...Koss Corporation Part A The overall control environment at Koss Corporation in the years leading up to the fraud was inadequate. The structure of the Board of Directors was poor and the management did not place enough importance on financial reporting. These reasons allowed Ms. Sujata Sachdeva easily make unauthorized wire transfers, without being caught by either the management or the auditors – the people responsible for detecting fraud. The poor structure of the Board of Directors was one of the main reasons that the unauthorized transactions went unnoticed. First, there was only one person managing and assessing the internal control system. According to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), non-accelerated filers require the CEO and CFO to separately perform an assessment on the internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR). However, in the case of Koss Corporation, both the CEO and CFO were the same person – Michael Koss. Therefore if he implemented a defective the internal control system, there was nobody there to correct him. Furthermore, the company’s auditor, Grant Thornton, was not required to, nor did they assess the effectiveness of the ICFR. They simply designed their audit of financial statements based on the manager’s report of the ICFR. Consequently, if Michael Koss incorrectly told Grant Thornton that the company had an effective ICFR, Grant Thornton probably designed a financial statement audit with little skepticism. Another problem with the structure of...
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...Koss Corporation filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois against the company’s former Vice-President of Finance, Sujata Sachdeva, and Grant Thornton, LLP, its former auditor, alleging fraud and deceit, professional negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. The lawsuit stems from Koss’s discovery that Sachdeva had stole of more than $30 million from the Company in order to fund a lavish lifestyle complete with furs, jewelry and high-end clothing. Sachdeva embezzled the funds through a variety of means, including fraudulent cashier and traveler’s checks, fraudulent wire transfers, and unauthorized payments from petty cash. The Company further alleged that Grant Thornton, the company's auditor during those same years, failed to properly conduct its audits of the company's financial statements and failed to properly assess the company's internal controls, thus allowing the embezzlement to continue and the damage to the company to escalate. In particular, it claimed that Grant Thornton repeatedly assured Koss' management and its board that the company's internal controls were effective and that Koss could rely on those same internal controls and Grant Thornton's work. Grant Thornton fails to properly investigate, audit and report to the Koss board of directors and audit committee on Sachdeva’s embezzlement and fraud through (i) improper use of cashier’s checks drawn on Company accounts at Park Bank;(ii) improper wire transfers from company accounts at LaSalle National...
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...Introduction My report is built around SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release AAER-3330 Koss Corporation. Before I dive into AAER-3330 let me begin by giving some information into Koss Corporation. John C Koss founded the J.C. Koss Hospital Television Rental Company in 1953. After a short time Koss was looking for new ideas, and partnered with Martin Lange to eventually develop a stereo headphone. Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, in 1991 Koss Audio & Video Electronics started producing and selling consumer electronics products as a separate company in Hazelwood, Missouri, USA. The Koss family owns more than 75% of the firm. Having only a high-school education, John C Koss worked with Lange, an engineer, to develop the headphone that launched the company almost by accident, as they came upon the headphone idea as a result of an attempt to market a portable phonograph. Working out of 2 nearby locations in the early 1970s - one housing Koss TV-Rental, which also did electronics and musical instrument repairs - and their main facility 2 blocks to the east - Koss pioneered the high-end "electro-static" "ES series" headphone market. These headphones set the standard for wide-range frequency response; Koss also provide the bulk of headphones in supporting educational and library AV department equipment. Being very durable, they required service for wear & tear on cords and ear pads - and K&M Electronics (Klenworth & Midwest based in Minneapolis), working...
