INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF INTERNAL CONTROL IN THE LIGHT OF GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS

Abstract

The global auditing and accounting scandals of the past have been a turning point for the internal control system (ICS) by increasing its importance and necessity as well as global awareness towards it. Various factors played roles in the occurrence of scandals. A dominant one is the lack of ICS and/or the failure to make it efficient. The need for ICS and ensuring its effectiveness has been subject to various national/international standards and legal regulations including the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Law. Institutional/individual responsibilities of the relevant parties (board of directors, audit committee, senior management, independent auditor, public oversight authority, etc.) for the establishment and effectiveness of ICS have been significantly increased in these standards and regulations. An effective ICS is a vital safety component in many respects such as protecting assets and common interests of all stakeholders, achieving goals, profitability, ensuring the effectiveness/efficiency of activities, management/accounting control, compliance with policy/procedure/legal regulations/ethical principles, corporate governance, quality assurance, CRM, transparency, accountability, accurate/reliable reporting, sustainability, competitiveness, contribution to audit and so on. This study examined the features of ICS with a conceptual framework and then analyzed systematically the global scandals, which revealed the necessity of internal control, as well as national and international standards and legal regulations.