Controls assurance reporting

For the financial services industry, confidence in internal processes and a robust control framework has always been a vital factor in a successful organisation. In the current market there is increased focus from existing and potential investors and customers on the effectiveness of the operational control environment of the organisations managing and processing their funds.

A controls assurance report provides an overview of an entity’s control environment and a reporting accountant’s opinion over the design and operating effectiveness of those controls. It does so by presenting a list of control objectives relevant to the entity’s business activities and the control procedures in place to meet those objectives. The report includes a description of tests performed by the reporting accountants to reach their opinion and any identified exceptions which occurred during the course of their testing.

A lighter form of controls assurance reporting is also used on occasion for initial reports where the reporting accountant comments only on the design and suitability of controls without testing the operation of controls over a period of time. There are various forms of the reports:

• AAF 01/06 (UK framework) and SAS 70 (US framework) for providing customers of third party service providers with evidence of the existence and operation of an organisation’s control environment reported upon by an independent auditor.
• International Standard ISAE3402/US Standard SSAE 16 are the recently issued likely replacements to the above, for providing customers of third party service providers with evidence of the existence, and operation of the organisation’s control environment, which is reported upon by an independent auditor.

Our assurance team can deliver a high quality controls report specifically tailored to your business. Drawn from across the industry it includes experts in regulation, valuations, system and controls and financial reporting to the asset management/fund administration industry. Our operating structure and ‘one team’ approach eliminates duplication of time and cost.  

For further information please contact Deborah Weston or David King in London or Glen Millar in our Geneva office.