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...Q.1 In a circumstance similar to Koss Corporation, where the Principal Accounting Officier (PAO) is not also the CFO, we believe that the PAO should attest to the effectiveness of internal control. As we know, the main job of a PAO is to overseeing the company's accounting operations, which means regulatory compliance with accounting standards and developing financial strategies for the company with the CFO. In this way, the PAO has extensive knowledge of the accounting processes and control structures within the company. So it seems pertinent that the PAO makes an attestation on internal control effectiveness However, the Koss case is a bad example as the one perpetrating the fraud is the PAO. So the attestation from the PAO would be unhelpful in this case. To conclude, we believe that the position of PAO is a key matter on assessing internal control effectiveness. Q.2 When one individual holds multiple C-level and Board of Director titles over an organization it becomes a huge inherent risk to the auditor. "If we take the example of Koss, the company didn't properly segregate duties or assign someone outside to provide an independent check and balance on employees’ integrity and to maintain a sufficiently strong control system. " This is one of the reasons that led to fraud and embezzlement in the Koss Corp. So we can say that if one person is the CEO, CFO, and COO, the "power" is grouped on a single person. In fact, c-level represents the highest-level...
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...enterprise, and are also affected by it. 2. According to Porter, what determines the level of competitive intensity in an industry? According to Porter, the level of competitive intensity is determined by 5 basic competitive forces namely: (1) Threat of new entrants to a market (2) Bargaining power of suppliers (3) Bargaining power of customers or buyers (4) Threat of substitute products and (5) Degree of competitive rivalry 3. What should be scanned in the task environment? There should be an analysis of relevant elements in the task environment such as: (1) Competitors (2) Suppliers (3) Regulators (4) Strategic Partners (5) Labor and (6) Customers. 4. Discuss how a development in a corporation’s societal environment can affect the corporation through its task environment. 5. How can managers identify external strategic factors? a. Environmental uncertainty b. Issues priority matrix c. New entrants d. Entry barriers e. Rivalry f. Substitute products g. Bargaining power of buyers and suppliers h. Bargaining power of other...
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...Unit VIII Article Critique Columbia Southern University DBA 7553 1. Introduction of the Article This article is found in the Directors and Boards magazine. It is written by Donald P. Delves who “is president of the Delves Group, a compensation and corporate governance consulting firm that advises boards of directors” (Delves, 2012). The article is titled “What about everyone else? The problem may not be that executives are paid too much, but that employees are paid too little.” 2. Statement of the Problem Studied In this article, Mr. Delves examined why people complain about executive pay, how companies used to inflate employee earnings, and how companies can increase employee wages now. 3. Significance of the Problem Studied With sky rocketing pay for many executives over the last few decades, many employees have wondered why their pay has not also increased. In the past companies have used stock options to provide incentive for employees and to use these as a pathway to increase employee pay. However with the economic recession and many of the changes in accounting practices, companies could no longer use this incentive to increase wages for employees. Thus Mr. Delves presents the question, “what do we do about [increasing employee incentives]?” (Delves, 2012). If this question can be answered, it has the potential to not only increase employee productivity but also to provide them with increased opportunities. ...
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...1) Why do you think Starbucks has been so concerned with social responsibility in its overall corporate strategy? Starbuck is a known corporation local and international for their freshly brewed coffee and other products that are offered. Social responsibility helps the company image, to care about the community and the environment, these are positive stand points that define the company self portrait. It's important how you look on the outside, in the end it's all about sales. As mention in the text “people first and profit last” once a corporation can fulfill its duties that benefit the consumer and the parties involve then there is no need to worry about the business profit. 2) Is Starbucks unique in being able to provide a high level of benefits to its employees? The text mention “it is better for a company to take some short-term loses than to lose sight of its core values in the long term “yes Starbucks is unique because not many restaurant offer the kind of benefits as Starbuck. The employees are important to the business and it helps to retain them. Offering health insurance, paid time off, and other perks are ways to keep employees happy which lead to great work effort and a successful business. It also helps to lower the business employment turnover rate and save the corporation money because they do not spend much money and recruiting new employees and to train them. 3) Do you think that Starbucks has grown rapidly because of its ethical and socially responsible...
