internal controls
Organizational risk management
Internal controls are the procedures and safeguards an organization uses to ensure accurate financial reporting, prevent fraud, and maintain compliance with regulations.
They include separation of duties, approval hierarchies, audit trails, and access restrictions: The auditors found weaknesses in our internal controls.
The term appears most often in accounting, corporate governance, and regulatory contexts.
- audit trailsRecorded history of actions
- paper trailDocumentary evidence chain
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- auditingExamining records for accuracy
- transparencyState of being see-through
oversight · reconciliations · accountability · segregation · checks and balances · fiduciary duty · contingency planning · monitoring systems · financial statements · authorization · financial reporting · risk assessment · disciplinary actions · verification · red flags · policies · budgeting · protocols
internal controlschaos
Complete disorder and confusion
disorder · mismanagement · disorganization · fraud · embezzlement