In the 1980s, the US economy suffered several scandals
related to savings and loans associations (S&Ls). Public
opinion and interested legislators led the way in demanding
changes to prevent those kinds of catastrophes from occurring
again. As a result, the National Commission on Fraudulent
Financial Reporting was formed in 1985 to study the causal
factors that can lead to financial frauds, and to develop
recommendations for public companies, independent auditors,
the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), other
regulators, and the educational institutions.3 The commission
was chaired by James C. Treadway Jr.
COSO was formed the same year to sponsor the work of
what became commonly referred to as the Treadway
Commission. COSO sponsors were (and remain) American
Accounting Association (AAA), Institute of Management
Accountants (IMA), Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA),
AICPA and the Financial Executives International (FEI).
One of the major conclusions of the commission was that
the best way to prevent major financial frauds was to improve
internal controls.
COSO developed a model of internal controls, promulgated
it among members of the various stakeholder organizations
and, in 1992, published what now is referred to as the COSO
Model of Internal Control (see figure 1). That effort was
immediately recognized as valuable when AICPA adopted the
COSO Model as Statement on Auditing Standard (SAS) No.
78, “Consideration of Internal Control in a Financial Statement
Audit.” Thus, it became a part of the technical literature for
financial auditors.