This thesis proposes three hypotheses: first, that persons with a high generalized expectancy for internal control of reinforcement will react to many of life's situations in a problem-solving or need-persistent way; second, that those persons high in the belief of external control will be more extra-punitive in their reactions to frustrating situations; third, that persons with a high belief in internal control of reinforcement are more ready to learn in chance situations.

There are four primary objectives of this study. First, it examines the association between the disclosure of the Internal Control Deficiencies (ICDs), as a proxy for the internal control quality, and information asymmetry (IA) in the secondary loan market. Second, it identifies which types of ICDs exacerbate conditions of information asymmetry in the secondary loan market. Third, it investigates whether firms that remediate or take corrective actions to address ICDs lead to a reduction in information asymmetry in the market. Finally, it examines the effect of the loan specific characteristics such as debt covenants, credit rating and number of lenders (syndication) in the secondary loan market on the association between ICDs and IA. Results suggest that firms that disclose ICDs have significant positive association with IA and that ICDs reported under section 302 have significant positive association with IA. Although results on the association between the severity rank of ICDs by using Internal Control Material Weaknesses (ICMWs) as a proxy and IA are not supported, the use of Company Level (CL) internal control as a proxy for the severity rank of ICDs shows a significant positive association with IA. Overall, firms that remediate their ICDs have significant negative association with IA. Overall, there is a statistical negative association between the interaction term of ICDs and number of lenders (syndication) and IA. Same negative significant association is documented between the interaction term of ICDs and credit rating, and IA and the interaction term of ICDs and debt covenants and IA. The latter result suggests that the secondary loan market unique characteristics mitigate the negative consequences of the disclosure of ICDs and reduce the information asymmetry between lender and multiple arrangers. My results are consistent with prior studies’ (Bryan and Lilien, 2005; Ge and McVay, 2005; Doyle, Ge and McVay 2007 a,b; Ashbaugh-Skaife, Collins, and Kinney, 2007, Ashbaugh-Skaife, Collins, Kinney, and LaFond, 2008), which suggest that firms with reported ICDs are generally small, poor performing, financially weaker, and characterized by higher market risk than firms with effective internal control system.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to analyze the content of disclosure on internal control in multinational corporations’ annual reports and to investigate the determinants of disclosure. The study questions whether there are differences in the content, volume and quality of disclosure between multinational corporations and what factors could explain these differences? Methodology: This research is based on 178 multinational corporations selected from the 2012 ranking of Global 500 published by Fortune Magazine. Content analysis was used to analyze the volume and quality of internal control information disclosed in the multinational corporations’ annual reports. The study accommodates for three disclosure measures which are: Disclosure Index (DI), Disclosure Volume (DV) and Disclosure Quality (DQ) Findings: Based on univariate and multivariate analysis, results seem to indicate that national factors are more significant in explaining the differences in disclosure than governance and operational factors. The study also proved that there is at least one significant variable under each category of factors (National, Governance and Operational) Implications: These findings could be relevant to a number of stakeholders concerned with multinational corporations’ activities and performances. Stakeholders influenced by the study are top managers of Multinational Corporation, regulatory setters and investors. The research has implications on the accounting literature by shedding light on disclosure on internal control and the internal control factors grouping.

