Companies today must ensure that operational processes are performing efficiently and effectively in compliance with current regulations. Accountants must adhere to domestic standards set by organizationssuch as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the Financial Accounting and Standards Boardas well as global standards, such as the International Financial Reporting Standards, requiring appropriate implementation and assessment of internal controls.

Whether developing appropriate processes internally or preparing substantive testing, external auditors must be able to quickly and completely assess the financial processes, determine weaknesses, and provide recommendations for improvement.

The ability to transcribe formalized or narrative processes into functional workflows allows an auditor to identify potential gaps in accounting systems. These gaps can result in material audit findings necessitating changes in the companys control structure. However, it is not only the process and flow of transactions that requires scrutiny. Companies evolve into sophisticated, computerized systems that require an in-depth understanding of administrative rights, electronic process flows, and end user reporting.

In this case study, you will apply all of these skills in developing recommendations for Trinity Industries. Though the SarbanesOxley Act of 2002 (SOX) promulgated many internal control structure changes, the company is unsure as to whether they are applying too few or too many internal controls. Unnecessary controls place added burden on staff and cost the company thousands of dollars in monitoring and maintenance.

For Milestone One, prepare an overview of Trinity Industries. Provide an overview of the company and its market industry. Include background, key market demographics, financial position, and governance policies in your company overview. By understanding the industry, you will gain valuable insight into the appropriate software systems that will provide industry-specific needs and financial reporting. You will need this information to conduct your case study.

Prompt: Provide a company overview report of Trinity Industries and its market industry, including background, key market demographics, financial position, and governance policies.

Address the following seven subjects:

a) Overview of the organization

b) Size of the organization

c) Sector/industry (along with three other companies that would be comparable)

d) Structure/line of businesses

e) Organizational structure (organization chart)

f) Yearly performance in terms of revenue (as compared with the three other companies identified)

g) Management and culture (i.e., how long key staff has been employed, stability of the company over the history, growth in industry)