...Internal Controls Essay Carole Crews Accounting 1010 section 6 Let’s first talk about what “internal control” means. It is a process that helps to protect the assets of a company whether that asset be money, equipment, or merchandise. What are the objectives of internal controls? • Safeguard assets (accounting) such as cash or merchandise from loss or theft • Compliance (administrative) of laws and regulations • Accomplishment of goals (internal) of sales, profits • Reliability and integrity of data (accounting) • Economics (administrative) The two most important are the accounting controls There are five areas of internal control: • Control environment • Risk Assessment • Control activities • Information and communication • Monitoring A system of internal control relies on the people who implement it. Human error, or purposeful collusion and a failure to recognize changing conditions can all lead to a system failure. Examples of internal controls 1. Separation of duties For any asset or any transaction you should separate the following jobs: Custodian…Those who have actual physical or financial control of the asset or transaction. For example anyone allowed to write checks should not have access to the journal books. People who have access to cash should be specifically designated and their number limited. If they have access to cash, the employee should be bonded. Recordkeeper… The person or persons...
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...Asia-Pacific Development Journal Vol. 8, No. 1, June 2001 ISSUES IN TAX REFORMS Azizul Islam* This paper seeks to describe the principles that have guided recent tax reforms in Asian developing countries. It critically examines the purported rationale underlying these reforms and raises some issues connected with these reforms. The paper first discusses the new direction of the perceived role of taxation as a macroeconomic tool and the principles which have formed the basis of recent tax reforms. It then analyses the implications of the application of these principles for the level and structure of taxes. It concludes with a summary of the key issues raised in the paper. Developing countries implemented an array of major economic reforms during the 1980s and the 1990s. Tax reforms formed an integral part of these reforms. The impetus for tax reforms was provided by a number of domestic and external factors (ADB, 1993). The last two decades were marked by a fundamental reassessment in developing countries of the role of the Government in economic development. There was a discernible shift in favour of assigning a greater role to the private sector, including foreign enterprises. This required re-examination of the structure of tax systems. Faced with declining external assistance, many Governments came under pressure to reduce budgetary deficits in the interest of macroeconomic stability. Multilateral development agencies required deficit reduction as a precondition...
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...Famima!! Internal Control When looking for a quick drink or fast meal, it is sometimes very troublesome to have to drive to a market and wait in potentially long checkout lines. This sparked the idea for a smaller store that only carries the most frequently bought items for the customer’s convenience. Nicknamed convenience stores for very obvious reasons, these little establishments exist all over the world and carry just about any little thing you might need at a very local distance. Inventory differs largely based on location and ownership, but these stores will carry everything from water to groceries and even motor oil. In Japan, most convenience stores are smaller and family owned with many of the locals nicknaming them “family marts.” One lucky owner managed to make enough money to open several stores and created a franchinse named Famima!!, a contraction of the family mart nickname. Through smart investing and marketing, he was able to turn his tiny convenience store into a corporation and business. Today Famima!! has extended its reach into the United States and offers an alternative to the well-known and dominant 7-11’s and Circle K’s. The Famima!! stores currently serve the greater Los Angeles area and one of the stores has even appeared in the 2010 movie Inception by Christopher Nolan. Today I will be meeting with Kevin Chan, the Los Angeles District Manager and interviewing him about the internal control policies Famima!! Co. has in place. Name, Title and number...
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...EURIDIS Research Monograph SCHEMATIC EVALUATION OF INTERNAL ACCOUNTING CONTROL SYSTEMS Kuo-Tay Chen* and Ronald M. Lee# * Department of Management Purdue University at Calumet Hammond, IN 46323 U.S.A. chenk@pucal.bitnet # Erasmus University Research Institute for Decision and Information Systems (EURIDIS) Erasmus University Rotterdam The Netherlands rlee@fac.fbk.eur.nl ERASMUS UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR DECISION AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS Schematic Evaluation of Internal Accounting Control Systems by Kuo-Tay Chen and Ronald M. Lee Monograph No. RM-1992-08-1 (August 11, 1992) EURIDIS Research Monograph Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands © Kuo-Tay Chen and Ronald M. Lee Permission to copy this monograph without fee is granted provided that (1) the copies are not distributed for the direct commercial purpose and (2) this copyright page including the copyright notice, the EURIDIS monograph number, and date appear. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND .......................................... 1 1.2 MOTIVATION ............................................. 3 1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY .......................... 4 1.4 ISSUES OF INTEREST .................................. 6 1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY................................. 7 1.6 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE STUDY .................. 8 CHAPTER 2. DECISION AIDS RESEARCH FOR INTERNAL CONTROL EVALUATION .............................................
