COSO

COSO is a joint initiative of five private sector organizations that develop and issue frameworks for governance, risk management, and internal control. Established in 1985, COSO aims to provide voluntary guidance to help organizations design, implement, and assess internal control systems and enterprise risk management.

The sponsoring organizations are the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the American Accounting Association (AAA), the Financial Executives International (FEI), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

COSO's most widely used frameworks are the Internal Control—Integrated Framework, which guides the design and evaluation of internal control over financial reporting and operations, and the Enterprise Risk Management—Integrated Framework, which aligns risk management with strategy and performance across the entity.

COSO also provides guidance on fraud risk management and other governance matters, and its frameworks are widely adopted by boards, management, auditors, and regulators as benchmarks for effectiveness. COSO's work is updated periodically to reflect evolving governance and compliance challenges.