During an audit, management frequently serves as an information source for auditors gathering evidence. Reliance on management's expertise requires auditors to exercise an adequate level of professional skepticism, because management is not an objective information source. In this respect, professional guidance urges auditors to maintain a skeptical mind-set since management's financial reporting incentives may lead to instances when it attempts to persuade the auditor into accepting a preferred accounting treatment. This study investigates how auditors' behavior when providing input on planning decisions common to an audit can influence an auditor's mind-set, and how this mind-set then influences the persuasiveness of subsequently encountered management information. My predictions are motivated by psychology theory on behavioral mind-sets, which indicates that in the course of completing a task, a mind-set can be activated that carries over and influences an individual's behavior in a subsequent, unrelated situation. In a 2x2 experiment, 83 experienced auditors participated in an update meeting with the engagement partner and then made preliminary internal control evaluations. I manipulated the activation of different mind-sets (bolstering or counter-arguing) during the audit update meeting; I also manipulated the severity of the control deficiency (high or low) during the subsequent internal control evaluation task. I hypothesized that the behavior of providing arguments either supporting or opposing common scheduling arrangements during a planning meeting with the engagement partner can activate a mind-set that then influences the persuasiveness of information subsequently received from the client. The increased severity of the deficiency was expected to mitigate the role of mind-sets in the audit environment. The results support my expectations. Auditors who developed a bolstering mind-set during a planning meeting rated the adequacy of management's internal control explanation higher and made internal control assessments indicative of lower risk than auditors who developed a counter-arguing mind-set. I also find that the impact of an auditor's mind-set is attenuated when auditors evaluate a control problem potentially indicative of a material weakness (i.e., higher severity). These results indicate that routine audit planning tasks altered an auditors' skeptical mind-set, which impacted the persuasiveness of management information, even though the update meeting was unrelated to the internal control assessment. However, as the severity of the identified deficiency increased, risk sensitivity mitigated the auditors' mind-set effects, as their professional skepticism was naturally heightened. These results have important audit implications given the importance of maintaining appropriate levels of professional skepticism throughout an audit, especially amid recent concerns that auditors, at times, fail to do so. The findings also inform the psychology and behavioral mind-set literatures by extending the generalizability of prior studies while also establishing the boundaries of this stream of research by examining different levels of severity. / Ph. D.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and understand the role played by top management towards aligning an organization’s culture to achieve effective internal controls, particularly for organizations operating in emerging economies prone to corruption. Methodology – The study applies both the empirical research approach and the theoretical research approach to examine and understand the major concepts of organisational culture, effectiveness of internal controls and the role played by top management to align the organisation’s culture to achieve effective internal controls. The empirical approach employs qualitative methods to collect data and the research findings are analysed using the deductive approach. A case study of URA is used to collect primary data through the use of a questionnaire.  Findings – The study considers the role of top management in the context of the organization’s culture orientation and based on a hierarchical organizational culture background illustrated by the case study, the study concludes that managers in such an organizational culture orientation, play an influential role towards aligning an organization’s culture to achieve the desired “internal control” objective. Research limitations – There was limited time within which to conduct the research which limited the sample size for data collection. It was a huge gamble to determine the effectiveness of internal controls based on an organisation operating in an emerging corrupt economy since there is a chance that internal controls in such organisations are superficial in nature and may not be implemented in practice. Little research has been done on the concepts of organisational culture and effectiveness of internal control systems in emerging economies which limited extensive review of relevant research literature on the research problem. Research contribution – The research contributes additional literature on organizational culture in emerging economies since very little has been done in this area. The research provides practical recommendations on how top management can positively influence an organizational culture to aid the achievement of successful internal controls particularly for organizations operating in East Africa.

Le contrôle interne peut être défini comme étant l’ensemble des dispositifs, activités et actions mis en oeuvre au niveau de l’organisation pour influencer les comportements et atteindre des objectifs définis. Dans le domaine bancaire, il occupe une place centrale et se caractérise par une accumulation des exigences prudentielles. En même temps, le contrôle interne relève du dirigeant de l’établissement qui constitue sa pierre angulaire, mais qui pourrait avoir également des objectifs divergents avec le cadre ad hoc.Cette étude porte sur les interactions entre le dirigeant et le contrôle interne. Celles-ci semblent ambiguës du fait, d’une part, de la divergence d’objectifs entre les parties prenantes et, d’autre part, des limites du cadre du contrôle interne. Nous expliquons cette complexité par un contrôle interne à deux dimensions, à savoir une dimension managériale, comme levier permettant au dirigeant d’influencer les comportements des collaborateurs, et une dimension prudentielle, comme contrainte consistant à appliquer les normes prévues. Devant cette dualité, le dirigeant pourrait privilégier la dimension managériale par opportunisme, par un mauvais arbitrage ou une gestion inappropriée.Nonobstant leur importance, les normes prudentielles ne peuvent à elles seules pallier toutes les insuffisances et pourraient même constituer une contrainte pour le dirigeant qui pourrait être confronté à une divergence entre des objectifs individuels, collectifs et prudentiels. Face à l’accumulation des normes, la diversité des parties et les risques inhérents, le cadre du contrôle interne et le rôle du dirigeant gagneraient à être repensés et à évoluer vers un cadre bidimensionnel basé sur une gouvernance saine, l’éthique, des compétences et une répartition responsable des pouvoirs. / Internal control can be defined as being all the plans, activities and actions implemented in the organization to influence behaviours and reach defined objectives. In banking sector, it occupies a central place and is characterized by an accumulation of prudential requirements. At the same time, internal control is the responsibility of the manager of the establishment considered as its foundation, but who could also have divergent objectives with the ad hoc framework.This study concerns the interactions between the manager and the internal control. These seem complex mainly because, on the one hand, of the difference of objectives between the stakeholders and, the other hand, of limits of the internal control framework. This complexity can be explained by an internal control in two dimensions, namely a managerial dimension as lever allowing the manager to influence the employees behaviours, and a prudential dimension as a constraint consisting in applying the planned standards. Regarding this duality, the manager could privilege the managerial dimension by opportunism, a bad arbitration or by an inappropriate way of management.In spite of the importance of prudential standards, these cannot alone solve all the inadequacies and could even constitute a constraint for the manager who could be confronted to a difference between individual, collective and prudential objectives. In front of the accumulation of the standards, the diversity of the parties and the inherent risks, the framework of the internal control and the role of the manager would gain to be redesigned and to evolve towards a two-dimensional framework based on sound governance, ethics, skills and responsible distribution of powers.

