Review of Internal Control Systems: Finance Managers vs Internal Auditors and External Auditors

Internal Control Systems have continued to be a major concern in governance and this importance has been magnified in the recent years due to global increase in financial scandals and malpractices. Reports by various watchdog organisations have continued to serialize massive financial frauds and malpractices in organisations despite having internal controls in place. This motivated the author to write this book on internal control systems. For an internal control system to be effective, three stages of design and establishment,implementation and continuous monitoring phases have to be in place. An analysis made from chief finance officers and chief internal auditors as well as external auditors for the purpose of comparing and contrasting their opinions revealed a contrast. While the chief finance officers indicated internal controls systems are effective and working well in their organisations, the chief internal auditors and external auditors were in disagreement stating that the systems are ineffective. After the study,recommendations on areas of concern and improvement for effective implementation of internal control systems as well as future knowledge have been highlighted.