The actual responsibilities of each person must be established. A generic shared description can obscure whether either individual’s primary work qualifies.
Explain the genuine allocation of authority
Identify who makes which decisions and who performs operations. Do not assign the same work wholly to both applicants merely to make each role appear senior.
The regulation asks whether the employee primarily manages the organization or a department, supervises and controls the work of other supervisory or professional employees or manages an essential function, has authority over hiring and firing, and exercises discretion over day-to-day operations. The maximum periods are cumulative within the same maximum-stay period, so a person who spent two years in the group's American operation in a specialised knowledge role has used part of the allowance unless a qualifying immediate prior year abroad makes a new period available. An affiliate relationship depends on the same person or entity owning and controlling both companies, so a venture split evenly with an unrelated American family usually fails unless a shareholders agreement or other instrument gives the Canadian side actual control. Personnel management rests on supervising and controlling professional or supervisory staff; function management rests on managing an essential function at a senior level, which can fit a family business where the person owns purchasing, credit or service delivery without a large team beneath them.