The article discusses the challenge of measuring internal control effectiveness within organizations, specifically within the COSO framework. It emphasizes the need for reasonable assurance rather than absolute control, encouraging periodic checks on high-risk processes. It suggests organizations regularly review and update controls for relevance and effectiveness to ensure organizational objectives are met.
Continue readingCOSOPS is a modified version of the COSO framework applied to public sector organizations. COSOPS highlights internal controls aimed at efficiency, reliability of reporting, and compliance with laws. Key changes include emphasizing public accountability, the role of civil service, fiscal matters, and external oversight, aiming for improvement in public policy functions.
Continue readingThis is the third in a series of the internal control. The first blog, Internal Control and COSO, introduced this framework including highlighting some of its short comings. The second blog, A List of Internal Controls, attempted to create the most comprehensive list of controls ever constructed (or that at least I could find). This blog asks the question, “does COSO have competitors or is there a better control framework out there?“.
Continue readingThe network file structure is now about 50+ years old but is still the backbone for a lot of corporate and personal data management [1]. At the same time, how often have you heard stories of people losing all of the family pictures because they failed to back up or backed up the wrong directory.
Continue readingThis is a second in a series of blogs on Internal Control and this one specifically asks, is there a list of internal controls and why would you want such a list?
Continue readingAccountants are trained to think about and implement controls. The classic examples are segregation of duties, reconciliations or budgets. Generally though, these controls are to manage at the transactional level where an error or a small fraud might occur. The big frauds of course are in the C-Suites and include such classics as off-balance sheet liabilities, rogue traders or manipulation of inventories.
Continue readingThe more we understand about how the brain works the more almost magical it appears. At one time we had a very mechanical view of the brain in that section A controlled sight and section B over there managed the left thumb. Norman Doidge is a doctor and an author who has helped us realize that the brain and our very understanding of our mind is much more nuanced, complex and wonderful. In his late (ish) book, The Brain’s Way of Healing [1] he takes us through a series of case studies and current understanding of the brain.
I thought the subject matter of the book interesting enough to jot down some crib notes which are available in a previous blog, Book: The Brain’s Way of Healing. If you are not up to reading the whole book, feel free to peak over my shoulder at my crib notes.
In many ways our understanding of organizations and the brain have taken parallel tracks. Historically we knew that they both accomplished things but their exact roles and processes were complete mysteries. As science, engineering and society has evolved we have gone through periods of understanding in the context of the time.
In the earliest times it was an absolute mystery. As western medicine evolved, the brain was seen as a mechanical organ with specializations. In parallel, organizations were being understood from a mechanical model through the work of such titans as Frederick Taylor (Scientific Management). During the 1950’s to 1990’s the workings of the brain went from a mechanical view to one of a highly integrated system with the ability of one part taking over the function of a defunct section of the brain – the basis for the science of neuroplasticity. At the same time organizations evolved from a hierarchical function based structure to adopting a more agile team based one.
Today we have a profound understanding of the workings of the brain. Among those understandings is the realization that skills, thoughts and memories are not fixed in anyone spot or location but are held collectively within a larger neural system. Ultimately this distributed model is much more robust and resilient than the strictly mechanical model – although infinitely more complex as well.
So if you enjoy the bio sciences (or even want a better understanding of how your noggin’ works) then take a read of Doidge’s book. If you want to be a better manager then recognize that how the organization works is likely invisible to you – just like that memory or skill in your own brain. While you may not have direct control you can also nurture and support this reality be establishing effective structures, resources and then stand back to be amazed what good people can do.
[1] The Brain’s Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity. Norman Doidge (Author)
[Note, this is a memory jog meaning it is mostly for my benefit. Having said that, feel free to read (comment even) on this topic.]
Continue readingCPA Canada invited me to review their proposed changes to their student/qualification competency map. I am happy to contribute because the current map is pretty good and CPA Canada did a pretty darn good job out of the gate.
