For Business Process & Applications Professionals (Length: 4 pages)

Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

Following the wave of adoption of solutions for documenting and assessing internal controls as required by Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 and OMB Circular A-123 in the US, software for ongoing monitoring and optimization of internal controls is rapidly emerging. Whereas testing of controls on a sample basis is labor-intensive and incomplete, continuous controls monitoring solutions can test and validate controls for virtually every transaction. These solutions, in some cases, can also be used to prevent controls violations from occurring by enforcing controls during transaction execution. Approaches by controls monitoring vendors vary from analysis of transactional data to controlling access and monitoring proper application of business rules.