COSO Speaks Out on Internal Control Monitoring

The Committee on Sponsoring Organizations released an exposure draft on monitoring internal control (IC) today with comments encouraged until August 15. The draft is designed to clarify and help firm implement the monitoring component of COSO's Integrated Framework for Internal Control according to Chairman Larry Rittenberg. Some specific features of the draft include an emphasis on making internal control a priority for firms regardless of size (small as well as big), identifing commonly-available information which could help monitoring IC effectiveness and effective examples of monitoring as obwerved by Grant Thornton personnel.

COSO has accomplished a worthy task here, making a concept like monitoring of internal control easier to understand and easier to evaluate via benchmarking deserve commendation. Hopefully, commments during the next two months will improve the guidance on monitoring even more.