Select a company, small or large, whose practices you will review. You may alternatively use a company you would like to start.In a paper of 4–5 pages:
Evaluate the company’s practices against COSO’s internal control frameworks. If you chose a company that you would like to start, then you are going to establish the COSO internal controls based on your selection of the company’s operations.
Identify at least one possible risk in the current practice/potential practice that could limit the effectiveness of COSO’s internal control framework. How would you discover and fix this issue?
Use three sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source slide at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides.
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
Evaluation of Company X’s Practices against COSO’s Internal Control Frameworks
Introduction
In this paper, we will evaluate the practices of Company X against the COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission) internal control frameworks. The COSO framework provides a comprehensive approach to internal control, helping organizations establish effective systems to achieve operational objectives, financial reporting reliability, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. We will assess Company X’s practices and identify potential risks that could limit the effectiveness of the COSO internal control framework. Additionally, we will discuss how these risks can be discovered and fixed.
Evaluation of Company X’s Practices against COSO’s Internal Control Frameworks
Company X is a medium-sized manufacturing company that produces and sells consumer electronics. To evaluate its practices against COSO’s internal control frameworks, we will examine the five components of the COSO framework: Control Environment, Risk Assessment, Control Activities, Information and Communication, and Monitoring Activities.
Control Environment:
Company X has a strong control environment, with a well-defined organizational structure and clear lines of authority and responsibility. The company promotes ethical values and integrity among its employees, and there is a formal code of conduct in place.
However, there is room for improvement in terms of management’s attitude towards risk. Risk appetite should be clearly defined, and management should actively promote a risk-aware culture throughout the organization.
Risk Assessment:
Company X conducts regular risk assessments to identify and prioritize potential risks. The company has a risk management team responsible for assessing risks across various areas such as supply chain, production, sales, and finance.
However, there is a need for more robust risk assessment methodologies and tools to ensure comprehensive coverage of all potential risks. The company should also consider external factors such as changes in the regulatory environment or technological advancements that may impact their operations.
Control Activities:
Company X has established various control activities to mitigate risks identified during the risk assessment process. These include segregation of duties, authorization and approval processes, physical safeguards, and IT controls.
However, there is a lack of documentation and formalization of control activities. Clear policies and procedures should be developed and communicated to all employees to ensure consistency in executing control activities.
Information and Communication:
Company X has implemented an ERP system that integrates various business processes and provides real-time information to management for decision-making.
Nevertheless, there are opportunities to enhance information sharing and communication across departments and levels within the organization. Regular training programs should be conducted to ensure employees understand their roles in maintaining effective internal controls.
Monitoring Activities:
Company X has established a monitoring program to assess the effectiveness of internal controls. Internal audits are conducted periodically to identify control deficiencies and recommend corrective actions.
However, there is a need for more proactive monitoring activities such as continuous monitoring and data analytics to detect anomalies or control failures in real-time.
Identifying a Potential Risk
One potential risk in Company X’s practices that could limit the effectiveness of the COSO internal control framework is the over-reliance on manual controls. While the company has implemented various control activities, many of these controls are manually executed by employees. This introduces the risk of human error or intentional circumvention of controls.
To discover this issue, an internal audit or review can be conducted to assess the reliance on manual controls in different processes within the organization. This can involve interviewing employees involved in executing control activities, reviewing documentation and policies related to control activities, and conducting process walkthroughs to identify potential gaps or weaknesses.
To fix this issue, Company X should consider automating certain control activities where feasible. This can include implementing automated approval workflows, utilizing technology-enabled segregation of duties controls, and leveraging data analytics tools for continuous monitoring. By reducing reliance on manual controls, the company can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of its internal control framework.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Company X’s practices align with several aspects of COSO’s internal control frameworks. However, there are areas for improvement in terms of risk management, formalization of control activities, information sharing, and proactive monitoring. Identifying potential risks, such as over-reliance on manual controls, is crucial to ensuring the effectiveness of the internal control framework. By conducting internal audits or reviews and implementing automation where feasible, Company X can mitigate this risk and strengthen its internal controls to achieve its operational objectives effectively.
