The primary goal of Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting is to give reasonable confidence about the financial reporting's trustworthiness in line with widely accepted accounting rules. Reflect on the company's transactions and disposal fairly and correctly. To keep track of transactions that have a substantial impact on the financial statements and to guarantee that the material transactions are properly documented. Internal auditors assist senior management and boards in determining if they are effectively operating the business for the benefit of its stakeholders. 

Internal audit is an impartial and objective activity aimed to provide value and enhance an organization's operations, according to the Institute of Internal Auditors. Internal auditing assists a company in achieving its goals by applying a methodical, disciplined approach to evaluating and improving the efficacy of risk management, control, and governance systems. 

  1. All businesses must keep accurate books of account and create financial statements in order to present a true and fair picture of their financial situation. Financial statement maintenance is a vital task for all businesses. The Board of Directors is responsible for the maintenance and creation of financial accounts, which it may delegate to the CFO or any other employee of the firm. In most small businesses, the accounting and finance department prepares the trial balance, while the statutory auditors write the final books of accounts.
  2. Internal auditors assist management in enhancing company procedures. The internal auditor can assist a manager in identifying improvements in a specific area of responsibility.
  3. The internal auditor's job is to assess a company's risk management. Every organization presents different risks, which the auditor must assess. Because the success of any company is determined by how well it manages risks. Across an organization, the auditor will evaluate risk management procedures, internal control systems, and corporate governance processes.
  4. Management is responsible for identifying all risks that impact the organization's growth, which aids an internal auditor in anticipating future issues and opportunities and offering assurance, counsel, and insight where it is most required.
  5. Systems, procedures, and people are required to achieve objectives and manage important corporate resources. Internal auditors collaborate closely with line managers to assess and report on operations.
  6. Internal audit has a broad scope in evaluating risk management since internal control extends from the mailroom to the boardroom. The internal auditor's job is to assess risk at one level and report on the efficacy of management policy execution at another.

To briefly put it, the key responsibilities of the internal auditor are: 

  • Assessing the organization's risk management operations.
  • Assessing the organization's adherence to applicable laws and regulations.
  • Assessing internal control and offering recommendations to help improve it.
  • Conducting a fraud risk assessment based on fraud deterrent principles to investigate fraud.
  • Providing objective, unbiased guidance to assist in achieving the aim and ensuring legality and validity.
  • Completing audit duties that have been given to them
  • Studying and learning the organization's policies and procedures.
  • Determining the scope of the audit and setting yearly goals for the organization.
  • Compiling, analyzing, assessing, and presenting accounting records, reports, statistics, and flowcharts.
  • Monitoring the management's intervention by following up on the audits.
  • Promoting ethics and recognizing unethical behavior inside the organization.

These are the key responsibilities of Internal auditors in the applicability of Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting.

There are few reliable firms in India that do Internal Financial Controls Audit. One of the renowned and trusted ICFR Audit services is offered by ZMAS and Associates. It was established with an intent to enhance and protect organizational value by providing risk-based and objective assurance, advice, and insight. They are known for their quality standards, robust team, confidentiality, and client-focused relationship.