Strategic Context
The Ministry has developed the Service Plan within the context of government priorities, and the internal and external risks
and opportunities that may affect the Ministry's ability to meet its goals and objectives. The Ministry employs a risk management
approach to proactively identify the risks that can potentially impact its success as part of its strategic and operational
planning processes and addresses areas of high risk. The Ministry evaluates and actively manages risks associated with strategically
important projects. It has an internal audit committee and regularly conducts audits to identify areas of management or operational
risk and develop response strategies. Risk management techniques are applied in specialized areas across the Ministry including
financial risk, occupational health and safety, and business continuity.
The Ministry's key risks and opportunities are presented below.
External Risks and Opportunities
| Situation |
Risk/Opportunity |
Ministry Response |
| The Ministry's success in revenue and debt collection is impacted by changes in the economy. |
Strong economic growth presents opportunities for increased revenue generation, both through new revenues and increased voluntary
compliance with existing financial obligations to government.
Slow economic growth could have a negative impact on revenue generation. |
• Maintain comprehensive regularized systems for revenue monitoring and reporting by revenue source.
• Participate in taxation policy reviews and revenue budgeting with the Ministry of Finance.
• Advise government and clients about changes in revenue expectations in a timely manner. |
| Provincial tax legislation and policy, and the regulatory environment influence the competitiveness of the province's investment
climate compared to other jurisdictions. |
Recent research indicates the ability to easily identify, understand and comply with necessary regulations can be a determining
factor in where a business decides to locate.1 |
• Ensure the tax regime remains current and customer centred.
• Simplify the regulatory environment to maintain the competitiveness of the province as a place to live, invest, and create
jobs. |
| Changes to policy and legislation affect the collectability of revenues and debt. |
Policy and legislative changes are the responsibility of client ministries that deliver the programs. These changes can impact
the collectability of revenues and debt administered by the Ministry of Small Business and Revenue.
In addition, the application of legislation in specific circumstances can be the subject of legal challenge. Court decisions
can require the Ministry to implement changes in the way it administers its programs, and can impact revenue expectations. |
• Remain adaptable to consequent changes in the collectability of accounts receivable.
• Be positioned to provide informed feedback to client ministries contemplating legislative or policy changes that could impact
revenues.
• Work closely with the Ministry of Attorney General and Ministry of Finance to clarify the government's position in appeal
situations, and develop legislative amendments where needed. |
| The Ministry relies on the willingness of British Columbians to meet their financial obligations. |
It is expected that voluntary compliance will increase if the Ministry makes it easier for individuals and businesses to identify
and understand their financial obligations to government. |
• Provide information, education and outreach activities to assist British Columbians better understand their financial obligations
and entitlements.
• Expand online access to information and electronic payment options to make it as easy as possible for individuals and businesses
to comply with their obligations. |
| British Columbians expect their government to provide timely, high quality service. |
Citizen-centred customer service is a priority for government and the Ministry. |
• Continue to focus on initiatives supporting citizen-centred service delivery, reviewing existing and new programs to identify
service enhancements.
• Ensure public information is provided in plain language and is responsive to the diverse information needs of its customers.
• Implement citizen-centred regulatory reform across government to reduce the steps and time required for citizens, small
business and industry to access services or comply with regulations. |
| The Ministry requires quality customer information to conduct its business. |
The success of the Ministry in providing revenue administration and debt collection services depends on the accuracy and integrity
of the customer information provided by client ministries. |
• Work cooperatively with client ministries to ensure customer information provided by them is of the highest possible quality. |
| The Ministry relies on a range of partners to ensure services are delivered and goals are realized. |
Partners are critical to the Ministry's success in delivering its programs and services. |
• Foster enduring partnerships with the small business community, industry and other levels of government.
• Work with partners to develop and implement strategies and tools to deliver Ministry programs and services. |
Internal Risks and Opportunities
| Situation |
Risk/Opportunity |
Ministry Response |
| The Ministry requires highly skilled, motivated and innovative employees to achieve its goals. |
Recruitment and retention remain a challenge in a highly competitive labour market.
The current demographics of the workforce show many employees will soon reach retirement age. This may result in increased
retirement rates, knowledge retention issues and the challenge of recruiting for key organizational positions. |
• Support a culture of excellence and learning to promote employee development and retention.
• Support job assignments that further professional and career development of interested employees.
• Develop new strategies for attracting, training and retaining employees within the context of government initiatives addressing
workforce and succession challenges. |
| The Ministry requires leading edge business processes and information technology solutions to achieve its goals. |
Business transformation and information technology initiatives increase the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and timeliness
of program and service delivery supporting Ministry success. |
• Enhance business and service capacity by working to consolidate and streamline revenue management processes across government.
The Ministry is leveraging private sector investment, expertise and technology, while transferring risk.
• Continue to review internal operations and adopt best practices. Enterprise risk management, project and performance management,
and business transformation and continuous improvement initiatives are key areas of focus for the Ministry. |
| The government and citizens of British Columbia depend on the Ministry to deliver its programs and services. |
The critical operations of the Ministry may be interrupted by a natural disaster, an infrastructure failure or a disruption
of its labour supply. |
• Implement a comprehensive business continuity program to allow critical operations to be recovered in a timely manner following
a business disruption. |