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.

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. These manuals are favorites for organizations and companies that need a foundation and grounding to ensure an internal control posture of integrity, credibility, method, process and process: or a reminder of its importance. URLs were included when first published to encourage the dissemination and distribution of relevant chapters to those interested and in charge of the specific departments. Although times have changed, the principles professed are sound and solid for today’s accounting and business environment. Implementing these cornerstones will produce a principled manageable approach. These manuals can be used by accounting individuals, finance departments, sole proprietor businesses, large corporations, accounting / auditing students and any others interested in specific topics or general disciplines. The discipline for the oversight processes and procedures are important when introducing or implementing auditing practices whether in accounting or throughout the organization. These manuals should be used together to provide the basics when setting up a department or specific process discipline, for learning about the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities within the specific focus areas.

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.

Essential guidance on the revised COSO internal controls framework Need the latest on the new, revised COSO internal controls framework? Executive's Guide to COSO Internal Controls provides a step-by-step plan for installing and implementing effective internal controls with an emphasis on building improved IT as well as other internal controls and integrating better risk management processes. The COSO internal controls framework forms the basis for establishing Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and internal controls specialist Robert Moeller looks at topics including the importance of effective systems on internal controls in today's enterprises, the new COSO framework for effective enterprise internal controls, and what has changed since the 1990s internal controls framework. Written by Robert Moeller, an authority in internal controls and IT governance Practical, no-nonsense coverage of all three dimensions of the new COSO framework Helps you change systems and processes when implementing the new COSO internal controls framework Includes information on how ISO internal control and risk management standards as well as COBIT can be used with COSO internal controls Other titles by Robert Moeller: IT Audit, Control, and Security, Executives Guide to IT Governance Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, every corporation has to assert that their internal controls are adequate and public accounting firms certifying those internal controls are attesting to the adequacy of those same internal controls, based on the COSO internal controls framework. Executive's Guide to COSO Internal Controls thoroughly considers improved risk management processes as part of the new COSO framework; the importance of IT systems and processes; and risk management techniques.

Get practical tools and guidance for financial controllership you can put to immediate use The Controller’s Toolkit delivers a one-of-a-kind collection of templates, checklists, review sheets, internal controls, policies, and procedures that will form a solid foundation for any new or established financial controller. You’ll get the tools and information you need to master areas like business ethics, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, risk management, security, IT processes, and financial operations. All of the tools contained in this indispensable book were recommended by corporate and business unit controllers from small to medium-sized companies and large, multinational firms. You will benefit from master-level guidance in areas like: Ethics, Codes of Conduct, and the “Tone at the Top” to support ethical behavior The operational and financial aspects of corporate governance The importance of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission Framework The requirement for entity-level controls The importance of linking the business plan with the budget process The Controller’s Toolkit also belongs on the bookshelves of finance and accounting students, executives, and managers who wish to know more about the often-complex world of financial controls.

Ease the transition to the new COSO framework with practical strategy Internal Control Audit and Compliance provides complete guidance toward the latest framework established by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO). With clear explanations and expert advice on implementation, this helpful guide shows auditors and accounting managers how to document and test internal controls over financial reporting with detailed sections covering each element of the framework. Each section highlights the latest changes and new points of emphasis, with explicit definitions of internal controls and how they should be assessed and tested. Coverage includes easing the transition from older guidelines, with step-by-step instructions for implementing the new changes. The new framework identifies seventeen new principles, each of which are explained in detail to help readers understand the new and emerging best practices for efficiency and effectiveness. The revised COSO framework includes financial and non-financial reporting, as well as both internal and external reporting objectives. It is essential for auditors and controllers to understand the new framework and how to document and test under the new guidance. This book clarifies complex codification and provides an effective strategy for a more rapid transition. Understand the new COSO internal controls framework Document and test internal controls to strengthen business processes Learn how requirements differ for public and non-public companies Incorporate improved risk management into the new framework The new framework is COSO's first complete revision since the release of the initial framework in 1992. Companies have become accustomed to the old guidelines, and the necessary procedures have become routine – making the transition to align with the new framework akin to steering an ocean liner. Internal Control Audit and Compliance helps ease that transition, with clear explanation and practical implementation guidance.

