Form 52-109F1 requires the certifying officers to certify that they have evaluated, or supervised the evaluation of, the issuer’s DC&P and ICFR. Employees or third parties, supervised by the certifying officers, may conduct the evaluation of the issuer’s DC&P and ICFR. Such employees should individually and collectively have the necessary knowledge, skills, information and authority to evaluate the DC&P and ICFR for which they have been assigned responsibilities. Nevertheless, certifying officers must retain overall responsibility for the evaluation and resulting MD&A disclosure concerning the issuer’s DC&P and ICFR.
Certifying officers should ensure that the evaluation is performed with the appropriate level of objectivity. Generally, the individuals who evaluate the operating effectiveness of specific controls or procedures should not be the same individuals who perform the specific controls or procedures. See section 7.10 of the Policy for guidance on self-assessments.