Continue readingThe is the third leg of riding about 500km of the Iron Curtain Trail or FeCT.
| Date: | August 12, 2018 |
| Starting Point (via): | Marchegg Bahnhof |
| Weather | Sunny, warm to hot and moderate to moderate north becoming south winds. |
| Route: | South from Marchegg picking up the FeCT. Through Bratislava and exiting the trail at Mönchhof (98km total ride, 78km without re-traces and 72 km FeCT riding). |
This was supposed to be a simple ride. We picked up the trail where I had left it a few weeks ago, through Bratislava and zig zags down to a convenient railway station allowing for a good ride pick up later on… that was the plan. Instead it became a comedy of errors of route finding, construction detours, poor signage, a bit of bushwhacking, missed trains and some generous albeit drunk Austrians. All in all a good day.
I picked up the trail after a short 6km leg from Marchegg to the Friendship bridge.The route was good all the way into Bratislava. Some of the walking trails showing their age being overgrown or somewhat broken. As a warning Iron Curtain Trail signage in Bratislava is at best spotty, is hopefully not missing and at worst confusing and contradictory.
Getting to the first bridge that crossed the Danube presented our first mystery relating to signage. The route involved going far back toward the bridge proper and take a ramp up to the pedestrian walks below the deck and on the sides of the bridge. Clear signage to get you through a dark parking lot, nope. Maybe a few clues spray painted on the pavement, nope. And thus our first route finding fiasco had us trying to get up to the car deck where we discovered not pedestrian access.
Once across the bridge, the routing out of Bratislava consisted of a single sign directing us with vague ‘somewhere in that general direction’ accuracy. Needless to say, bring a VERY good map to Bratislava, take it VERY slow and watch carefully and either a GPS or a Slovak enable smart phone are good additions as well.
The Hungarian/Austrian/Slovak borders south of Bratislava are a series of jagged saw tooth projections into each others territories. Given that this border was heavily fortified, it must have taken enormous manpower given the elongations the border contours would have caused – which of course is exactly why the Hungarians opened the border because they could not afford to fix the then aging infrastructure.
Once again signage is okay to non-existence so be prepared to do a bit of route finding along the way. Say hello to the occasional Austrian soldier who is keeping vigil because of the recent waves of migration from the eastern countries. Of course one of the joys of route finding is being completely off the grid. That happened in one leg when we ended up ‘bush whacking’ over a fairly overgrown trail and then enjoyed a few km of gravel roads until we could pick up a hard top surface riding into our final destination, Mönchhof.
From Mönchhof we thought we would enjoy a beer and meal in Neusiedler See (lake). Alas we got off at the wrong station which may be just as well as there does not seem to be much in the way of services. Nevertheless found cold beer and a passable Chinese supper at another train station. As we were leaving, some nearby Austrians invited us for a drink – a nice hospitable gesture – that caused us to miss our train by about 30 seconds. Little did we know that next train just happened to be not an hour later but a full two hours later.
So, an eventful ride that was about 20km longer than intended marked by lots of route finding, generous invitations, missing signs and a very strange train schedule!
60km of the FeCT. Map courtesy of bikemap.net.
Route map (purged of all the bits where we circled around lost).
The trusty steed at the Devin memorial
These guys were feeding bread crumbs to the Carp in the water. Those are not rapids but were instead a few hundred large carp fighting for the food.
The Sea can in the distance where for the soldiers monitoring this remote out post. Note the deer just to the left of the road.
Tri-corner where Austria, Slovakia and Hungry meet. I was Austrian and Gift (right) was feeling a bit more Hungari(an)
| Date | Distance | Name | Impressions/Comments |
| 2018-07-15 | 66 km | Retz to Laa | A great section with lots of things to see. |
| 2018-08-05 | 60km | Laa to Hohenau (almost) | Rolling hills, lots of rural-ness. |
| 2018-08-14 | 10 km | Bernhardsthal to Hohenau am March | A stub ride to finish the gap. |
| 2018-07-15 | 52.7 km | Hohenau to Friendship Bridge | Green and very flat; accessible from Vienna. |
| 2018-08-12 | 72 | Friendship Bridge to Mönchhof | Bring a good map and plan to route find! |
Organizational Biology 