Beyond COSO: Internal Control to Enhance Corporate Governance [Paperback]

Steven J. Root (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0471391123 | ISBN-13: 978-0471391128 | Edition: 1

The authoritative, practical guide to internal control after COSO (Committee on Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission)

Beyond COSO unravels the complexities of the COSO Report while providing clear-cut guidelines on how to implement the various internal controls it mandates. Just as important, it builds on the COSO framework to provide a more rigorous system that corporate executives and directors can use to transform the internal control function into a valuable strategic tool for leveraging corporate strengths and improving performance.

The first practical guide to complying with COSO Report mandates, Beyond COSO:
* Clearly explains the intricacies of the COSO Report
* Describes proven techniques for complying with COSO requirements
* Provides a detailed account of the internal control oversight process
* Offers expert recommendations on how to carry out internal control responsibilities more efficiently
* Supplies a wealth of ready-to-use internal control documentation


Beyond COSO is an invaluable working resource for internal and external auditors, CFOs, members of audit committees, and corporate directors.

www.wiley.com/accounting

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

With the publication of the COSO Report in 1992, the scope of the corporate internal control function was expanded to include responsibility for compliance with an array of laws and regulations, accepted business practices, and financial reporting standards. One predictable by-product of this redefinition of internal control has been increased executive accountability. However, as author Steven J. Root clearly demonstrates in this ground-breaking book, while the Report does include a framework for assessing internal control, that framework, with its narrow focus on financial reporting, does not provide the rigorous system of checks and balances necessary in a business climate marked by ever more activist and litigious shareholders. Today’s senior executives and their internal auditors need a more expansive framework than that provided by COSO, one that more closely aligns internal control concepts with the main objectives of corporate governance. Beyond COSO provides you with just such a framework. Beyond COSO begins with a philosophical/historical review of internal control concepts as they have evolved, up to and including the COSO Report. This is followed by an in-depth exploration of the crucial ethical issues surrounding the contemporary internal control function. Readers will appreciate author Steven J. Root’s fascinating discussions of common lapses in ethics, the potential risks they entail, and how to avoid them. Drawing upon his extensive experience as a chief internal auditor with a Fortune 500 company and as a leading member of the Internal Auditing Standards Board, Mr. Root provides a detailed account of the internal control oversight process, with recommendations on how those responsible for internal control in North American corporations can more effectively discharge their responsibilities. He also makes a strong case for expanding the COSO-prescribed internal control criteria from 5 to 16, bringing the internal control function in line with all critical management activities, from IT development to human resource management. Finally, he offers clear, practicable guidelines for expanding the scope of any company’s internal control function and transforming it from a financial oversight mechanism into a potent strategic tool for maximizing corporate performance. Beyond COSO is an invaluable working resource for internal and external auditors, CFOs, members of audit committees, and corporate directors. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

The authoritative, practical guide to internal control after COSO (Committee on Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission)

Beyond COSO unravels the complexities of the COSO Report while providing clear-cut guidelines on how to implement the various internal controls it mandates. Just as important, it builds on the COSO framework to provide a more rigorous system that corporate executives and directors can use to transform the internal control function into a valuable strategic tool for leveraging corporate strengths and improving performance.

The first practical guide to complying with COSO Report mandates, Beyond COSO:

• Clearly explains the intricacies of the COSO Report
• Describes proven techniques for complying with COSO requirements
• Provides a detailed account of the internal control oversight process
• Offers expert recommendations on how to carry out internal control responsibilities more efficiently
• Supplies a wealth of ready-to-use internal control documentation

Beyond COSO is an invaluable working resource for internal and external auditors, CFOs, members of audit committees, and corporate directors.

www.wiley.com/accounting

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (October 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471391123
• ISBN-13: 978-0471391128
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,700,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good, October 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond Coso: Internal Control to Enhance Corporate Governance (Hardcover)

Excellent coverage of the history of internal control issues. Good analysis of weaknesses/strengths of COSO and the strengths of other control related models. Good explanation of a broader management approach to internal control that the author advocates. Good suggestions for implementing the broader approach in a company and the roles of the Board, Senior Managment and Internal Audit. The author is obviously quite knowledgeable about these issues and the book is easy to read and is very interesting. People interested in developing their knowledge about this subject or concerned about good business and control practices and ways to enhance the likelihood of success for their company will find this book very valuable.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understand the history and shortcomings of COSO, August 14, 2003

By 

G. ACarleton (Apple Valley MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beyond COSO: Internal Control to Enhance Corporate Governance (Paperback)

Great overview of its history, and other frameworks for internal control evaluations. Clearly the author has major misgivings with COSO, and describes why the shortcomings reflect the biases of the authors, which is the public accounting firms. Excellent overview of other frameworks, and why they might be superior. With the passage of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, this understanding might seem more important, but likely many organizations will struggle just to do COSO. An important addition to any research on COSO.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Coso : Internal Control to Enhance Corporate Governan, March 1, 2002

By 

KYLE R MERCER (Agoura Hills, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond COSO: Internal Control to Enhance Corporate Governance (Paperback)

Anyone who read this book when it was first published in 1998 needs to re-read it in the context of the Enron revelations. It is amazing how Steven J. Root's examination and explanation of what internal control is, how it should be implemented and what it can and cannot accomplish is exactly on-point vis-à-vis the break downs in corporate governance at Enron, Global Crossing and others of their ilk. Anyone from business student to congressional overseer, who wants the proper framework for understanding and explaining these crises should carefully study this book.