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Financial Statement Analysis and Ratios

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Submitted By msab2
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University of New Hampshire

University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository
Honors Theses

Student Scholarship

Fall 2012

An Analysis of Fraud: Causes, Prevention, and
Notable Cases
Kristin A. Kennedy
University of New Hampshire - Main Campus, kaj79@wildcats.unh.edu

Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.unh.edu/honors
Part of the Accounting Commons
Recommended Citation
Kennedy, Kristin A., "An Analysis of Fraud: Causes, Prevention, and Notable Cases" (2012). Honors Theses. Paper 100.

This Senior Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository.
It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact scholarly.communication@unh.edu.

An Analysis of Fraud:
Causes, Prevention, and Notable Cases

University of New Hampshire
Honors Thesis in Accounting
Kristin Kennedy
ADMN 799
Professor Le (Emily) Xu
Fall 2012

Table of Contents
I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.
VI.
VII.

Background……………………………………………………………........1
a. What is accounting and what role does financial reporting serve?..........1
b. History of accounting standards………………………………………..2
c. Role of auditing………………………………………………………...5
Fraud……………………………………………………………………….6
a. Two types of fraud……………………………………………………..6
i. Misappropriation of Assets…………………………………….7 ii. Misrepresentation of Financial Statements…………………….7
b. Fraud Triangle………………………………………………………….8
c. What to look for in a fraudster…………………………………………9
Past Cases of Fraud……………………………………………………….10
a. WorldCom…………………………………………………………….11
b. Tyco International Ltd………………………………………………..15
c. Adelphia Communications Corporation…………………………....…17
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002………………………………………...…....20
a. Analysis of SOX: Costs vs. Benefits…………………………………34
i. Interview of

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