Background The entity is a publicly funded, post-secondary institution that operates under the Post-secondary Learning Act of Alberta. It is a specialized arts and culture institution that offers four-year undergraduate and graduate degrees in visual art and design. The link to the additional information: https://www.auarts.ca.
The financial results of the entity are consolidated into the financial reporting of the Ministry of Advanced Education and the consolidated financial statements of the Government of Alberta. As a result, the annual audit of the entity must be completed by mid-May for inclusion in the Government of Alberta’s annual financial reporting issued in June.
The entity changed its year end from June 30 to March 31 effective the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. The entity will prepare 9 months financial statements for the period from July 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. Subsequently, the entity will prepare 12 months financial statements annually for the fiscal years ending March 31.
Key Timelines The Agent will need to be available to provide services for the nine-month period ending March 31, 2026, and fiscal years ending March 31, 2027; March 31, 2028, and March 31, 2029.
Work required The Auditor General requires the assistance of the service provider – an Agent - to perform audit work to enable the Auditor General to issue an auditor’s report on the financial statements of the entity.
Post-secondary institutions (PSIs) must prepare their financial reporting in accordance with Canadian public sector accounting standards. In addition, as the financial results of the entity are included in the consolidated financial statements of the Government of Alberta, the Controller of the Government of Alberta issues a pro-forma financial statement template for all PSIs to follow. This template ensures consistency of reporting and disclosures by all PSIs and adherence to any specific Government of Alberta financial reporting requirements, such as salary and benefit disclosures. We strongly encourage proponents to examine the financial statements in the entity’s annual report to understand the required reporting and disclosure.
Proponents shall familiarize themselves with the accounting policies in the financial statements of the entity and identify in their response any areas where they disagree with such accounting policies.
Please see entirety in the RFP package.
