...expected where appropriate. Even where some of the questions are quite general, try as much as possible to relate your answer to the case. 1. Some of the members of Phar-Mor's financial management team were former auditors for Coopers & Lybrand. (a) Why would a company want to hire a member of its external audit team? (3pts) (b) If the client has hired former auditors, would this affect the independence of the existing external auditors? Explain. (3pts) (c) How did the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related rulings by the PCAOB, SEC or AICPA affect a public company's ability to hire members of its external audit team? (3pts) 2 (a) What factors in the auditor-client relationship can put the client in a more powerful position than the auditor? (3pts) A) A client can be put in a more powerful position than the auditor in an auditor-client relationship if the auditor is trying to sell the client additional services. When an auditor is trying to preserve the relationship with the client in order to get more business revenue, this will ultimately put the client in a more powerful position than the auditor. That is why there needs to be complete independence from the audit team when engaging with a client. (b) What measures has and/or can the profession take to reduce the potential consequences of this power imbalance? (3pts) B) Since the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, external auditors are prohibited from providing...
Words: 2003 - Pages: 9
...Chapter 1 Auditing and Internal Control Review Questions 1. What is the purpose of an IT audit? Response: The purpose of an IT audit is to provide an independent assessment of some technology- or systems-related object, such as proper IT implementation, or controls over computer resources. Because most modern accounting information systems use IT, IT plays a significant role in a financial (external audit), where the purpose is to determine the fairness and accuracy of the financial statements. 2. Discuss the concept of independence within the context of a financial audit. How is independence different for internal auditors? Response: The auditor cannot be an advocate of the client, but must independently attest to whether GAAP and other appropriate guidelines have been adequately met. Independence for internal auditors is different because they are employed by the organization, and cannot be as independent as the external auditor. Thus internal auditors must use professional judgment and independent minds in performing IA activities. 3. What are the conceptual phases of an audit? How do they differ between general auditing and IT auditing? Response: The three conceptual phases of auditing are: i. Audit planning, ii. Tests of internal controls, and iii. Substantive...
Words: 8859 - Pages: 36
...110 contributes to the ability of the auditor to discharge the duty to act in the public interest. The fundamental ethical principles that apply to all members of the professional bodies are to act with integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behaviour (APES 110, 100.4). The requirement to act in the public interest means that auditors should consider how their actions impact the client and their employer. They must also consider the impact of their actions on others such as the client’s employees, investors, credit providers, and those without direct financial interests in the client such as the broader business and financial community and members of the public. All these people could be reliant on the quality of the auditor’s work, even though they are not party to the contract between the client and the audit firm. The reliability of the financial reports and the audit report is potentially damaged if the auditor does not act with integrity (honesty), objectivity (being independent), with professional competence and due care (executing the work with the required level of skill and attention), confidentiality (discussing the client’s affairs with others inappropriately), and professional behaviour (protecting their reputation and the profession’s reputation). A dishonest auditor could knowingly help publish a materially false, misleading, or reckless financial report. Auditors...
Words: 10923 - Pages: 44
...functions internal auditing and external auditing. Internal auditors are a company’s own accounting employees that perform the audit. On the other hand, external auditors are from outside of the company and work for an independent CPA firm that performs an external audit. Internal auditors report to top management positions such as the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. The internal auditing function involves five main evaluations. 1) Employee compliance with organizational policies and procedures, meaning that employees are not breaking or violating the company’s rules. 2) Effectiveness of operations, meaning that the company’s controls and production are operating as efficiently as possible. 3) Compliance with external laws and regulations, meaning that the company’s procedures and operations do not violate any governmental or business laws. 4) Reliability of financial reports, meaning that the financial reports are not biased or construed in a way that would cause misrepresentation. 5) Internal controls, this means that the company is protected (as well as possible) against fraud, theft, and corruption. Overall, the internal audit function checks the efficiency and integrity of almost the entire company. The internal audit benefits the company’s management and employees to check and ensure that company procedures are efficient and legal. The company would rather have a mistake or fraudulent information be caught by the internal auditor rather than by an external auditor...
Words: 1958 - Pages: 8
... | | |c. significant. | | |d. relevant. | | | | |2. |The preliminary judgment about materiality is the amount by which the auditor believes the statements could be misstated and | | |still not affect the decisions of reasonable users. | | |a. minimum | | |b. maximum | | |c. mean average...
Words: 5287 - Pages: 22
...PART Overview of Accounting Information Systems Chapter 1 The Information System: An Accountant’s Perspective 3 Introduction to Transaction Processing 31 Ethics, Fraud, and Internal Control 91 Chapter 2 I Chapter 3 1 CHAPTER The Information System: An Accountant’s Perspective nlike many other accounting subjects, such as intermediate accounting, accounting information systems (AIS) lacks a well-defined body of knowledge. Much controversy exists among college faculty as to what should and should not be covered in the AIS course. To some extent, however, the controversy is being resolved through legislation. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 established new corporate governance regulations and standards for public companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This wide-sweeping legislation impacts public companies, their management, and their auditors. Of particular importance to AIS students is the impact of SOX on internal control standards and related auditing procedures. Whereas SOX does not define the entire content of the AIS course, it does identify critical areas of study that need to be included for accountants. These topics and more are covered in the chapters of this text. The purpose of this chapter is to place the subject of AIS in perspective for accountants. Toward this end, the chapter is divided into three major sections, each dealing with a different aspect of information systems. The first section explores the...
