A successful risk management strategy requires a strong internal control environment. The risk control matrix (RCM) format emphasizes that strong and risk-oriented internal control environments are often optimized with automated/manual controls, depending on the situation.

An RCM provides an overview of different control objectives that organizations should take into consideration and the corresponding controls to safeguard the company against risks, which may arise if not checked timely. Once customized to an organization, this document can help the user in assessing each control. The control assessment can then also be summarized to develop an action plan.

This document outlines risks and controls common to managing employee compensation during the 3.5.4 Manage Employee Compensation: Sales Commission process in a risk control matrix (RCM) format.

Sample risks include:

• Access privileges to the organization’s relevant financial reporting applications are inappropriate.
• Amounts utilized to calculate commission payments are not accurate.
• Invalid or ineligible employees are created within the commission tools.
• Journal entries to record sales commission expenses are inaccurate.
• New sales commission rates are not communicated and updated in the sales commission system.
• Payments are not processed accurately and timely.

This document can be used as a sample RCM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list of risks and controls. The KnowledgeLeader team will periodically update this RCM with new content. Organizations should select, update and modify the risks and controls included in this document to ensure that it reflects business operations.