Now updated and fully revised, The Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Implementation Toolkit, Second Edition helps large or small companies continue to meet the complex internal control reporting requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley. Brimming with a wealth of forms and checklists, the new edition helps you get up to speed quickly with SOX 404 requirements and makes the compliance process repeatable, more efficient, and more effective.

The tools and information that build effective compliance programs Enterprise Compliance Risk Management: An Essential Toolkit for Banks and Financial Services is a comprehensive narrative on managing compliance and compliance risk that enables value creation for financial services firms. Compliance risk management, a young, evolving yet intricate discipline, is occupying center stage owing to the interplay between the ever increasing complexity of financial services and the environmental effort to rein it in. The book examines the various facets of this layered and nuanced subject. Enterprise Compliance Risk Management elevates the context of compliance from its current reactive stance to how a proactive strategy can create a clear differentiator in a largely undifferentiated market and become a powerful competitive weapon for organizations. It presents a strong case as to why it makes immense business sense to weave active compliance into business model and strategy through an objective view of the cost benefit analysis. Written from a real-world perspective, the book moves the conversation from mere evangelizing to the operationalizing a positive and active compliance management program in financial services. The book is relevant to the different stakeholders of the compliance universe - financial services firms, regulators, industry bodies, consultants, customers and compliance professionals owing to its coverage of the varied aspects of compliance. Enterprise Compliance Risk Management includes a direct examination of compliance risk, including identification, measurement, mitigation, monitoring, remediation, and regulatory dialogue. With unique hands-on tools including processes, templates, checklists, models, formats and scorecards, the book provides the essential toolkit required by the practitioners to jumpstart their compliance initiatives. Financial services professionals seeking a handle on this vital and growing discipline can find the information they need in Enterprise Compliance Risk Management. Enterprise Compliance Risk Management: An Essential Toolkit for Banks and Financial Services is a comprehensive narrative on managing compliance and compliance risk that enables value creation for financial services firms. Compliance risk management, a young, evolving yet intricate discipline, is occupying center stage owing to the interplay between the ever increasing complexity of financial services and the environmental effort to rein it in. The book examines the various facets of this layered and nuanced subject. Enterprise Compliance Risk Management elevates the context of compliance from its current reactive stance to how a proactive strategy can create a clear differentiator in a largely undifferentiated market and become a powerful competitive weapon for organizations. It presents a strong case as to why it makes immense business sense to weave active compliance into business model and strategy through an objective view of the cost benefit analysis. Written from a real-world perspective, the book moves the conversation from mere evangelizing to the operationalizing a positive and active compliance management program in financial services. The book is relevant to the different stakeholders of the compliance universe - financial services firms, regulators, industry bodies, consultants, customers and compliance professionals owing to its coverage of the varied aspects of compliance. Enterprise Compliance Risk Management includes a direct examination of compliance risk, including identification, measurement, mitigation, monitoring, remediation, and regulatory dialogue. With unique hands-on tools including processes, templates, checklists, models, formats and scorecards, the book provides the essential toolkit required by the practitioners to jumpstart their compliance initiatives. Financial services professionals seeking a handle on this vital and growing discipline can find the information they need in Enterprise Compliance Risk Management.

Designed specifically for Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance, How to Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 features: A step-by-step approach to engagement performance Original material from a leading expert in auditing and accounting Practice aids, including forms, checklists, illustrations, diagrams, and tables In-depth explanations to help professionals understand how best to approach the internal control engagement Examples and action plans providing blueprints for implementing requirements of the Act Order your copy today!

The tools to manage ongoing Sarbanes-Oxley compliance In The Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Implementation Toolkit, author and consultant Michael Ramos provides a detailed road map to help companies not only streamline their compliance process, but also make the process manageable and repeatable year after year. The first book to provide detailed implementation practice aids for Sarbanes-Oxley 404 compliance, The Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Implementation Toolkit is packed with work programs, audit checklists, and examples that readers can tailor to meet their own unique needs. Featuring a useful CD-ROM that contains all of the tools from the book, this timely workbook includes best practices that will benefit anyone who participates in the planning or performance of the effectiveness of internal control. A must-read for all CFOs, internal auditors, CPA firms, and independent auditors involved in the compliance process, The Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Implementation Toolkit embraces the common approaches and methodologies that have proven successful in the new world of Sarbanes-Oxley internal control testing and reporting.