Accrual Accounting

The method of recording transactions by which revenues and expenses are reflected for the period in which they are considered to have been earned and incurred.

Anticipated Results

Clear and concrete statements of what the CCRA expects to achieve over the planning period, against which our performance will be assessed and reported.

Assisted Compliance

Assistance provided to help clients accurately and completely fulfil their obligations and receive their entitlements under tax, trade, and border laws.

Balanced Scorecard (BSC)

A strategic management tool that helps an organization align and focus management efforts on achieving its strategies and objectives. It provides managers with a consolidated view of performance for use as a basis for planning, monitoring, routine course corrections, and reporting.

Caller Accessibility

A measure of the percentage of unique callers who reach our telephone service.

Cancellation

The reversal of a penalty or interest that has already been assessed.

Corporate Business Plan

Outlines the CCRA's major challenges, directions, and objectives for a three-year period; the strategies to achieve those objectives; and the performance measures to be used to measure progress.

Dispute

General term to designate a dispute, objection, or appeal to the Minister made by or on behalf of a client, related to a CCRA decision.

Dispute Resolution Process

The process by which clients who believe they have been treated unfairly seek redress through the Appeals business line.

Effectiveness

The extent to which an organization or program's actual results align with the anticipated results.

Efficiency

The extent to which an organization or program achieves its desired or anticipated results with the least possible investment of time, effort, and money.

Eligible

Meets the requirements of the legislation in order to receive a benefit.

Enforcement

Actions taken by the CCRA to identify cases of wilful or unintentional non-compliance and to take corrective action.

Entitled

Qualifies for a specific payment for a specific period.

Entitlement

The amount due to an entitled person for a specific period.

Facilities Management

The ongoing day-to-day management of the Agency's Real Property portfolio.

Facilitated Compliance

Assistance provided to clients to help them understand their entitlements and obligations and to facilitate voluntary compliance with tax, trade, and border laws.

Fairness Provisions

Legislation introduced in the early 1990s that provides relief (e.g., forgiveness of interest and penalties) to clients in certain circumstances beyond their control.

Fiscal Impact

Total fiscal impact includes federal and provincial tax (participating provinces only), federal tax refund offset or reduced, interest and penalties, and present value of future tax assessable.

Governance

A comprehensive term that denotes the institutions and processes by which people are governed. It is the exercise of authority, control, management, and power in government.

Hit Rate

The ratio of Customs enforcement actions to examinations.

Indicator

A detailed quantitative and qualitative descriptor of results.

Interactive Information Service

An on-line question-and-answer tree that provides tailored responses to questions from clients on popular topics.

Expected Outcome

The CCRA has identified six intermediate-level expected outcomes that have a clear impact on Canadians. Individually or in aggregate, the results of the expected outcomes provide a measure of our success in achieving our strategic outcomes. Each of our business lines contributes to one or more of these outcomes.

Mission

A statement providing the social, political, and economic justification for our existence. The CCRA's mission statement reflects our identity, purpose, and desired response to key stakeholders, our philosophy and core values, and our ethical standards.

Modern Comptrollership

A management reform that focuses on the sound management of resources and effective decision-making by providing managers with integrated financial and non-financial information, a sound approach to risk management, appropriate control systems, and a shared set of values and ethics.

Modified Cash Accounting

A modification of the cash basis of recording expenses and revenues, that includes payables or receivables at year-end—even though cash may not have been exchanged.

Non-workable File

A file for which a court decision on it or a related file is pending, the file is awaiting an opinion from a headquarters Appeals office, or (with respect to CPP/EI and tax issues) the file has been referred to a specialized CPP/EI group of Appeals for an opinion.

Output

The actual activities, products, or services produced by carrying out a program or an initiative.

Performance

How well an organization, program, etc., is achieving its planned results measured against anticipated results.

Performance Drivers

Performance drivers are the key external or internal factors or events that have an impact on the CCRA's ability to meet its performance expectations.

Performance Measure

A performance measure describes how well an organization is doing in terms of meeting its goals and objectives. The common types of measures include: effectiveness measures—extent to which an organization is achieving the outcome (doing the right thing); efficiency measures—the proposed ratio of relevant outputs to relevant inputs (doing things right); client service—the degree to which the needs and expectations of the recipients of the service are satisfied with the level and quality of service received; and timeliness—the extent to which the work is done on time.

Performance Reporting

The process of communicating evidence-based performance information.

Remittance Compliance

The voluntary and timely payment of all taxes that have been reported.

Revenue Credited to the Vote

Operating expenditures recovered by charging other government departments and agencies for goods and services provided.

Risk

The uncertainty that surrounds future events and outcomes. It is the expression of the likelihood and impact of an event with the potential to influence the achievement of an organization's objectives.

Risk Management

A systematic approach to setting the best course of action under uncertainty by identifying, assessing, understanding, acting on, and communicating risk issues.

Service Standards

A public statement about the level of performance the CCRA is committed to and that citizens can reasonably expect to encounter.

Strategic Outcomes

The long-term and enduring benefits to Canadians that can be derived from an organization's vision and efforts. These outcomes describe the difference an organization is mandated to make. In most cases, these outcomes will require the combined resources and sustained effort of many partners over a long period of time.

Tax Base (protecting the)

The tax base represents the broad range of goods and services, income, etc. that is subject to tax. Protecting the tax base refers to the mix of activities undertaken by a tax administration to minimize real or potential leakage through reviews, audits, and investigations, among other activities.

Tax on Income (TONI)

The method by which provinces and territories define the tax rate schedules that they will apply directly to taxable income.

Tax Year

The annual period for which taxes are reported; for most individuals, this would be the preceding calendar year.

Values

The guiding principles that define an organization's corporate culture and reflect its managerial philosophy. The CCRA is guided by the following values: integrity, professionalism, respect, and co-operation.

Vision

The vision is usually a future-oriented goal for the organization. It reflects the high ideals and challenging ambitions, and captures the organization's uniqueness and distinctive competence.

Voluntary Disclosure Program

Provides clients with the opportunity to correct any past errors or omissions, and to report without penalty to the CCRA on their tax, duty, and tariff obligations.

Waiver

When penalties or interest have not yet been charged, a decision is made not to charge the amount, either at the client's request or on the CCRA's own initiative.

Write-offs

Uncollectable taxes that are deleted from active inventory of accounts receivable after the CCRA has taken all reasonable collection action and exhausted all possible means of collection.