Apresentar a percepção dos servidores públicos lotados na Auditoria Geral (ADG) da Controladoria Geral do Município do Rio de Janeiro (CGMRJ), sobre a eficiência do uso de Ferramentas de Controle Interno pelos gestores da coisa pública, pertencentes aos órgãos que compõem o Poder Executivo Municipal (PEM), no desempenho de suas funções. Os modelos atuais de gestão pública estão evoluindo a cada dia e precisam de informações que permitam a implementação de medidas corretivas, assim que a pesquisa se justifica, pois procura mostrar aos cidadãos o resultado da percepção desses servidores, que atuam na proteção do patrimônio público, em relação a quem está sujeito a sua ação, ao prestar contas, quanto: à eficiência e efetividade operacional; confiabilidade dos registros contábeis e financeiros; bem como a conformidade com leis e normas. A metodologia empregada envolve um estudo de caso, associado à pesquisa bibliográfica, exploratória, descritiva, pois além de ser um processo investigativo, utiliza diversos materiais escritos, bem como descreve um fenômeno. Enfim, a coleta de dados foi realizada através de um questionário onde foi combinado respostas de múltipla escolha e respostas abertas. O resultado desse estudo revela que à eficiência do Controle Interno está baixa nessas entidades. Os conceitos encontrados resultantes da percepção do grupo: Componentes do Controle Interno e reforçados, pela reduzida aplicabilidade das Ferramentas Gerenciais, mostra que esses elementos componentes das Ferramentas de Controle Interno precisam ser compromisso, na consciência desses gestores. / Present the perceptions of civil servants crowded the Auditor-General (ADG) of the Comptroller General of the Rio de Janeiro (CGMRJ) on the efficiency of the use of tools of Internal Control by the managers of public affairs, belonging to the agencies that make up the Executive Municipal (PEM), the performance of their duties. Current models of governance are evolving every day and need information to enable the implementation of corrective measures, so research is justified, as it seeks to show the public the result of the perception of these servers, which function is to protect public property, for those subject to its action, the account in respect of: efficiency and operational effectiveness, reliability of accounting records and financial and compliance with laws and regulations. The methodology involves a case study, together with the literature, exploratory, descriptive, as well as being an investigative process, using various written materials, and describes a phenomenon. Finally, the data collection was conducted through a questionnaire which was combined multiplechoice and open answers. The result of this study shows that the efficiency of internal control is low in these entities. The concepts found resulting from the perception of the group: Components of Internal Control and reinforced by the limited applicability of the Management Tools, shows that these component elements of internal control tools need to be committed in the consciousness of managers.

En el siguiente trabajo se consideró como problema principal la influencia que tiene el control interno en el uso de los recursos en las ejecuciones presupuestales a nivel del Sector Defensa y conocer si su aplicación incide en la mejora del gasto en los procesos de Mantenimiento de Aeronaves en la Sección Presupuesto del Departamento de Economía y Finanzas de SEMAN-FAP. In the following work, the influence of internal control on the use of resources in budgetary executions at the Defense Sector level was considered the main problem and to know if its application affects the improvement of the cost of Aircraft Maintenance processes in the Budget Section of the Department of Economy and Finance of SEMAN-FAP.

