Control Chatter
April 2021
News that Control Professionals need to know
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Test your Knowledge of Internal Control
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The Internal Control Institute has developed two mini assessments to test your knowledge. A CICS Common Body of Knowledge Mini Assessment that helps an individual determine their knowledge as it relates to organizational governance and control practices. Results point out areas of knowledge that may require additional training and experience. The assessments also provides a measurement to the individual's readiness for CICS certification.
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Start becoming an Internal Control professional today! |
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The ICI "Certification Series" of online courses |
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. To review the course catalog click
To register for one or all of the online training programs click here:
Online course pricing has been reduced by over 70%
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Internal Control Chatter
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.
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How well do you know your anti-corruption enforcement and compliance acronyms?
fcpablog.com
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Take the FCPA Blog’s quick quiz to test your knowledge of anti-corruption and compliance acronyms. The quiz has 20 questions, so 16 correct answers is an 80 percent score. You can take the quiz as many times as you want, and all results are anonymous.
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When the going gets tough
www.manilatimes.net
April 21, 2021
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ACCORDING to Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, the two basic needs are physiological (e.g. food, water, shelter, clothing, air, rest and reproduction) and safety (e.g. personal security, employment, resources, health and property) This pandemic has affected all sectors of our society; such needs are not immediately fulfilled due to a scarcity of resources. As they say, it is survival of the fittest; the one who can easily adapt to the circumstances has an advantage over others. In these times, people are compelled to think out of the box regarding how to survive one day at a time.
With this comes a test of integrity. When push comes to shove, extraordinary (and sometimes illicit) activities are done to be able to achieve one’s basic needs. Dangers of fraud exist across all organizations — private and government, profit and nonprofit, and small and big corporations.
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Former Chief Executive Officer of Publicly Traded Petrochemical Company Pleads Guilty to Foreign Bribery and Securities Law Violations
Written by DOJ
www.imperialvalleynews.com
Published: 22 April 2021
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A Brazilian national who previously served as a chief executive officer (CEO) of Braskem S.A. (Braskem), a publicly traded Brazilian petrochemical company, pleaded guilty to conspiring to divert hundreds of millions of dollars from Braskem into a secret slush fund and to pay bribes to government officials, political parties, and others in Brazil to obtain and retain business. According to court documents, between approximately 2002 and 2014, Jose Carlos Grubisich, 64, a citizen of Brazil — who served as the CEO and a member of the board of directors of Braskem as well as in various capacities for Braskem’s parent company, Odebrecht S.A. (Odebrecht) - engaged in a scheme to bribe Brazilian government officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). As part of the scheme, Grubisich and his co-conspirators diverted approximately $250 million from Braskem into a secret slush fund, which Grubisich and others had generated through fraudulent contracts and offshore shell companies secretly controlled by Braskem.
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How a church can prevent fraud without compromising its values
By Anita Dennis
journalofaccountancy.com
April 23, 2021
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A number of years ago, a concerned church reached out to its CPA firm. It had been growing and enjoying strong giving, but it was suddenly experiencing an unexplained cash flow crunch. The CPA firm conducted a forensic examination and found that the church’s bookkeeper had embezzled more than $2.1 million over a seven-year period. Church leaders had never questioned how the bookkeeper, a longtime employee who was earning around $40,000 per year, could afford an expensive car, trips to Europe, and part ownership in a racehorse breeding operation, said Robert Faulk, CPA, partner and church and denomination services director at CapinCrouse LLP, whose firm performed the forensic accounting engagement.
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Eight things an accounting adviser may do for you
Painting a clearer picture of accounting
crainsnewyork.com
April 19, 2021 05:00 AM
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Far from the black-and-white world that many outside a company’s accounting function imagine, gray can be accounting’s primary color. That’s because many accounting questions are complicated, and there’s often a high degree of judgment required when applying the rules.
Documenting complex transactions and the related accounting conclusions can be extremely challenging given today’s standards for internal controls over financial reporting. At the same time, finance departments are expected to create value across the entire business, and finance leaders are expected to play a key role in many corporate decisions. All of this makes it critical that accounting and financial reporting are handled efficiently and with an eye toward what’s important for the organization as a whole.
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Have the boards at Indian companies become more independent & effective
By Vidhu Shekhar
Apr 18, 2021
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Independent directors have come under a great deal of attention in the past few years. In India, the trend started with the Satyam fraud, where independent directors were seen to have failed spectacularly to do what they were supposed to do. The Satyam case study was India’s contribution to the rich literature on corporate failures that included other famous names such as Enron and Parmalat. In the ensuing years, the new Companies Act was drafted, the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Regulations (LODR) came into force, and reforms were undertaken as part of the recommendations of the Uday Kotak committee on corporate governance. All these developments have changed the regulatory environment under which independent directors do their job. However, we still seem to be some distance away from finding the right balance between investor needs, regulation and enforcement, and board effectiveness.
