...Impact of Unethical Behavior Several key concepts of ethics in accounting and financial decision-making are trust, confidentiality, collaboration, and a code of ethics. Trust and confidentiality go hand-in-hand in business accounting because trust is essential if a company wants loyal customers. Confidentiality is also an integral aspect of financial dealings because privacy is often a concern for many companies and customers. Collaboration is another area of financial decision-making that is relevant because ethical practices promote collaboration. A code of ethics is necessary in accounting and financial decision-making because it provides guidelines and standards for employees on all levels. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was passed in response to the financial scandals such as Enron and WorldCom, and it inevitably had a strong impact on accounting and financial decision making. This law required publicly traded companies to be much more accountable for their finances. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act set new regulations and penalties for public companies to provide investors with security. This act also caused the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, which is in charge of overseeing, regulating, inspecting, and disciplining accounting firms in their roles as auditors of public companies. This new law impacted accounting and financial decision making, because it required companies to be responsible for their financial decisions. It also regulated the...
Words: 323 - Pages: 2
...Ethics can be defined as principles or right or wrong. Business decisions should be ethical, but the evidence suggests that is not always what happens. (Hollenbeck, Gerhert, Noe, & Wright 2004) A recent study has shown that 4 out of 10 executives stated that they had been asked to behave unethically. As a result of unfavorable perceptions of U.S. business practices and an increased concern for better serving customers, U.S. companies are becoming more aware of the need for all company representatives to act responsibly (Hollenbeck, Gerhert, Noe, & Wright 2004) A recent article published in Tribune-Star discussed corporate ethics to university students in Indiana area. Over 370 were in attendance to a business conference host by Networks Professional Development Program. Students from Indiana colleges and universities as well as students from DePauw, St Mary-of-the-Woods and Rose-Holman Institute of Technology were in attendance of the conference which was hosted by fellow students. The event, organized by juniors in the Networks Professional Development Program at ISU, included speeches, panel discussions and break-out sessions on business, public policy and corporate ethics. (Foulkes, 2007) The conference would also help prepare students for the work force when they graduate. "We wanted to prepare students for when they go out into the work force" and face actual ethical decisions, said conference executive director Amber Williams, a junior in the Networks program. (Foulkes...
Words: 1085 - Pages: 5
...Environment Role of Financial Reporting • Financial statements and financial reporting • Accounting and capital allocation •Stakeholders Objective of Financial Reporting •Management bias •Users’ needs Standard Setting • Need to develop standards • Parties involved in standard setting • Standard setting in a political environment GAAP • GAAP hierarchy •Professional judgement • Role of ethics Challenges Facing Financial Reporting • Globalization of companies and capital markets • Impact of technology • Changing nature of the economy • Increased requirement for accountability 2 The Canadian Financial Reporting Environment Role of Financial Reporting • Financial statements and financial reporting • Accounting and capital allocation •Stakeholders Objective of Financial Reporting •Management bias •Users’ needs Standard Setting • Need to develop standards • Parties involved in standard setting • Standard setting in a political environment GAAP • GAAP hierarchy •Professional judgement • Role of ethics Challenges Facing Financial Reporting • Globalization of companies and capital markets • Impact of technology • Changing nature of the economy • Increased requirement for accountability 3 Characteristics of Accounting 1. Identification, measurement, and communication of financial information about; 2. Economic entities to; 3. Interested persons. 4 Financial Reporting • Financial accounting provides historical information • Financial reporting is used by both internal and external...
Words: 2259 - Pages: 10
...Republic of the Philippines Bulacan State University Sarmiento Campus Brgy. Kaypian, University Heights, CSJDM The Institutionalization of Business Ethics Prepared by: Ramoso, Trisha May Roxas, Alfredo Robines, Vanessa Ragasa, Mylyn Prepared to: Mr. Michael Gil Llorens Date: August 25, 2013 Managing Ethical Risk through Mandated and Voluntary Programs VOLUNTARY PRACTICES Includes: * Beliefs * Values * Voluntary contractual obligations CORE PRACTICES Encourage by: * Legal forces & * Regulatory forces MANDATED BOUNDARIES - imposed boundaries of conduct, such as: * Laws * Rules * Regulations & * Other requirements Need to maintain in an organization: * Values * Ethical Culture * Expectation for appropriate conduct Mandated Boundaries is achieved through . . . * Compliance * Corporate Governance * Risk Management & * Voluntary Activities COMPLIANCE * The act of complying with a wish, request, or demand CORPORATE GOVERNANCE * Refers to the system by which corporations are directed and controlled. * Corporate Governance involves balancing the interest of the many stakeholders in the company. * Provides framework of attaining company’s objective. RISK MANAGEMENT * The process of identification, analysis and either acceptance or mitigation of uncertainty in investment decision-making. * Is a two-step process: (1) determining what risk exists...
