In Creating and Implementing Effective Internal Controls, you'll learn...
- How to avoid costly fines by complying with Sarbanes-Oxley 404
- How to reduce the risk of fraud in your accounting cycles
- How to satisfy the three objectives of useful internal controls
- How to monitor the reliability of your financial information
- And much more!
Strong internal controls directly impact the efficient and effective operation of an organization and improve business performance—no one will argue with that in this day and age. If you could use better and faster ways to put into place the internal controls so necessary to your organization’s financial strength and success, this workshop can show you how. When you attend, you’ll arm yourself with a simple and workable system for developing internal controls no matter what size and type organization you have. Find out how quick and easy it is to create a reliable framework that will allow you to identify and evaluate risk, monitor and manage control activities and meet your compliance obligations now and in the future. Enroll today and gain a wealth of tips, checklists and tools to make one of the most sound decisions you can make to protect your company’s financial health.
- The importance of well-defined internal controls—from the mailroom to the boardroom
- A big picture view of what internal controls really are
- Controls—they’re NOT just the auditor’s responsibility
- How COSO, AICPA and SOX define internal controls
- Do your internal controls fulfill the 3 objectives required to be useful?
- What internal controls can—and can’t—do
- 5 components of internal controls and why each is essential
- A close look at each component and how to meet its criteria for effectiveness
- Monitoring your control structure—your safety net for catching problems early on
- Soft or hard controls? Which—surprisingly—are more important to your company in the long term
- How to create a control environment that sets the tone of your organization
- How risk is defined
- Setting objectives—a pre-condition to risk assessment
- Identifying inherent and residual risk
- Why a deep understanding of internal and external sources of risk is critical
- Determining risk likelihood—factors to consider
- Measuring risk’s actual impact on your organization
- Controlled Self-Assessment (CSA): The benefits and barriers
- What you need to know about Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
- Identifying and mitigating high-risk areas in your company
- What exactly is the goal of an operational audit?
- Preventive and detection controls and their unique roles
- The ORCA risk assessment—where understanding and defining risk begins
- What ORCA assesses
- How to improve the quality of your operational audit program
- The components of a solid individual audit program
- How SOX has raised the bar when it comes to internal controls
- The controls demanded by SOX—and why they are vitally important
- Easy ways to simplify compliance with SOX 302 and 404
- The “management assessment of internal controls”—how this section of SOX has sparked a revolution in accounting departments
- Interpreting the PCAOB’s guidance on assessing internal control effectiveness
- Frequently asked questions about SOX 404—and the answers
- Clearing up common misconceptions about internal controls
- Where audits most commonly occur in the accounting cycle
- Why you have to understand how the accounting cycle works
- Where controls break down in accounting—and fraud occurs
- Control categories in accounting
- What you need to know about financial audits in your company
- Testing and evaluating internal controls—do’s and don’ts
- Using control documentation to communicate vital information to management
- Should you automate the testing and evaluation of your internal controls?
- Creating clear and useful reports—practical tips to follow
- Key monitoring activities that will tell you if your controls are working
