In 1992, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of The Treadway Commission (“COSO”), which include the American Accounting Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Financial Executives International, the Institute of Management Accountants, and The Institute of Internal Auditors defined “internal control” as a process, effected by an entity's board of directors, management and other personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following categories:

Internal controls with respect to reliability of financial reporting are intended to help improve the quality and reliability of a company's financial statements.  Often, when fraud is detected in an organization involving financial statement misrepresentation or misappropriation of assets, the existence and/or adequacy of the company’s internal controls is an issue that comes to the forefront in the ensuing fraud investigation.  Did the company have the proper controls in place to deter, prevent and/or detect the fraud?  Were the controls implemented and followed appropriately?

F3 assists companies in strengthening their operating environment and financial reporting, before a significant loss due to fraud is discovered and the company is distracted by a costly fraud investigation.  Our evaluation of a company’s existing internal controls covers the following five interrelated components:

We perform these services for a number of groups including