Words: 1769 - Pages: 8
...MGT320 Portfolio Project Post-Enron Era Ethics The time for change is now! CEO’s must continue to be held accountable for the accuracy of their financial statements, and the performance of their company. To assure the accuracy of a publicly traded company’s financial status reporting, an additional requirement of an outside industry experienced auditing firm is needed, as well as performance based pay contracts for publically traded companies’ officers. The goal is simple, change the mindset of CEO’s, boards of directors (BOD’s), and shareholders by teaching them the fundamentals of business ethics. To obtain our goal, we must first have a basic understanding of existing legislation and the willingness to create new legislation for the betterment of America. To begin, a discussion in regards to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is important for the purposes of an overview of existing legislation. In the past the US government has relied on the states to monitor and enforce the rules of auditors. Typically public accountants were licensed by the states to audit corporate financials; however the states had very little, if any, money to provide the necessary funds for enforcement. “Public accountants were licensed by the states, but states devote few resources to supervising auditors; federal regulation of auditing was light; and no federal agency supervised auditors. A Public Oversight Board for auditors was created in 1978, but it was dominated by accountants, funded by the audit...
Words: 2137 - Pages: 9
...The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (often shortened to SOX) is legislation enacted in response to the high-profile Enron and WorldCom financial scandals to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices in the enterprise. The act is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which sets deadlines for compliance and publishes rules on requirements. Sarbanes-Oxley is not a set of business practices and does not specify how a business should store records; rather, it defines which records are to be stored and for how long (www.searchcio.techtarget.com). The legislation not only affects the financial side of corporations, it also affects the IT departments whose job it is to store a corporation's electronic records. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for "not less than five years." The consequences for non-compliance are fines, imprisonment, or both. IT departments are increasingly faced with the challenge of creating and maintaining a corporate records archive in a cost-effective fashion that satisfies the requirements put forth by the legislation (www.searchcio.techtarget.com). The intent of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, and for other purposes. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act created new standards for corporate accountability...
Words: 1253 - Pages: 6
...09/05/2016 Welcome! Welcome! • Intermediate Financial Accounting (ACCT 3200) • M-W-F 2:30-4:20 in AE 208 • Important Dates – – – – – Intermediate Financial Accounting Friday May 13, 2016 – First Midterm (25% of grade) Monday May 23, 2016 – No class Friday May 27, 2016 – final date to withdraw Friday June 3, 2016 – Second Midterm (25% of grade) Friday June 17, 2016 – Final Exam (1:30-4:30) (45% of grade) • Quizzes will be announced the class prior Copyright © John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. 1 Copyright © John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. Welcome! Welcome! A little about me… 2 A little about YOU!… Copyright © John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. 3 Copyright © John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. 4 1 09/05/2016 INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING How to be successful in this class TENTH CANADIAN EDITION Kieso • Weygandt • Warfield • Young • Wiecek • McConomy • This is a summer session class = quick • This is a 3rd year class = challenging – Quick + challenging = be organized • Do the assigned homework (min. 1:1) • Read the chapter beforehand • Come to class CHAPTER 1 The Canadian Financial Reporting Environment • Exams will have – Multiple choice & matching questions – Short answer questions – Problems – mini cases Prepared by: Dragan Stojanovic, CA 5 Copyright © John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. As edited by Jeff Kent, CPA,CA M.B.A. The Canadian Financial Reporting Environment CHAPTER 1 The...
