Which of the following are primary concerns for management with regard to assessing internal control objectives?

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) provides the leading framework for internal control, which is widely adopted in management and auditing. According to the COSO framework, management's primary objectives for an organization's system of internal control fall into three categories: Operations, Reporting, and Compliance. "Effectiveness" and "Efficiency" are the core components of the Operations objective, while "Compliance" refers to adhering to laws and regulations. This makes Compliance, Effectiveness, and Efficiency the primary concerns.

A. Confidentiality, Availability, Integrity: This is the CIA triad, which are fundamental objectives of information security, a subset of overall internal controls, not the primary management objectives.
C. Communication, Reliability, Cost: These are important attributes or components of a control system, not the top-level objectives themselves.
D. Confidentiality, Compliance, Cost: This is an incomplete mix. While Compliance is a primary objective, Confidentiality and Cost are subordinate concepts to broader objectives.

1. Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). (2013). Internal Control—Integrated Framework: Executive Summary. p. 3. The document explicitly states, "An effective system of internal control...provides reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following categories: Operations, Reporting, and Compliance."

2. Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). (2013). Internal Control—Integrated Framework: Framework and Appendices. p. 6. The "Operations Objectives" are defined as pertaining to the "effectiveness and efficiency of the entity's operations." The "Compliance Objectives" are defined as "adherence to laws and regulations."