Words: 13048 - Pages: 53
...Internal Control Topic List 1. What is internal control? 2. Components of internal control 3. Information about controls Learning outcomes On completion of this section you should be able to: • State the reasons for organisations having effective systems of controls • Identify factors which contribute to an effective control environment • Identify the components of internal control in both manual and IT environments • Identify types of control activity • Distinguish between general controls and application controls • Identify inherent limitations of a system of internal controls • Specify the composition of an audit committee Internal Control [pic] Internal control: ‘The process designed, implemented and maintained by those charged with governance*, management, and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance about the achievement of an entity’s objectives with regard to:- • Effectiveness and efficiency of operations • Reliability of financial reporting, • Compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The term “controls” refers to any aspects of one or more of the components of internal control. A key audit question is: “How does management control the business?” *Usually directors - remember the difference between exec and non-exec Company Objectives • To ensure it correctly reports its financial position to shareholders • To ensure it operates effectively and...
Words: 2434 - Pages: 10
...Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..1-2 Issues………………………………………………………………………………………………2 The Discovery of Fraud……………………………………………………………………..…..3-4 Corporate Governance of FCB……………………………………………………………………5 Auditor Dilemma……………………………………………………………………….……….5-7 Using the Fraud Triangle Model to analyze the situation in Flat Cargo Berhad……………..…8-9 Who is responsible in the fraud of Flat Cargo Berhad ……………………………………..…10-11 Prevention Measures for Fraud ……………………………………………………………….12-13 Detection Measures for Fraud…………………………………………………………...……14-15 Recommendation…………………………………………………………………….……….16-17 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...……….18-19 References………………………………………………………………………………………..19 Introduction The case is related to one company known as Flat Cargo Berhad (FCB), FCB was one of the largest air freight companies in Malaysia which servicing several government linked companies including Freight Malaysia Berhad. FCB is a listed company and was registered as an investment holding company with several subsidiaries. Among its subsidiaries are FC Spare Sdn Bhd, Cargo Management Sdn Bhd, FCB (SPV) Ltd, Cargo Air Services Sdn Bhd and FC Air Ltd. FCB started its operations in 1997 with two aircrafts: a Boeing 737-200F and a Cessna Grand Caravan. FCB’s major shareholder in 1997 had been Bangor Berhad, which was part of a diversified international family owned conglomerate, the Miri Group. On September 2001 the company was listed in Bursa Malaysia. The...
Words: 5971 - Pages: 24
...Enron Case 10.8.2014 Melissa Becker Boya Du Sidi (Fiona) Chen Wei (David) Yu In June of 2001 Enron’s new CEO, Jeff Skilling, was heralded as the “No. 1 CEO in the entire country and Enron was saluted as “America’s most innovated company.” Just six months later, in December, Enron filed for bankruptcy. The failure shocked the public and angered investors. How could this have happened? Did no one see this coming? Where were the accountants? Where were the controls? Enron’s public troubles began on October 16th of 2001 when management released a third quarter earnings report with a “mysterious $1.2 billion dollar reduction.” The following month the company restated earnings for the previous five years and erased $600 million in profits. It turned out that the October report began to reveal Enron’s gross abuse of special-purpose entities (SPEs) and the mark-to-market accounting method. The company used SPEs to keep enormous amounts of losses off its books while inflating earnings from supply contracts by booking all profits from a contract in the quarter the deal was made. What also became clear was that Enron did not accomplish their gross manipulations without the help from their accountant’s at Arthur Andersen. Enron shareholders and executives were not the only groups negatively affected by Enron’s aggressive accounting practices. Arthur Andersen was also unraveled because of the role it played in Enron’s materially misstated financial statements. In a letter to...
Words: 6730 - Pages: 27
...concepts also exist in project management, quality management, and energy conservation. Financial audits are typically performed by firms of practising accountants who are experts in financial reporting. The financial audit is one of many assurance functions provided by accounting firms. Many organizations separately employ or hire internal auditors, who do not attest to financial reports but focus mainly on the internal controls of the organization. External auditors may choose to place limited reliance on the work of internal auditors. Internationally, the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) is considered as the benchmark for audit process. Almost all jurisdictions require auditors to follow the ISA or a local variation of the ISA. Auditing was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, and is described by the Church of Scientology as "spiritual counseling which is the central practice of Dianetics and Scientology". The auditor's report is a formal opinion, or disclaimer thereof, issued by either an internal auditor or an independent external auditor as a result of an internal or...
