The Audit Protocol for the Mine Financial Security Program was commissioned to provide a framework to assist government or third-party auditors of Annual Reports under Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development’s Mine Financial Security Program (MFSP). The Audit Protocol seeks to assist in the verification of the information provided to Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development under the MFSP by coal and oil sands mine companies. The Audit Protocol was prepared based upon the requirements of the Mine Financial Security Program Standard and the Guide to the Mine Financial Security Program, with reference to accepted auditing standards and defined reclamation requirements. The Audit Protocol has been designed to systematically enable an auditor to review and assess an Approval Holder’s MFSP Project’s: • MFSP Assets (e.g., reserves); • MFSP Liabilities (e.g., closure and reclamations costs); • Reporting requirements; • Base Security Deposit; • Operating Life Deposit; • Asset Safety Factor Deposit; and • Outstanding Reclamation Deposit. For each section of the MFSP Audit, a series of questions are presented to direct the auditor to the required information supporting the MFSP Annual Report.