COSO Integrated Guidance: Effective Internal Control for Successful Corporate Management

Why Should You Attend:

All individuals involved in oversight, management, monitoring and auditing processes within an organization will need to heighten their awareness of basic controls and their link to corporate strategies and regulatory and business requirements.

This webinar will explore methods to educate management on their individual responsibilities for control processes and the variance between a control malfunction and control design issues. Attendees will be provided with talking points and tools to help management better understand the term “internal control” and ensure they not only understand the attestations they are making but also effectively execute on their obligations. The program will also review the impending COSO changes and examine how they may impact your organization.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• The reason internal control has become a strategic focus for companies
• Overview of the impending new COSO framework release and its impact on companies
• Methods to educate management on responsibilities for control processes and understanding the term “internal control”
• Evaluating implications when management does not pay attention to internal controls
• Key monitoring methods for management to utilize when evaluating internal controls
• Review of the standardized SOX 302 and 404 sign-off processes and considerations for enhancement

Who Will Benefit:

• Board Members
• Management
• Risk and Legal Professionals
• Internal Auditors
• Compliance Professionals
• Process Improvement Professionals

Lynn Fountain
Former Chief Audit Executive, Aquila

Lynn Fountain has over 30 years of experience in public and industry accounting and over 20 years within internal and external auditing. She is a nationally recognized trainer and speaker and also a published author. She is a subject matter expert and specializes in internal audit, Sarbanes-Oxley, enterprise risk management, fraud, governance and compliance. Ms. Fountain has held two chief audit executive positions for international companies. She has also been instrumental in the establishment of ERM, Sarbanes-Oxley and governance frameworks.

She has developed and delivered leading edge training sessions on the new COSO framework and has assisted companies in identifying risk gap analysis in their individual processes. She currently executes two highly recognized e-workshops for the Institute of Internal Auditors, one on fraud and the second on ethics. Both workshops have incorporated aspects of COSO 2013.

Ms. Fountain authored “Raise the Red Flag,” a book on fraud for the Institute of Internal Auditors. She also authored “Leading the Internal Audit Function” for Auerbach publications. Both books were released in 2015. She is authoring a third book on corporate ethics that will release in 2016. In addition, she has performed as an adjunct instructor for the School of Business for Grantham University and the School of Business at the University of Kansas.

Ms. Fountain obtained her BSBA from Pittsburg State University and her MBA from Washburn University in Kansas. She has her CGMA, CRMA credentials and CPA certificate.

Topic Background:

The new COSO framework was released in May 2013. Original compliance date was set as December 2014. Many companies are still working towards compliance. This will turn up the focus on how its guidance should be used by companies and auditors when evaluating processes for Sarbanes-Oxley and other control requirements. Key aspects have been added to mandate knowledge of business and regulatory changes as well as an increased focus on information technology and its controls. It is imperative that management, compliance professionals, legal professionals and audit professionals all understand the roles and responsibilities incumbent upon them when it relates to internal control. It is also imperative that management learn and accept their critical role as it relates to the management and monitoring of internal controls.

In today’s business world, the term, internal control, is assumed to be a well-known and understood concept. Yet, with all the regulations, attention and focus on the issue, control gaps continue to pervade processes and result in a wide array of business failures and issues. The issue has come to the forefront as the COSO Board is about to release the revised version of the COSO 1992 internal control framework. Companies who indicate they utilize the COSO framework for their evaluation processes will be expected to employ the concepts imbedded in the current draft. Prior to executing on that task, management must re-evaluate their position on internal controls and how they employ the roles and responsibilities related to internal control within their environments. This may be a significant task for many companies and will include re-evaluation of their current compliance and internal audit programs as well as the organizational alignment of these functions.

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