A client, Ben Ferris has just completed his first year of trading as a private limited company in the sportswear industry. He has requested advice on a number of issues relating to assurance and internal controls.

You are required to prepare a report that must:

• define the term assurance.
• describe the concept of reasonable assurance.
• explain the assurance process.
• compare and contrast the responsibilities of the different stakeholders involved in an assurance engagement.
• identify the need for organisations of having effective systems of control.
• discuss the need for the main areas of a business that need effective control systems.
• describe the components of internal control in both manual and computerised environments.
• explain how internal controls are evaluated and conclusions drawn.