...Question 1: From this case study, it showed how Lehman Brothers walked down to the end of it business. Through Lehman Brothers’ case, it reflects the ugly side of a corporate. A big recognized company collapse due to it unsuccessful leadership management, culture and dishonesty by it people caused the company walked down to the end of it business. There are several points showed how it gone bankrupted. By using the ethical perspective to look at Lehman Brothers’ situation, it showed that the company being dishonest to it clients, failure in the company leadership and corporate management are the major problems that lead to the company downfalls. As a Wall Street icon, they disappointed the public and being irresponsible towards their actions, against the ethnical issue by not being honest to review the actual situation of the company, but using others method to cover it annual report. In my opinion, the top management is the main issue that caused the downfall of Lehman Brothers. According to the case study, it mentioned the major problem at Lehman was culture and reward, it showed the top management of the company did not have a structure way to motivate and guide their employees on the appropriate way of doing tasks. For example, individuals who makes questionable deals were hailed and treated as “conquering heroes” and the others who questionable the decision was often being ignored. This shows that the company only wants to have short term earning instead of...
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...Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The control break downs of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. included the massive amount of money borrowed to fund its investments. A considerable portion of this investment was in real estate, which made the investment defenseless against a fall in the market. Lehman also used one of its small companies to reallocate investments off its books. The firm was active in the market for Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS). The process involved buying several residential mortgages, combining them and selling them as securities. RMBS buyers actually purchased claims on the cash flow generated by the securities. Lehman produced a great amount of these securities, making the demand high for mortgage originators. This led mortgage originators to extend credit to people who were not credit worthy, or did not have enough income causing these people to have upside down mortgages on their homes when housing prices plummeted in 2006. In 2000, the stock market started to decline and the Federal Reserve significantly reduced interest rates. These lower interest rates caused inexpensive mortgage payments, which lead to a large demand for homes. Homeowners took advantage of the low interest rates and refinanced their mortgages. In 2008, Lehman announced that they would file for bankruptcy after a huge loss in the market, a loss of investors and their inability to find an adequate buyer. Soon after, their collapse set the market into panic mode...
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...Word Article Analysis Unethical Practices in Accounting ACC/291 Principles of Accounting 2 Michaele Musters Instructor: Word Article Analysis of Unethical Practices in Accounting Ethical Practices and conducts maybe taken or act different by everyone, thus many times to identify unethical practices and behaviors, we have to see who is in control. It is essential to analyze what can be done, or thought what might be done against legally acceptable accounting principles and conducts. The Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002, was enacted by The United States Congress to protect investors from fraudulent accounting practices, made by fraudulent executives in corporations. After the Scandal, the entire accounting world changed in many ways, that it created a new vision and ways of work. It sort of created a world of winds of anxiety for corporate executives and accountants. In the Sarbanes-Oxley act , there is a section call 302 that requires management to certify the accuracy of the reported financial statement. Then all corporations were forced to reform strictly to improve financial disclosures to prevent accounting frauds. After the Act, management introduced internal control in order to comply with all the Sarbanes-Oxley act requires for a corporations behavior. Today, all corporations are obligated to certify the company’s financial reports. They are also responsible and they must take full responsibility if there is a misleading, or fake accounting information...
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...Review of Accounting Ethics - Week 3 Alessio Brasile Strayer University Financial Accounting ACC-557 Dr. A. Golding April 28, 2013 Review of Accounting Ethics - Week 3 Given the corporate ethical breaches in recent times, assess whether or not you believe that the current business and regulatory environment is more conducive to ethical behavior: In the past several years, Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and others have committed financial scandals, which caused the stock market to take a hard hit. Investors and lenders learned from these scandals in the past, and just recently, have become hesitant to invest in any company that they think, or know for a fact, the company is corrupted and/or unethical. “United States regulators and lawmakers were very concerned that the economy would suffer if investors lost confidence in corporate accounting because of unethical financial reporting. In response, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX, or Sarbox)” (Weygandt, Kimmel, & Kieso, 2012, p. 7). SOX is in place to minimize unethical conduct in corporations and ultimately, scandals. “As a result of SOX, top management must now certify the accuracy of financial information. In addition, penalties for fraudulent financial activity are much more severe” (Weygandt et al., 2012, p. 7). With these standard rules and regulations in place, corporations are less likely to commit any fraudulent activity because there is more scrutiny from lawmakers. Also, corporations have a better chance...
