Internal financial controls are a must, say experts

Internal financial controls (IFC) are a must not only to detect and curb fraud but also to maximise companies' resources, experts said on Saturday.

"Internal controls provide a reasonable assurance for the management to prevent fraud," said Deloitte India Chairman P.R. Ramesh at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Experts said that the internal financial control measure was not a destination, but a continuous process and it should be dynamic in nature and must be designed as per requirements.

Advocating adoption of IFCs, CII Eastern Region's Governance Task Force Chairman Moloy Banerjee said: "A robust risk management system is an absolute necessity."

He further said IFC should be implemented through a system-driven approach for which training programmes should be conducted for capacity building.

According to Walker Chandoik & Co LLP Senior Partner Khushroo B Panthaky, fraud is the result of an inadequate internal control.

"Adequate designing of control measures are necessary to lower fraud risks. The management and the auditors should be responsible to check the adequacy of the existing control measures in the organisation," he added.

--IANS

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