Annex to the statement of management responsibility including internal control over financial reporting

PCA has a well-established governance and accountability structure to support departmental assessment efforts and oversight of its system of internal control. An internal control framework, approved by the Vice-President Finance, is in place and includes:

• Organizational accountability structures as they relate to internal control management to support sound financial management, including roles and responsibilities which span from senior managers across to PCA employees in their areas of responsibility for control management;
• Parks Canada has a Values and Ethics Code, and an Ombudsman whose mission is to promote and intervene in favour of an organizational culture based on the fundamental values of the Agency. The Ombudsman is also the Senior Integrity Officer for internal disclosure and wrongdoing;
• Ongoing communication and training on statutory requirements, policies and procedures for sound financial management and control; and
• Monitoring and regular updates on internal control management, as well as the provision of related assessment results and action plans to the President and Chief Executive Officer (PCEO) and senior management and the Audit Committee (AC).

The AC provides advice to the PCEO on the adequacy and functioning of PCA’s risk management, control and governance frameworks and processes.

PCA relies on other organizations for the processing of certain transactions that are recorded in its financial statements as follows:

Common arrangements:

• Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) centrally administers the payments of salaries through its payroll system, the procurement of goods and services and the provision of accommodation;
• The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) provides the Agency with information used to calculate various accruals and allowances, such as the accrued severance liability;
• The Department of Justice provides legal services to PCA; and
• Shared Services Canada (SSC) provides information technology (IT) infrastructure services to PCA in the areas of acquisition and provision of hardware and software, data centre and network services. The scope and responsibilities are addressed in the interdepartmental arrangement between SSC and PCA.

Readers of this annex may refer to the annexes to the Statement of Management Responsibility including Internal Control over Financial Reporting of the above-noted departments for a greater understanding of the systems of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) related to these specific services.

Specific arrangement:

• PCA’s financial system related functional services are shared with Canadian Heritage. The services are administered through an MOU whereby PCA shares the expenses (including maintenance, training, user support, etc.) as well as the responsibilities and risks in relation to the financial system. The financial system’s IT related services are provided by Agriculture Canada to both Parks Canada and Canadian Heritage through a separate MOU.
• Parks Campground Reservation System (PCRS) is PCA’s on-line campground reservation system and auxiliary revenue system. PCRS has been developed and contracted by a service provider (CAMIS) based on the business rules and requirements established by PCA.

There were no other new or significantly amended key controls in existing processes which required a reassessment in the current fiscal year.

The following table summarizes the status of the ongoing monitoring activities according to the previous fiscal year’s rotational on-going monitoring plan.

In fiscal 2020-2021, PCA has updated the risk assessment of its Internal Control Over Financial Reporting processes to evaluate the potential impacts of COVID-19 on key controls. There were only some minor amendments made to existing key controls as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, transaction approvals that had previously been given in writing were transitioned to digital signature. Therefore, a reassessment of the effectiveness of key controls was not required. Due to the fact that the COVID-19 situation is dynamic, management is following the situation, its impacts, and emerging risks very closely to ensure proper controls are in place.

The Agency’s rotational ongoing monitoring plan over the next three years, based on our internal control framework, is shown in the following table: