Quarterly Financial Report ending September 30, 2020

Copyright Board of Canada Statement
outlining results, risks and significant changes in operations, personnel and program
For the Quarter Ended September 30, 2020

Introduction:

This quarterly report has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act (FAA) and in the form and manner prescribed by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS). This quarterly report should be read in conjunction with the Main Estimates.

The Copyright Board of Canada (the Board) is an independent administrative agency that has been conferred department status for purposes of the FAA. Its mandate is set out in the Copyright Act (the “Act”). The Board is empowered to establish, either mandatorily or at the request of an interested party, the royalties to be paid for the use of copyrighted works when the administration of such works is entrusted to a collective administrative society.

The Board’s program objective is to set royalties which are fair and equitable to both copyright owners and users of copyright-protected works. This includes setting fair and equitable terms and conditions so as to permit the use of works when the owner of the copyright cannot be located.

Basis of Presentation:

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the Board’s spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the Board, consistent with the Main Estimates for the 2020-21 fiscal year. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before moneys can be spent by the Government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes.

As part of the performance reporting process, the Board prepares its annual departmental financial statements on a full accrual basis in accordance with TBS accounting policies, which are based on Canadian generally accepted accounting principles for the public sector. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

The quarterly report has not been subject to an external audit or review.

Highlights of Fiscal Quarter Results:

The total authorities used during the quarter ended September 30, 2020 were $892,000, an increase of $8,000 when comparing to the same quarter last year. This increase mostly reflects a corresponding decrease in net operating expenditures.

The increase in net budgetary expenditures for the quarter ending September 30, 2020 is a result of higher spending for personnel expenditures by $60,000; in rentals by $2,000, other subsidies and payments by $6,000. Expenses in transportation and communications decreased by $8,000; those in information by $3,000; and those in professional and special services by $18,000. There was no expenditure in repair and maintenance. All of these changes reflect operational needs and unanticipated constraints to planned spending, primarily due to restrictions stemming from the pandemic (COVID-19).

Risks and Uncertainties:

The Board’s most significant expenditure is personnel which represents about 70% of its planned expenditures. This implies that whenever an employee departs due to retirement or resignation or a new employee is hired to replace the departing one, there is a risk of substantial variation in quarterly expenditures. New resources to support the modernization of the Board by increasing its efficiency and transparency have been also put in place in the past quarter, in both permanent and temporary capacity. This has an impact on personnel expenditures

Finally, as a service to the public and to increase transparency, the Board publishes various types of information on its website, some of which is currently in only one official language. A one-time extra-budgetary investment could be needed to ensure that all the Board’s information on its website is in both official languages.

Approval by Senior Officials

Approved by,

Nathalie Théberge	Deputy Head
Lara Taylor	Chief Financial Officer

Statement of Authorities (unaudited)

	Fiscal Year 2020-2021
(in thousand of dollars)	Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2021*	Used during the quarter ended September 30, 2020	Year to date used at quarter-end
Vote 45 - Net Operating expenditures	3,997	794	1,450
Budgetary statutory authorities
Employee benefit plans	391	98	196
Total authorities	4,388	892	1,646
* Includes approved estimates documents as at quarter end.
	Fiscal Year 2019-2020
(in thousand of dollars)	Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2020*	Used during the quarter ended September 30, 2019	Year to date used at quarter-end
Vote 45 - Net Operating expenditures	3,782	785	1,630
Budgetary statutory authorities
Employee benefit plans	396	99	198
Total authorities	4,178	884	1,828
* Includes approved estimates documents as at quarter end.

Table 1: Departmental budgetary expenditures by Standard Object (unaudited)

	Fiscal Year 2020-2021
(in thousand of dollars)	Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2021*	Expended during the quarter ended September 30, 2020	Year to date used at quarter-end
Expenditures
Personnel	3,197	743	1,433
Transportation and communications	150	2	5
Information	108	17	18
Professional and special services	650	85	135
Rentals	110	31	40
Repair and maintenance	66	-	-
Utilities, materials and supplies	23	1	1
Acquisition of machinery and equipment	80	6	6
Other subsidies and payments	5	7	8
Total net budgetary expenditures	4,388	892	1,646
* Includes approved estimates documents as at quarter end.
	Fiscal Year 2019-2020
(in thousand of dollars)	Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2020*	Expended during the quarter ended September 30, 2019	Year to date used at quarter-end
Expenditures
Personnel	2,986	683	1,314
Transportation and communications	75	10	26
Information	185	20	106
Professional and special services	615	103	282
Rentals	90	29	46
Repair and maintenance	142	31	37
Utilities, materials and supplies	65	1	2
Acquisition of machinery and equipment	-	6	8
Other subsidies and payments	20	1	7
Total net budgetary expenditures	4,178	884	1,828
* Includes approved estimates documents as at quarter end.