Financial Statements For the year ended March 31, 2012

Annex to the Statement of Management Responsibility Including Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

2. Public Health Agency of Canada's control environment relevant to ICFR

Senior management is committed to ensuring that staff at all levels understand their role in maintaining effective systems of ICFR and are well equipped to exercise these responsibilities effectively. The Agency’s focus is to ensure risks are properly managed through a responsive and risk-based control environment that enables continuous improvement and innovation. 

Key components of entity level controls in departments aim at ensuring solid governance and effective risk management at the corporate level, as well as the maintenance of other entity level controls to provide effective support to staff by raising awareness and providing appropriate knowledge, skills, and tools.

2.1 Key positions, roles and responsibilities

Deputy Head/Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) - As the Accounting Officer and the lead member of the governance structure for the Agency, the Deputy Head, with support from the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, assumes overall responsibility and leadership for the stewardship, management and oversight of Agency resources, including the measures taken to maintain an effective system of internal control.  The CPHO is the lead health professional of the Government of Canada in relation to public health.  His unique role allows him to communicate with governments, public health authorities or organizations in the public health field, within Canada or internationally.  It also allows  him to communicate with the public, voluntary organizations in the public health field or the private sector for the purpose of providing information, or seeking their views, about public health issues.

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer - The Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer is responsible for ensuring the timely and effective management of the Agency’s corporate management priorities, services and issues. This includes providing Agency leadership on all matters relating to central agencies; and leading and assuring high quality planning, execution, reporting and accountability for all Agency programs and activities, including internal control over financial reporting.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) - The Chief Financial Officer reports directly to the Deputy Head and the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. The CFO is the focal point of accountability and provides leadership for the coordination, coherence and focus on the design and maintenance of an effective and integrated system of ICFR. This includes accounting, financial reporting, performance measurement and evaluation, procurement and assets management.

Assistant Deputy Ministers (ADM) - As senior agency managers in charge of program delivery and reporting to the Deputy Head and the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, the ADMs are responsible for providing assistance with governance along with the management and oversight of the resources falling within their mandate, including financial management and reporting.

Chief Audit Executive (CAE) - The Chief Audit Executive reports directly to the Deputy Head, independent from line management. The CAE provides assurance through periodic internal audits focused on risk management, control, and governance processes which are necessary components in maintaining an effective system of ICFR.

PHAC Audit Committee (AC) - The PHAC Audit Committee is comprised of the Deputy Head and three members external to the Government. In 2011-2012, the AC met four times, to provide advice on governance, risk management and control, and to review internal audit reports and recommend them to the Deputy Head.

Executive Committees (EC) - The Executive Committee is the Agency’s most senior horizontal decision-making, direction setting and oversight body. It is responsible for the strategic management of the Agency’s program and corporate responsibilities. The EC is supported by the following sub-committees:

• Public Health and Policy Committee (PHP) operates at the Director General level to facilitate coherence, consistency and coordination on policy, program and corporate issues and commitments.  The PHP supports the EC by providing leadership in the enhancement and improvement of policy development and decision-making within the Agency.
• Resource Planning and management Committee is the Agency's primary senior executive forum for discussion, recommendations and decisions concerning resource allocation, planning and reporting, budgeting, and other financial and asset management policies and activities.
• IM/IT Management Committee provides direction, alignment and decisions on horizontal and significant issues which relate to the management of IM/IT, policies and practices and strategic orientations and investments.
• Risk Management Committee ensures that the Deputy Head and EC receive timely information and advice on emerging issues requiring a risk management response and to serve as a forum to discuss options for risk management and risk communication action based on available information.
• Surveillance Management Committee serves as a forum for senior management deliberation and decision-making on surveillance-based activities within the Agency, including oversight for surveillance as a core Agency function and decisions on key Agency-wide surveillance files and issues.

2.2  Key measures taken by Public Health Agency of Canada

The control environment is an important factor for ICFR.  The Agency’s control environment incorporates a series of measures to equip its staff to manage risks through raising awareness, providing appropriate knowledge and tools as well as developing skills.  Key measures taken include:

• The Ethics and Internal Ombudsman Services committed to helping employees, work teams and the Agency address conflicts, workplace concerns and ethical issues holistically; 
• Development and dissemination of the Agency’s code of conduct, and code of values and ethics in support of the professional activities of its employees;
• Annual performance agreements which clearly set out the financial management and reporting responsibilities of its staff;
• Formal training programs and communication documents in core areas of financial management;
• Agency policies tailored to its control environment;
• Documentation of main business processes and related key risk and control points to support the management and oversight of its system of ICFR;
• Annual and ongoing review of the financial signing authority cards and update of the delegated authorities matrix as required; and
• Information Technology (IT) processing systems to achieve greater security, integrity, efficiency and effectiveness.

In addition, the Agency annually updates its Corporate Risk Profile which falls under the responsibility of the Risk Management Committee This report outlines the key risks that need to be managed over the upcoming fiscal year in order to achieve the Agency’s mandate and strategic objectives.  This also contributes to the agency priority setting exercise and integrated operational planning process.