company's industry, economic conditions, and competitive pressures. Understandable operations objectives give clear direction as to how to allocate resources and are a key factor in corporate success. Most compliance objectives, and many reporting objectives, imposed by exter- are nal entities due to laws or regulations. For example, some entities must comply with requirements to submit information to government agencies, such Internal as the Revenue Service. Others, such as publicly traded companies, have to send reports to securities regulators. A company's reputation can be im significantly by how well it meets its compliance and reporting objectives.