Certified Public Accountants

Internal Control

What is internal control? It is the system of checks and balances within a business enterprise which helps to ensure that the company's assets are properly safeguarded and that the financial information produced by the company is accurate and reliable. When you're operating as a "one man shop" or at least handling all of the company's financial transactions, maintaining good internal accounting control is relatively straight forward.

However, when your company grows to the size where you must delegate some of the functions it becomes more difficult to ensure that all the transactions are being accounted for properly.

No matter the size of your business, you should always be able to answer "yes" to the following questions:

1. When my company provides goods or services to our customers, am I sure that the sale is recorded and the revenue is recorded in accounts receivable or the cash is collected?
2. When cash is expended by my company, am I sure we received goods or services?

The method used to ensure that these two questions can be answered affirmatively will be widely varied. They are essential stepping stones to maintaining good control in your business. The solution in your particular instance may be as simple as numbering the sales tickets and being sure ALL TICKETS ARE ACCOUNTED FOR or reviewing all invoices and timecards before signing company checks. These are fundamentals in a well run business. As the company grows you will need to consider concepts such as segregation of authority as well as employee fidelity bonds or controlled access storerooms.

No matter what the size of your enterprise, you should consider controlling your business and safeguarding hard earned assets as a priority from the outset.