In the current economic environment there are lots of business owners struggling to deal with issues and problems and no idea on where and how to get help. Likewise there are CPAs who are asked by their clients for assistance in areas where they lack the knowledge and experience to provide support. It is a perception that help has to be geographically accessible. The reality in many situations is that there are virtual means of accessing the necessary experience and assistance.Many services, including training, can be provided virtually using the telephone, e-mail, and conferencing tools. I selected the areas of my expertise that could be delivered virtually. It is possible to review strategy and operational situations by using my questionnaires and experience in effective ways. Another situation faced by many companies is that they lack the financial expertise to provide the financial and controllership skills required to survive the current difficult economic environment. Virtual tools are available to share financial information and in many instances an experienced financial manager can provide the needed suggestions that can make the difference between success and failure.

Internal controls represent an area where CPAs need some assistance so they can avoid reinventing the wheel. In many instances I can provide instant answers to questions and provide suggested solutions that could otherwise take hours to solve. Based on working with the COSO internal control framework and assessing audit risk, I can provide direction and advice to practitioners and even help them review their work papers to minimize their risk.

My dealings with family-owned businesses have provided me with firsthand experience in working with succession and planning issues including estate and trust planning tools. It is like having someone working in your CPA practice where you can discuss and review a problem for potential solutions.

Some other areas where virtual assistance is available are cost management, operations and supply chain management. Why struggle with these areas when help is a phone call away. I can also provide assistance with strategic planning and share checklist and questionnaires that will allow you to facilitate development of strategic thinking with your clients. If you are a business looking for assistance, I can provide virtual support and training in these and other specialized areas.

You may not have given thought to using virtual support or training, but it available and utilized all the time. It is a cost effective way to receive the assistance you need. Give me a call to discuss ways that I might be of assistance.

Why not virtual consulting and business support? Since I have always performed consulting services at client’s sites, this represents an interesting question. In the current economic environment when every dollar counts it occurred to me that I could provide companies with excellent support and advice they might not be able to access in their geographic region. I teach on-line courses for Villanova University in conjunction with Bisk Education where I facilitate live discussion session with students every week. If I could teach on line then why not consult on line?After pondering the topic and the question, the answer seems pretty straight forward. Clients could really benefit from such an approach. In one of my recent live discussion sessions we had an extensive dialogue on the transformation of communication. Virtual communication is what has evolved in today’s world. Since we communicate virtually, then consulting and business advisory support represents a logical approach.

Telephone and e-mail are logical tools that most clients understand. The part which is a mystery to them is realizing that we can conduct an on-line dialog over the internet utilizing voice in addition to sharing of presentations and other analytical tools. It isn’t quite the same as face to face communication, but it works pretty well and is a lot cheaper and more time effective. It is an approach that works well enough to help a large number of clients. Virtual consulting can save time and reduce costs so traveling to client sites is limited only to the bare essentials.

In addition to reducing costs and improving efficiency, this approach saves a lot of wear and tear and allows me to reach out to a greater audience and expand my market reach. I can now help more people access my knowledge and expertise. I think this is a good way to work especially in a tough economic environment.

COSO issued new information and direction on monitoring internal control during January 2009 in a three volume publication titled Guidance on Monitoring Internal Control. Monitoring of internal control is performed through application of ongoing evaluations and separate evaluations to ascertain whether other components of internal control continue to function as designed and intended. These evaluations facilitate identification of internal control deficiencies. The deficiencies then need to be communicated to appropriate officials responsible for taking corrective action and where appropriate to higher levels of management and the board of directors.It is important to realize that business risks change over time. The internal control system must be capable of determining that the internal control system continues to be relevant and able to address any new risks. Monitoring should address requirements for revisions in the design of controls as risks change. It also provides assurance regarding the ability of the internal control system to contain risks at an acceptable level in order to provide for effective and efficient operations.

Monitoring follows a risk based approach in evaluating risks linked to achieving operational objectives. It is important to establish a monitoring foundation that includes procedures for evaluating risks, assessing controls, and reporting the results together with any required corrective action steps.

One of the primary elements of the monitoring includes establishing an effective tone at the top of the organization giving a high priority to an effective internal control system. Effective “tone at the top” ensures that the management team and the board of directors are supportive of the evaluation process. Successful monitoring of internal control requires the selection and utilization of evaluators who have a baseline understanding of internal control. They also will have the suitable capabilities, resources, and authority to conduct a meaningful assessment of the internal control system.

Since the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Legislation I have developed multiple training programs dealing with assessment of internal control in addition to my book, Profitable Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance. Please feel free to contact me with your internal control questions and to discuss how to create and implement an internal control monitoring program.