Fundamentals of Internal Controls (A1S3)

Overview

Obtaining an understanding of the entity and its environment is critical part of assessing the risk of material misstatement. The auditor obtains an understanding of internal controls by evaluating the design and implementation of key controls over relevant systems as well as entity level and financial reporting controls. This module will provide the participant with an understanding of how to perform the work and document the understanding. Participants may also want to register for the audit skills module on testing internal controls. (Please Note: This module is part of Surgent's Audit Skills Training: Level 1.)

Major Topics:

• Gaining an understanding of the evolution of internal controls
• Components of the COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework
• Approaches for documenting and evaluating the design and implementation of internal control over financial reporting
• Critical elements of entity-level and transactional-level controls covering all assertions
• Internal controls that are responsive to the risk of fraud
• Case studies related to identifying deficiencies in internal control documentation

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the evolution of Internal Controls
• Discuss the five of the COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework
• Document the auditor’s understanding of a systems description narrative
• Understand the requirements when systems are outsourced to a third party
• Identify controls that are responsive to the risk of fraud