Process Certification Manager for Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Companies face challenges in efficiently implementing and monitoring internal accounting controls to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, particularly in configuring audit processes, identifying and mitigating risks, and integrating business processes with financial statements.

Innovation Solution

A system that includes a process certification manager to associate and modify certification statuses of business processes, integrate risk controls, and display certification statuses, enabling auditors to track compliance and monitor the effectiveness of controls within a workflow-enabled application framework.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a comprehensive internal control framework is implemented to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, then reliability of financial reporting is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereliability of financial reportingVSAvoidcomplexity of control framework

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the internal control framework into distinct modules: risk assessment module, control design module, control implementation module, and monitoring module. Each module handles specific aspects of control, making the overall complex framework manageable and implementable while maintaining comprehensive coverage for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal control framework that serves multiple functions simultaneously: it identifies risks, designs controls, implements them, monitors effectiveness, and generates audit trails. This multi-functional approach reduces the need for separate systems and simplifies the overall structure while maintaining high reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If continuous monitoring of control effectiveness is implemented, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveeffectiveness of controlsVSAvoidtime for continuous monitoring

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements continuous monitoring through automated control checks that run continuously in the background. The monitoring module continuously tracks control effectiveness without requiring manual intervention, maintaining constant oversight while minimizing time consumption through automation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent establishes feedback loops where monitoring results are automatically fed back to the control design and implementation modules. This enables real-time adjustment of controls based on effectiveness data, improving reliability while reducing the time needed for manual review through automated feedback mechanisms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If detailed audit procedures are configured for each business process, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprecision of audit measurementsVSAvoidcomplexity of audit procedures

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by tailoring audit procedures to specific business processes and risk areas. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, the system customizes control checks and audit measurements for each process type, improving precision where needed while avoiding unnecessary complexity in low-risk areas

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamic audit procedures that automatically adjust based on identified risks and control effectiveness. The audit methodology adapts its detail level and focus areas in real-time, providing precise measurements for high-risk areas while simplifying procedures for low-risk areas, thus balancing precision with complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS8296167B2Process certification management

Publication Date: 2012.10.23 ORACLE INT CORP

AI summary

A system certifying a business process includes a business process associated with a user, and a process certification manager for associating a certification status with the business process and for communicating a certification request to the user. The process certification manager receives messages from the user and modifies the certification status in response. The process certification manager displays the business process and its associated certification status. The business process may include a number of subprocesses each associated with a different users. The process certification manager associates a certification status with each of the subprocesses and communicates a certification request to each of the users, and modifies the certification status of the subprocesses in response to messages from the users. The process certification manager displays the business process and its associated certification status in a first view and the subprocesses and their associated approval statuses in a second view.