Accounting Foundations: Internal Controls

Knowingly—or unknowingly—reporting fraudulent information in your financial statements can lead to catastrophic consequences for your business. To prevent fraud, you need a series of internal controls, including a top-down control environment, physical controls, and ongoing monitoring. This course teaches you how to use these internal controls to increase the integrity of your financial statements. Professors Jim and Kay Stice take a look at the types of financial reporting problems that can occur and safeguards to minimize them. They also discuss the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), and the compliance requirements for U.S. businesses that fall under the act. Plus, find out how the Securities and Exchange Commission enforces accurate financial reporting in the securities market and beyond.

Note: This course does not satisfy compliance training requirements for SOX.

Topics include:

Common problems in financial statements
Segregating duties and physical controls
Conducting independent checks
Earnings management
Sarbanes-Oxley requirements
Internal vs. external auditing
How the SEC regulates financial documentation