Framework for evaluation of purchasing process in ERP systems in terms of internal control risks

Abstract

The companies have made major investments for their ERP systems. On the other hand, as a result of many financial scandals and frauds, internal control structures of the companies have been one of the hot topic issues. Many standards and requirements are published for the internal control structures of the companies. Implementing or upgrading the ERP systems have hidden many internal control risks under the automated environment. Most of the companies including the medium or large sized and multinational or local companies have major weaknesses in their internal control structures. In this thesis, the frameworks developed for specific ERP packages and generic frameworks are investigated and then a consolidated framework has been developed for assessing the internal control risks in the ERP systems for the purchasing process. The framework consists of the risks, internal controls, and control procedures. The usability of the framework has been verified by the interviews with the specialists.With the developed framework, different companies are evaluated and compared in terms of internal control structures.