The COSO Framework: An Organization’s Guide to an Effective Internal Control System

Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Complete Strategic Management Consulting Guide and Toolkit (178-slide PowerPoint presentation). Curated by former McKinsey Consultants Are you looking to elevate your business strategy and take your company to the next level? Do you want to gain a competitive edge in your industry and drive growth? Look no further than our Strategy Consulting Toolkit. Our toolkit is a [read more]

* * * *

As the business and operating environment changes, there has been a greater demand for transparency and accountability as to the integrity of internal control. This has become very critical today as businesses drive to enhance the likelihood of them achieving their objectives and be able to adapt to changes in the global business environment.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) released in 1992 the Integrated Internal Control Framework that will enable organizations to effectively and efficiently develop and maintain systems of internal control. It also includes enhancements and clarifications that will provide organizations the ease of using and applying the Framework.

An Overview of the COSO Framework

The COSO Framework is the globally recognized framework for designing, implementing, conducting, and assessing internal control. It is recognized as the definitive standard against which organizations measure the effectiveness of internal control systems.

If we look at the internal control, this is not a serial process but a dynamic and integrated process. It is a process effected by an organization’s Board of Directors, Management, and other personnel designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives relating to operations, reporting, and compliance. It can be considered an enabler when it comes to achieving Operational Excellence.

The COSO Framework provides for 3 categories of objectives. These categories allow organizations to focus on different aspects of internal control. It ensures that the internal control system is operationally efficient and effective, reporting reliable data, and remain compliant to laws and regulations.

The 5 Components of the COSO Framework

In an effective internal control system, 5 Components of the COSO Framework must be present to support the achievement of an organization’s mission, strategies, and related business objectives.

Component 1: Control Environment. This is a set of standards, processes, and structures that provide the basis for carrying out internal control across the organization.

Component 2: Risk Assessment. This forms the basis for determining how risks will be managed. It involves a dynamic and iterative process for identifying and assessing risks to the achievement of objectives. It determines the possibility that an event will occur and adversely affect the achievement of objectives.

Component 3: Control Activities. The 3rd component ensures that Management’s directives to mitigate risks to the achievement of objectives are carried out. These are actions that are established through policies and procedures. It may be preventive or detective in nature.

Component 4: Information and Communication. This component focuses on the generation of relevant and quality information to support the functioning of other components. It is a continuous iterative process of providing, sharing, ad obtaining the necessary information. This is necessary to enable businesses to carry out internal control responsibilities to support the achievement of its objectives.

Component 5: Monitoring Activities. Monitoring activities, as a component, ascertains whether each of the 5 components of internal control is present and functioning. It includes the conduct of ongoing evaluations, separate evaluations, or a combination of both.

The 5 Components of the COSO Framework are essentially important as they represent what is required to achieve the objectives and the organizational structure of the organization. Each component has its underlying principles and key elements to better guide organizations in putting the components in place.

Additional Key Considerations

The COSO Framework sets the requirements for an effective system of internal control. An effective system reduces, to an acceptable level, the risk of not achieving the organization’s objectives.

There are additional key considerations that organizations must take note of. One consideration is that each of the 5 components and relevant principles is present and functioning. Present refers to the determination that the components and relevant principles exist in the design and implementation of the system of internal control to achieve specified objectives. Functions refer to the determination that the components and relevant principles continue to exist in the operations and conduct of the system of internal control to achieve specified objectives.

Interested in gaining more understanding of the COSO Framework? You can learn more and download an editable PowerPoint about COSO Framework here on the Flevy documents marketplace.

Do You Find Value in This Framework?

You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives. Here’s what some have to say:

“My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today’s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me in a fraction of the time and money of other solutions. I strongly recommend FlevyPro to any consultant serious about success.”

– Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects

“As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value.”

– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting

“As a small business owner, the resource material available from FlevyPro has proven to be invaluable. The ability to search for material on demand based our project events and client requirements was great for me and proved very beneficial to my clients. Importantly, being able to easily edit and tailor the material for specific purposes helped us to make presentations, knowledge sharing, and toolkit development, which formed part of the overall program collateral. While FlevyPro contains resource material that any consultancy, project or delivery firm must have, it is an essential part of a small firm or independent consultant’s toolbox.”

– Michael Duff, Managing Director at Change Strategy (UK)

“FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The quality of the decks available allows me to punch way above my weight – it’s like having the resources of a Big 4 consultancy at your fingertips at a microscopic fraction of the overhead.”

– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd

“Several times a month, I browse FlevyPro for presentations relevant to the job challenge I have (I am a consultant). When the subject requires it, I explore further and buy from the Flevy Marketplace. On all occasions, I read them, analyze them. I take the most relevant and applicable ideas for my work; and, of course, all this translates to my and my clients’ benefits.”

– Omar Hernán Montes Parra, CEO at Quantum SFE

Do You Want to Implement Business Best Practices?

You can download in-depth presentations on Governance and 100s of management topics from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives.

For even more best practices available on Flevy, have a look at our top 100 lists:

• Top 100 in Strategy & Transformation
• Top 100 in Digital Transformation
• Top 100 in Operational Excellence
• Top 100 in Organization & Change
• Top 100 Management Consulting Frameworks

These best practices are of the same as those leveraged by top-tier management consulting firms, like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and Accenture. Improve the growth and efficiency of your organization by utilizing these best practice frameworks, templates, and tools. Most were developed by seasoned executives and consultants with over 20+ years of experience.