Auditor Essays (Examples)

The expectations gap occurs because many investors and policy makers expect auditors to detect all fraud, and if they do not, the auditors are presumed to be at fault." (Apostolou and Crumbley, 2008)

The specific requirements of auditors are included in SAS 99 AU 31 and IAS 240 and in summary includes the following requirements: (1) Considering a company's internal controls and procedures, and how these are actually implemented, when planning the audit; (2) Designing and conducting audit procedures to respond to the risk that management could override internal controls and procedures; (3) Identifying specific risks where fraud may occur; (4) Considering whether any misstatement uncovered during the audit may be indicative of fraud; (5) Obtaining fraud-related written representations from management; and (6 Communicating with appropriate managers and the board if the auditor finds an indication that fraud may have occurred. (Apostolou and Crumbley, 2008)

VI. FRAUD TRIANGLE

The fraud…

In recent times, there have been accounting scandals that have stunned the finance and accounting realm, and thereby reemphasized the significance of maintaining proper accounting practices. The recent accounting scandal of Olympus Corporation, a Japanese manufacturing company for cameras and endoscopes is selected for this study. The company's scandal encompassed a 13-year period of accounting irregularities totaling almost $1.7 billion (Infinit Accounting, 2014).

Audit Report Issued by CPA Firm

When Michael C. Woodford was appointed as president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Olympus Corporation, he endeavored to make certain that the financial statements of the company were accurate and reliable. It is at this time that he discovered doubtful transactions in the statements of financial position of the company, with respect to the expenses reported. He instantly started inquisitions regarding these transactions, particularly about the inflated M&A advisory payments. Woodford was sacked by Olympus two weeks later upon deliberating…

Independence of Auditors

The objective of this study is to consider the statement as follows: "Unquestionably, the HIH story is also one of auditor failure" and to research into the background of the HIH collapse in Australia insofar as it relates to the role of auditors and their liability. A report will be prepared with summaries of the most important documents concerning this issue of auditor independence after the HIH collapse, the regulatory/legislative response and the review of the legislative response.

Ray Williams founded HIH in 1968. A ritish company, CE Health PLC acquired HIH in 1971. Prior to the collapse, HIH was the second largest Australian insurance company covering several segments of insurance. HIH had expanded globally into both the UK and U.S. markets. On the 15th day of March 2001 HIH entered into provisional liquidation with the liquidator estimating that HIH's total loss equaled approximately $A5.3 billion resulting…

The value of audit is therefore noted to be derived wholly from its independence. Without the concept of independence, the auditors are noted to lack both credibility and opinion. The nature of relationship that exists between a client and an auditor is by itself a threat to the concept of independence. Incidents of influencing the auditor reports on the financial position of clients have been noted to result due to conflict of interest. The possibilities of a conflict of interest existing between clients and firms are noted to exist. Various connections such as audit firms being associated with other firms, personal as well as family relationships, client's financial interests, employment with the audit firms as well as the provision of various non-audit services to the audit clients are noted to affect the independence of auditors. Strength in character is therefore necessary in order to enable the auditors to have independence…

During a routine investigation, one the actuaries discovers that there are some possible red flags for illegal activity. When they report these issues to their supervisors, they are told to not worry about that. What make this so troubling is auditors have an ethical duty, to protect the interests of their clients and the public. The problem is that they want to remain a part of the team. Yet, they also must ensure that they are not directly helping to enable fraudulent activities to occur. (Moyer, 2009, pg. 83)

In this particular case, the auditor is not completely independent from their clients. The best way to deal with these kinds of situations is, to bring these red flags to the attention of upper management inside the accounting firm. If there is no satisfactory response, the individual has an obligation to let regulators and the general public know about what is…

Any threats to independence of the client can be determined on whether threats are created by past services from the client or business relationships before the audit engagement.

Importance of Independence of Auditor and Client:

During financial statement engagements, the independence of auditors and clients is important because of the following reasons & #8230;

Lesser Inappropriateness:

The closer the relationship between an auditor and his/her client is the higher the probability and perception of inappropriateness. Through an examination of various studies and the wider implications of such relationship, the independence between auditor and client is the most effective way of lessening inappropriateness. This is primarily because such independence promotes and sustains integrity during the financial statement audit engagements.

Promotion of eliability:

The main goal of independence between auditor and client during audit engagements is to promote reliability through providing an independent and objective view of the financial statements. The independence…

Management v. Auditors Responsibility

Responsibilities of Management and Auditors & the Public Perception series of high-profile business melt-downs in 2001, led by the Enron scandal have put the roles and responsibilities of the corporate management and the auditors in sharp focus. The public outcry against the necessity of preventing such crises in future has led to stricter regulation and extensive debate about the responsibilities of the management and the auditors. In this paper I shall explain the management's role and responsibilities verses the auditors' and also discuss how the public's perception of the auditor's duties have differed over time from that of the profession's.

The Management's Responsibilities

The management is responsible for formulating policies in an organization for efficient utilization of resources, setting goals, and providing the necessary resources, leadership and direction for achieving the goals. The ultimate objective of the management in a for-profit organization is to maximize the…

This is because auditors have a high amount of expertise in analyzing financial statements, with particular focus on being able to determine when fraud has potentially taken place. The forensic accounting capabilities of auditors are then put to work, to ensure that fraud has not taken place. The participants in free markets benefit from this work because it reduces the risk associated with their investments. Over time, this reduced risk will encourage more money into the markets, as the markets are viewed as a safe place for capital.