<p><strong>Inledning</strong>: Efter flera redovisningsskandaler bestämde Svensk näringsliv, med flera, att instifta Kollegiet för Svensk Bolagsstyrning som övervakar Koden för Svensk Bolagsstyrning. Bland det viktigaste är bestämmelser angående intern kontroll. Intern kontroll är viktigt för alla bolag och dålig sådan anser många är en orsak till många företagskonkurser. 2005 instiftades denna kod vars krav tvingade noterade bolag att lämna en rapport angående deras IK och att utvärdera sin IK för första gången.</p><p><strong>Syfte</strong>:  Syftet är att undersöka om bolagskodens införande har påverkat bolagens sätt att arbeta med intern kontroll av den finansiella rapporteringen, baserat på intern kontroll rapporterna samt att jämföra bolagen som lyder under enbart Koden med de som även lyder under SOX för att se om det finns en skillnad i hur mycket förändring som har skett under åren 2005-2008.</p><p><strong>Metod: </strong>Undersökningen är en kvalitativ studie med en induktiv ansats. Studien innefattar flera år så att vi kan se en förändring över tiden. Urvalet är 8 bolag varav 4 är noterade på både den Amerikanska och den svenska börsen och de andra 4 är enbart noterade på den Svenska börsen. Populationen är de 70 bolag som var från 2005 så kallade Kodbolag.</p><p><strong>Slutsatser: </strong>Kodens införande påverkar sättet företagen arbetar med intern kontroll. SOX-bolagen verkar ha blivit mer påverkade än kod-bolagen och detta beror troligtvis på den strängare lagstiftning som finns i USA. Även de bolag som avnoterades från SEC (amerikanska finansinspektionen) fortsatte med sitt arbete och utvecklade, i vissa fall, den bortom det som krävdes av SOX lagstiftningen. Kod-bolagens arbete med sin IK verkar blivit mer omfattande än vad det annars skulle ha varit, om det inte fanns några krav alls, men det verkar som den enklare standarden på rapporten inte har orsakat lika mycket förändring som skulle vara möjligt om högre krav ställdes på de Svenska bolagen.</p>

Inledning: Efter flera redovisningsskandaler bestämde Svensk näringsliv, med flera, att instifta Kollegiet för Svensk Bolagsstyrning som övervakar Koden för Svensk Bolagsstyrning. Bland det viktigaste är bestämmelser angående intern kontroll. Intern kontroll är viktigt för alla bolag och dålig sådan anser många är en orsak till många företagskonkurser. 2005 instiftades denna kod vars krav tvingade noterade bolag att lämna en rapport angående deras IK och att utvärdera sin IK för första gången. Syfte:  Syftet är att undersöka om bolagskodens införande har påverkat bolagens sätt att arbeta med intern kontroll av den finansiella rapporteringen, baserat på intern kontroll rapporterna samt att jämföra bolagen som lyder under enbart Koden med de som även lyder under SOX för att se om det finns en skillnad i hur mycket förändring som har skett under åren 2005-2008. Metod: Undersökningen är en kvalitativ studie med en induktiv ansats. Studien innefattar flera år så att vi kan se en förändring över tiden. Urvalet är 8 bolag varav 4 är noterade på både den Amerikanska och den svenska börsen och de andra 4 är enbart noterade på den Svenska börsen. Populationen är de 70 bolag som var från 2005 så kallade Kodbolag. Slutsatser: Kodens införande påverkar sättet företagen arbetar med intern kontroll. SOX-bolagen verkar ha blivit mer påverkade än kod-bolagen och detta beror troligtvis på den strängare lagstiftning som finns i USA. Även de bolag som avnoterades från SEC (amerikanska finansinspektionen) fortsatte med sitt arbete och utvecklade, i vissa fall, den bortom det som krävdes av SOX lagstiftningen. Kod-bolagens arbete med sin IK verkar blivit mer omfattande än vad det annars skulle ha varit, om det inte fanns några krav alls, men det verkar som den enklare standarden på rapporten inte har orsakat lika mycket förändring som skulle vara möjligt om högre krav ställdes på de Svenska bolagen.