Internal control, which, since the law of financial security, is the subject each year of a report by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, now has a frame of reference. Place Group mandated by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) to develop a repository on this ill-defined concept has opted for general principles rather than a too binding normative framework.
"A repository for internal control in the global sense quickly became absurd." "No regulator is competent to ensure compliance, and this would be to deny the specificity of each undertaking", justifies Jean Cédelle, co-Chair of the group in place, and Director of compliance at Calyon. The group claims a pragmatic approach, compatible with developments in the EU and foreign models, including the American repository (Coso). The terms of reference established must allow greater homogeneity of the concepts that underlie the reports of the chairpersons on internal control, but leaves each free society of his own organization.
A kind of guide practice
"It is up to each company to develop an appropriate internal control system." "The terms of reference provides support, simple, easy to access and adaptable according to the Organization of the company and the degree of involvement of the Board of Directors on these issues," explains Louis Vaurs, rapporteur of the Group of place and delegate General of the Institute of internal audit (Ifaci).
It is thus a kind of practical guide which States the concept of internal control. The set of behaviours and procedures, means aims to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, the application of the guidelines set out by the Directorate-General, the proper functioning of the internal processes of the company and the reliability of financial information.
Moreover, in perimeter, the precise place group that it is up to the parent company to ensure the existence of control devices internal report in its subsidiaries. It also specifies that, if the branch designed the device, the level of involvement of the Board of Directors varies from one Corporation to another. But add that "it belongs to the Directorate-General to report to the Board or its audit committee when there are the essential characteristics of the control device internal".
Two questionnaires were assistants at this frame of reference. One is the internal accounting and financial control, and the other, subject to a lower consensus, risk management. They suggest a series of questions intended to administrators to well understand the device in place.
Frame of a repository
"This is only a first step," said Gérard Rameix, Secretary General of the MFA, presentation of the conclusions of the Group of place organized yesterday by the Ifaci. Indeed, accounting and financial internal control questionnaire is destined to become the backbone of a repository specifically on this aspect of internal control, the subject of a report to part of the Board of Auditors. It is also the aspect of accounting and financial internal control that is described in the European accounting directives. What justify a more standardized framework. A second working group, co-chaired by Jean Cédelle and Michel Leger, auditor, has been invited to present its findings during the month of September 2006.
But we are only at the beginning of this processHere again the negotiations are difficultA spontaneously beautiful to contemplate gearA Europe to be clear on its vital interestsBecause these people does not impress himAt first glance it's a luggage containerThus the tie is anymore mandatory support It is worn by a family with convictionsAn effort tried to considerable passage by ParisIn addition flying in gap critics only 1
