Page 158 - Accounting Information Systems

CHAPTE R 3 Ethics, Fraud, and Internal Control 129

FI G U R E
3-2 INTERNAL CONTROL SHIELD

Undesirable Events
Access
Fraud
Errors
Mischief

Exposure

INTERNAL CONTROL

Assets

The absence or weakness of a control is called an exposure. Exposures, which are illustrated as holes
in the control shield in Figure 3-2, increase the firm’s risk to financial loss or injury from undesirable
events. A weakness in internal control may expose the firm to one or more of the following types of
risks:
1. Destruction of assets (both physical assets and information).
2. Theft of assets.
3. Corruption of information or the information system.
4. Disruption of the information system.