HELP US IMPROVE INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE
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The Internal Control Institute™ (ICI) improves organizational Internal Control worldwide by providing training, products and services and individual Professional Certifications recognized internationally. The Institute's Board of Advisors has determined it would like to further expand into areas where it is not directly represented. ICI provides world-class programs and its intellectual property to affiliates free of charge and shares all program revenue with them. If your organization is interested in partnering with ICI to earn revenue while you contribute to the development of the internal control profession worldwide please contact Dr. Michael Pregmon, Jr., Chief Operations Officer, by email at: [email protected] or by phone at 727-538-4113in the USA.
The Internal Control Institute has developed a CICS Common Body of Knowledge Mini-Assessment that helps an individual determine their knowledge as it relates to governance and control practices. Results point out areas of knowledge that may require additional training and experience. The assessment also provides a measurement to the individual's readiness for CICS certification. The assessment measures core knowledge in eight critical areas including: Internal Control - Principles, Terms and Concepts, Internal Control Environment, Risk Management, Assessing Application Controls, Business System Control Assessment, Risk Assessment, Internal Control Measurement and Reporting, and Governance Practices
Start becoming an Internal Control professional today!
The ICI "Certification Series" has been completely updated and is available online to everyone around the world! Course content prepares individuals to design and/or assess internal control and to assist management in installing internal control processes. In addition, the series prepares candidates for the Certified Internal Control Specialist (CICS) Examination.
Online course pricing has been reduced by over 70%
The Cost of a Business Plan
By Michael Pregmon, Jr., Ph.D., CICP
Dr. Michael Pregmon, Jr. COO and Managing Director
To continue on the business planning program we started a few issues ago, we will briefly cover the cost issue of a business plan that must be addressed. But, let's recap the seven sections of a plan that involve thoroughly answering the questions:
Where are we?
Where do we want to go?
How are we going to get there?
Who is responsible?
How much will it cost?
When will it be done?
Completing the feedback loop
In this edition we will address the fifth section of a business plan.
How Much Will It Cost?
This is the section of the plan where a financial determination must be made whether we can afford the goals we would like to accomplish. In this part of the plan, we refer back to sections #2 and #3.
Typically, we must determine the cost for each goal and the related strategy required to accomplish that goal. Once each goal is "costed out," a decision must be made. Is the goal financially realistic? Is it something that must be accomplished now or just "nice" to have completed? Can it be reasonably deferred to a future planning period? Remember if it is deferred, it likely will be more costly to implement or it may possibly impact the company's overall market strategy. The latter occurs usually and only if the plan is an overall business plan.
It is important to note that with each plan, we are concentrating on specifically completing the goal during the next fiscal period. For most companies, this involves a period of 12 months. However, a total planning horizon may extend beyond that time-frame
. That is, we may want to identify additional goals that are identified for completion in subsequent years. In this respect, it is not unusual to identify goals that are planned for completion two, three, or even four years out. Nevertheless, the farther we go out, the less certainty we can expect.
But remember: if we can't afford it, it "won't" happen!
And, Stay Safe!
ICI ANNOUNCEMENTS
ICI Affiliate News:
The Internal Control Institute is conducting certification training in a classroom format for the internationally recognized CICS (Certified Internal Control Specialist) certification in internal control. Information on these programs regarding dates and schedules can be found on the Events tab on our Website or directed to the affiliate named below:
Botswana:
ICI has entered into an agreement with Internal Control Institute of Botswana (ICI Botswana":) as its representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in this territory. ICI Botswana will be responsible for all development activities in this area, including professional training and Certification. Individuals or companies interested in internal control training or Certification should contact:
The CICS training courses originally scheduled to be held in Hangzhou and Beijing in March this year are postponed to 18-21 June, 2020. Online CICS training and exams will still be conducted.
Individuals or companies interested in internal control training and Certification should contact:
Better Business Governance - APAC PTE LTD (BBG) has become a representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in Myanmar and Cambodia.
Better Business Governance will be responsible for all development activities, including professional training and Certification. For more information on upcoming activities in this area please contact:
The CICS exam is now being provided in Arabic. Osool Training and Consulting has courses and testing available in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Muscat, Sudan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Palestine.
Training Plans:
7 - 10 June 2020 - Ramallah, Palestine
21 - 24 June 2020 - Cairo, Egypt
Interested applicants in the region should contact Osool for scheduling for future programs. For additional information on scheduled ICI Certification and program sessions, please contact:
ICI has entered into an agreement with GRC Consultancy Pte Ltd. (ICI Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan) as its representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in those territories.
Individuals or companies interested in internal control training or Certification should contact:
ICI has entered into an agreement with Business and Financial Consulting company in the Republic of Tunisia (hereinafter referred to as "ICI BFC" as its representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in the Republic of Tunisia
. ICI BFC will be responsible for all development activities in this area, including professional training and Certification. Individuals or companies interested in internal control training or Certification should contact:
On Saturday and Sunday 08:30 am - 12:00 am 13:30 pm - 17:00 pm
10/10/2020
For more information on upcoming activities in Vietnam please contact: NGUYEN THANH TUNG (MBA. M.Eng, PhD.) Director, FMIT Institute of Financial Management & Information Technology, Level 5, 126 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Ward 6, District 3, HCMC, Viet Nam
Each month the staff of The Internal Control Institute reviews hundreds of articles related to Internal Control and Corporate Governance. Here are brief summaries of some of the top articles (along with links to the original article) that may be of interest to you.