Recent developments have resulted in the role of the auditor evolving. The Center for Audit Quality (n.d.) has noted that where auditors used to basically have a "pass-fail" orientation to financial statements, this is now the bare minimum and a higher standard of care is to be taken in auditing reports. Auditors have become involved in creating annual reports that meet the…

Such accounting is accounting from a purely realistic and numerical perspective, having nothing to do with what those numbers would signify in the context of life within the larger society.

All accountants must swear by a strict code of ethics, yet auditors have a unique experience which places them in an even more sensitive position, calling for even more attention to ethical accounting behavior. Auditors have to deal with laboriously examining the financial records of a particular individual or organization. Often times, the auditor may already come with a bias, because there is a need for an audit based on some financial misgiving or mistake on a tax report or other important financial document. Still, it is the ethical responsibility of the auditor to remain objective and provide an unbiased service that allows for the proper examination and evaluation of financial duties and responsibilities without placing individuals or organizations under…

auditing comes with immense responsibility as it plays a vital role in maintaining a check and balance and establishes an organization's credibility and repute among its stakeholder. An auditor's report is a key document that most stakeholders use when taking decisions pertaining to an organization. For this it is important for auditors to show highest levels of compliance with ethics.

Auditors and Ethics

Audit and Ethics have a very deep relationship as one goes with another. Financial audit of clients needs to be ethical and it is an area of major concern as these companies hold the public stake. The base of ethical auditing is independence and beneath it lies the principles of honesty, professional diligence and due care, integrity and confidentiality. The basic part of ethical auditing which is independence focuses on the auditor's strict adherence to the maintenance of independence from having a financial interest in its clients.…

United States. I feel that auditors should be held to the highest standards and any implication of illegal behavior should be punishable under law.

Supreme Court aside, Congress has done much within Sarbanes-Oxley to address the legal ramifications concerning auditor misrepresentation. The principles regarding the elimination of conflict of interest remove one of the most significant motivations for the commission of fraud. I feel that overall, the legal framework for prosecution is strong. I do, however, feel that the industry should hold itself to a higher standard. The PCAOB can make life difficult for auditing firms, and this acts as a means of control, but surely an auditor willing to commit fraud will not be discouraged. Even the threat of being removed from the profession may not suffice.

There needs, in my opinion, to be a comprehensive degree of legal recourse. This should include but not be limited to civil…

internal auditor, the external auditor and the CFO. The essay also reviews their respective responsibilities, inherent conflicts between them and ethical considerations for each. Finally the essay reviews the treatment of balance sheet items from the perspective of each position.

The internal auditor typically reports to the CFO and is responsible for reviewing work done by fellow employees, checking for errors, oversights and irregularities. The standard method used to conduct an audit involves examining a transaction or process and comparing how it was done with the way it is documented in an operating procedure or accounting convention, then reporting to management on any differences. The internal auditor may use a number of methods or tools to capture information, sometimes even designing or adapting an existing tool to track the information being reviewed (Blackburn, 2011).

Information presented in the internal auditor's report is vital to management's ability to run a successful…

IT Fraud

Evaluate the factors that add to corporate fraud

The business fraud can be credited to conditions emerging from deceptive monetary reporting and misappropriation of possessions. These conditions are 3 and all 3 features of the fraud triangle have to exist for fraud to take place. Management or staff members have to have the reward or pressure to dedicate fraud, see the opportunity emerge and have the ability to justify the occasion.

Incentive/Pressure

Management or perhaps others in the workforce will have benefits or conditions of pressure to carry out fraud. If the choice is made by management to publish illegal monetary statements, the most typical reason for this will be threat by financial, market or entity operating conditions to the monetary security and productivity of the business. Extreme pressure is put on management to satisfy the projection made by industry experts, internal company projections or to pay back…

large organizations, the existence and effectiveness of its internal audit function comes into question. Not only the internal audit department should exist but it shall work effectively. An effective internal audit department can serve as the backbone of an organization's success. The International Accounting Standards oard (IAS) keeps on revising its standards to make sure that external and internal auditors of an organization carry out their duties effectively. The board recently revised the Internal auditing standard that serves the purpose of assisting the external auditor's in using the work of the internal auditors. Though external auditors are mainly concerned with auditing company's financial statements but lack of time and in some cases lack of resources raises a question as to their audit quality. In order to ensure that external audit is carried out effectively, the IAAS realized the importance of internal audit and how can the internal audit be an…

Accounting (Auditing)

The information that an auditor gathers as he runs analytical procedures in an entity he is auditing and as he gets better acquainted with the organization must be enough in determining materiality and assessing risks. Materiality is very important especially in helping the auditor determine what kind of audit report to be given. The auditor has to make reference to two key issues as regards what areas the financial audit covered. This helps in highlighting risk and materiality. These issues are: the limitation of the liability of the auditor to the significant information given to him and established by him by way of the materiality parameters he has established given his professional capacity and reasoning and his supplying an assurance that is not absolute but reasonable as pertaining to the financial statements' accuracy. The materiality is relative. A given figure or value may be viewed as material in…

This role is in response to clients' demands for a single trustworthy individual or firm to meet all of their financial needs. However, accountants are restricted from providing these services to clients whose financial statements they also prepare." (U.S. Department of Labor, ureau of Labor Statistics, 2009)