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Regulatory and Compliance Considerations of Remote Working
by Angela Good
finextra.com
16 April 2021
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Remote working has changed our working model and while most people will welcome it, firms must ensure they have identified all regulatory risks. Lockdown has changed the world of work as we know it. Almost overnight firms were forced to shift to a remote working pattern. Although it has generally gone ahead smoothly, research suggests many firms are looking to make the move permanent. This will have significant implications for their regulatory compliance. According to PWC, COVID-19 has been game changer for remote work. Before the pandemic, 29% of respondents had 60% of their workforce working-from-home at least once a week. That figure has now grown to 69%. The pandemic proved that it could be successful. The survey also found that 95% of employees switched to remote working and either maintained or improved productivity. Employers said they had found work-from-home measures to be successful and that they supported the idea of working from home at least one day a week going forward. Moreover, 35% of companies said they were happy to go with a full-time work-from-home option.
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Op-Ed: Test your internal controls
By Derek Smith Jr
ewnews.com
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The independence of mind and independence of appearance is what gives assurance services their value and credibility. Globally, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendation 18 speaks to financial institutions (FI) programs against money laundering including “an independent audit function to test the system”. Locally, the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, 2018, Section 19(2)(iv) requests every FI to implement procedures based on its nature and size to, at minimum, secure “independent audit arrangements to review and verify compliance with the effectiveness of the measures taken within the act”. By tradition, external audit focuses more on providing assurance to financial statements while internal audit specializes in examining internal processes, procedures and controls. The distinction above appears fundamental and critical to the ongoing discussions of independence and objectivity, even more consequentially whether the local inclusion of the words “independent audit arrangements” gives rise to the obligation of an internal audit, external audit and/or both across the many professions that are captured under FTRA — in particular Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs). This article will proffer no position and only seeks to offer contextual facts surrounding the options.
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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 727-538-4113 in the USA.
Below is a list of WorldWide Affiliates currently serving the profession. If your area is not represented please consider partnering with ICI
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2021 Certification Training Program & Exams
ICI and affiliates around the world have a busy training programme scheduled for 2021. For more details on the CICS Training programmes on offer,visit the Events page on our website by clicking on the link below.
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ICI World Wide Affiliates
Welcome to our newest affiliate
ICI has entered into an agreement with Internal Control Institute of Benin (ICI Benin") as its representative for Products, Services and Internal Control Certifications (CICS/CICP) in this territory. ICI Benin 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:
Contact: Soulémane BABA DAMAGUI
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Contact: Mr Aminur Rahman
Email: info@aaa-associate.com
Tel: +88 01749 400600
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Contact: Soulémane BABA DAMAGUI
Email: sbabadamagui@gmail.com
Tel: +0022997492600
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Contact: Mr Humphrey Chawafambira
Email: humphrey@internalcontrolinstitute.co.bw
Tel: +267 75618647
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Contact: Mr Eduardo Person Pardini
Email: eduardo@crossoverbrazil.com
Tel: +55 51 3533 8566
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Contact: Mr Eric Kamegne
Email: eric.kamegne@ipeonline.net
Tel: +237 658 292 978
Our first CICS session in April is online only
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Contact: Mr Qiu Jianting
Email: cert@neikong.com
Tel: 400-098-1119 or 010 68004176
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Contact: Mr Yves Dupont
Email: info@icib.org
Tel: 0032 2 305 35 25
Scheduled Events
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Contact: Mr Summit Goyal
Email: info@bncglobal.in
Tel: +91 9810 575 613
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Contact: Mr Belal Abdul Jabbar
Email: b.ajabbar@osooltc.com
Tel: +962 6 5927171
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Contact: Mr Sanjeev Gathani
Email: sanjeev@bbg-apac.com
Tel: +65 9655 4633
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Contact: Mr Joel Aluko
Email: tunjialuko5@yahoo.com
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Contact: Mr Muhammad Farooq Hammodi
Email: nardac_k@yahoo.com
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Contact: Mr Cosmin Serbanescu
Email: contact@incir.ro
Tel: +40 752 525 525
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Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia & Taiwan China |
Contact: Mr Bob Seetoh
Email: bobseetoh@theglobalgrc.com
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Contact: Ms Sedie Jane Masite
Email: sediem52@gmail.com or info@ciagol.com
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Contact: Ms Nadia Yaich
Email: nadia.yaich@bfc.com.tn
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Contact: Ms Ilknur Tunc
Email: ilknur.tunc@iciturkey.org
Tel: +90 312 442 50 15
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Contact: Mr Nguyen Thanh Tung
Email: info@fmit.vn
Tel: 848 3803 5020
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Contact: Dr Proctor Nyemba
Email: admin@internalcontrolinstitute.co.zw
Tel: +263 4 443124
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Control Quotes:
The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.
Vince Lombardi
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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.
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