cutbacks and reorganizations of the mid-1990s were factors that contributed to the mismanagement of several programs in that department. Similarly, our 1996 audit of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability program concluded that the sharp increases in CPP disability payments during the previous decade had occurred in the absence of sufficient capacity to analyze trends in benefit payments, manage eligibility assessments, and review files systematically to identify ineligible beneficiaries. Establishing huge spending programs and then in effect putting them on auto-pilot is clearly not consistent with the principle of seeking to maximize value for the taxpayer's dollar. A program worth doing is worth doing well. Inadequate resources or resources poorly deployed can undermine the effectiveness of the program and lead to waste, loss of trust and erosion of support for the program. Effective internal control systems. Internal control refers to the methods and procedures used by management to ensure that decisions are carried out properly, risks are managed, transactions recorded, performance monitored and results reported: in short, everything it takes to ensure that the program is running as it should. An integral part of an effective internal control system is a strong audit function, one that tests the credibility of performance measurements and provides assurance that the management framework for achieving program objectives is operating as intended. In government-wide audits completed in 1993 and 1996, we found weaknesses in the internal audit functions of many departments. Since then, disproportionate cutbacks in the government's internal audit, evaluation and review functions have