The Development of Professional Standards Related to Internal Accounting Control Evaluation

Although the study and evaluation of internal accounting controls may appear to be a problem of fairly recent development, auditors have contended with the problem for over three-quarters of a century. Since the early part of the twentieth century, auditors have taken internal accounting control systems into account when designing audit programs. As early as 1917, Robert H. Montgomery noted that “if the auditor has satisfied himself that the system of internal check is adequate, he will not attempt to duplicate work which has been properly performed by someone else.” ¹