Internal control risk assessment using interval valued spherical fuzzy CRITIC EDAS

Abstract

Internal control is a set of procedures, policies, and processes established within an organization with the aim of reasonably ensuring the accomplishment of the organization’s objectives. As businesses confront a more intricate and ever-changing environment, the importance of reliable methodologies capable of effectively dealing with uncertainties and ambiguities becomes crucial. Given the potential complexity arising from numerous criteria, candidates, and the inherent subjectivity introduced by multiple decision experts participating in the process, evaluating internal control risk can be conceptualized as a problem within fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM). Criteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC) integrated Evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS) methodology is developed for addressing internal control risk assessment. The proposed methodology is presented in an interval-valued spherical fuzzy environment for modeling the uncertainty of the decision-making process in a comprehensive manner. Internal control evaluation criteria are obtained from the enterprise risk management framework presented by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The study contributes significantly by prioritizing internal control levels, conducting sensitivity analyses, and providing a comparative analysis with contemporary approaches. The paper structures a comprehensive review of literature, outlines mathematical operations of interval-valued spherical fuzzy sets, details the proposed methodology, and presents application results with theoretical and practical implications. The manuscript concludes by acknowledging limitations and suggesting avenues for future research, offering a valuable resource for professionals and researchers in the field of internal control and audit.