. This information is about the future; and
  • Designated BPS organizations must also post additional business or financial documents each year within six months of the end of the organization’s fiscal year. This information is about the previous fiscal year.

An organization’s annual report may satisfy this requirement if it contains this additional information.

Audited financial statements

Designated BPS organizations that are included in the Province’s consolidated financial statements, and whose fiscal year ends March 31, must post their audited financial statements no later than the release date of the Public Accounts of Ontario.

Note: For 2020, designated BPS organizations have a two-month extension for the posting of business and financial documents. Despite this additional time, the expectation is that designated BPS organizations post these documents as soon as possible.

When to develop new documents

Some designated BPS organizations may already include the required information in documents with different title; for example, business plans, strategic plans, accountability agreements. In these cases, it is not necessary to rename or create new documents, as long as the information required is available to the public (i.e., posted on the organization’s website).

Posting documents and information online for the public

All the documents and information required in this Directive must be available on the same webpage on the organization’s website. Organizations may have to create a webpage that directs visitors to the mandatory accountability information required in this Directive.

It is recommended that the dedicated webpage include a link to information on BPS accountability located on Ontario.ca. This provides the public with useful information about accountability requirements for designated BPS organizations.

Sensitive, confidential and personal information

Designated BPS organizations must post business plans and other business or financial documents as of the effective date, according to the requirements in the Directive. However, designated BPS organizations should exercise caution when considering sensitive or confidential information, or personal information that would raise privacy concerns if it were posted.

Posting in English and French

Some designated BPS organizations may be required to post documents in both English and French. It is up to the designated BPS organization to determine whether it is required to also post their materials in French, as may be required under the French Language Services Act.

Keeping plans and documents online

It is recommended that organizations keep information on their websites indefinitely. However, it must be evident which documents and information are the most recent.

Compliance reporting

The Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, 2010 requires Ontario Health, Ontario Health atHome and hospitals to prepare attestations regarding their compliance with BPS Directives, including the BPS Business Documents Directive.

Other designated BPS organizations are currently not required to report on compliance. However, the legislation provides the power to make regulations requiring more organizations to provide attestations of compliance with the requirements of the Act.

Contact about the Directive

Designated BPS organizations can send questions to corpolb@ontario.ca.