History

COSO was formed in 1985 to sponsor the National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting, an independent private-sector initiative which studied the causal factors that can lead to fraudulent financial reporting. It also developed recommendations for public companies and their independent auditors, for the SEC and other regulators, and for educational institutions.

The National Commission was sponsored jointly by five major professional associations headquartered in the United States: the American Accounting Association (AAA), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Financial Executives International (FEI), The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), and the National Association of Accountants (now the Institute of Management Accountants [IMA]). Wholly independent of each of the sponsoring organizations, the Commission contained representatives from industry, public accounting, investment firms, and the New York Stock Exchange.

The original chairman of the National Commission was James C. Treadway, Jr., Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Paine Webber Incorporated and a former Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Hence, the popular name "Treadway Commission". Currently, the COSO Chairman is Larry E. Rittenberg.

Summaries

Executive Summaries of all COSO guidance are available online for free download.

Purchasing

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Copyrights/Reprints

To request English language licensing or permission to reprint COSO guidance in part or in whole, complete and submit this form. Applicants should receive a response from the AICPA permission team on behalf of COSO within 10 days.

Translations

To request permission to translate COSO guidance, download, complete, and e-mail this translation request form to lucy.sheets@theiia.org. Applicants should receive a response from The IIA on behalf of COSO within two weeks.