Internal Controls Assessment · $1,800
Understand how your
controls actually hold up
Controls that exist on paper and controls that genuinely work are not always the same thing. This assessment looks at how yours actually operate — identifying where they're solid, where they could be clearer, and where quiet, proportionate improvements would make a real difference.
Controls you can explain, stand behind, and build on
A well-functioning set of internal controls gives an organization a quiet kind of confidence. Not because everything is perfect, but because people know how things are supposed to work, gaps are understood and being addressed, and no one is caught off guard when questions arise. This assessment is designed to help you get to that position — steadily and at a pace that suits your team.
A clear view of where things stand
You'll come away from the assessment with a genuinely accurate picture of how your controls operate — what's working, what's ambiguous, and what would benefit from attention.
Observations that fit how you work
Recommendations are proportionate to your organization's actual size, structure, and operating rhythm. There's no point suggesting changes that aren't practical for your team to implement.
A foundation for steady improvement
The assessment gives you a starting point — a clear, honest baseline from which improvements can be made deliberately and at a manageable pace, rather than reactively under pressure.
Controls that look fine on paper don't always hold up in practice
Many organizations have internal controls in place — they were put there deliberately, and at the time they made sense. But controls that were designed for a team of ten don't always scale well to thirty. Processes that were clearly understood when Mirela introduced them aren't always documented clearly enough for someone joining three years later to follow.
The result is a gradual gap between the controls as they exist in documentation and the controls as they're actually practiced day-to-day. That gap usually isn't dramatic. But it tends to show up at the worst possible time — when an auditor asks a question that nobody quite has a clean answer to.
The more difficult part of this situation is that the organizations inside it often don't have a clear picture of where the gaps are. Things feel roughly fine, because in practice they usually are. But "roughly fine" and "clearly documented and consistently applied" are meaningfully different positions to be in when a review comes around.
Controls exist but aren't consistently applied
When a control depends on one person's knowledge of how it's supposed to work, it's more fragile than it looks. Consistent application requires clarity — and clarity requires documentation.
Nobody has an objective view of the gaps
It's genuinely difficult to assess your own controls accurately when you're also the person operating them. An outside perspective, structured and proportionate, tends to surface things that internal review misses.
Improvements happen reactively rather than steadily
When control gaps are only discovered during an audit, the response is inevitably rushed. Addressing them in advance — with time to think clearly — produces significantly better results.
Structured, honest, and proportionate throughout
The Internal Controls Assessment isn't a compliance exercise. It's a structured look at how your controls operate in practice — not just what they say on paper — with observations that are honest about where things could be clearer and realistic about what improvement actually involves.
Scope and context discussion
We begin by understanding your organization — its size, structure, the financial processes that matter most, and any areas where you already have a sense something might need attention. That context shapes everything that follows.
Controls review — design and operation
We look at your controls from two angles: whether they're designed appropriately for what they're supposed to do, and whether they're actually being applied consistently. Both matter, and they're different questions.
Gap analysis and prioritization
Not all gaps are equal. We distinguish between control weaknesses that need near-term attention and those that are lower-risk or addressable over a longer timeframe — so your team knows where to focus first.
Practical observations report
You receive a written report in plain language — describing what we found, why it matters, and what proportionate improvement looks like. Specific to your organization, not a template with your name on it.
How the engagement unfolds
The assessment is designed to be collaborative and low-disruption. We work with your team's schedule and existing materials — there's no requirement to produce anything new before we start.
STEP 01
Getting oriented
We start with a conversation about your organization — processes, team structure, and any areas where you already have questions. This gives us the context to focus the assessment where it matters.
STEP 02
Review of controls
We work through your controls methodically — documentation, design, and how they operate in practice. The pace is steady, not rushed, and we check in as we go rather than disappearing for weeks.
STEP 03
Draft observations
Before the final report, we share a draft of the key findings to make sure our understanding is accurate and the context is right. This isn't just politeness — it produces better observations.
STEP 04
Final report and discussion
The final report is delivered with a walkthrough conversation — so the findings land clearly and your team has the chance to ask questions before anyone sits down to act on them.
A fixed fee for a complete, honest assessment
The Internal Controls Assessment is priced at $1,800 USD. The fee covers the full engagement — from the initial conversation through to the final report and walkthrough.
There are no scope surprises. If it becomes clear during the engagement that a significant additional area needs attention, that's a conversation we have openly — not something that appears on an invoice afterward.
Organizations often find it useful to think about this relative to the cost of control weaknesses that surface unexpectedly: in audit findings, in remediation work, or in the internal disruption that follows. Addressed proactively and quietly, the same issues tend to be considerably less expensive to resolve.
What's included
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Scoping and context conversation
Understanding your organization's processes, structure, and priorities before the review begins.
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Design and operation assessment
Review of controls from both a design and practical application standpoint.
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Gap analysis with prioritization
Distinguishing between high-priority items and those addressable over a longer horizon.
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Draft review with your team
Checking accuracy and context before the final report is delivered.
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Final report in plain language
Written for your team to act on — specific to your organization, not a generic template.
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Walkthrough conversation
A discussion of the findings so questions can be addressed before your team acts on them.
$1,800 USD
Fixed fee · Full engagement scope
What the assessment examines and how findings are framed
The assessment follows a structured methodology — but structure in this context means having a consistent, thorough way of looking at things, not applying a rigid checklist regardless of context.
Control design
Whether the control is appropriate for the risk it's meant to address — considering your organization's scale, processes, and the nature of the activity being controlled.
Operational consistency
Whether the control is actually applied consistently in day-to-day practice — not just on paper — and whether the people responsible for it have a shared understanding of how it works.
Improvement pathway
For each gap identified, the observations will include a proportionate, practical suggestion for how it could be addressed — with a realistic sense of the effort involved and the priority level.
Honest, specific, and built around your situation
The value of this assessment is in the accuracy and usefulness of what it produces. A report that describes your controls inaccurately, or makes suggestions that don't fit your organization, isn't worth much. We take that seriously — which is why the draft review step exists, and why we'd rather extend the timeline than deliver something that misses the mark.
No-obligation first conversation
The initial discussion carries no commitment. It's a chance to understand whether this engagement would genuinely be useful before anything else is decided.
Proportionate to your scale
We don't apply enterprise-level frameworks to smaller organizations. Observations reflect what's realistic and useful for teams of your size — not best-practice ideals from a different context entirely.
A draft review before delivery
Before the final report is delivered, you see a draft of the key findings. If we've misunderstood something, that's the moment to catch it — not after the fact.
Simple to start, steady throughout
There's nothing to prepare before reaching out. The process begins with a conversation — and from there, we work through things at a pace that fits your team's schedule rather than disrupting it.
Reach out
Use the contact form with a brief note about your situation — what you're trying to understand better, and any areas where you already sense something might need attention.
Scoping conversation
A focused discussion to understand your organization and confirm that this assessment would address what you're looking for. No commitment required.
Begin the assessment
Once we've agreed on scope and timing, the engagement starts. We fit around your team's schedule and keep you informed as we work through things.
Ready to understand how your controls actually hold up?
A short, no-obligation conversation is a good starting point. We can discuss your situation and work out together whether this assessment would be genuinely useful — before any decision needs to be made.
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