Internal Controls for Managers Seminar

August 4, 2010

We invite you to Oxford Associates Internal Controls for Managers Seminar. Do you know how to build effective organizational systems to accomplish your objectives?  Do you know how to minimize surprises (e.g. losses, customer dissatisfaction, and fraud) using internal control systems? Successful managers have their operations under control, taking risks wisely and achieving their objectives.

The Internal Controls for Managers Seminar from Oxford Associates helps you learn how to design a basic control framework based on best practices including both "soft" or cultural controls and "hard" or procedural controls following the widely recognized COSO framework.  A pre-course and post-course call will assist participants in applying control principles to their own organizations.

Training Objectives

• Understand what internal control is, what it can do, and what it can't do.
• Apply the COSO internal control framework's five components to achieve its three aims (and a fourth, implied aim, safeguarding organizational resources).
• Learn how to build appropriate "soft" controls into your control environment.
• Develop techniques to assess risks and develop appropriate responses.
• Learn how to build appropriate "hard" control activities including processes to enable management monitoring, including the importance of information and communication in internal control systems.
• Design drafts of internal controls for your operation, getting feedback from other managers and the instructor.

Topics   

• Control History & Limits
• Risk Assessment Techniques
• Control Environment - Soft Controls
• "Hard"  Controls: Theory and Techniques for designing Control Activities
• “Hard" Controls (Cont'd): Information, Communications, and Monitoring

Outline 

• 9:00 – Icebreaker
• 9:30 – Control History & Limits
• 10:30 – Break
• 10:45 – Risk Assessment Techniques
• 11:15 – Group Activity-Assessing Your Risks
• 11:45 – Group Presentations (from Group Activity)
• 12:00 – Lunch
• 1:00 – Morning Review
• 1:15 – Control Environment - Soft Controls
• 2:00 – Individual Activity: Soft Controls in Your Organization
• 2:30 – Break
• 2:45 – “Hard” Controls: Theory and Techniques for designing Control Activities
• 3:30 – Group Exercise: Designing Control Activities
• 4:00 – “Hard” Controls (Cont’d): Information, Communications, and Monitoring
• 4:30 – Individual Activity: Information you Need to Monitor Your Organization. 
• 5:00 – Course Review
• 5:15 – Finish

About Our Trainer

Doug Sibley 

   
BMath (Honours) Computer Science, MA Diplomacy, Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Information Systems Auditor, Certified Financial Services Auditor, Certified Information Systems Security Professional.
 
Doug worked in the internal audit department of a large bank for five years, three in Canada doing information systems audits and two in Chicago training auditors, doing quality improvement projects and assembling reports for the board and senior executives.  Prior to working as an auditor Doug worked as a computer security researcher, software developer and IT systems administrator.

About Oxford Associates

Oxford Associates has assisted many leading companies to improve their performance and efficiency through customized soft skills and language training programs since 1999.

We incorporate a variety of needs analysis assessments to fully understand our clients' needs and deliver the most effective training to meet and exceed client’s training expectations.

Oxford Associates is a member of the Aston Educational Group (AEG), the largest American private education company in China.