SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES The December 31, 2012 Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS. For a discussion of  all significant accounting policies, refer to Note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Included in the  Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements is Note 3 which provides a discussion regarding the recoverable amount  of CI’s goodwill and intangible assets compared to its carrying value.  CI carries significant goodwill and intangible assets on its balance sheet. CI uses valuation models that use estimates of  future market returns and sales and redemptions of investment products as the primary determinants of fair value. CI also  uses a valuation approach based on a multiple of assets under management and assets under administration for each of  CI’s operating segments. The multiple used by CI reflects recent transactions and research reports by independent equity  research analysts. CI has renewed these key variables in light of the current economic climate. Estimates of sales and  redemptions are very likely to change as economic conditions either improve or deteriorate, whereas estimates of future  market returns are less likely to do so. The models are most sensitive to current levels of assets under management and  administration as well as estimates of future market returns. While these balances are not currently impaired, a decline  of 20% in the fair value of certain models may result in an impairment of goodwill or other intangibles recorded on the  statement of fi nancial position. The Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), together with management, are responsible for  the design of CI’s disclosure controls and procedures. Management has evaluated, with participation of the CEO and CFO, the  effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures as at December 31, 2012. Based on this evaluation, the CEO and CFO  have concluded that they are reasonably assured these Disclosure Controls and Procedures were effective and that material  information relating to CI was made known to them within the time periods specified under applicable securities legislation.  Management, under the supervision of the CEO and CFO, is responsible for the design and maintenance of adequate  internal controls over financial reporting for the purposes of providing reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of  fi nancial reporting and the preparation of fi nancial statements for external purposes in accordance with IFRS. However, due  to its inherent limitations, internal controls over financial reporting can only provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance  that the financial statements are free of misstatements. The COSO framework was used to assist management, along with  the CEO and CFO, in the evaluation of these internal control systems. Management, under the direction of the CEO and  CFO, have concluded that the internal controls over financial reporting are effective. Management used various tools to  evaluate internal controls over financial reporting which included interaction with key control systems, review of policy and  procedure documentation, observation or reperformance of control procedures to evaluate the effectiveness of controls  and concluded that these controls are effective. For the year ended December 31, 2012, there have been no changes to the  internal controls over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to affect, internal controls  over fi nancial reporting. DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING 45 Additional information relating to CI, including the most recent audited financial statements, management information circular and  annual information form are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.