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...to maximize a firms [sp] profit potential, a corporation should match its greatest strengths, with external factors to create opportunities. When assessing opportunities to acquire a new business unit, firms should only seek to acquire units that have strengths that match, enhance or can be combined with the firms established strengths. The article [which? there is no list of references -- you’re supposed to discuss an issue from class before discussing the article] is about how firms are purchasing business units that do not align with their strengths or the vision/mission of the parent corporation. Once the business unit is acquired the viable option is to sell if off in pieces because it is not contributing to the corporations strengths. We agree with the author [sp] premise that diversification should not be pursued unless it will help a parent corporation achieve its already established mission. Corporations should avoid acquiring firms that possess strengths or missions not aligned with the parent corporation. A firm should not see purchasing business units as strength [clumsy]; a corporation’s strength is not an action. A corporation should see the reason why they have accumulated the financial resources necessary to purchase additional business units as their strength. Once that strength is identified the corporation should be pursing business units that have underlining strengths that will enhance the parent corporations [sp] ability to pursue their mission and maximize...
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...Introduction and Course Philosophy: This course covers accounting theory and practice for business combinations, segment and interim reporting, foreign exchange and partnerships. Business combinations cover most forms of mergers and acquisitions, which are common among business entities. Segment reporting is how management disaggregates financial results into meaningful business performance. Foreign exchange covers the basics of currency transactions and translation including hedging, which are common in the global economy. Finally, in partnerships we cover more extensively the formation, operation and dissolution of general partnerships, the most prevalent form of business in the United States. In my career in financial services, I was personally involved in 3 large business combination involving aspects of mergers, segment reporting and foreign exchange that we will discuss in class. You will be exposed to the authoritative accounting literature covering each area and get hands on experience in solving typical problems faced by accounting practitioners. We will complete the entire syllabus. Required Text: Advanced Accounting---11th edition, Hoyle, Schaefer and Doupnik McGraw Hill/Irwin 2013. A separate loose leaf edition, with only the chapters we cover will be available exclusively at the Queens College bookstore. The ISBN for the looseleaf edition is 9780077772932. Acquiring the loose leaf edition gives you the convenience of being able to bring only the chapters...
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...LEGAL FORM OF BUSSINESS In this paper we will compare and discuss different forms of business and their advantages and disadvantages. Following are the different type of business formed to conduct work: 1. Sole proprietorship. 2. Partnership. 3. Limited liability partnership. 4. Limited liability company. 5. S corporation. 6. Franchise. 7. Corporate. 1. Sole proprietorship, The sole proprietorship is a type of business entity that is owned and run by one individual. All the decisions of the business are made by that individual and there is no legal distinction between that individual and the business. Following are the advantages and disadvantages of Sole proprietorship Advantages They have the ability to raise capital either publicly or privately. To limit the personal liability of the officers and managers. Limit risk to investors. Sole proprietorships have the least government rules and regulations affecting it. Owners have complete control over all the aspects of his or her business. The owner can take any managerial decisions that he/ she wants to take. Disadvantages Raising capital for a proprietorship is more difficult because an unrelated investor has less peace of mind concerning the use and security of his or her investment . The investment is more difficult to formalize other types of business entities have more documentation. The enterprise may be crippled or terminated if the owner becomes ill. The business is the same legal entity...
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...Anthony and Karen were partners doing business as the Petite Garment Company. Leroy owned a dye plant that did much of the processing for the company. Anthony and Karen decided to offer Leroy an interest in their company, in consideration for which Leroy would contribute his dye plant to the partnership. Leroy accepted the offer and was duly admitted as a partner. At the time he was admitted as a partner, Leroy did no know that the partnership was on the verge of insolvency. About three months after Leroy was admitted to the partnership, a textile firm obtained a judgment against the partnership in the amount of 50,000. This debt represented an unpaid balance that had existed before Leroy was admitted as a partner. The textile firm brought an action to subject the partnership property, including the dye plant, to the satisfaction of its judgment. The complaint also requested that, in the event the judgment was unsatisfied by sale of partnership property, Leroy’s home be sold and the proceeds applied to the balance of the judgment. Anthony and Karen own nothing but their interest in the partnership property. What should be the result: With regard to the dye plant- With regard to Leroy’s home- Since Leroy was admitted before the judgment was actually brought upon the partners It would make him liable to subsequent debts of the partnership along with Anthony and Karen, since the dye plant was part of the deal when Leroy entered the partnership it would be considered...