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...Word Article Analysis Unethical Practices in Accounting ACC/291 Principles of Accounting 2 Michaele Musters Instructor: Word Article Analysis of Unethical Practices in Accounting Ethical Practices and conducts maybe taken or act different by everyone, thus many times to identify unethical practices and behaviors, we have to see who is in control. It is essential to analyze what can be done, or thought what might be done against legally acceptable accounting principles and conducts. The Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002, was enacted by The United States Congress to protect investors from fraudulent accounting practices, made by fraudulent executives in corporations. After the Scandal, the entire accounting world changed in many ways, that it created a new vision and ways of work. It sort of created a world of winds of anxiety for corporate executives and accountants. In the Sarbanes-Oxley act , there is a section call 302 that requires management to certify the accuracy of the reported financial statement. Then all corporations were forced to reform strictly to improve financial disclosures to prevent accounting frauds. After the Act, management introduced internal control in order to comply with all the Sarbanes-Oxley act requires for a corporations behavior. Today, all corporations are obligated to certify the company’s financial reports. They are also responsible and they must take full responsibility if there is a misleading, or fake accounting information...
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...Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. Thursday, October 24, 1929, easily ranks as the most dramatic day that Wall Street has ever seen. That day witnessed the beginning of the Great Stock Market Crash that over the following few years would result in an almost ninety percent decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJIA). Although not nearly as dramatic as “ Black Thursday,” September 15, 2008, is a date that modern day Wall Street insiders will not soon forget. On that day, one of Wall Street’s iconic investment banking firms, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy. That bankruptcy filing ended the proud history of a firm that had played a major role in shaping the nation’s securities markets and economy for more than a century. Lehman Brothers had approximately $ 700 billion in assets when it failed, which makes it the largest corporate bankruptcy in U. S. history, easily surpassing the previ-ous headline- grabbing bankruptcies of Enron, General Motors, and WorldCom. By comparison, the telecommunications giant WorldCom, which temporarily held the title of the nation’s largest business failure after collapsing in 2002, had less than one-sixth the total assets claimed by Lehman Brothers. The shocking announcement that Lehman had filed for bankruptcy caused the DJIA to plunge more than 500 points within a few hours. That large loss was only a harbinger of things to come. Within six months, the DJIA had declined by more than 50 percent from its all- time high of 14,164...
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...Major problem The major problem with the Lehman brothers was their desperation. The executives of this firm were so desperate to trick investors and credit reporting agencies, that they engaged in techniques to “cook the books” to cover up their schemes. To be more exact, Lehman entered into agreements known as ‘Repo 105.’ This repo is referred to as “an accounting maneuver used to shift the assets off Lehman’s books in return for a promise to buy back the securities at a premium days later.” In this agreement, the company entered into agreements with banks in the Cayman Islands to sell the bank their “toxic” securities amounting up to $50 billion with the stipulation that they would reacquire them within a short time. Not only did they take $50 billion from the bank, they used the funds to pay off some of their debt items, thus making the firm, as a whole, look better towards the end of the year. This scandal somewhat mirrored that of Enron, except these series of events affected the country and our global economy (Rappaport). This scandal not only placed a damper on the reputation of Lehman Brothers, but also caused potential audit clients to second guess the reputation of well-known audit firm, Ernst and Young. Ernst and Young helped Lehman Brothers cover up its financial condition for more than seven years from 2001 to 2008, while collecting more than $185 million in fees from the firm. Reports made stated that Ernst and Young “directly facilitated an accounting sleight...
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...Lehman History Lehman Brothers had humble origins, tracing its roots back to a small general store that was founded by German immigrant Henry Lehman in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1844. In 1850, Henry Lehman and his brothers, Emanuel and Mayer, founded Lehman Brothers. While the firm prospered over the following decades as the U.S. economy grew into an international powerhouse, Lehman had to contend with plenty of challenges over the years. Lehman survived them all – the railroad bankruptcies of the 1800s, the Great Depression of the 1930s, two world wars, a capital shortage when it was spun off by American Express in 1994, and the Long Term Capital Management collapse and Russian debt default of 1998. However, despite its ability to survive past disasters, the collapse of the U.S. housing market ultimately brought Lehman Brothers to its knees, as its headlong rush into the subprime mortgage market proved to be a disastrous step. As the credit crisis erupted in August 2007 with the failure of two Bear Stearns hedge funds, Lehman's stock fell sharply. During that month, the company eliminated 2,500 mortgage-related jobs and shut down its BNC unit. In addition, it also closed offices of Alt-A lender Aurora in three states. Even as the correction in the U.S. housing market gained momentum, Lehman continued to be a major player in the mortgage market. In 2007, Lehman underwrote more mortgage-backed securities than any other firm, accumulating an $85-billion portfolio, or four times...
