Internal Control and COSO Essentials for Financial Managers, Accountants and Auditors

Understanding controls to detect and prevent errors and fraud

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, many managers, supervisors, and accountants across organizations struggle to identify their departmental policies and procedures that serve as the primary controls against errors and fraud.

These controls are an integral part of an entity’s risk assessment and are applicable to auditors and non-auditors alike.

You’ll learn critical guidance to stay up-to-date with the latest practices for identifying gaps or control deficiencies that could lead to errors or fraud.

Grasping management and auditor’s responsibilities surrounding key areas of controls

Auditors in the field often grapple with interpreting and evaluating management's documentation of accounting processes and controls, revealing a fundamental disconnect between the understanding of their respective duties.

You’ll distinguish between management responsibilities and auditor responsibilities as you examine who is responsible for the following:

• Establishing and maintaining controls
• Risk assessment
• Documentation of processes and controls
• Detection and prevention of fraud

Essential elements of controls explained

You’ll delve into key considerations related to controls, including:

• COSO guidance on internal control components and principles
• Basic tools used to document processes and controls
• Ways to identify risks of errors and fraud
• Ways to evaluate the presence (or absence) of related controls

Who Will Benefit

Financial statement auditors and entity management involved in financial statement audits

Key Topics

• Components and principles of the system of internal control
• Concepts associated with the COSO framework
• Management responsibilities vs. auditor responsibilities
• Significant accounting processes
• Tools and techniques used for internal control documentation

Learning Outcomes

• Recall factors that an auditor should consider when obtaining an understanding of the entity and its environment, including the system of internal control.
• Identify keys to success in designing a control environment with strong controls.
• Recall internal control objectives, components, and principles.
• Identify tools that can assist in the documentation of the system of internal control.
• Identify ways to obtain efficiencies and effectiveness in internal control in various types of smaller entities.