Temat: Internal Control: Providing a Foundation for...

Internal Control: Providing a Foundation for Accountability in Government
An introduction to internal control for managers in governmental organizations

Overview
“Internal control is a management tool used to provide reasonable assurance that management objectives are being achieved.”
Guidelines for Internal Control Standards, INTOSAI

Managers are responsible for establishing an effective control environment in their organizations. This is part of their stewardship responsibility over the use of government resources. Indeed, the tone managers set through their actions, policies, and communications can result in a culture of either positive or lax control. Planning, implementing, supervising, and monitoring are fundamental components of internal control. You may go bout these activities routinely, without thinking of them as part of a broad control environment that helps to ensure accountability. But they are Internal control, or management control, helps to provide reasonable assurance that the organization
• adheres to laws, regulations, and management directives;
• promotes orderly, economical, efficient, and effective operations and achieves planned outcomes;
• safeguards resources against fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement;
• provides quality products and services consistent with the organization’s mission; and
• develops and maintains reliable financial and management information and fairly discloses that data through timely reporting.

Therefore, it is essential that all managers in an organization understand the importance of establishing and maintaining effective internal control.

For this reason, the Internal Control Standards Committee of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) has prepared this booklet to
• provide an overall framework for establishing and maintaining effective internal controls,
• describe internal control roles and responsibilities for government managers and auditors,
• describe common internal control practices,
• provide a simple checklist to help you begin thinking about whether your organization has taken appropriate steps to ensure effective internal control, and
• provide a list of references for further information.

Visit: http://www.intosai.org