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...organization. The single owner of business has entire ownership and control over the assets and capital invested in the business and he or she is individually responsible (subject to some restrictions) for the expenses and liabilities of the business. • Liability A different advantage, nonetheless, is that the proprietor of this business form is responsible for all the business liabilities. Therefore, if a sole owner business undergo into financial crisis, creditors can originate lawsuits against the sole proprietor. If lawsuits are successful then proprietor has to pay the liability with his or her money. The owners of this business form can, and frequently do, combine business and personal funds and property, unlike partnerships, LLCs and corporations, they cannot do this. • Income taxes Due to the fact that sole proprietorship is not distinguishable from its owner, its characteristics...
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...business owner, companies growing at hyper speed sometimes pay the price for its success. 1.2 DEFINE THE TERM “ MARKET LEADERSHIP.” WHY DO FIRM WORKHARD TO OPTAIN LEADERSHIP? Market leadership is the position of a company with the largest market share or highest profitability margin in a given market for goods and services. Market share can be measured by how much the goods sold in the market. Market leadership is usually understood in terms of the position of a given company within an industry or market, based on three factors. When determining whether a corporation can properly be referred to as a market leader, the profitability of the company will play a major role. Along with how profitable the company happens to be, the market share volume and value will also be considered. While market leadership does not necessarily require the highest profitability margin or largest market share in the industry, a corporation is normally expected to demonstrate a consistent level of profitability from one financial period to the next. That level of profit should be significant and represent a sizable share of the available market. When the company is able to sustain the profitability through shifts in the general economy as...
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...One of the most prominent food and beverage companies in the Philippines is the Republic Flour Mills (RFM) Corporation, established in 1958 by aspiring Filipinos. Dr. Salvador Araneta pursued and succeeded his dream of making a way to save foreign exchange and create local jobs by starting out a local flour mill. Along with his wife, Victoria Lopez de Araneta, son-in-law, Joe Con and associates, Jose Concepcion, Sr., BJ Server, Pete Grimm, Albino Sycip, Zoilo Alberto, Leonardo Eugenio, Francisco Gamboa, Sr., they have come together to become a strong team. Their strength carried throughout endeavors during the difficult state of the Philippine economy in order to operate the mill. One of the issues was the American monopoly in the Central Bank of the Philippines for resisting to grant RFM the mandatory dollar allocation. With persistence and cooperation, RFM has then pioneered the flour-milling industry in the Asian region by starting out as a single company manufacturing bags of flour to a distinguished multi-company enterprise leading a number of branded products. RFM Corporations stands as a strong contender in the Philippine consumer market for offering a wide variety of food and beverage products such as: White King (cake mixes and flour-based products), Fiesta (Pasta and Sauce), Swift (meat based products), Sunkist (fruit juices), Selecta (milk- based products) and Selecta (ice cream, under the joint venture with Unilever). A variety of partnerships, acquisitions and...
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...The Corporation: The Corporation is today's dominant institution, creating great wealth but also great harm. This 26 award-winning documentary examines the nature, evolution, impacts and future of the modern business corporation and the increasing role it plays in society and our everyday lives. The birth of the corporation: How the corporation came to be. Originally, corporations were set up to serve the public good. Corporation lawyers gained rights through the US Supreme Court using the 14th Amendment (set up to protect slaves) that gives them the rights of a person. In the last century, the corporation is given more and more rights while people are increasingly stripped of theirs. Origins of Corporations Although definitions and descriptions of corporations have changed dramatically through the last few hundred years, the first corporation actually began long ago – as early as the sixteenth century. It was a benchmark in the history of money and business, transforming an economy from what was essentially a debt economy (when it came to merchant work) to a state-sponsored enterprise. This type of business was brilliant and revolutionary for the early business world, allowing businesses to take risks and expand in ways they had been unable to do before. The concept spread and grew, and by the seventeenth century, the corporation was well on its way to being an acclaimed and established center for regular commerce. When corporate business came to the newly born United...
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