Erick O. Bell, a Senior Manager at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, presents a detailed internal control checklist that outlines 5 anti-fraud strategies companies can use to deter, prevent, and detect fraud.
According to Cheryl Klein, founder of GRC Consulting Services, fines and new regulations won’t be the biggest challenges in 2010. Rather, regardless of what industry you are in, expect to encounter these five challenges in forthcoming years.
In a recent Deloitte online poll of business professionals across various industries, 37.5 percent say they are at least as concerned and 18.2 percent say they are more concerned about their company becoming a target of securities litigation as they were two years ago.
Depending on a company’s ultimate objectives, having the correct balance within the control structure is the key to a successful internal fraud investigation.
GRC assessment and execution is a critical mandate for international businesses – even in a tough economy.
John Verver, Vice President of Services and Product Strategy for ACL Services, discusses the important of effective data analytics, and how it can provide a path to an integrated approach between audit and GRC.
Janice Patrisso, Advisory Partner with KPMG LLP, explains that many organizations are looking at their readiness for potential U.S. adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). What should you expect?
By Dan Wilhelms, President and CEO of SymSoft Corporation
With governmental regulations for compliance becoming all the more rigorous, Chief Audit Officers (CAOs) are finding themselves between a rock and a hard place regarding controlling costs and satisfying these more rigorous compliance demands. At the same time, external auditors are getting more sophisticated in their investigations of compliance – delving deeper into organizations’ controls.
The situation can be likened to Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Pit and the Pendulum.” Every year, the audits get more onerous. The “blade” of the auditors cuts deeper.
The ongoing economic crisis presents a whole other challenge. Companies are strapped and trying to do more with fewer resources. Increasing scrutiny, coupled with less budget – and, in general, less liquidity for devoting dollars to compliance – presents a dire picture.
Yet, difficult times such as these offer organizations of all sizes the opportunity to reflect on ways for driving process improvements, innovation, and ultimately competitive advantage. What if CAOs and their organizations could automate repetitive tasks and free up their people to do more strategic activities?
Powerful second generation Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) technology enables just that. It brings a laser focus to compliance automation, which reduces the cost and hassle of demonstrating compliance, and converts active compliance and auditing into value-added initiatives for business.
By Fred Lipman, Partner at Blank Rome LLP and the President of the Association of Audit Committee Members, Inc.
The current financial crisis has engendered new challenges for the chief audit officer who typically reports to both the audit committee and to senior management. The financial pressures in many companies have resulted in the reduction in the audit staff while, at the same time, increasing the pressure on the chief audit officer to perform more tasks with a smaller staff.
What are some ways that chief audit officers can navigate the tricky waters of the current financial crisis and deal with their changing role?
By Ron Kral, Managing Director of Candela Solutions
Many organizations will be facing financial reporting control assessments and related external audit pressures for the very first time over the next two years. Yes, public companies have suffered millions of dollars in costs with limited benefits. Yes, there are regulatory inefficiencies and strained auditor relationships. Yes, I am talking about Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). No, it does not have to be a wasteful exercise resulting in minimal benefits. This article identifies newer applicable organizations and the cornerstones to streamlining control assessment leading to cost-efficient and effective results.
By Wendy Wysong, Partner at Clifford Chance US LLP
Cross-border internal investigations of U.S. export controls violations pose unique challenges for in-house counsel and compliance officials. The U.S. government’s heightened focus on export control enforcement in recent years, combined with the five-fold increase in potential fines, has spurred U.S. companies to include export controls in their internal compliance programs.
Moreover, non-U.S. multinationals have also begun to understand more fully the various compliance obligations that they have in this area. Both U.S. and non-U.S. companies recognize that a critically important element of an effective compliance program is a process by which potential export violations are self-identified and internally investigated. Not surprisingly, as this awareness has increased, so too has the identification of potential violations and the need for multi-jurisdictional investigations.
