From the current reality, the internal control problems of many small and medium-sized enterprises are very prominent, which further affects the economic benefits of small and medium-sized enterprises and hinders their development. Here are some views on strengthening internal control of enterprises.
First, the status quo and problems of internal control of SMEs
1. No internal control system. This situation exists in a large number of private small and medium-sized enterprises and enterprises with serious "insider control". In China, most private entrepreneurs have completed the primitive accumulation of capital by their own judgment on the market and their own adventurous spirit. Most of them are unfamiliar with accounting and don't pay much attention to it. In their view, the market is the most important, and internal control will bind their hands and feet. Therefore, these enterprises often do not formulate internal control systems, and the boss has the final say. The role of an accountant is just how to settle accounts and make the boss pay less taxes. Income is not recorded, and inflated costs are not uncommon. In an "insider-controlled" enterprise, operators think that it is more beneficial for them to have no internal system and it is more convenient for them to fish in troubled waters.
2. The internal control system is not perfect. At present, some enterprises have internal control, but the internal control system is not comprehensive enough, which does not cover all departments and personnel, and does not penetrate into all business fields and business links of enterprises, which makes the accounting work of small and medium-sized enterprises chaotic and untrue, resulting in extremely serious distortion of accounting information. For example, many enterprises have not established the conventional bill management system, the custody and use system of important blank vouchers, and the "internal containment" principle of accounting personnel's division of labor. Even some small enterprises do not have a formal accounting department, and accounting, cashier, audit and other affairs are handled by one person. It is illegal to obtain or fill in the original vouchers, and the accounting vouchers, registration books, accounting statements and a series of accounting analysis compiled on this basis are meaningless. Some enterprises artificially fabricate accounting data, set up "small coffers", spread costs indiscriminately, conceal income, falsely report profits and maliciously evade taxes.
3. One-sided understanding of the internal control system. At present, the managers of many enterprises have some misunderstandings about the internal control system, thinking that the internal control system is internal cost control, internal asset safety control and internal fund control, that is, internal accounting control. Therefore, the design of internal control system stays in internal accounting control, and only financial personnel participate in internal control management.
4. Lack of effective supervision mechanism. In order to strengthen supervision, China has formed an external supervision system for enterprises, including government supervision and social supervision. However, the supervision effect of such a huge supervision system on SMEs is not satisfactory. Although some enterprises have internal audit, they can't give full play to their role. Business managers, accountants and even leading cadres of some enterprises take advantage of poor supervision, accept a large number of bribes, embezzle public funds wantonly, and illegally occupy enterprise funds by using fake invoices.
5. The quality of the actors in the internal control system is low. In recent years, the ideological education and professional training of accounting personnel in small and medium-sized enterprises have failed to keep up. Some people without professional qualifications have mixed into the accounting team, with poor ideological quality and a little knowledge of business, and can't even handle the normal accounting business well, let alone use the internal control system. Some enterprise leaders know nothing about accounting system and accounting standards, but they are arbitrary, which will inevitably cause irreparable losses to enterprises and make it difficult for enterprises with tight funds to continue.
6. The internal audit function has been weakened. Internal audit is an important part of enterprise internal control system. In fact, many small and medium-sized enterprises have not set up internal audit institutions. Even enterprises with internal audit institutions have seriously weakened their functions and cannot correctly evaluate financial accounting information and the performance of management departments at all levels.
Second, the control points and design principles of enterprise internal control system
1. In order to serve business objectives and control business activities, the internal control system must control every link of the enterprise and all key points. We should pay attention to the following points when implementing enterprise internal control: defining management responsibilities and vertical and horizontal supervision relations; Division of responsibilities, division of rights and mutual restraint; Transaction authorization, establish appropriate approval procedures; Design and use appropriate vouchers and records; Authorization of asset contact and record use; The custody system of assets and records; Independent audit, routine review and automatic inspection; Formulate and implement appropriate accounting methods and procedures; Job rotation; Independent inspection, including external and internal audit.