Compliance & Internal Controls
OPTIMUS uses a disciplined methodology to help clients evaluate and ensure that internal controls and compliance policies are working as designed. Safeguarding its interests while facilitating effective operations and promoting an atmosphere of compliance amongst its employees.
Our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) strive to understand and evaluate each clients’ concerns before setting out to enhance the internal controls and compliance environment.
1
Assess Present Structure
- Review the Organizations Risk assessment
- Review the existing accounting and internal control activities including frequency of monitoring the controls and compliance activities (both regulatory and non-regulatory)
- Determine manual and automated controls along with segregation of duties
- Interview Key Stakeholders
- Review of Systems and Integration
- Review of the three E’s: Efficiency, Economy and Effectiveness
2
Developing the Compliance and Controls infrastructure
- Design & build the controls (detective, corrective and preventative) to ensure compliance with internal policies as well as applicable laws and regulations
- Highlight controls environment where improvement opportunities exist
- Review the initial design with stakeholders along with the communication strategy
- Determine KPI’s to review assessment of the quality of controls and compliance performance.
3
Success Factors
- Increased Operational Efficiency and Consistency while reducing risk of Operational redundancy
- Completeness and accuracy of financial records while preventing and detecting fraud and other unlawful acts
- Ability to detect and correct and control deficiencies quickly
- Stronger compliance as a result of improved communications
Case Study
Client: Midstream Pipeline
Location: Houston, Texas
Challenge: A newly spun off midstream pipeline company engaged Optimus to not only review the current business operations from a controls and compliance perspective they had inherited from the former company but also to lay the foundation for future profitable growth. Optimus conducted analyses by meeting with management and key stakeholders at the user level to understand the business and any problems at its core. Optimus was able to build a deep understanding of the client’s current state and provide recommendations for their future state landscape and business processes.
Additionally, the client wanted to ensure that the processes were designed to be scalable as more assets were acquired.
Solution: Optimus worked with and provided each functional process owner a documented “As-Is” of the current controls. At the same time, we were able to highlight where process enhancements were needed.
Result: The client was able to have a fit-for purpose control diagram that highlighted not only ‘Key’ and ‘Operating' Controls but also able to see areas where they needed to enhance their control and compliance environment and how they would be able to scale their operation given the existing infrastructure.
The functional owners ‘Owned’ the controls as a result of the partnership formed during the documentation period. The flows prepared the client for the evolving future with empowered decision making. Additionally the organization was able to utilize the controls for an Internal Audit.
Diagram 1
Control and Compliance Review:
As organizations change rapidly the need for efficiency and transparency grows. Having fit for purpose controls allows a business to complete in an increasing disruptive marketplace by effectively evaluating organizational effectiveness, improve workflows, eliminate redundancies and gain efficiencies. They also allows for improved communications between employees engaged in a process and eliminates the challenges of limited control and compliance visibility.
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