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...Accounting Information Systems Research Paper Abstract The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was enacted into law in 2002 in the wake of corporation financial reporting scandals involving large publicly held companies. SOX instituted new strict financial regulations with the intent of improving accounting practices and protecting investors from corporate misconduct. SOX requires corporate executives to vouch for the accuracy of financial statements, and to institute and monitor effective internal controls over financial reporting. The cost of implementing an effective internal control structure are onerous, and SOX inflicts opportunity costs upon an enterprise as executives have become more risk adverse due to fears of incrimination. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) was created by SOX to oversee the accounting process and dictate independence requirements for auditors and auditing committees. The PCAOB proposed regulations must be approved by the SEC before they are enacted. Since the passage of SOX, the IT department has become critical in designing and implementing the internal controls in company accounting information systems. The Information Technology Governance Institute (ITGI) created a framework called Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) to provide guidance for companies to implement and monitor IT governance. Accounting Information Systems Research Paper The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 changed the...
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...An Examination of LBJ Distribution Company Internal Controls Infrastructure Pre IPO ACCT 504: Financial Accounting Keller Graduate School of Management Professor Ganesh Pandit Date: February 9, 2014 Pre IPO Examination of LBJ Distribution Company Internal Controls Infrastructure Prepared for: President, LBJ Distribution Company Prepared By: Véron S.A. Lake Company: LLMCO Date: 9 February 2014 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Purpose 4 Legal Requirement of Internal Controls 5 IPO Readiness: Financial Internal Controls 5 IPO Readiness: Recommendations 6 Reliable Monthly Reports 6 Adequate Staffing of Financial Departments 6 Implementation of Audit Infrastructure 6 IPO Readiness: LBJ Internal Control Strengths 7 Pre-numbered Invoices 7 Recommendations: Indelible Ink Machine 7 IPO Readiness: LBJ Internal Control Weaknesses 7 Staffing: Accounting Department 7 Staffing: Human Resource Department 8 Recommendations: Handling Petty Cash 8 Recommendations: IT Department Physical Controls 9 Conclusion 9 Works Cited 10 Introduction A company going public today is different than what it was in the dot com era; this is because the IPO landscape has changed significantly in the last decade (KPMG, 2013). Recently experts has seen compression in the markets, decreasing or shifting mergers and acquisition activity, faltering businesses and more scrutiny on balance sheets and company cash as well as access to capital (KPMG, 2013; Morgan...
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...Accounting in the Bible Abstract: This paper traces several accounting concepts in the Bible. In particular, the Bible discusses the objectives of accounting, internal control procedures and managerial accounting topics. This paper links the Bible to current accounting thought. The beginnings of modern accounting are commonly traced to Pacioli in the 15th century. Actually many of the fundamental ideas that underlie modern accounting may be traced much further back. The Bible, which is generally viewed as covering events between 1800 B.C. and 95 A.D., contains several references, both direct and indirect, to accounting and basic accounting concepts. In particular, it discusses financial accounting, internal control, and management accounting. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Bible’s relationship to accounting thought. Financial Accounting One of the major purposes of accounting is to monitor the per-formance of management. In addition, accounting serves the purpose of insuring that the accounting entity is not defrauded either by its agents or by outsiders. The Bible discusses this in a negative way in 2 Kings 12:16 which says about the building of the Temple: “No accounts were kept with the men to whom the money was paid over to be spent on workmen since they were honest in their dealings.” This is virtually repeated in 2 Kings 22:7. We can infer from this that accounts would have been kept if the contractors were less than honest. Thus the Bible points out...
