Internal Control Certification Guidance for Directors and Management

The CICA has published two important papers: Guidance for Directors and Guidance for Management, under the general title “Internal Control 2006: The Next Wave of Certification.” The papers were commissioned by the Risk Management and Governance Board of the CICA, and were written by James L. Goodfellow, FCA, and Alan D. Willis, CA.

Both papers are focused on the changes to reporting requirements for Canadian public companies concerning internal controls over financial reporting (ICOFR), as mandated by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). As suggested by their titles, the papers approach this issue from two distinct perspectives. Separating the responsibilities of the Board from those of senior management is extremely useful, as it helps simplify the complex certification process.

Guidance for Directors addresses the responsibility of the Board and the audit committee for the overall stewardship of internal controls, and their specific responsibility, under the current CSA rules, to be involved in the certification process. Audit committees in particular play an important role because CEOs and CFOs must disclose their conclusions about disclosure controls and procedures (DC&P) to them, and provide details of changes in ICOFR in the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A).

The longer and more detailed Guidance for Management provides senior management with a top-down, risk-based approach to certifying the design of internal control over financial reporting and a methodology for identifying weaknesses in the design of those controls.

Both papers address the particular problems faced by small companies within the CSA regulatory framework. They also look forward to the “fourth phase” of certification, dealing with the operating effectiveness of ICOFR. The details for this fourth phase have not yet been published by the CSA, but as the papers note: “The time and cost spent on assessing ICFR design in 2006, together with the remediation of identified weaknesses, will be an investment that should pay dividends in the future.”

For a link to the download page for these excellent publications, click here.

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Handling Unexpected International Opportunities

As national trade boundaries continue to fall, it’s more and more common to find yourself faced with unexpected business opportunities from outside Canada, either an order for your product or service or an invitation to bid on a contract.

But are you prepared to take advantage of such an opportunity? Now exportsource.ca has published “Responding to Unsolicited International Orders” by Curtis and Michelle Cook. Following the eight simple steps in this article will ensure that you’ll be ready when opportunity comes knocking.

Click here for this useful article.

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In this excellent article, Earl Phillips, head of McCarthy Tétrault’s labour and employment practice, traces the development of what he terms the “privacy culture” in Canada, with particular emphasis on its effect on employers.

Starting with the enactment of the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), followed by provincial privacy legislation in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, the article focuses on the core privacy principles that employers must be aware of when formulating policies and procedures, and the growing body of case law around such issues as surveillance in the workplace, privacy of medical information, and providing employee references.

For a link to this very useful article, click here.

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The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) has released what they call “Canada’s first consensus-based occupational health and safety (OHS) management standard.” Entitled “CSA Z1000-06 Occupational Health and Safety Management,” the new standard is intended to help organizations reduce or prevent Canada’s current number of injuries, illnesses and fatalities in the workplace by providing companies with a model for developing and implementing an OHS management system. The new standard is designed to complement other government programs that tackle the issue of worker safety.

As the CSA notes in its news release, Canada currently ranks among the worst of the developed nations in occupational health and safety, with an average of almost three people a day dying as a result of workplace injuries and disease. In 2004, 928 workers died from work related injuries and disease.

For the CSA news release, click here.

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This month, we provide a brief primer on "meta-languages", particularly XML and XBRL, which will soon be showing up on a PC desktop near you.

For the full text of this article, click here.

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This is our latest Whitepaper, written by Colin Braithwaite, PolicyPro Managing Editor, and developed in partnership with the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario (HRPAO). The Whitepaper focuses on the essential role of the HR professional in developing a pandemic Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to address the risks posed by an influenza pandemic.

Highlights from the Whitepaper will be presented at an upcoming HRPAO conference: Emergency Preparedness & Business Continuity Planning for HR and Business Professionals, which will be held November 8 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The first 200 registrants at the conference will receive the Whitepaper free of charge. Otherwise it will be available after November 8th through the HRPAO.

Click here for more information about the HRPAO conference.

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About the PolicyPro Bulletin

Editor: Colin Braithwaite, Managing Editor – PolicyPro.

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PolicyPro Bulletin ISSN: 1718-5866 Copyright ©2006, First Reference Inc., All Rights Reserved.