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...Thursday, October 24, 1929, easily ranks as the most dramatic day that Wall Street has ever seen.1 That day witnessed the beginning of the Great Stock Market Crash that over the following few years would result in an almost ninety percent decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Although not nearly as dramatic as “Black Thursday,” September 15, 2008, is a date that modern day Wall Street insiders will not soon forget. On that day, one of Wall Street’s iconic investment banking firms, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy. That bankruptcy filing ended the proud history of a firm that had played a major role in shaping the nation’s securities markets and economy for more than a century. Lehman Brothers had approximately $700 billion in assets when it failed, which makes it the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history, easily surpassing the previous headline-grabbing bankruptcies of Enron, General Motors, and WorldCom. By comparison, the telecommunications giant WorldCom, which temporarily held the title of the nation’s largest business failure after collapsing in 2002, had less than onesixth the total assets claimed by Lehman Brothers. The shocking announcement that Lehman had filed for bankruptcy caused the DJIA to plunge more than 500 points within a few hours. That large loss was only a harbinger of things to come. Within six months, the DJIA had declined by more than 50 percent from its all-time high of 14,164.53 that it had reached on October...
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...Financial Accounting Standards Board. While it is an ethical accountant’s duty to report such violations, the dilemma arises in the ramifications of the reporting. Government review of company financial records and the bad press caused by an accounting scandal could cause the company’s rapid decline and may lead to layoff of employees. Executives and other corporate officers could also face criminal prosecution, leading to heavy and prison time. Matthew Lee, a senior vice-president in Lehman’s finance division, outlined six allegations of unethical accounting in memo sent on 16 May 2008 to Lehman’s senior managers, who asked Ernst &Young to investigate. In discussion with partners at Ernst& Young, he highlighted controversial “ repo 105” transactions that artificially boosted Lehman’s balance sheet by $50 bn. However, the London-based accounting firm took” virtually no action” and Lee lost his job. Whistle-blower come forward publicly when something illegal or unethical is going on in their organizations are they do not receive an acceptable reply internally when communicating concern. Whistle-blowers are often ostracized in their companies and face the dilemma of protecting their employer or stepping forward when something inappropriate is going on. Whistle blowing brings two moral values, fairness and loyalty, into conflict. Whistle blowing can lead to a breakdown of trust. Most companies has its own HR department and employees are highly encouraged to talk...
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...Lessons from Lehman Brothers: Will We Ever Learn? On September 15, 2008, financial services firm lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy with the U.S Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. That action - the largest Chapter 11 filling in financial history – unleashed a “crisis of confidence that threw financial markets worldwide into turmoil, sparking the worst crisis since the Great Depression.” The fall of this Wall Street icon is, unfortunately, not a new one, as we’ve seen in the stories of Enron, WorldCom, and others. In a report released by bankruptcy court-appointed examiner Anton Valukas, Lehman executives and the firm’s auditor, Ernst and Young, were lambasted for actions that led to the firm’s collapse. He said, “Lehman repeatedly exceeded its own internal risk limits and controls, and a wide range of bad calls by its management led to the bank’s failure.” Let’s look behind the scenes at some of the issues. One of the major problems at Lehman was its culture and reward structure. Excessive risk taking by employees was openly lauded and rewarded handsomely. Individuals making questionable deals were hailed and treated as “conquering heroes.” On the other hand, anyone who questioned decisions was often ignored or overruled. For instance, Oliver Budde, who served as an associate generals counsel at Lehman for nine years, was responsible for preparing the firm’s public filings on executives were paid,” Budde argued with his bosses for years about that matter...
