Internal Controls in the Federal Government Explained

New to federal internal controls? This is Module 1 of a multi-part series on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting in federal agencies, taught for CPAs and federal finance professionals. ►► Get a free hour of NASBA-approved CPE on Treasury Account Symbols (TAS), the foundation of federal fund accounting: https://FederalFinanceCPE.com/free A full internal control course built on this series is coming. For now, the free hour covers TAS, the budgetary backbone behind scenarios like the one in this video. In this module, Rob walks through the foundation every federal internal control assessor needs: What an internal control actually is (process, reasonable assurance, objectives) A single control vs. the internal control system Classifying controls: preventative vs. detective, manual vs. automated The legal foundation: FMFIA (the law), the GAO Green Book (the standard), and OMB Circular A-123 (the policy) How the A-123 assessment cycle runs across all four quarters What the whole year produces: the agency head's annual assurance statement You'll follow Maria Chen, a new federal internal control assessor who finds a Statement of Budgetary Resources line that doubled year-over-year with no explanation. By the end, you'll know exactly how she diagnoses it. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro and what this module covers 1:05 Learning objectives 1:46 Meet Maria Chen 2:49 What is an internal control? 4:53 One control vs. the control system 5:51 Classifying controls: the 2x2 matrix 7:18 Preventive controls 8:05 Detective controls 9:29 Manual controls 10:10 Automated controls 12:04 Practice: classify Maria's controls 13:35 Why controls are required: the legal foundation 14:54 FMFIA: the law 15:38 GAO Green Book: the standard 16:31 OMB Circular A-123: the policy 17:24 The assurance statement 18:11 Knowledge check #1 18:56 ICFR assessment vs. financial statement audit 22:56 The A-123 assessment calendar 24:15 Maria's case, resolved 24:54 Knowledge check #2 26:40 Wrap-up ABOUT FEDERAL FINANCE CPE We build CPE for CPAs working in and with the federal government: federal accounting, auditing, internal controls, and compliance. Aligned with OMB A-123, the GAO Green Book, FASAB, USSGL, and the Treasury Financial Manual. ►► Start your free CPE hour: https://FederalFinanceCPE.com/free New modules drop in this series. Subscribe so you don't miss the rest of the internal control track.