Effective Internal Controls for Small Businesses

Course Description:

Small business enterprises sometimes take the position that effective internal controls cannot be achieved.  There aren’t enough employees for adequate segregation of duties.  Many, if not most, have no internal audit function.  However, even within the confines of these and other challenges, small businesses can achieve an effective internal control structure.

To overcome an inability to segregate duties as well as other issues, small businesses must look for mitigating controls.  The most pervasive mitigating control is the direct oversight of management.  This oversight may take the form of financial statement review, approving disbursements, signing checks as well as other review processes.  While there are other considerations as to whether the oversight of management may mitigate a lack of segregation of duties and other internal control challenges, if done correctly, this is one of the best ways to overcome these inherent issues.

There are internal control fundamentals that are appropriate for small businesses.  This course discusses fundamental operational and accounting controls and also reviews the optimal company culture for an effective internal control environment.      

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify and define appropriate internal controls for a small business entity
• Define ways to overcome lack of segregation of duties
• Associate certain internal controls with the prevention or detection of fraud
• Identify where multiple approval levels may be appropriate in the cash disbursement process​