The Road Back To Business As Usual: 12 Steps For Cos.
The impact and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic - and government responses to it - might be impossible to fully assess now. But an easy prediction is that the return to business as usual or even a new normal will occur more quickly for some sectors and may not occur at all for others. The new normal also might permanently alter some business and educational processes (e.g., higher remote internet usage) and health practices (e.g., distancing and stricter stay-at-home policies for the sick). But it is not too early for boards of directors, senior management, and in-house counsel and compliance personnel who advise them to start planning how best to return to as much business as usual as possible or even better business as usual in the future. For quick, initial guidance, we turn to the lessons learned from other commercial crises.
Organizations lose 5 percent of their revenue to fraud each year, according to a new report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. The percentage has remained relatively constant over the years, according to the ACFE's 2020 Report to the Nations. The biannual report analyzes 2,504 cases of real fraud from 125 countries that totaled over $3.6 billion in losses. The typical case of fraud costs $8,300 per month, and the median duration of each fraud case was 14 months.The median loss per case was $125,000 total, but the overall average loss per case was $1.509 million. The use of anti-fraud controls - including hotlines, anti-fraud policies and training - have increased significantly over the past decade (up to a 13 percent increase for each control).Forty-three percent of the schemes have been detected by tips, and half of those tips came from employees.
Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today announces that it has reprimanded and fined BOCOM International Securities Limited (BISL) a total of $19.6 million for a series of regulatory breaches, including failures concerning the handling of third party fund deposits and the maintenance and implementation of a margin lending and margin call policy. The company was also found to have failed to put in place adequate and effective controls to identify deposits made into client accounts by third parties, hence failed to ensure compliance with the Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing and various provisions in the Internal Control Guidelines and the Code of Conduct.
Deception is the main tool of fraudsters and the hallmark of many types of fraud. When used skillfully, deception often leads to not one incident of embezzlement, but a pattern of acts over time as recurring opportunities surface. Fraudsters discover weaknesses in internal controls and engineer ways to defeat the system, thereby siphoning funds. When this strategy pays off, there can be a narcotic effect, encouraging the fraudster to continue the behavior as an easy means of satisfying hidden financial needs or, worse, a simple appetite for greed. This article outlines some of the steps of an investigation into embezzlement before discussing in detail several cases where incomplete forensic data was ultimately not as great a hindrance to finding the truth as those who withheld that data might have hoped.
With many public companies recently completing the first fiscal quarter of 2020, the quarterly financial statement close and reporting process is in full swing for a large percentage of issuers. The COVID-19 pandemic poses unique and novel challenges to those companies during this process, particularly with respect to design and testing of both internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. With public companies now under increasing scrutiny, we recommend that companies take stock of what has changed in the current financial reporting environment, consider whether existing controls are sufficient to prepare financial statements and disclosure documents at the reasonable assurance level, and determine what new controls (if any) are necessary to reduce the risk of errors and fraud. Regulators, congressional oversight committees, the press and the plaintiffs' bar are gearing up to pursue all those who stumble.
It's been several weeks since COVID-19 entered our vocabulary and made working from home the new normal. I've spoken with many SOX professionals over the last month about the challenges of adapting to remote work and how they are responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.In the forefront, SOX professionals are thinking about how to revise their risk management playbook for the year in response to the pandemic. Many SOX teams are also talking about the tools they need to collaborate with each other and stakeholders to execute SOX compliance effectively and comprehensively while working remotely.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has directed J.P. Morgan's Korean brokerage unit to improve its internal control system. The authority's action came a week ago, after it determined in an inspection conducted last year that the brokerage unit did not have a proper control system monitoring exchanges among affiliates.The FSS concluded that the brokerage unit intervened in the sales process of structured deposits of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank's Seoul branch.
"I'm not really a control freak, but... can I show the right way to do that?" Anonymous
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The Internal Control Institute™ (ICI) is a worldwide organization devoted exclusively to internal control and corporate governance. The Institute is dedicated to the development of world-class educational programs and best practice guidelines on internal control and corporate governance, based on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the COSO internal control framework. Visit us on the web at the Internal Control Institute
Control Chatter is a monthly news summary of the top stories concerning internal control and corporate governance. Control Chatter is prepared by the staff of Internal Control Institute for the benefit of their members and associates. Please consider it for your personal use or pass it on to associates who may have an interest in one or more of the topics by clicking on the Forward email button below.
ICI has entered into an agreement with Internal Control Institute of Botswana (ICI Botswana":) as its representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in this territory. ICI Botswana will be responsible for all development activities in this area, including professional training and Certification. Individuals or companies interested in internal control training or Certification should contact:
