1. Cost Estimating in the Government of Canada Internal Cost Estimating Analysts Association
Bill Matthews
Comptroller General for Canada

2. Context
Office of the Comptroller General and establishment of the Costing Centre of Expertise
Clear government commitments in President’s mandate letter to transparency and evidence based decision-making
Commitments regarding due diligence, costing analysis and the use and disclosure of evidence and data used in decision making
A challenging fiscal environment will enhance the importance of prudent resource allocation strategies
CFO attestation is a key element in advising decision-makers
A renewed emphasis on achieving and reporting on results and outcomes
Measuring performance and the metrics agenda
Expectation that cost estimates will play a pivotal role in support of decision making

3. Costing Centre of Expertise
The Costing Center of Expertise was established in Feb 2014 with a mandate that includes
Conducting enhanced due diligence of Cabinet documents subject to thresholds and risk
Supporting departments in building cost estimating capacity
To date, 343 reviews of Cabinet document have occurred comprising approximately $475B in spending which includes
Procurements, including military acquisitions and IM/IT projects
New programs or renewal of existing programs
Of Cabinet documents reviewed, 75% are reviewed in less than five (5) days

4. Office of Comptroller General Initiatives
Improved oversight and reporting to Parliament
Disclose the cost of legislation and programs to Parliament
Better alignment between Budget and Estimates
Better Costing
Increase the skill-sets of cost estimators across government
Introduce common government-wide practices
Calibrate cost estimating requirements to project complexity
Strengthening the management of user fees
Strengthen the management regime around user fees
Modernized Comptrollership
Balance risk mitigation and resilience
Use metrics to inform resource allocation strategies

5. Minister’s Expect that…
Options to address capability deficiencies or broader government priorities are thoroughly assessed and defensible with evidence and data appropriate to the decision point
Appropriate levels of analysis and due diligence by departments and central agencies leading to high quality advice to support Ministers
Thorough risk assessments and practical mitigation strategies are available to Ministers during their deliberations
Heightened consideration is given to measuring performance, tracking progress and reporting on outcomes

6. Challenges Costing capacity within departments
Is it evolving quickly enough?
How do we balance the expanding interest on costing with differing departmental requirements?
Data access and limitations
Do we have the right data to support evidence-based decision making?
Have we developed strategies to acquire and exploit our data on a more routine basis?
Performance measurement and monitoring progress
Are processes in place to monitor costs and improve cost estimates based on performance?
How do we engage with a broader set of stakeholders?

7. Summary
Expectations around strengthened cost estimates started to elevate in 2013 and continue to grow
We expect this focus will further increase given international attention on evidenced-based decision-making
Horizontal engagement and collaboration amongst departments will be to moving this agenda forward