The aim of this study is to undertake a comparative analysis of the significance of adopting the tools of the internal control system by National Banks (NBanks) and International Banks (IBanks) in Sierra Leone using a descriptive statistical approach. A Robust survey of existing internal control systems of banking institutions was carried out. Five research questions were raised in order to achieve the aim of this study. Structured questionnaires were constructed to collect quantitative primary data to provide answers to these questions. The collected data were analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23 software. The findings show that both Banks are largely implementing the internationally known tools of internal control systems in their operations. The study found that the control environment in these banks is fairly in place. The results of this study show that the Board of Directors and management make use of control activities to ensure that the policies and procedures are carried out by employees of the bank. It is vital to stress that a firm should establish a warning system to determine remote risks and take the necessary actions to remove or minimise such risks. The study recommends that the banks should periodically review the access and security of its Information Communication Technology environment and monitoring should aim at determining whether employees are carrying out or have carried out their tasks efficiently and effectively – given that Information Technology is the backbone of modern internal control systems.
Citation: Ezekiel K. Duramany-Lakkoh, Abubakarr Jalloh and Mohammed Sajor Jalloh (2023)A Descriptive Statistical Approach of Internal Control Systems and its Relevance to Managing Risks in the Banking Sector, European Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance Research, Vol.10, No. 5, pp.1-24
Keywords: banking sector in Sierra Leone, financial institutions and controls, internal control in banks, relevance of controls
