Internal Controls Policies and Procedures

Drawing on her many years as a consultant to numerous companies big and small, author Rose Hightower infuses Internal Controls Policies and Procedures with her wealth of experience and knowledge. Instead of reinventing the wheel, your company can use this useful how-to manual to quickly and effectively put a successful program of internal controls in place. Complete with flowcharts and checklists, this essential desktop reference is a best practices model for establishing and enhancing your organization's control framework. These manuals are favorites for organizations and companies that need a foundation and grounding to ensure an internal control posture of integrity, credibility, method, process and process: or a reminder of its importance.  URLs were included when first published to encourage the dissemination and distribution of relevant chapters to those interested and in charge of the specific departments.   Although times have changed, the principles professed are sound and solid for today’s accounting and business environment.  Implementing these cornerstones will produce a principled manageable approach.  These manuals can be used by accounting individuals, finance departments, sole proprietor businesses, large corporations, accounting / auditing students and any others interested in specific topics or general disciplines. The discipline for the oversight processes and procedures are important when introducing or implementing auditing practices whether in accounting or throughout the organization.  These manuals should be used together to provide the basics when setting up a department or specific process discipline, for learning about the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities within the specific focus areas.  

Table of Contents:
How to Use this Manual xi Preface xiii Governance Journey 1 A01 Big G to little g governance journey 3 Appendix: Background for COSO, SOX, PCAOB 7 A02 Risk Assessment 10 A03 Oversight 16 A04 Documentation 20 Internal Control Program 25 B01 Internal Control Program 27 B02 Internal Control Process 37 B02a Internal Control Policy and Procedure 52 B02b Internal Control Program Charter 55 B02c Internal Control Plan 57 B03 Authorization and Approval Program 69 B03a Delegation of Authority 73 B03b Authorization – Delegation, SubDelegation of Authority 79 B03c Responsibility, Authority, Support, Counsel, and Inform (RASCI) 83 B04 Information Technology Program 87 B04a End–User Computing—Control of Spreadsheets Policy and Procedure 95 B05 Account Reconciliation Program 97 B05a Account Reconciliation 101 B06 Quarterly Subcertification Program 105 B06a Quarterly Subcertification 120 B06b Quarterly Subcertification – Matrix 122 B06c Quarterly Financial Subcertification Training For First-Time Subcertifiers 124 Control Activity Program Testing Guides 133 C01 Control Activity Program 135 C01a Control Activities Template 147 C01b Result of Control Activity Testing 148 C01c Internal Control – Planning, Testing, and Remediation Worksheet 149 C01d Reporting Scorecard 151 C02 AP – Disbursements 153 C02a AR – Allowance for Doubtful Accounts 158 C02b AR – Cash Applications 162 C02c AR – Collections 166 C02d AR – Credit Administration 169 C02e Cash and Marketable Securities 172 C02f Financial Planning and Analysis 176 C02g Fixed Assets, Long Lived Assets 179 C02h Intercompany Transactions – Cross Charges 183 C02i Raw Materials and Inventory 187 C02j Journal Entries 194 C02k Payroll 197 C02l Procurement 201 C02m Revenue Recognition 205 C02n Retail Sales Orders to Business Partners 209 C02o Income Tax 213 Appendix Internal Control Planning, Testing and Remediation Worksheets 217 Acronyms 263 References 265 Index 267