IMA Stresses Importance of COSO Exposure Draft to Small Businesses

MONTVALE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As a co-founder of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants) has contributed to the latest COSO exposure draft, titled Internal Control over External Financial Reporting (ICEFR): Compendium of Approaches and Examples, and encourages small businesses to provide input. The exposure draft was announced today by COSO: www.coso.org.

“The growth of small- and medium-sized businesses is a key component in the prosperity of the U.S. economy, and COSO’s draft Compendium provides organizations with tools to increase the cost-effectiveness of their financial reporting.”

In conjunction with the release of the Compendium, COSO is also making available the revised version of its updated Internal Control-Integrated Framework and proposed Illustrative Tools to assist users in assessing the effectiveness of internal controls.

According to Sandra B. Richtermeyer, Ph.D., CMA^®, CPA, IMA’s immediate former chair-emeritus and representative on the COSO Board, the Framework, and companion Compendium and Illustrative Tools are particularly useful for small- and medium-sized businesses.

“Many small businesses face risk due to lack of planning, operational challenges, and rapid growth. Strong internal control systems can be very helpful to these businesses as they align their strategy and operations while appropriately managing risk,” said Dr. Richtermeyer.

COSO’s overall goal in updating the Framework is to ease use and application and to reflect changes in the increasingly complex business, operating, and regulatory environments since 1992.

According to John Exline, CMA, CPA, chair of IMA’s Small Business Financial and Regulatory Affairs Committee, “The growth of small- and medium-sized businesses is a key component in the prosperity of the U.S. economy, and COSO’s draft Compendium provides organizations with tools to increase the cost-effectiveness of their financial reporting.”

To submit comments and find additional information on the draft Compendium, please visit www.ic.coso.org.

About IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants)

IMA^®, the association of accountants and financial professionals in business, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA^® (Certified Management Accountant) program, continuing education, networking, and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 65,000 members in 120 countries and 200 local chapter communities. IMA provides localized services through its offices in Montvale, N.J., USA; Zurich, Switzerland; Dubai, UAE; and Beijing, China. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org.