2.2 Key measures taken by the organization

CFIA's control environment also includes a series of measures to enable its staff to manage risks well through raising awareness, providing appropriate knowledge and tools as well as developing skills and capacity. Key measures include:

• The establishment of the Office of Values and Ethics;
• CFIA's code of conduct and values and ethics code;
• Annual performance agreements with senior managers clearly set out financial management responsibilities;
• Training program and communications in core areas of financial management;
• Agency policies tailored to CFIA's control environment;
• Active monitoring and quality assurance plans, and quarterly reporting for financial controls; and
• Periodically updated delegation of financial signing authorities matrix.

3. Assessment of the Departmental system of ICFR

The self-assessment is a systematic review conducted by management to provide assurance on ICFR.

3.1 Assessment elements:

In support of the Policy on Internal Control, an effective system of internal control has the objective of providing reasonable assurance that:

• Transactions are apporpirately authorized;
• Financial records are properly maintained;
• Assets are safeguarded; and
• Applicable laws, regulations and policies are followed.

A formalized system of ICFR includes assessing the design and operating effectiveness of the department's system of ICFR and ensuring that an on-going monitoring program is in place leading to continuous improvement of the system of ICFR.

Design effectiveness assessment - Through design effectiveness assessment, the CFIA will ensure that key controls relevant to ICFR have been properly identified, documented, implemented and that they are aligned with the risks that they aim to mitigate and that any remediation is addressed appropriately and in a timely manner. The assessment activities include documentation and mapping of key business processes or IT systems, identification of key risks and the internal controls implemented to mitigate these risks, and a walk-through to assess the design effectiveness of the internal controls.

Operating effectiveness assessment - Through operating effectiveness assessment, the CFIA will ensure that the application of key controls over financial reporting has been tested over a defined period and they are working as intended. The assessment activities include performing a sample test of transactions to determine whether the documented procedures and internal control measures are being followed.