Abstract
M.Comm.
Internal control has come under the attention of many organizations, and each has its own views on the most appropriate framework and evaluation methods to be adopted for specific purposes. As a result of the confusion arising from the different evaluation methods that are in vogue, the implementation of good information technology controls is hampered. Experts from around the world have participated in exhaustive research to develop an internationally acceptable tool that harmonizes standards. Their work has culminated in the development of CobiT. SAC , COSO, SAS 55 and SAS78 were also the result of continuing efforts to define, assess, report on and improve internal control, but each of these documents addresses a different audience, and therefore focuses on different aspects of internal control, and may even completely disregard some areas which may be of crucial importance to other users. It has been suggested that CobiT can replace COSO, SAC, and SAS 55/78, and there is a need to determine whether this is indeed the case. This short dissertation attempts to answer this question, while also putting in place a matrix to aid auditors in deciding which framework to use for a given application.