Internal control cannot be separated from the existence of goals and plans, no manager can control without them can study past plans to see where and how they went wrong, to see what happened and why, and take the necessary measures to prevent them from happening again. Errors occur, but the most important thing is to prevent deviations from happening, anticipating them.
The present work entitled "Specifications of the Internal Control System in the current Cuban environment", aims to establish a guide that in an orderly way, designs an integrating Internal Control System that works harmoniously with strategic planning, allowing to deepen the prevention activity. New in the research is the fact that the guide leads, through the steps it establishes, the development of a logical, orderly and rapid Internal Control System, harmonizing it with strategic planning in such a way that they do not follow parallel paths but rather complement each other. For the development of the work, different tools of participatory diagnosis, statistics, bibliographic analysis and automated support systems were used.This research has its contribution in the validation of the described procedure, in the execution of the same during three years in 15 companies of the territory; It can be carried out in any Cuban entity, according to the specifications of each one. The economic benefits are given by the amount of risks that in each entity can be eliminated.
Introduction
Cuba is at a significant time for business development, which is not alien to the universal trend, therefore it needs new and strengthened internal control systems Progress is also made in the integration of the Economy Plan, the Budget and the Objectives Strategic of the organisms, which represents a support for the process of improvement of the Direction and for the achievement of better results in the work.
These processes are associated with the set of Strategic Management by Objectives focused on values, where each one is measured and evaluated by the concrete results that lead the organization towards higher stages, a real participatory management is increasingly achieved and the realization of the best values that characterize our system and the socialist culture, becoming an important management tool.
Strategic direction requires planning, a continuous decision-making process, deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and who is going to do it. Strategic planning as a system, assumes an important role in the construction of feasible scenarios within a certain expected certainty, for this, it establishes an integrated process to systematize actions that allow achieving, within a specific context, objectives and productive goals.
The elements that accompany all of the above and that must be reflected in every organization are: Mission, Vision, Values, Key Result Areas (ARC), Strategic Objectives. The strategic objectives must have measurement criteria and degree of achievement, specific strategies must be developed for each objective and an action plan for each strategy.
The Internal Control system that is developed must ensure that the actions established for each company strategy are fulfilled, therefore the steps to follow must be very clear in order to arrive at an Internal Control System that is a real guardian of the mission of the organization.
This research gives a guide that allows firstly to develop an Internal Control System in a logical, orderly and fast way and secondly to achieve harmony between strategic planning and the internal control system in such a way that they do not follow parallel paths but rather complement each other.
Description of the innovation
It should highlight the elements that give it a new or improved character, as well as the advantages it represents with respect to the equivalent products, processes, services or technologies that are used in the country. A description of the scientific and technological actions that led to the innovation must be included.
The synergistic complementation of strategic planning and the internal control system are two contemporary elements, in full swing of widespread acceptance. In the Internal Control System, the correct definition, execution and improvement of its five components is vital.This must be part of a self-regulating mechanism, operating with synthetic and updated information, which reviews results, discovers trends and induces behaviors in all areas of key results, simultaneously and interacting, following an underlying cause-effect chain between them, where the Internal Control System has to make an important contribution to the performance of the organization.
All of the above serves as a starting point for the investigation presented here, since although it is well known that the Coso Report, as an international standard and Resolution 297 of 2003 issued by the Ministry of Finance and Prices in Cuba gives the The guidelines to be followed in the establishment of an adequate control system does not make explicit the method to be followed to achieve the desired result, since at the level that is elaborated, doing this is not possible if each organization is expected to draw a system to its own. measure. In summary, the how to do is not directed, through steps that guide towards the achievement of the proposed objectives.
Hence the novelty of this work, since without trying to copy one internal control system from another, it draws the guidelines that lead through a safe path and in the shortest possible time towards the development of an internal control system that adapts to the structural characteristics and functional of each organization and that harmoniously combines with strategic planning.
In the guide, which has been used in approximately 15 companies in the territory, the steps that are proposed are grouped into three major moments: Diagnosis, Design and Validation of the Internal Control System:
• Diagnosis
Knowledge of the current economic and financial situation of the entity, to identify the fundamental indicators that serve as an instrument to measure them, simultaneously it is important to know the strategic planning since it establishes the goals, strategies and objectives set by the Management, it is known that Internal Control is part of the processes that specify the mission of the organization. Finally, it is essential to know the faults that the current system presents. Therefore, a diagnosis of the components of the Internal Control System is carried out using questionnaires, interviews created in the investigation, which facilitate this work.
• Design
The design of the Internal Control System for each of the entities under study was formed taking into account Resolution 297 of 2003, however it is novel because its final result, based on the five components, respond to the strategic objectives of the organization, which makes it possible to comply with the regulations in force that concern the entity, promoting an orderly and efficient management of both the stage in which the system is designed and its subsequent self-evaluation by the internal control committee and always aimed at the search for the entity's vision.