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...An accounting systemThe personnel, procedures, devices, and records used by an organization to develop accounting information and communicate that information to decision makers. consists of the personnel, procedures, technology, and records used by an organization (1) to develop accounting information and (2) to communicate this information to decision makers. The design and capabilities of these systems vary greatly from one organization to another. In small businesses, accounting systems may consist of little more than a cash register, a checkbook, and an annual trip to an income tax preparer. In large businesses, accounting systems include computers, highly trained personnel, and accounting reports that affect the daily operations of every department. But in every case, the basic purpose of the accounting system remains the same: to meet the organization’s needs for information as efficiently as possible. Many factors affect the structure of the accounting system within a particular organization. Among the most important are (1) the company’s needs for accounting information and (2) the resources available for operation of the system. Describing accounting as an information system focuses attention on the information accounting provides, the users of the information, and the support for financial decisions that is provided by the information. These relationships are depicted in Exhibit 1–2. While some of the terms may not be familiar to you at this early point in your...
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...An Examination of LBJ Distribution Company Internal Controls Infrastructure Pre IPO ACCT 504: Financial Accounting Keller Graduate School of Management Professor Ganesh Pandit Date: February 9, 2014 Pre IPO Examination of LBJ Distribution Company Internal Controls Infrastructure Prepared for: President, LBJ Distribution Company Prepared By: Véron S.A. Lake Company: LLMCO Date: 9 February 2014 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Purpose 4 Legal Requirement of Internal Controls 5 IPO Readiness: Financial Internal Controls 5 IPO Readiness: Recommendations 6 Reliable Monthly Reports 6 Adequate Staffing of Financial Departments 6 Implementation of Audit Infrastructure 6 IPO Readiness: LBJ Internal Control Strengths 7 Pre-numbered Invoices 7 Recommendations: Indelible Ink Machine 7 IPO Readiness: LBJ Internal Control Weaknesses 7 Staffing: Accounting Department 7 Staffing: Human Resource Department 8 Recommendations: Handling Petty Cash 8 Recommendations: IT Department Physical Controls 9 Conclusion 9 Works Cited 10 Introduction A company going public today is different than what it was in the dot com era; this is because the IPO landscape has changed significantly in the last decade (KPMG, 2013). Recently experts has seen compression in the markets, decreasing or shifting mergers and acquisition activity, faltering businesses and more scrutiny on balance sheets and company cash as well as access to capital (KPMG, 2013; Morgan...
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...Internal Controls xxxxxx Accounting 280 April 8, 2012 xxxxxxxx Internal controls ensure that all public companies follow a standard set of rules to operate and report finances in business. It is required by law to monitor the different models of internal controls. According to Renee O'Farrell (2012), "'internal controls' can be defined as actions and procedures by which a company monitors itself". The two primary goals of internal controls are to safeguard assets from theft and unauthorized use, and to enhance the accuracy and reliability of company accounting records to avoid errors and irregularities in the accounting process. The establishment of responsibility, the use of physical, mechanical, and electronic controls, the segregation of duties, and the independent internal verification are internal control principles. Establishing responsibility is necessary to hold all employees responsible for the records reported. If a company successfully reports records inaccurately, the scandals that occurred in the early 2000s could be repeated. By holding employees, management, the board of directors, and auditors responsible, it helps control that documents and records are truthful when reported. This allows the shareholders' of the company to make the best financial decisions with the information given (Internal Control", 2012). The physical control of the company is established as a safeguard for records. This includes physical safeguards and IT Security. Physical...
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...Internal controls are referred to the methods established by a company to safeguard its assets. Internal controls are designed with the idea of achieving a company's objectives, which include the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, that the information presented to financial statement users is reliable, and that the firm is complying with regulations and laws (Bodnar & Hopwood, 2013, p.13). Internal control requires the distribution of responsibilities among employees. It is important for employees to know their task or job function in an entity since they will work harder to control these responsibilities. One example of an internal control placed in a company is the segregation of duties, which implies that the same department or person does not have control upon accounting and financial responsibilities (Bodnar & Hopwood, 2013, p.14). Internal control has an important role in the development of Accounting Information System (AIS) since the success of AIS depends on the effectiveness of the internal controls of a firm. AIS is defined as the transformation of financial and other data, collected by people and equipment, into information. The effectiveness of internal controls assure that the data entered by employees of a company in a computerized system, the techniques used to process information, the methods used to store information, and the information produced are accurate and appropriate Internal controls are designed to monitor and keep the quality of...
