ABSTRACT
For over 50 years, management and the auditing profession have been challenged to come to grips with the importance of companies instituting effective internal controls as a deterrent to fraud and as a means to publish reliable financial information for users of financial reports. In every major study of misstated financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, weaknesses in internal controls have been cited as a root condition contributing to or failing to prevent fraud or error. This background is discussed further in the section “Historical development”.
