Identifying & Implementing the Proper Balance of Internal Controls (Currently Unavailable)

Author: Lynn Fountain

In today’s business world, all personnel must understand the concept of internal control, how they should be utilized in their individual day-to-day jobs and the benefits.

Internal Controls have a strategic purpose. They help maintain a positive control environment while also establishing efficient and effective. They also serve as a mitigation technique for identifying when processes have changed and when procedures need to be adjusted.

The purpose and value of internal controls are often misunderstood and misapplied by management. Internal controls should be viewed as a value-oriented activity that assists the organization in the effective execution of its objectives. Properly designed and executed controls are the key to ensuring this view. Controls should not be relegated to back-end detective controls. They should be pro-active and preventative to assist in manage the complex and ever-changing processes and technology that is part of today’s business world.

This on-demand course explores the types of internal controls, how they can be properly utilized and the cost benefit considerations for implementation.

Publication Date: October 2018

Designed For
Accountants, Finance professionals, CFOs, CEOs, Legal professionals, Compliance professionals, Internal and External Auditors, Operational professionals, Administrative professionals, and Business owners.

Topics Covered

• Explore basic concepts, myths and facts of ICs
• Examine typical control types
• Identify a framework to develop the right balance of controls
• Examine the variances and considerations of automated vs. manual controls
• Automated control risks and failures
• Evaluating Control Functions
• Testing automated controls
• Automating and Testing Impacts
• Evaluate IT Manual Controls
• How to Choose the Proper Control Type
• Manual or Automated?
• Costs vs. Benefit
• Risk Profile

Learning Objectives

• Identify basic concepts, myths and facts of Internal Controls
• Recognize and apply typical control types
• Identify why controls fail
• Identify a framework to develop the right balance of controls
• Differentiate between automated and manual controls and recognize the various testing processes
• Recognize myths regarding internal controls
• Identify examples of a detective control
• Describe the steps for establishing internal controls
• Recognize which component of the COSO framework communicates internal control deficiencies
• Identify risks inherent for automating controls not typically associated with manual controls
• Recognize which type of internal control to implement within an organization
• Describe the types of internal control which provides the strongest assurance
• Describe preventative controls
• Recognize when detective controls typically occur
• Identify who should put corrective controls in place
• Recognize the objective when establishing a system internal controls
• Differentiate testing methods used to combine with another method when evaluating the performance of an internal control
• Recognize how internal controls are exclusively affected by

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Auditing (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None