Words: 2123 - Pages: 9
...since Enron’s bankruptcy in December 2001” (Peregrine, 2011, Para. 2). The Act of Sarbanes-Oxley was passed to restore the integrity and to renew consumer confidence in the financial markets. The Sarbanes-Oxley regulates three areas: financial reporting, auditing, and corporate governance. The Sarbanes-Oxley requires businesses and corporations to develop and implement a code of ethics, collaboration, and confidentiality. The significance of this law is to viewed context that affect corporate governance and the exercise duties of officers and directors. Decision-making provides standards and guidelines to those employees of all levels. “This new law impacted accounting and financial decision making because it required companies to be responsible for their financial decisions; it also regulated the way board members and auditors interact, as well as, recognizing and regulating the problem of auditors working for companies that they have personal interest in” (Ganly, 2011, Para. 3). Sarbanes-Oxley affects smaller companies and makes sure the organization is under compliance. Management of such company has the legal duty to maintain a system of auditing to ensure financial statements are reliable. A different element of this Act requires annual reports that include the company’s assessments of...
Words: 503 - Pages: 3
...A Primer on Sarbanes-Oxley This paper is an investigation of violations in finance according to Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) as related to ethics and those influenced by decisions from investment management. I assessed the financial and social business practices of different organizations and identified ethical issues within the businesses that impacted internal and external stakeholders. Research revealed issues and activities that should have been resolved voluntarily prior to SOX’s enactment to meet ethical considerations relative to social and financial performance and the organization’s reputation. Recommendations were made based on studies and scholarly articles implicating the best governance practices organizations should adopt to remain compliant with SOX. What is SOX? SOX was established in 2002 as an act to strengthen corporate governance and restore investor confidence. The most important conditional term was to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws and other purposes (Jennings, 2012, p. 212). Provisions under SOX affected organizations’ processes and changed how financial information was released to the public. The act highlights the importance of information system controls by requiring management and auditors to report on the effectiveness of internal controls over the financial reporting component of the organization’s management information systems (Li, Peters, Richardson & Weidenmier...
Words: 1194 - Pages: 5
...The Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on Accounting and Finance Departments Danika Grace Brown Lakeland College Kellett School of Business – BlendEd BA 772 Advanced Industrial Accounting II Instructor Mary Diederich March 10, 2015 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Overview of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 3 About SOX 4 Reporting and Compliance 5 Risk Assessment and Control 6 Interview at Company X 7 Standards for Corporations and Officers 8 Auditing and Financial Reporting 9 Future Impact of SOX 10 Conclusion 11 References 13 Abstract Sarbanes-Oxley is the response from Congress in regards to the financial industry collapse that happened over a decade ago. Due to unethical reporting from corporations, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) is a United States federal law that set new or enhanced standards for all U.S. public company boards, management and public accounting firms. As a result of SOX, top management must individually certify the accuracy of financial information. In addition, penalties for fraudulent financial activity are much more severe. Furthermore, SOX increased the oversight role of boards of directors and the independence of the outside auditors who review the accuracy of corporate financial statements. This paper will look to provide an oversight of the law and how it pertains to the standards in Accounting and Finance departments nowadays. In addition, this paper will also touch on the ongoing costs and benefits of the now standard...
Words: 3586 - Pages: 15
...Ethics test 3 Study Guide CH.7 Importance of finance & ethics- Pg. 233 Definition of Valuation- Pg. 234- A powerful tool in weighing options. The summarization of entire future scenarios into a single number that can help simplify complex decisions. Standards of accounting- Pg. 245 Strategies for stakeholders in regards to finance- Changing the reporting or classification for specific purpose/stakeholder. Making operational decisions based on their impact to financial statements. Manipulating revenue or expenses with short term focus. Making decisions because everyone else does it in your industry. Reversibility test- Do unto others what you would have them do to you. Publicity test- A persons actions manifest essential elements of his or her character. Sarbanes Oxley- Created the public company accounting oversight board PCAOB. Five member board has the authority to set auditing, quality control, and ethical standards. Inspect accounting firms’ audit operations, and investigate and impose sanctions for violations. Ch. 8 5 phases according to B.W Tuckman in regards to teams- Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning. General idea of management- A view of the individual, Hierarchy and managing, groups, the enterprise. Managing is about people. 5 factors of individuals & relationships to corporation- Motivation, relationships with authority, role of gender in relationships, psychological contract in workplace, groups and...