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...They ignored basic regulatory rules which created financial danger. Basic rules are the way companies grow and expand. Their desire to make money at all cost was more important than following basic ethical values. 2) What was the culture at Lehman Brothers like? How did this culture contribute the company’s downfall? The culture at Lehman Brothers was to take risks at all costs. When Transactions were presented to them they ignored the warning signals costing them. This eventually led to shady deals which eventually lead to the company’s downfall. Repo 105 is a good example of how Lehman misused this device to get some $50 billion of undesirable assets of its balance sheet at the end of the first and second quarter of 2008, instead of selling those assets at a loss. They continued to take lots of risks which caused them to lose a lot of money, there by bringing down there previously good name. They did tax deals like Repo 105 and didn’t care if it was legal or not. 3) What role did Lehman’s executives play in the company’s collapse? Were they being responsible and ethical? Discuss. They were very stubborn, and displayed very bad conduct and poor judgment. Valuka’s report was highly critical of Lehman’s executives who should have done more, done better. He pointed...
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...Name Professor Subject Date Blending Fiction and Non Fiction The Repossession Mambo is an interesting book based on fiction. The book itself is entertaining, highlighting a harsh reality that may be possible in the future. In this book, a person can live virtually forever with the help of artificial organs (artiforgs). These artiforgs are sold by a large corporation named the Credit Union and they are extremely expensive. While almost anyone with credit can qualify for these expensive parts, once a person falls behind 90 days on their payments, the Credit Union will send a “courteous” repo man to take back their property. This may sound farfetched in today’s world, but the truth is that this book has a hint of truth that may be alarming to the public. The Repossession Mambo might seem to focus solely on health care, but the book also symbolizes corporate greed that uses the credit industry to extend credit to poor individuals that know they won’t be able to repay. Some examples of realities today that closely resemble the book are: the tobacco industry, the credit industry, and most definitely the current health care industry. In the book The Repossession Mambo, the Credit Union sells artificial organs to people who can’t afford them, but who need them. They claim that the person owes it to their family to stay alive. While the Union is keeping the person alive by financing the artiforgs, they are also slowly killing them because the individual can’t afford the parts....
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...Lehman Brothers & Repo 105 On September 15th 2008, the fourth largest U.S investment bank, Lehman Brothers, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. With revenues peaking at $19.2 billion in 2007 and over $600 billion in assets, the collapse of Lehman became the largest bankruptcy in history. Lehman’s demise was attributed to their aggressive investment strategy and significant exposure to the subprime mortgage market. As the housing bubble grew, Lehman Brothers acquired several mortgage lenders, some of the acquired firms frequently made loans to home buyers without full documentation (Jeffers 2011). When consumers began defaulting on mortgages and market conditions began to unravel, Lehman as well as many other banks faced huge losses. The write down of debt securities had significant adverse effects on Lehman’s balance sheet. Furthermore, credit rating agencies began focusing more on leverage ratios of investments banks. Lehman’s leverage ratios were already extremely high. A downgrade on Lehman’s credit rating would have sent Lehman’s share price on a downward spiral and hinder their ability to receive financing. In order to prevent these occurrences Lehman would have to sell some of its assets or raise capital. Lehman was unable to sell any of its assets or raise any capital because no one knew what the value of their complex mortgage securities were. In response to deteriorating economic conditions the investment bank used a very aggressive accounting maneuver...
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...for other purposes” (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2011). Mainly, the act was a result of the continuous increase in the number of accounting scandals that can be related to falsification of entries on company’s financial statements. Some of the recent examples of corporate and accounting scandals were that of Enron, Adelphia, Tyco International, World Com, and Peregrine Systems, among others (Levine, 2013). The objective of this paper is to focus on and analyze one of such scandals. In this paper, the Lehman Brothers’ issue with the SEC regarding their malicious use of the Repo 105 maneuver will be studied, focusing on the audit report that the external CPA firm issued, speculations on the company’s statements, analysis of the management and auditor’s responsibility in the falsified financial reporting, the sanctions under the SOX and key actions that the concerned regulatory boards should make. Repo 105 Securities and Exchange Commission Accounting Scandal with Lehman Brothers and Ernst and Young Analysis of the Audit Report When the great financial crisis of 2008 erupted, it left a lot of United States corporations, mostly financial firms, under the water. Some of them were offered bail by the United States government but the damage was so severe plus the government could only do so much that only a handful of the bankrupted companies were saved by the bail offer. Lehman Brothers was one of the unfortunate companies...
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