• Validation
In the validation, aspects that are proposed in this research, different tools were used that allowed to detect the adequacy of the system to the object of study always starting from the structural and functional characteristics of these, the most used were, Descriptive, Flow charts,. Questionnaires, Delphi Method.
For a better understanding of the stages previously exposed, which constitutes the contribution of this research, a more detailed description of them is made.
• Diagnosis
Review of strategic planning in all its components from mission to strategic actions by key results areas.
The liquidity, profitability, indebtedness, activity ratios must be calculated, being done in a comparative way of at least three years.
Determination of the existing situation of each of the components through surveys and questionnaires that were designed for this purpose.
• System design
Determination of the integral elements of the Control Environment.
It should be taken into account as a new aspect that the control environment meets the expectations of the shared and desired values that the company has proposed.
b) Clarification of external risks.
This aspect is linked to the SWOT matrix in relation to threats.
c) Establish the key result areas, objectives to be achieved, internal risks and control activities.
Internal risks are taken into account for each key result area through different techniques such as: review of the organization's internal records and security policies, inspection of operations and interviews.
Once this step is concluded, the control activities to eliminate or minimize these risks will be determined. A probability of occurrence will be given.
d) Components of the Information and Communication system.
The elements that will make up the information system are identified and expanded, establishing objectives, frequency, users. The components of effective internal and external communication are collected, proposing surveys to take into account.
e) Supervision or Monitoring.
The activities that should integrate internal supervision are determined, such as cutting routines, self-reviews, user surveys of the organization's services and / or products.
• Validation
Internal Control Evaluation Methods
The Internal Control evaluation can be carried out through different methods: descriptive or memorandum method, graphic method and questionnaire method. With certainty it cannot be said that any of the three methods is complete or effective, in isolation, in all cases. In some cases, the graphical method may be applicable, in others the questionnaire method may be appropriate, and in others the descriptive method may be easier or better interpreted. A combination of the three methods is frequently used; the collection of antecedents and the verification of the same is carried out using both graphs or flow charts, as questionnaires or narratives.
Descriptive: The descriptive method consists, as its name indicates, in describing the different activities of the departments, officials and employees, and the records that intervene in the system. However, you should not make the mistake of describing the activities of departments or employees in isolation or objectively. The description should be made following the course of operations through their management in the aforementioned departments, that is, it consists of a detailed description of the most important procedures and the characteristics of the Internal Control System for the different areas, mentioning the records and forms involved.
Flow charts: The flow chart method is one that is exposed, by means of charts or graphs. If a system flow chart is designed, it will be necessary to visualize the flow of the information and the documents being processed. The flow chart should be made, using standard symbols, so that those who know the symbols can extract useful information about the system.
Questionnaires: It consists of using previously formulated questionnaires as an instrument for research that include questions about the way in which the transactions or operations of the people involved in their management are handled, the way in which operations flow through the positions or places where the control procedures for the conduct of operations are defined or determined, that is, it consists of the evaluation based on questions.
The SPSS statistical package and the Delphi Method are used as tools that give greater reliability to the information obtained.
The Delphi method was created about the years 1963-64 by the Rand Corporation with the purpose of making forecasts regarding possible events that could manifest themselves in the different branches of science, technology and politics.
Methodological elements that the practical application of the method must have:
1. The preparation of the questionnaire
2. The selection of the group of experts to be surveyed.
In summary, it is about achieving the possibility of approaching a satisfactory response by taking the steps of how to merge the management of the models adopted for Internal Control and Strategic Planning in a harmonious effort. The steps proposed and applied constitute, without a doubt, the novel aspect that gives enormous advantages since it focuses the attention of the manager in a single direction and reduces the time of elaboration of the Internal Control System and leaves in his hands the tools that allow updating systematic of the elaborated system.
Introduction of innovation in socio-economic practice.
The degree of introduction of the proposal must be precisely described, providing the necessary elements to be able to establish to what extent the level reached is representative and if it meets existing needs. Likewise, the rate of introduction of innovation in economic - social practice over time must be shown.
This proposed guide, which based on what was conceived in Resolution 297 of 2003, develops the steps and tools that achieve a highly reliable system and a close relationship with strategic planning, has been developed in 15 entities of the territory, during the last three years. and it can be extended to all those that require it.
Economic and / or social benefits
The economic benefits are given by the amount of risks that in each entity can be eliminated or minimized. From a qualitative point of view, a total of 40 risks have been detected on average per entity for a total of 15 entities that undermine the mission and of course stop the actions that have been proposed to achieve their goals, of which they have a high probability of occurrence 76%. Considering the quantitative aspect of those risks that have been quantified, these amount per entity on average to $ 24,304.00.
In other words, if it is considered that all these risks are identified and, above all, that control activities have been designed for both those that violate the operational, resource, financial and compliance objectives, then it can be said that the economic benefit is big.
The fact of elaborating a guide that speeds up the implementation of the Internal Control System in the company makes that in the social plane the awareness of control is achieved more effectively, which all workers must possess in order to consolidate the sense of belonging that a good entity needs.