1. Public Accounting

The work entitled: "The Reality of the CPA's Role" states that modern CPAs work "behind the scenes as trusted advisors in nearly all significant business decisions. Successful accountants display the ability to think strategically and creatively and to be problem solvers and business advisors." (Douglass, 2006) Douglass states that the views of the CPA are widely varied "...whether from the viewpoint of the investing public or from the perspective of the companies that engage CPAs to audit their financial statements or perform other functions. In fact, many people not involved in the business management or accounting profession may perceive CPAs…

hile it can be argued that auditors bear a degree of responsibility to evaluate management practices, Cousteau clearly took the view that on the whole the financial statements did accurately reflect the firm's circumstances; that the fraud did not constitute a widespread attempt to deceive the markets. Thus, evidence of fraud does not in and of itself render financial statements materially misleading. The nature and dollar amount of the fraud must also be taken into consideration, all within the context of the totality of publicly available information about the firm.

orks Cited:

Braun, K. (2001). The Disposition of Audit-Detected Misstatements: An Examination of Risk and Reward Factors and Aggregation Effects. Contemporary Accounting Research. Vol 18, No. 1 (Spring 2001), pp.71-99.

Shunglu, V.K. (1998). Role of the Auditor in Promoting Good Governance. International Journal of Government Accounting. Retrieved September 7, 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3662/is_199804/ai_n8794931/

Babu, T.R.R. (2004). Audit Materiality. Oxford University. Retrieved…

ite Aid Fraud

Over the years, there have been numerous cases of financial fraud perpetuated within the organizational mainstream of major companies. Financial fraud is often a well-coordinated sort of white-collar crime that often -- but not always - requires complicity and collusion amongst financial accountants, top management and auditors. ite Aid came to the limelight after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it would be filing accounting fraud charges against the company in 2002

Meanwhile, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania leveled similar criminal charges accusing former CFO Frank Bergonzi, former CEO Martin Grass and former Vice Chairman Franklin Brown of perpetuating an immense accounting fraud scheme

. Compounding the crisis, according to former ite Aid COO, Timothy Noonan, were years of legal coaching amongst staff and mid-level employees. As investigations ensued, evidence of fraudulent manipulation of accounts, corporate malfeasance, and financial overstatement…

Once this has happened, the auditor is in a position to assess the risk of material misstatement in the financial statements. The auditor should consider, for example, management's selection and application of accounting principles in assessing the risk of fraud. Some red flags identified in the alert are when the transaction is overly complex; whether or not management has discussed the accounting of such transactions; if management is placing undue emphasis on accounting treatment of a transaction; if transactions involve third parties, including special purpose entities; and if the transactions do not have sufficient substance.

The alert prescribes a course of action for situations when an auditor believes that there is a significant risk of material misstatement. The auditor must identify his or her findings in an engagement completion document; document actions taken to address significant unusual transactions and must state the basis for the conclusions reached.

In the Lehman…

Ethics

Cable provider Adelphia was one of the major accounting scandals of the early 2000s that led to the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. A key provision of the Act was to create a stronger ethical climate in the auditing profession, a consequence of the apparent role that auditors played in some of the scandals. SOX mandated that auditors cannot audit the same companies for which they provide consulting services, as this link was perceived to result in audit teams being pressured to perform lax audits in order to secure more consulting business from the clients. There were other provisions in SOX that increased the regulatory burden on the auditing profession in response to lax auditing practices in scandals like Adelphia (McConnell & Banks, 2003). This paper will address the Adelphia scandal as it relates to the auditors, and the deontological ethics of the situation.

Adelphia

Adelphia was once a…

Johnson Bank v. George Korbaken Company

Johnson Bank v. George Korbakes Company

Over the last several years, the role of the auditor has been continually evolving. This is because financial institutions are relying on the information they are provided with to help them make better choices in the long-term. However, there are times when these firms may not have accurate figures and erroneously report their findings. When this happens, there is a possibility of these facts leading to incorrect decisions. (Adelopo, 2012) ("Johnson Bank sued George Korabakes," 2006)

The case of Johnson Bank v. George Korbakes Company is examining these factors and the long-term impacts they will have on various stakeholders. To determine if the auditor is responsible for the claims they make requires carefully examining the effects. This will be accomplished by focusing on the case itself, the primary / secondary legal questions, the rule of law, the court's…

Auditing; Topic: Materiality in Auditing

With respect to the field of auditing, materiality is a critically important concept addressing the significance of discrepancies, amounts, and transactions. Specific materiality guidelines are required in accounting practices to avoid judgmental (legal) decisions. Materiality is applied for most, if not all, economic decisions, and the topic of materiality is not a new issue. Disclosures in re financial statements have been emphasized by courts in the United Kingdom since the 1800's, whereas materiality initially rose to importance in the United States following 1933's Security act. The significance of the materiality concept and its implications are pertinent to business decisions, as well as for analysis and preparation of financial statements and in order to apply GAAP, generally accepted accounting principles.

For the accounting field, as well as for all fields of management, the concept of materiality is central to decision making. If something is considered to…

Explain the Securities and Exchange Commission's rationale to charge Cardillo executives with each of the following violations:

Making false representations to outside auditors

Without a doubt, executives of Cardillo Travel Systems made incorrect accounting transactions. As a result, this gave rise to false representations to external auditors. The rational for the SEC to charge these executives with this particular violation is linked to Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting Under Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In accordance to this guideline, the SEC expects the company's management to be accountable for maintaining an internal control system over financial report. This is so as to offer sensible guarantee with respect to the reliability of preparing and reporting of financial statements for external users of such statements, comprising of the external auditors (SEC, 2007).

