The evaluation of the effectiveness of internal control systems and its impacts on the financial and non-financial performance of banks using COSO internal control framework: The case of Ghanaian banks

The aim of this study is to access the effectiveness of internal control systems (ICS) of banks operating in Ghana and the impact it has on their performances. The study employed COSO internal control framework (Control Environment, Risk Assessment, Control Activities, Information and Communication, Monitoring Activities) as the independent variable and firm performance as the dependent variable. The study considered both financial performance (FP) and non-financial performance (NFP) indicators of firm performance. The population for this study consisted of the banks operating in Ghana. The study, employed questionnaire in data collection and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 used for analysis. Among the tests conducted, include descriptive statistics (means, standard deviation), t-test, correlation and regression. The targeted respondents were the managers and the employees of IC and internal audit departments. Data gathered and analyzed was from 113 of the target population. Out of 113 send questionnaires, 73 copies were received representing 64.6% response rate. In the study, four sets of research questions were answered. Methodologically, the researcher used quantitative research method approach. The results of the study depicts that, there is effective positive ICS in Ghanaian banks. In addition, the study found IC to have strong impact on both financial performance and non-financial performance. The study recommends that banks should not be negligent but should work much harder to ensure higher results. Furthermore, banks should invest more into risk management since banks work under high risk than any other financial institutions. Thus, to prevent any possible embezzlement or fraudulent activity that could occur and could be big threat to the bank.