ABSTRACT
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) of the Treadway Commission issued its original internal control framework in 1992 as a result of its study of the financial reporting scandals and failures that occurred in the 1980s. The COSO IC-IF framework consists of five components that affect the organization along three main categories of objectives and risks: Compliance, Reporting, and Operations. The COSO IC-IF is a management framework, but it was adopted, used and enforced primarily by compliance professionals who used it to evaluate the quality and condition of the organization's internal control structures and practices. The COSO IC-IF Framework is the most widely recognized and used internal control framework globally. As such, it constitutes a centerpiece in the methodology of internal auditors. The COSO IC-IF Framework is widely used by external auditors and is the internal control framework most companies use in the US to comply with the Sarbanes—Oxley Act.
