Internal Controls

Step-by-step guidance on creating internal controls to manage risk Internal control is a process for assuring achievement of an organization's objectives in operational effectiveness and efficiency, reliable financial reporting, and compliance with laws, regulations, and policies. This is a "toolkit" approach that addresses a practical need for a series of standards of internal controls that can be used to mitigate risk within any size organization. Inadequate internal controls can cause a myriad of problems that adversely affect its ability to provide reliable, timely, and useful financial and managerial data needed to support operating, budgeting, and policy decisions. Reliable data is necessary to make sound business decisions. • Toolkit approach with detailed controls and risks outlined for key business processes • Foundational for SOX 404 initiatives • Key material to improve internal control efforts • Guidance during M&A projects Poor controls over data quality can cause financial data to be unreliable, incomplete, and inaccurate—this book helps you control that quality and manage risk.

Policymakers and program managers are continually seeking ways to improve accountability in achieving an entity's mission. A key factor in improving accountability in achieving an entity's mission is to implement an effective internal control system. An effective internal control system helps an entity adapt to shifting environments, evolving demands, changing risks, and new priorities. As programs change and entities strive to improve operational processes and implement new technology, management continually evaluates its internal control system so that it is effective and updated when necessary. Section 3512 (c) and (d) of Title 31 of the United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Managers? Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA)) requires the Comptroller General to issue standards for internal control in the federal government.

Drawing on her many years as a consultant to numerous companies big and small, author Rose Hightower infuses Internal Controls Policies and Procedures with her wealth of experience and knowledge. Instead of reinventing the wheel, your company can use this useful how-to manual to quickly and effectively put a successful program of internal controls in place. Complete with flowcharts and checklists, this essential desktop reference is a best practices model for establishing and enhancing your organization's control framework.

Many people in organizations resent internal control and risk management; these two processes representing unwelcome tasks to be completed for the benefit of auditors and regulators. Over the last few years this perception has been heightened by the disastrous implementation of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which is generally regarded as having been too expensive for the benefits it has brought. This important book offers a way of improving this prevailing perception and increasing the value of control and risk management by bringing creativity and design skills to the fore. The value of risk and control activities is often limited by the value of the control ideas available and so Matthew Leitch provides an arsenal of 60 high performance control mechanisms. These include several alternative ways to design controls and control systems, as well as providing controls for monitoring and audit, controls for accelerated learning, and techniques for finding and recovering cash. This design material is combined with insights into the psychology of risk control, strategies for encouraging helpful behaviour and enabling change, and a surprisingly simple integration of internal control with risk management. The book is realistic, practical, original, and easier reading than most in the field. The material is not specific to any one country and has international appeal for internal auditors and all those concerned with risk management, corporate governance and security.

The concept of internal control has developed along with audit practice. As demands have been made for greater accountability in corporate governance, the significance of internal control systems in companies has increased. Traditionally internal control has had a fairly direct relationship to financial reporting quality but wider approaches to internal control have expanded those boundaries much further. Stakeholders are increasingly concerned with the effectiveness of internal controls, and disclosure requirements are making firms to go public with regard to their internal control systems. From a design perspective, current research suggests that internal control designs are contingent upon variables such as company strategies, risk appetite, regulatory characteristics, and organizational size. Also there is much to learn about internal control quality, and the way internal control quality is associated with overall corporate governance quality. This book fills that gap.

With globalisation, deregulation and the advent of derivatives, credit institutions and the treasury operations of manufacturing, merchandising and service companies are finding that their traditional tools for management control no longer suffice. They must develop more efficient processes able to measure and monitor their risks in real-time. Internal control is a dynamic system covering all types of risk, addressing fraud, assuring transparency and making possible reliable financial reporting within such organisations. In Implementing and Auditing the Internal Control System , Dimitris N. Chorafas defines both auditing and internal control, and explains the value of internal control, why it must be audited, and how it can be most effectively achieved. He addresses top management's accountability for internal control, and uses case studies to demonstrate the application of such systems, and the importance of sound and well-informed analysis of the information gathered. Internal control systems are examined within the context of the globalization of financial markets, under the impact of the growth of information technology, and from the viewpoint of new regulations by supervisory authorities in Group of Ten countries as well as by the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision. Based on an extensive research project in the UK, US, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden, this book is an invaluable source of practical advice for implementing internal control systems, and making existing systems more efficient. It provides managers and professionals with guidelines for the interpretation and use of the resulting internal control intelligence.

Sarbanes-Oxley Internal Controls: Effective Auditing with AS5, CobiT, and ITIL is essential reading for professionals facing the obstacle of improving internal controls in their businesses. This timely resource provides at-your-fingertips critical compliance and internal audit best practices for today's world of SOx internal controls. Detailed and practical, this introductory handbook will help you to revitalize your business and drive greater performance.

Drawing on her many years as a consultant to numerous companies big and small, author Rose Hightower infuses Internal Controls Policies and Procedures with her wealth of experience and knowledge. Instead of reinventing the wheel, your company can use this useful how-to manual to quickly and effectively put a successful program of internal controls in place. Complete with flowcharts and checklists, this essential desktop reference is a best practices model for establishing and enhancing your organization's control framework.