LBG CANADA AUDIT & BENCHMARKING PROCESS
The LBG Canada network represents over 250 community investment professionals within multiple sectors across Canada – all seeking to achieve the highest standard in community investment. Members of LBG Canada participate in an annual benchmarking process audit to help each company demonstrate the value of its community investment portfolio.
Six core principles, agreed upon by LBG Canada companies, promotes consistency in community investment across investment styles, industries, sectors and diverse operating environments. The LBG Canada audit process enhances transparency, and allows best practises to defined and shared.
The LBG Canada audits focus on three core components:
- Community Investment – LBG Canada’s audit process recognizes that community investment activities require program management costs (salaries, memberships, and communications) to be successful. This portion of the audit also demonstrates a company’s ability to convene stakeholders around particular community investment priorities.
- Employee Volunteering – The LBG Canada audit provides companies with a true valuation of time investments for both working hours (DwH) and non-working hours (NwH) volunteering.
- Employee Giving – LBG Canada’s audit process mitigates reporting risks that can lead to double counting, and distinguishes corporate giving (matching) from employee giving (matching, payroll) ensuring appropriate valuation is applied to company investments and leveraged dollars.
Each Audit cycle includes:
- Two detailed line-by-line reviews of an LBG Canada company`s entire community investment portfolio to ensure the principles have been applied throughout.
- A review call to confirm line-by-line results with clients and to ensure all data is present.
- An Insights and Opportunities report, which provides context for the audited results in comparison to the company`s peers. This report also discusses potential enhancements to the community investment portfolio.
- An annual Valuation Committee meeting, which brings together community investment professionals across the LBG Canada network to discuss valuation questions that arise throughout the auditing process.
