Reliability of financial reporting. Compliance with laws and regulations. It is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
Internal control is effected by people .
It is not policy manuals and forms, but people at every level of an organization. Internal control can be expected to provide only reasonable assurance , not absolute assurance, to an entity's management and board. Internal control is geared to the achievement of objectives in one or more separate but overlapping categories. They are the engine that drives the entity and the foundation on which everything rests. The entity must be aware of and deal with the risks it faces.