The Objectives and Boundaries of Internal Control -An Investigation of the COSO Internal Control-Integrated Framework

This paper discusses the objectives and boundaries of internal control on the basis of a review of both of the domestic and international internal control standards as well as an analysis of both the risks at the beginning and the operational stages of companies. The relationship between the corporate governance and strategic objectives and that between opportunity and risk managements has also been clarified. With the analysis of the subjective, objective and organizational boundaries of internal control, the relationships among internal control, enterprise opportunities management, enterprise risk management, traditional risk management and internal accounting control have been further clarified. Suggestions about future revisions of the COSO report were proposed at the end of the paper.