Failing to maintain accurate financial records

Management of a company is…

Auditing

We are living in times of continuous change that thrives on information. Information is the cornerstone of the financial construct of organizations. Information and access thereto drives the success of organizations in present times. The way the external world receives the statements of organizations is causal to its perception by individuals and institutions in evaluating it. As such, it is imperative that the architects and designers of this vital information need to pursue diligently highest levels of moral, ethical, and professional standards in preparing it. In providing for the financial and economical framework for such information, services of auditors are simply indispensable. The audited reports of an organization is the basis on which the organization makes its statement of intent public and helps aid the process of decision making and perception about it in the capital and investment markets (Franca & Maria, n.d.).

IMPORTANCE OF MATERIALITY IN AUDITING

"Audire"…

unbeam Corporation's fraudulent accounting for its financial years 1996, 1997 and early 1998. The essay also reviews the historic audit failure that occurred, and discusses factors that contributed to the scandal and ways in which it might have been prevented.

unbeam, the consumer brand name that was to become well-known among generations of Americans, had its beginnings in 1893 when founders John K. tewart and Thomas J. Clark began manufacturing and selling a commercial horse clipping machine in Chicago. In 1897 the company was incorporated as the Chicago Flexible haft Company. When the company began manufacturing an electric iron named "The Princess," its first electric appliance, the product's introduction marked the beginning of the Electrical Appliance Division of today's Jarden Corporation (Jarden, 2011).

In the early years, the company's products, ranging from toasters to irons to mixers, were so successful that the company changed its name to the unbeam Corporation…

Statistical Process Control

What is the correct relationship of internal audit to senior management?

The correct relationship of internal audit to senior management is a supportive relationship. It is imperative that senior management makes it known, through is ways and actions, that it supports internal audit. One piece of evidence consists of senior management granting internal audit easy access to senior management and the audit committee. The process of senior management providing easy access for internal audit guarantees the correct relationship of internal audit to senior management.

How should conflict be managed? Is conflict inevitable?

Conflict is always inevitable between internal audit and senior management. When internal audit interact with senior management, there is always a potential for conflict. In fact, it is virtually impossible for people with diverse background skills and norms to work together; make decisions, and try to meet project goals and objectives without conflict. Internal audit…

accounting standards and concepts violated by Ligand Pharmaceuticals, as well as the role of the PCAOB as a regulatory body.

Standards for Accounting of Sales Returns

The applicable standard includes FAS 48, which establishes standards for revenue recognition when the right of return exists. FAS 48, issued in 1981, specifies under what circumstances revenue is recognized on a sale in which a product may be returned. For a business that sells its products but gives buyers the right to return the product, FAS 48, paragraph 6, states that revenue from the sales transaction is recognized at the time of sale only if all of the six conditions specified in items a through f were met. One condition which proved a problem for Ligand was that "the amount of future returns can be reasonably estimated (paragraph 8)" (FASB, 1981, p. 5).

Paragraph 6 further specifies that, in the event that all…

Madoff Securities case occurred because of fraudulent investment schemes due to lack of regulation as well as insufficient oversight of specific financial intermediaries along with dismissal of opportunistic behavior. To understand why such an incident happened in the first place, it is important to identify the kind of scheme led by Madoff. It is called a Ponzi scheme. In a Ponzi scheme, an unsustainably big pool of investors must be maintained to keep it afloat. It begins with a simple promise to a few investors of doubling an amount they decided to invest. Rather than investing that money and doubling it, the person involved in the scheme takes money from a successive round of investors and the scheme continues (Knapp, 2011). The formula is ROI-R-I.

The reason why the Ponzi scheme went unnoticed for so long was partly because of Madoff's reputation and a huge regulatory hole. This major discrepancy…

Bush, who declared that corporations which jeopardized the investments and jobs of millions of individuals should pay their dues. The United States Senate and the House of epresentatives also became involved and proposed numerous modifications.

The pillar of the changes occurred in financial reporting after the accounting scandals is based on increased transparency and more support in conducting audit operations. The XBL system for instance will allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct analyses in a more efficient manner. All efforts to improve the financial reporting system have been condensed into the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It represents the most important regulatory act of the past 70 years and it is applicable all around the world; it addresses issues that refer to all players in the corporate reporting chain.

eferences

Bautista, L.., 2004, Implications and Effects of Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Securities and Exchange Commission, etrieved at http://www.adbi.org/conf-seminar-papers/2006/03/30/1739.implications.effects.sarbanesoxley/onMarch 13, 2009

Cooper, C., 2007,…

Extant literature has been dedicated to the concept of corporate ethics and governance. In regard to the Satyam scenario, Afsharipour (2010) discussed the expectations as well as challenges that face the Indian corporate governance landscape. The paper discussed corporate reforms that were put in place as a consequence of the Satyam fraud. The author recognizes the dire need for proper governance in the entire Indian corporate landscape as a consequence of India's ever expanding economy. Afsharipour (2010) indicated that there has been changes in the corporate governance conditions prior to and after the Satyam corporate scandal.The author indicates that even though the former Chairman of the company, Mr. amalinga aju as well as his family jointly owned close to 8% of the company's shares, the company had as a majority, an independent Board of Directors that included various Indian luminaries and hence complying with the Clause 19 requirements of corporate…

The ABC system uses a much lage numbe and vaiety of cost dives than the one o two volume-based cost dives typical fo a taditional cost system. As a esult, the ABC method has inceased accuacy.

