Internal Controls And The Implementation Of Sox

Internal controls are the measures a company takes to do accomplish two primary goals; protect their assets from employee theft, robbery and unauthorized use. Internal controls are also used to increase accuracy of company financial information, reducing the risk of errors (accidental) and irregularities (intentional) (Weygandt, 2009).

According to the Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Act, it is the responsibility of the management to establish and maintain internal controls required for financial reporting. The company’s latest year assessment of

There are many rules companies must follow whenever documenting financial information or any other data which is gather during any business transactions. In order for said companies to report financial information internal controls have to be put in place as companies have to adhere to certain laws and regulations. Internal controls can be defined as a process which companies follow in order to ensure all financial reporting is done in a reliable and lawful manner. Some think of it as a system which works within a system as it plays a major role on the success of a company’s accounting system. At the organizational level, internal control objectives relate to the reliability of financial

SOX mandated an evaluation of the effectiveness of a company’s internal controls by both management and the company’s external auditor and formal written opinions about the effectiveness of those controls. In doing this evaluation, managers and auditors are required to examine a broad range of internal controls over financial reporting. The existence of a single material weakness requires managers and auditors to conclude that the company’s internal controls are not effective. SOX has had positive effects on both the quality of financial reporting and the quality of firm’s MCS. With SOX, the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures are improved. Also the federal government continues to refine SOX

Internal controls represent an organization’s processes and procedures used to meet its goals and objectives and serve as a defense in safeguarding assets and preventing and detecting errors, fraud, and abuse. Effective internal controls provide reasonable assurance that an organization’s objectives are achieved through (1) reliable financial reporting, (2) compliance with laws and regulations, and (3) effective and efficient operations. The passing of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as the numerous corporate frauds and bankruptcies over the past decade—including some

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) defines internal control as a process, effected by and entity’s board of directors, management and other personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability or financial reporting, the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. (Louwers, Ramsay, Sinason, Strawser, & Thibodeau, 2015). Internal Control helps entities achieve important objectives and sustain and impose performance. A properly

Internal Controls are to be an integral part of any organization's financial and business policies and procedures. Internal controls consists of all the measures taken by the organization for the purpose of; (1) protecting its resources against waste, fraud, and inefficiency; (2) ensuring accuracy and reliability in accounting and operating data; (3) securing compliance with the policies of the organization; and (4) evaluating the level of performance in all organizational units of the organization. Internal controls are simply good business practices (Strauss, 2003). And, since internal controls can have many more meanings in the world of accounting, the more we understand what were dealing with, the better we can analyze internal

There are five components that are used to break down internal control. The first is control environment which is at the top such as the managers and CEO’s of companies

Internal controls are the methods used in businesses to examine the assets, minimize errors, prevent fraud , and to assure management policies enacted. accounting controls also provide a safeguard for the company assets by accurate financial records. The internal controls are intended to provide certified transactions that are recorded in the financial statement preparations.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002, aims to combat fraud, improve the reliability of financial reporting and restores investor confidence. Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley emphasize the management’s responsibility in maintaining a sound internal-control structure of financial reporting and assessing its own effectiveness. While the auditors’ responsibility is to attest to the soundness of management’s assessment and to report on the state of the overall financial control system. Although it has been a question by most executives, however, some approached the new law with gratitude. As SOX went into effect, more executives had realized the need for internal reforms; they were startled by the weaknesses and gaps of their internal control that compliance reviews and assessments had exposed.

     The second standard requires public accounting firms to audit internal controls in conjunction with an audit of financial statements. The second standard requires public accounting firms to attest that the internal controls documented and set forth by the company audited are sufficient to ensure the integrity of the financial statements (Griggs). This second standard is a real breakthrough in ensuring the financial statements of a company are sound. It is impossible for a public accounting firm to audit every detail of large multi-national company. Strong internal controls reduce the risk of material misstatements to a company’s financials caused by negligence or fraud. Maintaining internal controls is no longer enough. Companies must now analyze and document their internal processes (Calabro). When a public accounting firm issues an unqualified opinion on the internal controls of a company, which will be required starting November 15, they are stating that the internal checks set forth adequately protect the assets of a company from negligence or fraud.

Internal controls are measures put into place that allow for more accurate and deliberate representation of a company’s financial data. Internal controls also serve to protect a company’s assets from theft, fraud or misuse. With internal controls in place it becomes more visible to recognize if someone is stealing or misusing funds in any way. Internal controls also help to zoom in on errors or unintentional mistakes. When these errors are picked up on early it eliminates future problems for the company and its investors down the road.

The final responsibility for the integrity of an SEC registrant’s internal controls lies on the management team. U.S. companies need to refer to a comprehensive framework of internal control when assessing the quality of financial reporting to determine that financial statements are being presented under General Accepted Accounting Principles, GAAP. The widely used framework is referred as COSO, Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, sponsored by the following organizations American Accounting Association, the American Institute of CPA’s, Financial Executives International, the Institute of Internal Auditors, and the Institute of Management Accountants. COSO’s defines internal control as:

The framework describes internal control as a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following categories:

Effective internal controls protect a company’s assets, maintain compliance, improve operations, prevent fraud, and promote accuracy in financial reporting. In 1992 the