Push For COSO Frameworks Adoption Among Singapore Companies

SINGAPORE, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- The COSO Frameworks will benefit Singapore-based companies in raising their standards of corporate governance and should be pushed for national adoption. This was a unanimous consensus among the participants of a roundtable, covering salient points on how COSO can be adopted and implemented in Singapore, the Singapore Accountancy Commission said in a statement. The participants represent key stakeholders who are well placed to influence the widespread introduction and adoption of the framework in Singapore. They include the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants, Institute of Internal Auditors (Singapore), the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of National Development (MND), the Singapore Exchange, the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) as well as the COSO Board. Developed by the Committee of the Sponsoring Organisation (COSO), the COSO Frameworks is widely acknowledged as a yardstick for good risk management and internal controls and is applicable to organisations of all sizes, industry and maturity. Its simplified approach towards enterprise risk management helps organisations to design and implement internal control in view of the evolving business and operating climates. Despite its global credibility, Singapore has yet to fully embrace the COSO Frameworks. The participants agreed that COSO implementation should be done at a national level and it should aim to become a preferred means for organisations to cope with the volatility of today’s business environment. They also offered various factors for measuring the success of COSO implementation in Singapore, such as more cross-sector collaboration and a heightened awareness of risk throughout the organisation. Dr Sandra Richtermeyer, a member of the COSO Board, said, "Successful national adoption of COSO provides a common platform for various organisations and bodies to support high quality, consistent and integrative approaches to internal control and risk management. "It also has the potential to enhance and support the overall business climate by enabling opportunities for collaboration and development of best practices." --BERNAMA