Audit of Operational Controls at
Ports of Entry (Based on the
1996 Tassé Report) – Final Report
2.3.4 Separation of Technologies
When an immigration transaction begins, the client information is input into FOSS. When it is determined that cost recovery is required, the immigration officer inputs into SAP/POS the details to undertake the financial transaction. SAP/POS and SAP are not linked to FOSS. A mandatory field in the FOSS document requires the officer to input the SAP/POS number. We observed that the officer goes back and forth between the two systems. To speed up the process (due to client pressures), the immigration officer will often type in “PAID” or “9999” instead of the SAP/POS receipt number. The audit trail is fragmented as a result. Immigration officers do this so that the printer will print out the immigration documentation, allowing the machine to be used for the next transaction. Since ports of entry are busy and client service is a priority, we often observed this practice.
Currently, documents issued (visas) are not reconciled with the fees received. A number of visas have no cost recovery associated with them. The only way to trace a fee paid for an immigration key control form to a payment made and recorded in SAP/POS is manually.
At the time of the audit, the audit team was advised that the Global Case Management System would change many aspects of the current systems.
NHQ should consider incorporating the complete tracking of immigration key control forms into the Global Case Management System, as well as ensuring that this system has an interface to the financial system.
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