Survey Results Report
Thank you to all members who participated in our survey late last year! Here are some of the things we heard from you and our plans for responding to your feedback.
Hot Issue and Related Poll
The communications industry has become a dominant driver of economic and societal advancement. In particular, mobile access to the internet has become indispensable to businesses and consumers, making the growth and innovation potential of the communications industry sure bets. The purpose of this article is to discuss the current state of this industry and to identify the top risks that its leaders should recognize and address to better manage the risk profile of their business.
This week's poll question asks: "Which of the following risks is top priority for your organization in 2012?"
Previous Poll Results
See the results from last week's poll: "Regardless of industry, is addressing smartphone security a top priority for your organization in 2012?"
Article
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) provides a wide range of protections for individuals entering, called to active duty or deployed in the military. Enacted in 2003, SCRA effectively postpones or suspends certain civil obligations, thereby enabling servicemembers to devote their full attention to military duties and alleviating some of the stress on family members who must handle the obligations at home in their absence. Internal auditors within the financial services industry should know the financial and credit protections afforded to military servicemembers and their families.
Questions & Answers
This section of the "Guide to Public Company Readiness – Frequently Asked Questions" focuses on additional risk management considerations. Topics covered include: What is Directors and Officers (D&O) liability insurance and are companies required to purchase D&O insurance for their board members? What board committees should be created prior to an IPO or public debt offering? And, what is the compensation committee’s responsibility related to the oversight of executive compensation plans?
Policy
This sample policy serves as a code of conduct specific to senior financial officers of a company with the purpose of documenting a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities.
Updated Policy
This accounts receivable policy establishes guidelines relating to receivable management, in particular how and when to reserve a receivable, write-off a receivable and recover a receivable.
Updated Sample
This is a sample memo notifying spreadsheet owners about the requirement to document the internal controls related to spreadsheets relied upon for financial reporting. The communication explains why these controls are important to manage spreadsheet risks.
New French Content
Protiviti publie la 7e édition du Baromètre du Risk Management en partenariat avec TNS-Sofres. Outil unique d’évaluation des tendances de la gestion de risques, il dresse un panorama complet de ces pratiques à partir d’une étude annuelle menée auprès des 100 Directeurs Financiers de grandes entreprises françaises cotées et non cotées. Il fournit également une nouvelle évaluation des risques et de leur niveau de criticité, décrit les moyens mis en œuvre pour mieux les gérer, et mesure les bénéfices et le niveau de performance de la gestion des risques. Comme chaque année, les résultats sont comparés par type d’entreprise (cotée ou non cotée) et par secteur d’activité.
Featured Event
Database systems are both the most overlooked and the most crucial areas in need of securing. In many instances, all the critical information held by an organization will be found in its databases. This webinar on February 1 at 11am PST will provide valuable guidance to any security, compliance, or IT audit professional with responsibility for ensuring the security of their organization’s databases. Register now, or click on the link above for more info.
Coming Soon
Strategic Internal Audit Plan
This template is to be used by internal audit when developing an annual audit plan. It provides areas to document the planning approach, major projects and associated timelines, and project sponsors. Look for this tool in our next issue!
Featured Links
FCPA enforcement is not just about the DOJ. While the SEC teeth may not seem as sharp as the DOJ’s, the SEC also claims a significant piece of the FCPA enforcement pie. The full article is s a Year in Review of SEC FCPA Enforcement, which collected approximately $148 million in 13 corporate FCPA enforcement actions. Source: fcpaprofessor.com
In response to interest in the draft update to Internal Control – Integrated Framework, released by The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and The IIA are hosting a joint webinar on Jan. 31, at 12:30 p.m. EST. During this webinar, the COSO board and the update taskforce will make formal presentations and participate in panel discussions. Source: TheIIA.org
Featured KLplus Course
Sections 302 and 906 of SOX lay a foundation for restoring investor confidence in the integrity of public reporting. Building on that foundation, Section 404 requires management to file an internal control report with the annual report on Form 10-K. This course focuses on the SEC’s rules for Section 404. The completed course is worth 1 credit and by the end of the course the learner will be able to:
- Describe Section 404 requirements
- Determine by when their company must comply
- Define internal control over financial reporting
- Identify who should be involved in complying with Section 404
- Describe what has to be done to comply
To view the full list of CPE courses available on KnowledgeLeader, please visit the KLplus page, or to request an upgrade to KLplus, visit the My Account page.
Featured Favorite
In the world of SAS 70s, a number of new report options now exist. In principal, these report options have not created much of anything new. However, having three report options alleviates the problem service organizations and external auditors have had for years: getting a report that fits the organization. This article was tagged as a Favorite by your fellow subscribers.
From the Archive
This fifth GTAG is intended to provide the chief audit executive (CAE), internal auditors, and management with insight into privacy risks that the organization should address when it collects, uses, retains, or discloses personal information. This guide provides an overview of key privacy frameworks.
Did You Know?
The Standards represent the basic principles of the practice of internal audit. They are intended to provide a framework for internal audit activities, establish the basis for evaluation of internal audit performance, and foster improved organizational processes and operations. The Standards consist of Attribute Standards, Performance Standards, and Implementation Standards and are part of the IIA’s Professional Practices Framework.
CCH Tax and Accounting - Accounting Research Manager Updates
- Financial Reporting Manual -- SEC Staff Releases Updated Financial Reporting Manual
- Inflation Rates -- Interpretation Issued, Inflation Rates for Judging Whether an Economy Is Highly Inflationary - December 2011
- Construction Companies -- New Edition of Knowledge-Based Audits of Construction Companies and Contractors Published
Top 5 Pages on KnowledgeLeader
The following links will take you to the five most popular pages from the week of January 16, 2012.
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