In response to the corporate financial scandals of the beginning of this century, regulatory authorities in many countries brought in requirements for stricter monitoring of key controls over the integrity of financial reporting. Regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and Circular A-123 from the Office of Management and Budget (A-123) in the United States, together with similar requirements in countries such as Canada, the UK, Germany, France and Japan, resulted in affected commercial organizations and federal agencies spending substantial amounts in order to achieve compliance.
At the same time, some private companies to whom SOX does not apply are increasingly looking to improve processes for Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting (ICFR) for a variety of reasons, including reduced external audit fees, greater assurance over the reliability of financial statements, or in preparation for an IPO or acquisition.
Although the initial efforts to meet the standards for ICFR have slowly reduced for most organizations, many are still feeling a financial burden of the total costs associated with ongoing management of ICFR programs. The overall result is that many organizations are putting great effort into ICFR, but often not in the most efficient way.
Many organizations are still relying extensively on spreadsheets and general purpose tools to try to manage all aspects of ICFR processes. This is where the use of appropriate technology can be a big differentiator in reducing overall cost and effort. For many, it makes sense to work on improvements in ICFR compliance processes alongside changes to other related processes for risk management, internal audit and regulatory compliance. There are often opportunities to rethink the ways things have ended up working in the past and move ahead with approaches that are more integrated, collaborative and less duplicative.
In this 26-page eGuide, we’ll look at how you can use technology to improve processes and seriously reduce the financial and resource burden of ICFR. Download the eGuide now!