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...Accounting is considered as the major helping hand to form a successive management which needs to report and analyse the business transactions. Accounting is a pathway of measuring success through the designing projects as measuring the outcomes of the projects in line with the target goal of the organisations (Elliot, Barry & Elliot, Jamie, 2004). Organisations maintain their financial reports with the help of accounting theories and policies. The international financial reporting standards also help to keep the accounting practice effectively, efficiently, and correctly. The efficient management will be built if the organisation follows the international reporting standards accurately. As a mandatory course unit of myself I need to prove my understanding about the financial systems and auditing through this report. I will gradually demonstrate my understanding on the purpose, use, importance of accounting records, accounting systems, computerised accounting system, manual accounting systems, business risk, audit risk, internal and external control systems, importance of auditing, and planning audit assignment as well as preparing audit report in the body part of my report. Task One Purpose and Use of Different Accounting Records Accounting records represents the management of all source of information in different records books. These records are ledger, journals, bank statements, adjusting journals, statement verification, invoice, brochure, and etc. The purpose and...
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...Accounting Information Systems Research Paper Abstract The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was enacted into law in 2002 in the wake of corporation financial reporting scandals involving large publicly held companies. SOX instituted new strict financial regulations with the intent of improving accounting practices and protecting investors from corporate misconduct. SOX requires corporate executives to vouch for the accuracy of financial statements, and to institute and monitor effective internal controls over financial reporting. The cost of implementing an effective internal control structure are onerous, and SOX inflicts opportunity costs upon an enterprise as executives have become more risk adverse due to fears of incrimination. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) was created by SOX to oversee the accounting process and dictate independence requirements for auditors and auditing committees. The PCAOB proposed regulations must be approved by the SEC before they are enacted. Since the passage of SOX, the IT department has become critical in designing and implementing the internal controls in company accounting information systems. The Information Technology Governance Institute (ITGI) created a framework called Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) to provide guidance for companies to implement and monitor IT governance. Accounting Information Systems Research Paper The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 changed the...
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...Executive Officer (CEO), Michael J. Koss, the founder’s son, and his family directly or indirectly own in excess of 70 percent of the company’s 851,000 shares. A $34 million embezzlement of cash from the Koss Corp. occurred over a 12 year period from 1997 through December 2009. June 30, 2009 10-K Report Excerpts The Koss Corp. received an unqualified opinion on its financial statements as of June 30, 2009 and 2008 (as well as in prior years) by a Big Five auditing firm. However, in accordance with SOX, the audit firm was not required to have, nor was it engaged to perform an audit of Koss’s internal control over financial reporting. The audit did include consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that were appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of Koss’s internal control over financial reporting. The following excerpts are...
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...CONTROL AND AIS (Version 1 – Brief, just for the exam) Overview of Control Concepts * Internal Control - plan of organization and the methods a business uses to safeguard assets, provide accurate and reliable information, promote and improve operational efficiency and encourage adherence to prescribed management procedures. * Management Control - broader than internal control 1. Integral part of management responsibilities. 2. Is designed to reduce errors and irregularities and achieve goals 3. Is personnel oriented and seeks to help employees attain company goals by following policies. * Administrative Controls - help ensure operational efficiency and adherence to managerial policies. * Accounting controls - safeguard assets and ensure the reliability of accounting records. * Internal control structure - policies and procedures established to provide reasonable assurance that the organization's specific objectives will be achieved. 1. Control environment 2. Accounting system 3. Control procedures * Internal control classifications 1. Preventive, detective, corrective 2. Feedback, feedforward 3. General, application 4. Input, processing and output COSO - Committee of Sponsoring Organizations * Internal control - process implemented by management, the BOD, and those under their direction to provide reasonable assurance that control objectives are achieved with regard to: ...
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