In contacts, it is explained that a taditional cost system uses only volume-based cost dives, such as diect labo and machine hous, and ignoes the key ole of suppot activities, such as numbe of setups and design changes, in poducing many moden poducts and sevices. Such volume-based cost dives often lead to one goup of poducts subsidizing anothe goup of poducts. These subsidies often ceate the appeaance that one goup of poducts is highly pofitable, advesely affecting the picing and competitiveness of anothe goup of poducts. In a highly competitive envionment with complex poducts and sevices, accuate cost infomation can be citical to sound planning and decision-making. (Cook, Gove & Cobun, 2000, p. 305)…

Additionally, eston Smith's wife Susan Jones-Smith, was also a finance executive at the company, a further example of the incestuous relationships that characterized the financial leadership of HealthSouth. A failure of the company meant the failure in the financial future of the family of one's friends and spouses.

Another warning sign should have been the nature of the company's assets. The firm was able to conceal its financial shenanigans for so long from outside auditors because of its multiple and constant stream of acquisitions of a variety of inpatient and outpatient facilities. The nature of the acquisitions should have been a clear warning sign to be wary of HealthSouth's spiraling profits. The volume of transactions meant there was great difficulty in keeping track of the 'real' value of the different operations, despite the company's alleged revenues on paper.

Also, the existence of such superficial nods to ethical practices, such as…

Network Audit Case Study

This study focuses on a comprehensive list of top ten tips of network and business continuity audit. These tips might lead businesses to survive and thrive in their audits without the need to overhaul their entire infrastructure.

Top ten network and business continuity-auditing tips

Segmentation of tasks distinctively: It depends on the principle of drive and conquers. It involves brainstorming about the organization's security tasks in terms of pieces and separating them into logically and physically segments. For instance, security tasks depend on ensuring people are kept on the outside by using both physical and firewall security (Bergmann & Pamplin, 2013). However, other components are safely kept on the inside using antivirus. Security does not solely imply that people should be kept from the outside. Obviously, companies have lost information from within the business. In this case, each piece must be documented and prioritized.

Documenting all…

6.

Company members falsifying, altering, destroying or otherwise tempering with organizational documents risk punishments between fines up to 20 years imprisonment

7.

Organizational staff members notifying their superiors or the legal authorities of fraudulent operations are protected under the whistleblower protection provision. People who retaliate against the individuals who offer condemning information of the company are punished with anything between a fine up to ten years imprisonment (Prahalad, 2008).

As an addition to these provisions, it is automatically implied that the auditor will keep an objective opinion and will perform his tasks within the highest standards of professional quality. Yet, since it is possible for the auditor to have shares in the respective organization, have a child employed there or other such situations, he is asked to identify the existence of any conflicts of interest and withdraw from the audit process.

At a first level, the Sarbanes-Oxley act was expected…

The first three organizations in line to recuperate their funds were Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and General Electric Group. They had been offering financial solutions and encouragement to purchase the WorldCom stock based on a favorable business relationship. However, at the time when bankruptcy procedures were commenced, the three organizations recognized their losses and intended to recuperate them.

A succinct presentation of the period surrounding the crisis could be reveled by the media stories:

27 June 2002 - information on the people affected by the WorldCom crisis become available - about 60 banks across the globe had granted loans to the organization or purchase bonds

27 June 2002 - SEC charges the organization with fraud and three organizational leaders are subpoenaed before a governmental committee

28 June 2002 - John Sidgmore announced a cut in costs by $1 billion and the downsize on 17,000 employees

U.S. President George Bush condemns organizational…

Internal Fraud Detection

Fraud can be detected by deliberate effort through internal control efforts or by coincidence or chance. When companies do not practice strong internal control, it leaves the door open for employees to misappropriate assets without being detected, except by chance. y the time fraud is detected by chance, it could have cost a company millions of dollars in misappropriated assets.

The first coincidence discovered by the magazine company was in the process of a new auditor in an effort to get to know his new company and their accounting codes taking invoices to a vice president responsible for approving payment on them. The very top invoice was a forged signature, and upon evaluation, more invoices were discovered to have contained forged signatures, which is what set up the investigation. According to (Global Economic Crime Survey), 13% of internal fraud is detected by accident, 27% reported fraud in…

The report reflects the actual figures. Variance columns are presented in comparing the actual with the revised budget. There is reconciliation between the budgetary basis and GAAP are presented on the comparison schedule. The major differences are in how they are reported. There are budgetary comparison schedules provided for reserve funds. All special reserves are included. ("Comprehensive Annual Financial eport," 2012)

3C. Look at the note that describes the basis of budgeting (usually in the Summary of Significant Accounting Policies). Is the budget prepared on the GAAP basis or some other basis? Are the differences, if any, between the budgetary basis and GAAP clearly explained? Does the note indicate that encumbrance accounting is used?

The budget is prepared on a GAAP basis. The differences between the two are clearly explained in the approaches. It is indicating that encumbrance accounting is not used. ("Comprehensive Annual Financial eport," 2012)

4A. Look at…

MF Global

Discuss the key difference between conducting a financial audit and a fraud audit, and the related level of responsibility of the auditing firm.

Financial audits are typically carried out by certified public accountants or outside agencies or firms that work directly on behalf of individual companies. At times financial audits may be initiated by government entities. The audit itself is more of a "double-check" of financial reports and practices (Weinberg, 2003). Financial audits are deemed complete upon verification that numbers are accurate. Completed financial audits may prove or disprove information, but discrepancies will typically not result in the same serious consequences as those uncovered during a fraud investigation or audit.