Words: 7789 - Pages: 32
...systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence. True False True False True False True False 3. Auditors should conduct their work with an attitude of professional skepticism. 4. A bank using Milton Company's financial statements to determine the creditworthiness of a potential loan to Milton is a good example of the need for unbiased reporting. 5. An integrated audit requires the auditor to assess the effectiveness of internal controls. 6. In all states, a CPA must have completed at least 150 hours of college semester hours to receive their license. True False 7. The Center for Audit Quality was started by the International Federation of Accountants. True False 8. The Center for Audit Quality has the primary authority to set auditing standards. True False 9. In an audit, management is considered the “client”. True False 10. Auditing is the process of attesting to assertions about economic actions and events. True False 11. Auditing is the process of verifying the accuracy of the financial statements. True False 12. Internal auditing only provides assurance about internal control effectiveness. True False 13. Auditing exists because users need unbiased information on which to assess management performance and make economic...
Words: 27550 - Pages: 111
...study of “Rigorous or Not?: A Case of Auditor Judgment for Deferred Tax Issues” Judgment Framework and Professional Judgment Discuss the importance of “judgment framing.” “Judgment framing” occurs early in the judgment process. The definition of framing follows: Frames are mental structures that we use, usually subconsciously, to simplify, organize, and guide our understanding of a situation. They shape our perspectives and determine the information that we will see as relevant or irrelevant, important or unimportant. Frames are a necessary aspect of judgment, but it is important to realize that our judgment frames provide only one particular perspective. The importance is that judgment framing question management’s perspective appropriately by viewing other frames and it is a foundation to professional skepticism. How do perceptual biases relate to judgment biases? Our eyes and related perceptual skills ordinarily are quite good at perceiving and helping us to accurately judge shape similarity. However, optical illusions can predictably and systematically fool our eyes. The judgment biases are similar to the perceptual ones, like there are times when our intuitive judgment falls prey to systematic traps and biases. What are the five steps in the judgment process? a. Clarify Issues & Objectives: To get at issues, ask “what is the problem to be solved?” To get at objectives ask “what is wanted or needed?” Ask “what” and “why” questions. b. Consider Alternatives:...
Words: 2140 - Pages: 9
...accounting fraud and auditor legal liability c a S eS inc lu de d in t hiS Se ction 4 89 99 4.1 Enron Corporation and Andersen, LLP Analyzing the Fall of Two Giants . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Comptronix Corporation 4.3 Cendant Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Identifying Inherent Risk and Control Risk Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 119 127 137 Assessing the Control Environment and Evaluating Risk of Financial Statement Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Waste Management, Inc. 4.5 Xerox Corporation 4.6 Phar-Mor, Inc. Manipulating Accounting Estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluating Risk of Financial Statement Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accounting Fraud, Litigation, and Auditor Liability instructor resource Manual — do not coPy or redistribute instructor resource Manual — do not coPy or redistribute enron corporation and andersen, llP analyzing the fall of two giants inS tr uc t ional o b je c t ive S [1] c a s e 4.1 Mark S. Beasley · Frank A. Buckless · Steven M. Glover · Douglas F. Prawitt [2] [3] To help students understand what happened at Enron Corporation and how Andersen’s involvement with Enron led to the accounting firm’s downfall. To enhance students’ appreciation of the importance of understanding an audit client’s core business strategies. To develop students’...
Words: 33542 - Pages: 135
...|Details of Assessment | |Term and Year |3, 2013 |Time allowed |Week 9 | |Assessment Type |Assignment |Assessment Weighting |20% Total | |Date | |Room | | |Details of Subject | |Qualification |FNS60210 Advanced Diploma of Accounting | |Subject Name |Auditing and Reporting | |Details of Unit(s) of competency | |Unit Code |FNSACC602A |Unit Title |Audit and Report on Financial systems and records | |Details of Student | |Student...
Words: 2245 - Pages: 9
...AUDITING PROFESSIONAL 1 EXAMINATION - AUGUST 2011 NOTES: Section A - You are required to answer Questions 1, 2 and 3. Section B - You are required to answer any two out of Questions 4, 5, 6 and 7. (If you provide answers to more than two questions in this section, you must draw a clearly distinguishable line through the answer(s) not to be marked. Otherwise, only the first answers to hand for these four questions will be marked.) TIME ALLOWED: 3 hours, plus 10 minutes to read the paper. INSTRUCTIONS: During the reading time you may write notes on the examination paper but you may not commence writing in your answer book. Marks for each question are shown. The pass mark required is 50% in total over the whole paper. Start your answer to each question on a new page. You are reminded that candidates are expected to pay particular attention to their communication skills and care must be taken regarding the format and literacy of the solutions. The marking system will take into account the content of your answers and the extent to which answers are supported with relevant legislation, case law or examples, where appropriate. List on the cover of each answer booklet, in the space provided, the number of each question(s) attempted. The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland, 17 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2. THE INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN IRELAND AUDITING PROFESSIONAL 1 EXAMINATION - APRIL 2011 Time Allowed: 3 hours, plus 10 minutes to read the paper...
Words: 8643 - Pages: 35
