Expanded Academic Access to COSO Frameworks Now Available!

As part of its educational mission, the American Accounting Association (AAA) in a joint initiative with The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), provides online academic access to COSO’s two frameworks. With this project COSO is investing in education with the long-term goals of improving organizational performance, enhancing governance, and reducing the extent of fraud in organizations.

COSO News Release: May 24, 2018, COSO announces ERM Certificate Program, read more Click Here

COSO Internal Control — Integrated Framework and Compendium Bundle (2013)

The 2013 Framework helps organizations design and implement internal control in light of many changes in business and operating environments since the issuance of the original Framework. Included are the 17 principles required for effective internal control as well as Illustrative Tools for Assessing Effectiveness of a System of Internal Control and the Internal Control over External Financial Reporting (ICEFR): A Compendium of Approaches and Examples.

An Executive Summary is available at: https://www.coso.org/Documents/990025P-Executive-Summary-final-may20.pdf

COSO ERM Framework: Enterprise Risk Management — Integrating with Strategy and Performance (2017) Compendium Added (2018)

This new document builds on the 2004 Enterprise Risk Management–Integrated Framework, one of the most widely recognized and applied risk management frameworks in the world. The updated edition is designed to help organizations create, preserve, and realize value while improving their approach to managing risk.

An Executive Summary is available at: https://www.coso.org/Documents/2017-COSO-ERM-Integrating-with-Strategy-and-Performance-Executive-Summary.pdf

How to get access

• Enroll your Accounting or Business program for Academic Access by clicking here
• As part of the enrollment process, you will pay the annual fee of $250 by check to provide access for all faculty and students through the 2024-2025 enrollment period to resources like the COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework and Compendium Bundle.
• Within 2 business days of enrolling, you will receive your faculty and student login credentials, and you will be able to sign on and begin using the COSO resources.

Want to Renew? 

• Click here to pay your school’s $250 renewal fee with login and credit card. 
• Click here to pay your school's  renewal fee by check.

How it works

Annually, the AAA will generate two sets of login credentials that provide access to the COSO materials for each enrolled campus: one set is for faculty use and the other is for students. These login credentials are emailed to the department chair or authorized representative within 2 business days of enrolling in the COSO Academic Access program. The person who receives that email is responsible for disseminating these credentials exclusively to their faculty and students. Access will expire on every year on August 31. Each year thereafter, program participants will receive a renewal notice with an option of either a July or September start date. Renewing schools will receive new passwords each year.

Posting this login information publicly where it would be available to others is prohibited (online or via hard copy).
See Policy for Acceptable Use of COSO Materials

About the Academic Access Program

In Spring 2016 as part of its educational mission, the American Accounting Association in a joint initiative with The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), began providing online access to COSO’s frameworks and guidance to faculty and students at post-secondary academic institutions.

Organizational Contact
Email questions to Mary Beth Gripshover - marybeth.gripshover@aaahq.org

Additional Resources:

AltData – A COSO Perspective

A 2024 COSO publication focusing on the first category of altdata ecosystem participants, primarily consisting of corporations that generate altdata.

Read the report HERE.

Webinars by Faculty About COSO

Teaching COSO's Internal Control Framework: Best Course Practices http://aaahq.org/Sections-Regions/Webinars/COSO-Webinar-6-28

Integrating COSO's Enterprise Risk Management Framework Into Our Classes http://aaahq.org/Sections-Regions/Webinars/COSO-Webinar-9-20-16

About the COSO Framework and Compendium (2013)

Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) and Compendium Bundle
Issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), the 2013 Internal Control–Integrated Framework (Framework) is expected to help organizations design and implement internal control in light of many changes in business and operating environments since the issuance of the original Framework in 1992. The new Framework retains the core definition of internal control and the five components of internal control, and it continues to emphasize the importance of management judgment in designing, implementing, and conducting a system of internal control, and in assessing its effectiveness. It broadens the application of internal control in addressing operations and reporting objectives, and clarifies the requirements for determining what constitutes effective internal control. The revised (2013) framework also includes 17 principles required for effective internal control as well as points of focus to provide helpful guidance.

Executive Summary — Provides a high-level overview and lays out the definition, and limitations, of internal control, and the requirements for an effective system of internal control, including a description of the roles of components and principles. It highlights several important enhancements and clarifications that are intended to ease use and application of the Framework.

Framework and Appendices — The Framework sets forth, and describes the five components and seventeen principles of a system of internal control, illustrates many approaches and examples relating to entity objectives, and provides direction for all levels of management to use in designing, implementing and conducting a system of internal control, and in assessing its effectiveness. The Appendices provide additional reference material, including a glossary of key terminology, a discussion of roles and responsibilities of both responsible and external parties, and more.

Illustrative Tools for Assessing a System of Internal Control (Tools) — The Tools provide illustrative templates and scenarios that may be useful in applying the Framework and assessing its effectiveness.

Internal Control Over External Financial Reporting: A Compendium of Approaches and Examples — This publication has been developed to assist 
those users of the Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) who are responsible for designing, implementing, and conducting a system of internal control over external financial reporting that supports the preparation of financial statements and other external financial reporting.

Customizable templates
A link to an Excel file containing four different templates from the Illustrative Tools, including: Overall Assessment, Components, Principles, and Deficiencies.