Wishing every day of the new year to be filled with success, happiness and prosperity for each of our 30,000+ associates. You have made 2019 a memorable one for all of us. Happy New Year!!!
With best wishes from the staff of The Internal Control Institute
Control Chatter December 2019 News that Control Professionals Need to Know
HELP US IMPROVE INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE
PARTNERS WANTED:
The Internal Control Institute™ (ICI) improves organizational Internal Control worldwide by providing training, products and services and individual Professional Certifications recognized internationally. The Institute's Board of Advisors has determined it would like to further expand into areas where it is not directly represented. ICI provides world-class programs and its intellectual property to affiliates free of charge and shares all program revenue with them. If your organization is interested in partnering with ICI to earn revenue while you contribute to the development of the internal control profession worldwide please contact Dr. Michael Pregmon, Jr., Chief Operations Officer, by email at: mpregmon@internalcontrolinstitute.org or by phone at 727-538-4113in the USA.
The Internal Control Institute has developed a CICS Common Body of Knowledge Mini-Assessment that helps an individual determine their knowledge as it relates to governance and control practices. Results point out areas of knowledge that may require additional training and experience. The assessment also provides a measurement to the individual's readiness for CICS certification. The assessment measures core knowledge in eight critical areas including: Internal Control - Principles, Terms and Concepts, Internal Control Environment, Risk Management, Assessing Application Controls, Business System Control Assessment, Risk Assessment, Internal Control Measurement and Reporting, and Governance Practices
Start becoming an Internal Control professional today!
The ICI "Certification Series" has been completely updated and is available online to everyone around the world! Course content prepares individuals to design and/or assess internal control and to assist management in installing internal control processes. In addition, the series prepares candidates for the Certified Internal Control Specialist (CICS) Examination.
Online course pricing has been reduced by over 70%
Business Planning - Where To Go?
By Michael Pregmon, Jr., Ph.D., CICP
Dr. Michael Pregmon, Jr. COO and Managing Director
In previous articles on this subject, we introduced the Business Planning process. We stated that an overall plan requires a detailed consideration of seven areas/questions which, when completed, will provide the necessary "roadmap" for successful activity implementation. The component questions are:
Where are we?
Where do we want to go?
How are we going to get there?
Who is responsible?
How much will it cost?
When will it be done?
Completing the feedback loop
Where Do We Want to Go?
In this article we will briefly cover the second question of a planning cycle. This is determining what we want to do based upon the results of the first section. Essentially, in this section of the plan we need to decide what we want to improve or what new areas we would like to pursue. Essentially, this is the section of the process where actual planning is undertaken. The remaining sections of the total business planning process are primarily devoted to plan execution activities.
Approach
There are two major things to consider in this section. And, these refer to the outcome of the first
section. Each of the issues identified in section 1 should be addressed here and categorized.
Shortcomings
Each of the items in section 1 identified as a concerning deficiency should be evaluated. Either the item should be remedied in the plan or discarded. It may be a consideration that some areas where competitive service or activity cannot be realistically provided should be eliminated. The goal here is to correct concerning deficiencies.
Growth Opportunities
This is the section in the plan where potential new business or markets are identified. The potential market expansion is often identified from the analysis in section 1. If this is an operations business plan for a department, function or activity, then this is the place in the plan where additional involvement in the business is addressed.
A Common Mistake in Business Planning
Remember, business plans are dynamic. They move from year to year. The planning focus is on the current / upcoming year. But, the planning horizon extends years beyond the focus year. Many planners attempt to pursue too many projects, leading to frustration due to incompletion. The overall challenge is to seek a reasonable balance for plan completion.
ICI ANNOUNCEMENTS
ICI Affiliate News:
The Internal Control Institute is conducting certification training in a classroom format for the internationally recognized CICS (Certified Internal Control Specialist) certification in internal control. Information on these programs regarding dates and schedules can be found on the Events tab on our Website or directed to the affiliate named below:
Botswana:
ICI has entered into an agreement with Internal Control Institute of Botswana (ICI Botswana":) as its representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in this territory. ICI Botswana will be responsible for all development activities in this area, including professional training and Certification. Individuals or companies interested in internal control training or Certification should contact:
CICS Training in Dutch in Brussels with 13 participants will take place in seven sessions over the period 4 October 2019 to 10 January 2020. ICIB has
already received 9 registrations for the session in French starting mid January.
For more information on scheduled training and exams please contact Mr.Yves Dupont of ICI Belgium at:
Better Business Governance - APAC PTE LTD (BBG) has become a representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in Myanmar and Cambodia.
Better Business Governance will be responsible for all development activities, including professional training and Certification. For more information on upcoming activities in this area please contact:
The CICS exam is now being provided in Arabic. Osool Training and Consulting has courses and testing available in Jordan, Libya, Muscat, Sudan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Palestine.
Interested applicants in the region should contact Osool for scheduling for future programs. For additional information on scheduled ICI Certification and program sessions, please contact:
ICI has entered into an agreement with GRC Consultancy Pte Ltd. (ICI Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan) as its representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in those territories.