Fraud auditing usually comes at the demand of the U.S. court system - usually the work is carried out by the government or privately-held third parties. Fraud audits look for dishonesty and hidden figures. They probe deeper than…

Sarbanes-Oxley act on auditing

Changes as a result of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley law

In the wake of numerous corporate accounting scandals, several of which involved the famed and trusted accounting firm of Arthur Anderson, the U.S. Congress instituted the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA). The Act was designed to reduce the likelihood of "cooked books, exorbitant [undisclosed] salaries and loans to CEOs, conflicts of interest by auditors, and hyped-up stock reports by securities analysts at some of America's highest-flying companies and investment firms" (Has Sarbanes-Oxley made a dent in corporate America's armor, 2004, Knowledge @Wharton). One of the reforms of SOA was to demand "significantly higher responsibility from audit committees of publicly traded companies" while amending the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 "to make the audit committee of a reporting company an important participant in the financial reporting process of the company" (Pandit, Subrahmanyam, & Conway 2005). Audit committees have been…

IAC (iordan)

Any company that is a leader in an industry knows that what they sell had better be both quality and innovative in order to compete within their designated industry. iordan Manufacturing is no different. iordan has long been a company that offers both quality and innovative products in the plastic molding and parts industry. It also has a strong internal structure that works harmoniously with the objectives of the company. Despite iordan's position as a leader in their industry, the company does face some internal challenges, which work against their company objectives. This paper will look at these areas that require improvement, including finance and accounting, training budget, shipping and receiving, human resources, and the new pyramid bottle cap design for The Taylor Group. The paper will utilize the Issue, ule, Analysis and Conclusion (IAC) method in each distinct area.

Finance and Accounting

Issue: One of the chief…

Unauthorized Information Systems Access

Scan the Internet for articles or evidence of Bank of America being a victim of hacking. Based on the results of your search, if the bank has been hacked, assess the circumstances around the hacking and the resulting impact to the bank's customers and operations. If the bank has not reported hacking incidents, assess the most likely security measures that the bank has implemented to protect the business from hackers.

Bank of America has experienced many data breaches in the past, yet the most troublesome are the ones where customers' data is stolen and immediately resold on the black market by employees. There are also those instances where employees and subcontractors gain unauthorized access to ATMs and steal money. These are two of the recent incidences of how the Bank of America security systems and processes have been hacked by employees and those operating in the…

Audit Planning Control

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has published guidelines for preparing an audit plan. The first step is the preliminary engagement activities, which is focused on establishing an understanding of the terms of engagement for the audit. The steps in the planning process are to identify the scope of the audit; to determine the reporting objectives; to consider the results of the preliminary engagement and to determine the resources that are going to be required to conduct the audit -- and the timing of when those resources will be needed (AICPA, 2015).

To audit Home Depot, it is important first to determine what the scope will be, as this will help to determine the resource requirements. A preliminary meeting with the company will help to determine this -- for example is it necessary to visit stores? Conduct inventory? Talk to Canadian HQ? Or is a visit to…

.3763.EN 2002). Washington's valuation of companies for XYZ could potentially be argued as not compromising Big 4's integrity in the audit according to the standards set forth by Sarbanes-Oxley, but the performance of background checks on prospective XYZ employees by Johnson, another partner at Big 4, is a clear performance of human resources duties, and this entanglement is explicitly forbidden by Section 201 (H..3763.EN 2002). Then there are the obvious issues of dishonesty that are tantamount to fraud in some cases, and perhaps even qualify as fraud. Certainly, the i=outright attempt to persuade Smith to ignore certain material facts in his audit is in violation of Section 303, and if Smith carried through with this request he (and arguably anyone who asked him to falsify information, though this is not entirely clear in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as written) would also be in violation of Section 802, which carries a potential…

If this policy was in place at the time of the Enron scandal, Anderson may not have had any incentive to lie on behalf of Enron. Another extremely important rule that would have had an impact upon Enron is the rotation rule. The lead and concurrent audit partners cannot stay on a particular public company for more than five years, they must continually rotate. Had this rule been in place, Arthur Anderson himself who sat twenty years on Enron would not have had the opportunity to conduct deceit and destroy documentation.

The primary aspect of OX in application to preventing scandals such as Enron is provide much more repercussions for corporate finance abuse and more importantly, for greater responsibility for all parties involved in audits. The audit committee of all public companies are now required to overview all audits that are being conducted. In addition, CEOs and CFOs of public…

A higher figure reflects a better position of a given company.

2008 Quick ratio = 5.95

2009 Quick ratio =6.83

2010 Quick ratio =7.23

The trend in quick ratio generally indicates an improvement or good trend in the company's ability to effectively meet its various short-term obligations using most of its liquid assets.

Profitability ratios

Return on investment (ROI)

A performance measure is employed in evaluate the efficiency of a given investment. It can also be used in comparing its efficiency to several other investments.

