An assurance mechanism is used to reflect the effectiveness of the council's internal control environment. The table below details the four levels of assurance provided.
| Level | Definition |
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| Substantial | There is a sound system of internal control designed to achieve the council's objectives. The control processes tested are being consistently applied. |
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| Reasonable | While there is a basically sound system of internal control, there are weaknesses, which put some of the council's objectives at risk. There is evidence that the level of non-compliance with some of the control processes may put some of the council's objectives at risk. |
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| Limited | Weaknesses in the system of internal controls are such as to put the client's objectives at risk. The level of non-compliance puts the council's objectives at risk. |
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| None | Control processes are generally weak leaving the processes / systems open to significant error or abuse. Significant non-compliance with basic control processes leaves the processes / systems open to error or abuse. |
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