Why do internal control systems fail in large corporations?

Abstract

The case examines the events that Gonzalo Jiménez faced in 2018 when he was working as an internal risk control auditor at HBLU Business & Consulting, a prestigious multinational accounting and financial consulting services firm based in Ecuador. He had noted significant changes in the financial statements over the previous three years and his preliminary investigation pointed to the possibility that the CFO was manipulating the numbers to increase his results-based bonus and at the same time actually misappropriating funds. In eight weeks, the semiannual Global Audit team would be arriving from London, and if these irregularities were detected, Gonzalo could lose his job.