Call it the intersection of convergence and compliance: Companies trying to obey Sarbanes-Oxley’s internal control provisions are finding that not only must they evaluate the controls their own operations—but also those of partners with whom they may form an alliance.
In general, the risk that the internal controls of a collaborative effort won’t catch an error is small. Still, according to a survey by the Institute of Internal Auditors of more than 150 auditing executives, the damage that could occur to a company if any controls do fail is large. This is particularly true in the case of joint ventures.
