Once upon a time, broad reviews of general computer controls were a cornerstone of IT audits. Now, Auditing Standard No. 5 may well close the book on that practice. Testing of operating systems, information security, and “change management” in a company’s IT environment has evolved rapidly since such audits became commonplace 15 years ago. AS5, […]
Leffall Jabulani
Posted inFrom the Archive
409A Deadline: Extension Wanted, Unlikely
At nearly 400 pages, the Treasury Department’s guidance for Section 409A of the tax code takes a long time to read. Time to comply with its new requirements, however, is in short supply. Section 409A imposes complex new rules around how deferred compensation agreements should be structured if companies and executives want to avoid higher […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Talking Risk, Audits and More at Wachovia
In the latest of our conversations with compliance, risk, and accounting officers at public companies, we talk with Peter Carlson, controller and principal accounting officer at Wachovia Corp. You can see an archive of previous question-and-answer interviews here. Carlson Pete Carlson is senior vice president and corporate controller at banking giant Wachovia Corp. He is […]
Posted inInternal Controls
AS5 in Hand, More Companies to Act Alone
Will the number “5” signal greater self-reliance and less dependence on third parties for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance? That number—symbolic of both the fifth anniversary of Sarbanes-Oxley and the release of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Auditing Standard No. 5—is certainly giving hope to companies that costs can be dropped and processes simplified through greater self-reliance […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Risk Of Piling ERM On The Audit Committee
Richard Roedel, director of the Association of Audit Committee Members, recalls the moment well: Earlier this year, he served on a board as chairman of its audit committee and was holding a meeting. Another board member mistakenly strolled in, expecting a meeting of the compensation committee. Roedel Roedel joked with the director that anyone staying […]