Internal Controls
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Whether you are a public or private company, a strong internal control environment is essential for the well-being of your business. Internal controls should be embedded into your day-to-day activities to ensure reliable financial reporting, safeguarding of your assets (protection from fraud, theft, etc.), and staying compliant with regulations. For many, internal controls is a daunting task in an unfamiliar landscape, so where do you begin? Let DBS help!
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The partners at DBS have an extensive background with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and internal controls for public and private companies.
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Public Companies
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How is the health of your internal control framework? When was the last time you performed an internal control check up? Has your company experienced a significant deficiency or material weakness in your internal controls over financial reporting? Do you have the right type of controls in place (i.e., preventative vs. detective, manual vs. automated, segregation of duties)? Are the controls operating effectively?
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Our partners have helped several public companies assess their internal control framework and have identified several opportunities for improvement as well as control gaps. We recently worked with a public company to assess their internal controls environment, risk ranked their business, scoped their financial statements, performed departmental and process owner walkthroughs, created "swim lane" Visio process maps and overlaid those process maps with the appropriate key controls. Our efforts resulted in a more effective and efficient control environment with a 35% reduction of key controls. The results were reviewed with the external auditors and management and ultimately presented to the audit committee.
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Let DBS help you with your Sarbanes-Oxley needs, from testing to control assessment and development.
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Private Companies
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Just because you don't have the weight of the Sarbanes-Oxley law on your shoulders, your company should still have a strong internal control environment. In reality, the lack of scrutiny by governmental regulations may have resulted in a more lax control environment in private companies. A poor internal control environment is likely one of the greatest risks your company faces. This could result in significant financial, operational and compliance issues.
The consequences range from theft of assets, fines, misreported revenues, unnecessary purchases, etc. These risks can be mitigated by developing a strong set of controls, such as entity level controls (codes of conduct, ethics hotlines, risk management committees), transactional controls, proper segregations of duties, and general computer controls.
Don't let a costly, unnecessary event occur that could have been prevented by a simple controlled process. Contact DBS today!