Return on Investment = Net Income after taxes/Shareholder's Equity (Total Assets-Total Liabilities)

2008 Return on investment = 2,118,827/( 1,810,626,071- 246,564,395)= 2,118,827/1,564,061,676 = 0.14%

2009 Return on investment = 36,165,310 / (1,649,954,411-172,891,948) = 36,165,310/1477062463= 2.5%

2010 Return on investment =73,636,501 / (1,592,528,763-123,488,012) =73,636,501/1,469,040,751=5%

The ROI trend indicates that the company is performing well through the years. It is experiencing an impressive growth in its ROI

Gross…

Financial Examination

The overall examination of financial documents is integral to the proper functioning of government entities. For one, examinations help to prevent budgetary shortfalls that may jeopardize the economic viability of governments. Stress tests, are particular useful as they provide outlooks contingent of varying macroeconomic situations. These stress test and examinations, when done correctly, allow stakeholders to make proper assessments as to the financial stability of their government. Without these assessments, unexpected events may cause policy changes that harm society overall. Aspects such as the budget cuts currently underway in many of the nation's largest states are a direct result of lackluster financial examinations. Consequently, the individuals will have to sacrifice in the form of higher taxes and lower benefits (McKenna, 2006).

When evaluating Swobodaville's financial condition based on the partial list of factors given, a number of elements cause concern. First, the low income, sales tax exempt households,…

Financial Analysis

Electronic communication has increased the availability and speed at which financial information is made public. Announcements and stock prices are made available in real time. Aggregated and historical information is widely available on information aggregator sites like Yahoo Finance. Annual reports are publicly available, and securities regulators insist that they be made publicly available.

The increased availability of financial information about companies serves to improve both the transparency and liquidity of financial markets. Investors of all types and abilities now have access to the information that they need to make information decisions. That all companies must produce consistent financial statements according to GAAP also helps with the transparency of financial information. ith easy access to this information, investors can become more educated and more confident. Ultimately, this improves investor confidence in the system and liquidity in the market, improving the market's function.

Because publishing this material improves the…

United States from Nigeria in order to add to my life and career experience. I began my venture by joining the United States Navy. My main motivation for this was to raise the necessary funds to enroll in a college. After one year I was honorably discharged as a result of glaucoma, and I could not raise the funds that I needed. This however did not deter me from my plans and I enrolled in a local community college instead. Here I made the Dean's list after one semester, and received a scholarship. It is also here that I continued to develop my interest in finance and banking.

One of the reasons I want to continue with graduate work in this field then is the fact that my work and studies so far have unlocked the world of finance for me, and I find the pursuit of the field extremely…

In cities, urban dwellers have less room to store large amounts of goods in small apartments, and have more access to smaller, independent stores that offer more boutique services and access to wider varieties of specific goods. Discount shopping is easier for a urban walker, comparing prices on a street, and also an urban bookstore might have a wider selection than al-Mart, as might a grocery store, but only at al-Mart can a customer buy a best-seller and brand name groceries at low prices at the same time. Additionally, partly because of bad press regarding its labor practices, and also because European consumers tend to buy less in bulk, at the same time, than their American counterparts, al-Mart's success in Europe has been less dominant than its home country of America, although its international sales remain strong.

Identify the name of the company's independent accountants (auditors) and explain in your…

Business Fraud

In the wake of scandals such as Enron and others, corporate fraud still appears to be prevalent across the business world. The reasons for this can be many and varied, although greed and a sense of hubris appear to be two of the common role players. In other cases, desperation could also be a factor, where a business is in danger of failing and its owners or managers see little choice but to cheat or sing with the boat. In many of the fraud cases, questions regarding regulation also abound, where regulatory authorities appear to be unable to either identify fraudulent activity or to sufficiently monitor the actions of those involved. This appears to be at least partly the case as far as ussell Wasendorf Sr. is concerned, who recently confessed to have committed fraud as the owner of his brokerage for 20 years Huffstutter and Polansek, 2012).…

Systems Implementation

System Implementations

Describe the company, the business problem the company was addressing with the system implementation, the system chosen to implement, and the company's rationale for selecting the system to solve the problem.

Wal-Mart, a company that enjoys a significant market share in the U.S. food industry, rolled out its multi-phased project. This marked the beginning of implementing the company's long ditched in-house IT systems, which favored their operations with vendors. However, implementation of the SAP system is already raising red flags. This is because the system comes with costly financial works, which have strained the company (Scheck, 2010). While the project was aimed at leading the firm to growth, Wal-Mart recorded a significant sales decline. This was one of the company's worst performance over three decades now, been beaten by new corporations from Germany and South Korea. As local competitors maintained the pace set by Wal-Mart, most…

Rolls Royce

The principle activities of Rolls Royce are to provide "integrated power solutions for customers in civil and defense aerospace, marine and energy markets." The breakdown is as following:

The auditor's report conveys the following findings.

"The financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs"

The financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with IFRS and UK GAAP

The director's remuneration report has been properly prepared and is consistent with the financial statements

There is nothing to report under the Companies Act of 2006.

