Fraud Risk Assessment: A Tool for SME’s to Identify Effective Internal Controls

In recent years, the importance of good control mechanisms has increased significantly due to the number of high-profile corporate failures caused by top management fraudulent acts. Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002, Section 404 says that it is the management’s responsibility to maintain and assess the effectiveness of its own internal control structure for financial reporting. The Act also states that it is the auditor’s responsibility to attest and report on the management’s assessment and the state of the overall financial control. Previous research that had been carried out was from the perspective catered mainly for the auditors or audit committees that had been set up by the management of the organization.  Not many organizations, especially Small and Medium Sized Organizations are able to afford the cost of hiring consultants, auditors (external and internal) or set up audit committees to assess and manage the Internal Controls. Therefore, this paper expects to provide guidance to smaller sized organizations that prefer to set up and maintain effective and efficient Internal Controls in-house; on how to carry out a Fraud Risk Assessment and recommend Internal Controls based on the results, whilst trying to ensure costs, personnel and operations turnover are not affected in an unreasonable manner. Keywords: Fraud Risk Assessment, Internal Controls, Fraud Schemes, Fraud, Small & Medium Sized, Community Manage

Corruption and Good Governance: An Analysis of ASEAN's E-Governance Experience

Since its formation in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has progressed to become an economic powerhouse. From a loosely formed grouping in the 1960s, its members have since undergone massive integration. A key motive of the Association is to transfer government and public services onto a technology platform, termed e-government. An important concern is whether e-governance can reduce corruption and stimulate sustainable development. Using traditional governance measures and e-governance indices, this paper analyses the state of governance and corruption in ASEAN. While the deepening of e-governance - via government and public participation - has raised the potential for improving good governance practices, that in itself can be counterproductive as socioeconomic agents could broaden corrupt practices by appropriating its public-good-like characteristics. Hence, ASEAN governments have to implement changes in their communications strategies and feedback mechanisms, remove barriers blocking the spread and use of information technology, and promote a collaborative environment with civil society organizations, while considering the use of the "carrot and stick" approach to improve good governance. © 2019 ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute