Canada

Supporting Departmental Financial Management Across the Government of Canada Since 1986

The FreeBalance story began in Canada in 1984, and the company has maintained a continuous working relationship with the Government of Canada (GC) ever since. The first organization to implement a FreeBalance solution was the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in 1986. Today, the FreeBalance Accountability Suite™ serves as a foundational Departmental Financial Management System (DFMS) for a defined cluster of departments and agencies.

Contexte

The Government of Canada operates under a decentralized organizational model where authority and accountability for financial management reside within individual ministerial departments and agencies. While each institution manages its own DFMS, they do so under a common policy, legislative, and Treasury Board framework. This structure requires financial systems that are both standardized to ensure consistency across the GC and flexible enough to respect specific departmental accountabilities.

Development and Deployment

FreeBalance worked closely with the Government of Canada Cluster (GCC) to co-develop the FreeBalance Accountability Suite™ using a customer-centric approach. The GCC met regularly with FreeBalance and established special committees to assist with product initiatives that support government modernization and transparency.

Through this collaboration, the GCC helped set product direction, review specifications, and certify new versions of the software. This partnership created the model for the Comité de pilotage international de FreeBalance, which now guides the global product roadmap. The resulting shared services solution provides essential insights for decision makers while supporting core operational requirements.

Current organizations using the FreeBalance Accountability Suite™ as their DFMS include:

• Service correctionnel du Canada
• Service d'administration des tribunaux
• Bibliothèques et Archives Canada
• Bureau du Commissaire aux affaires judiciaires fédérales
• Commission de la fonction publique du Canada
• Transports Canada
• Nunavut Housing Corporation.

Derniers développements

Building on several years of successful operation, FreeBalance has recently supported the Government of Canada in advancing key public financial management and human capital capabilities across the Cluster. These upgrades span core financials, purchasing and expenditure, revenue management, and civil service planning.

Transport Canada was the first organization in the Cluster to complete a government resource planning (GRP) upgrade focused on (CSPL) Civil Service Planning (human capital management) functionality, establishing a foundation for subsequent modernization efforts. Core financial implementations followed, with the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs leading the transition to (PFM) Public Financial Management, and additional deployments completed by the Public Service Commission and the Courts Administration Service. 

Together, these upgrades represent a significant milestone in modernizing enterprise management capabilities across the Cluster through a proven and repeatable delivery approach.

The Version 7 deployments provide:

• • A unified, web‑based platform that integrates financial, procurement, revenue, and human capital management in a single environment.
  • Enhanced governance through configurable workflows and data structures that strengthen audit readiness and compliance with GC policies.
  • Standardized business processes that promote consistency across the Cluster while accommodating unique departmental requirements.
  • Improved reporting and analytics that increase visibility into financial and workforce data for informed decision‑making.
  • Greater long‑term sustainability by transitioning from legacy components to a modern, scalable architecture.

Looking Ahead

Following these successful go-lives, remaining departments, including Libraries and Archives Canada (LAC) and Correctional Service Canada (CSC), are progressing through their upgrade activities. These implementations leverage established delivery patterns and shared configurations to ensure an efficient transition. This phased rollout continues to strengthen alignment across the GCC and accelerates the adoption of modern financial management capabilities within the Government of Canada.

Pour en savoir plus

• Find out more about FreeBalance’s history
• En savoir plus exemples de réussites sur la façon dont nous avons aidé les gouvernements du monde entier à améliorer leur transparence et leur responsabilité fiscales.