Words: 404 - Pages: 2
...Effect of Unethical Behavior Article Analysis Ethics: A consciousness of moral importance, a set of moral issues or aspects, the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group, a set of moral principles. To have ethical values is to have a deep sense of responsibility to self and to others (Webster’s Dictionary). When employees practice unethical behavior in the workplace, they are in a sense, displaying a lack of respect not only for themselves, but showing a great deal of disrespect for the company the employee work for. This can further be complicated when dealing with the funds of a company. The repercussions not only affect the company, but also clients, and employees. No greater case has proven this like the Enron Scandal. Enron was an energy trading and communications company based in Houston, Texas. Enron employed 21,000 people by June 2001. Enron was accused of misrepresenting the earning reports. Enron lied about its profits as well as rumors of a number of shady dealings. Enron was also accused of concealing debts so that these debts did not show up on the company's accounts records. There were also rumors of embezzlement of funds from the executives. Shares from Enron dropped from over $90 in the United States to $0.30. This was kept from all investors as well as potential investors who invested in Enron because the inflated financial gain the company was reporting. Due to these unethical accounting practices, it cost both trustees and employees...
Words: 676 - Pages: 3
...Chapter 1 Managerial Accounting and the Business Environment Lecture Notes Chapter theme: This chapter serves four main purposes. First, it explains the differences and similarities between financial and managerial accounting. Second, it describes the role of management accountants in an organization. Third, it explains the basic concepts underlying Lean Production, the Theory of Constraints (TOC), and Six Sigma. Fourth, it discusses the importance of upholding ethical standards. I. Globalization A. Import/Export Data i. Imports into the United States (in billions) 1. The data reveal an enormous increase in import activity from 1990 to 2004. In particular, imports from Canada, Mexico, and China skyrocketed. ii. Exports from the United States (in billions) 1. The data reveal an increase in exports to Canada and Mexico. Interestingly, the increase in exports to China pales in comparison to the growth rate in imports from China. iii. Internet Usage 1. The internet fuels globalization by providing companies with greater access to geographically dispersed customers, employees, and suppliers. 2. The number of internet users more than doubled during the first four years of the new millennium. 3. As of 2004, more than 87% of the world’s population was still not connected to the Internet...
Words: 2917 - Pages: 12
...justified to the left and the page number justified to the right. Keep a Photocopy or Electronic Copy of Your Assignments: You may need to re-submit assignments if your mentor has indicated that you may or must do so. Academic Integrity: All work submitted in each course must be the Learner’s own. This includes all assignments, exams, term papers, and other projects required by the faculty mentor. The known submission of another person’s work represented as that of the Learner’s without properly citing the source of the work will be considered plagiarism and will result in an unsatisfactory grade for the work submitted or for the entire course, and may result in academic dismissal. | | MGT7019-8 | Dr. Jennifer Scott | | | Ethics in Business | Assgn #7 | | | No additional comments at this time. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Faculty Use Only ------------------------------------------------- <Faculty comments here> ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- <Faculty Name> <Grade Earned> <Writing Score> <Date Graded> Assessment of Sarbanes-Oxley Legislation Patrick W. Bass Northcentral University Assessment of Sarbanes-Oxley Legislation The problem to be investigated is how Sarbanes-Oxley legislation improved corporate...
Words: 1617 - Pages: 7
...HS Accounting LLC Proposal for Going Public Prepared: Hector Serrano ACCT-504-63660 Accounting Financial Professor Jones Kasonso 4/4/2014 Table of Contents A. Introduction 1 B. New requirement on going public 1 C. What the company is doing right 2 D. What the company is doing wrong ……………………………………………...…. 3 E. Conclusion 3 F. Reference 5 A. Introduction Per request of the President of LJB Company HS Accounting Firm has reviewed the company’s existing internal control mechanisms and provided answers to the president’s questions. This report advises the President on new internal control requirements, what the company is doing well, and identify what they are doing wrong. Additionally, review the proposed purchase of an indelible ink machine by the company. Internal Controls is so critical that the U.S. Congress has passed a law, The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to require public companies or those going public, to maintain a system of internal controls and to require that their auditors examine those controls and issue audit reports as to their reliability (Harrison, 2013). Internal control is important because it prevents fraud or unintentional errors by accomplishing the following five objectives; safe guarding assets, encouraging employees to follow company rules, promoting operational efficiency, ensuring accurate and reliable accounting and complying with legal requirements. We at HS Accounting LLC have provided the following answers to the president’s...
Words: 1171 - Pages: 5