The ratios for Rolls Royce are as follows:

Ratio

Expression

Industry

Average

Eg Trade receivables period

days

days

ROE

1559/6105

736/4519

19%

Gross profit margin

2745/12161

2448/11124

22%

10%

Net profit margin

1559/12161

848/11124

3%

Current ratio

8522/7194

8108/6916

Inventory turnover period

2726/9416 x365

2561/8841 x 365

105 days

105 days

50 days

Payables' turnover period

9581/6387…

Managing Dynamic Environments ADDITION

Effectively managing complex information technology projects is predominantly an exercise in precision and planning, but the best project managers know that adaptability is often the best way to mitigate the risk factors posed by dynamic environments. Adhering to a company's most recently issued mission statement is often the primary priority of top managers and executives, and with the fluid nature of modern organizational structures, outdated or obsolete projects reflecting prior mission statements may still be on the company's proverbial books. In this instance, competent managers are expected to identify projects which do not reflect the company's current mission statement, either adapting them to ensure compliance across all project parameters, or terminating the project's progress in an effective and efficient fashion. A recent article published by the prestigious International Journal of Project Management focused its analysis on the role that dynamic environments, which are typified by a…

Corporation Transactions and Misrepresentation of Financial eports

Business law also called commercial law is a branch of civil law that governs business as well as, commercial transactions, and deals with both the private and public law. The branch created to ensure that, they are no exploitation and manipulation of people as well as rules and regulation in order to benefit some members of a business. This means that should one break or manipulate the rules and regulation in his favor. The or she must face the court in accordance with the law. With legal rights of all investors considered as an important element of the business law, we examine the board changes within the filling of the shareholder derivative lawsuits and might not be frivolous. Also, lack of highly competent employees within a business can lead to tremendous losses and to some extent closure of the business in accordance with…

health south accounting irregularities: A Presentation and Overview

As a part of this presentation, I, as an independent auditor commissioned by the committee of the firm representing the HealthSouth Corporation, wish to make clear that the company I have just audited, though tarred and feathered by the modern media, is not nearly at fault as one might initially believe, given the nature of the following components peculiar to the health services and health care industry. Although HealthSouth's supposed irregularities may have been elided in the public imagination with corporations such as Enron, it is not an 'imaginary corporation.' Mistakes were made, but these mistakes should not cause individuals to forget the ongoing quality of care still provided by the company.

The company's former CEO Richard M. Scrushy never told the company's primary accountants to falsify financial reports. Furthermore, these accountants would have reported accounting irregularities had they known about them.…

Corporate fraud as a dishonest activity for organizations that is considered as white collar crime has serious legal implications. Though it can be difficult to detect and catch, it is important to prevent it by creating effective and efficient policies for the organizations that ensure an efficient system of checks and balances exists in the organization for its physical and fiscal security. Whenever fraud happens in a company or organization, it often takes the form of hiding sources of revenue, overstating expenses or growth, or disguising payments made to individuals in the company. Often, fraudulent activities within the organization are complex in nature and have a gross impact on the financial nature of the organization. It is usually perpetrated by the company management and other employees are often unaware of these fraudulent activities (Mele, 2005).

Corporate fraud, as difficult as it is to prevent, often has a ripple effect whereby…

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in reducing fraudulent financial reporting

Introduction to Fraudulent Financial eporting

Available research on financial statement fraud relies mostly on anecdotal evidence (for example, Wells, 2001, 2002, 2004a, and 2004b; ezaee, 2003). This evidence offers advice on how mechanisms related to the fraud triangle can be curtailed. It leads to theoretical sense to reduce factors which lead to more instances of fraud. However, deterrence and established deterrence methods in place within organizations have not been examined in proper detail. Neither have the secondary issues which can influence a person's chance of committing financial statement fraud. But there are multiple researches where deterrence models have been tested on other types of fraud e.g. tax fraud, fraudulent reports of environmental violations etc. Generally speaking, a clear consensus regarding the level of effectiveness of prevention mechanisms, such as those stated in GDT, is not present. There are two key parts…

Ethics and egulatory Issues

elated party transactions reported on by Arthur Andersen & Co.

Flaw in the accounting firm's logic

Checklist for special projects performed by external auditors

Checklist

Proposed rules or laws to prevent similar occurrences

Enron was one of the Wall Street's favorite blue chip stocks before an accounting scandal of the firm surfaced in 2000. The revelation that company has been misreporting its profits and losses during 1990s crashed the company's stock. The earnings and debt statements were not representative of the actual accounting transactions. Thus, a serious issue of bankruptcy ensued after this revelation. There were several ethical aspects of this issue as well. Following the details of accounting malpractices that the company through its accounting firm Arthur Andersen (Benston, 2003).

elated party transactions reported on by Arthur Andersen & Co.

Chewco Investments, L.P. ("Chewco"): Chewco was also a related party of Enron and it was…

In the company it has ushered in a better accounting and the management with upgrades in technology and competence, there will be a requirement for training and upgrading managers and staff to meet the contingencies of the proposed systems and controls. The Sarbanes-Oxley section will help the companies on the other hand gain a lot of investment and support from the investors by providing a quality and timely information, with a competitive advantage. (Shanley, 2004)

For the officer and the shareholder and those dealing with the company it ensures that the financially literate directors at the helm and will have internal controls which make the company relatively safe. It is however to be noted that the act is for public companies and many companies have cut issues to escape the provisions of the act. The Auditing firms and the auditing process all have undergone vast changes in the process of…

Enron could engage in their derivative trading strategy with no fear of government intervention because derivative trading was specifically exempted from government regulation. Due in part to a ruling by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) chairwoman, Wendy Graham, derivatives remained free of regulatory oversight. Ms. Graham, wife of Texas senator Phil Graham, made this ruling 5 weeks before resigning as chairwoman of the CFTC and joining the Enron oard of Directors in 1993.

Derivative accounting is further complicated because there is no consistent way to fairly report their value and risk in a company's financial report. In 1998 Rule No. 133, "Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities" was developed by the Financial Accounting Standards oard (FAS), an independent agency that sets guidelines for corporate auditors. Rule 133 contains more than 800 pages, which further complicates its adoption and consistent interpretation by various companies. SFAS No. 133 was subsequently…