Source: COSO

The Committee of Sponsoring Organisations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) has released for comment two new documents associated with its project to revise and update its internationally recognised Internal Control-Integrated Framework publication. These are:

A draft compendium designed to assist users to implement good internal controls when preparing financial reports. The compendium contains various approaches and examples that illustrate how the framework’s principles can be effectively applied in this context  
New illustrative tools to assess the effectiveness of internal control.

COSO has also released an updated draft of the Framework document itself, showing the changes that have been made in light of the feedback from the public consultation conducted earlier this year. The framework, first issued in 1992, is widely accepted as the benchmark for designing and evaluating internal controls and is being updated for its 20th anniversary. A draft was exposed for comment in December 2011 and COSO received 97 comment letters and more than 100 responses to its online survey ahead of the comment close on 31 March 2012.

Comments on the proposed Compendium, the post public exposure version of the updated Framework and Illustrative Tools are open until 20 November 2012 and are available on the COSO website. The documents are accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation discussing these latest developments. Final documents are expected during the first quarter of 2013.