ABSTRACT
COSO stands for the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations and, by simple definition, is a control
framework that provides guidance on internal control areas that could be incorporated in business
processes. The objective of COSO is to provide a common understanding of internal control as internal
control has diverse meanings across different groups and work disciplines. COSO establishes this
common definition and identifies the internal control objectives, the components, and the criteria
that controls can be evaluated against. This chapter provides an overview of COSO, highlights its
components and criteria, and identifies current ways COSO is being used.