Individuals or companies interested in internal control training or Certification should contact:
ICI has entered into an agreement with Business and Financial Consulting company in the Republic of Tunisia (hereinafter referred to as "ICI BFC" as its representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in the Republic of Tunisia
. ICI BFC will be responsible for all development activities in this area, including professional training and Certification. Individuals or companies interested in internal control training or Certification should contact:
On Saturday and Sunday 08:30 am - 12:00 am 13:30 pm - 17:00 pm
10/10/2020
For more information on upcoming activities in Vietnam please contact: NGUYEN THANH TUNG (MBA. M.Eng, PhD.) Director, FMIT Institute of Financial Management & Information Technology, Level 5, 126 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Ward 6, District 3, HCMC, Viet Nam
Each month the staff of The Internal Control Institute reviews hundreds of articles related to Internal Control and Corporate Governance. Here are brief summaries of some of the top articles (along with links to the original article) that may be of interest to you.
Illuminating the Top Global Risks in 2020
Innovation, Talent, Culture, Security, Regulations and the Economy Are Major Concerns for Boards and Executives
Protiviti and North Carolina State University's ERM Initiative are pleased to provide this report focusing on the top risks currently on the minds of global boards of directors and executives. This report contains results from our eighth annual risk survey of directors and executives to obtain their views on the extent to which a broad collection of risks is likely to affect their organizations over the next year.
Last week the Justice Department (DOJ) announced a resolution of the long standing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement action involving Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson), a multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Sweden. The matter was stunning in the total amount of fines and penalties assessed, coming in at over $1 billion, consisting of a criminal fine assessed by the DOJ at just over $520 million. Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) assessed profit disgorgement of nearly $540 million. Over the next several blog posts, I will be considering the Ericsson FCPA enforcement action. Today, I consider the internal controls failures.
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg is the latest casualty in a string of chief executive exits this year. Through November, 1,480 CEOs left their companies in 2019, according to business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That's the highest number on record for the first 11 months of a year. December has brought other high-profile resignations including the chief executives of United Airlines, Alphabet, Expedia, SoulCycle and Away, which would make 2019 the highest year on record for executive departures.
Andy Challenger, vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said there is not one simple reason for why so many departures have happened this year, but he would tie it to the U.S. being in its longest economic expansion in history.
The National Association of Corporate Directors' ("NACD") annual Public Company Governance Survey (the "Survey") is an important resource for corporate boards and their primary committees. The 2019-2020 version of the Survey offers timely information on key governance practices and attributes. To be sure, at year end boards are typically flooded with well-prepared reports from a variety of estimable sources. Yet through the breadth of its data and its related analysis, the NACD Survey stands out as a particularly valuable briefing tool. This, not only for public company boards, but also for those of large private and nonprofit companies.
MUMBAI: The number of independent directors who resigned from board positions doubled in 2019, compared with total exits in the previous two years, as greater liability, rising number of corporate governance cases, increasing fear of fraud risk and chances of personal reputation being at stake led to the exodus. A record 1,393 independent director posts were vacated this year, compared with 767 in 2018 and 717 in 2017, according to data from market tracker nseinfobase.com. ..
The growing size and complexity of the Indian financial system underscores the significance of strengthening corporate governance standards in regulated entities, RBI said in its report. The central bank had earlier found major irregularities in PMC Bank, including major financial violations, failure of internal controls and systems, and wrongdoing and under-reporting of its lending exposure. Taking cues from the incidence of corporate governance lapses in the year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in the process of issuing draft guidelines on corporate governance for regulated entities. The banking regulator cautioned in a report on trend and progress that recent governance failures in some financial entities have brought to the fore the impact of the quality of corporate governance on efficiency in allocation of resources as well as on financial stability.Pointing specifically at private banks, the RBI has flagged off the state of corporate governance in private banks. In its report, the RBI said: "The fault lines are becoming evident in the private bank's corporate governance."
PETALING JAYA
: There has been no shortage of corporate news over the course of 2019. From failed mergers to lawsuits, here is a look at some of the most notable happenings that were reported during the year.
You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
Abraham Lincoln
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If you see a news story concerning internal control or corporate governance that you feel is important for other professionals to know please send it to us .
ABOUT ICI
The Internal Control Institute™ (ICI) is a worldwide organization devoted exclusively to internal control and corporate governance. The Institute is dedicated to the development of world-class educational programs and best practice guidelines on internal control and corporate governance, based on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the COSO internal control framework. Visit us on the web at the Internal Control Institute
Control Chatter is a monthly news summary of the top stories concerning internal control and corporate governance. Control Chatter is prepared by the staff of Internal Control Institute for the benefit of their members and associates. Please consider it for your personal use or pass it on to associates who may have an interest in one or more of the topics by clicking on the Forward email button below.
ICI has entered into an agreement with Internal Control Institute of Botswana (ICI Botswana":) as its representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in this territory. ICI Botswana will be responsible for all development activities in this area, including professional training and Certification. Individuals or companies interested in internal control training or Certification should contact:
