...Legality and Ethicality in Financial Reporting In week3, we are looking into the case of Excello Telecommunications, and study their behavior base on the knowledge of legality and ethicality in financial reporting. Excello Telecommunications has been successful in the past. However, in recent years, the company is facing more and more competitors. For the first in the company’s history, the earnings estimate won’t be met. This means nervous investors and drop in value of Excello stocks. And the top management worries about the effect on bonus and stock options. Someone needs to find a solution to steer the situation around. This is when CFO Terry Reed notices a sale on December 20, 2010. Data Equipment Systems made a purchase of $1.2 million, but requested that no delivery should be made until January 11, 2011. By previous procedures, all sales are recorded when the deliveries are made. Only this time the recording of the transaction, if made by the end of 2010, would solve the problems. Reed consulted with the controller Marty Fuller, and called the accounting department for a solution. Reed’s bottom line is very straight forward: find a creative way to record the sales to Data Equipment Systems before December 31, 2010. Legal Issues and Applicable Laws The accounting team must consider the actions that will take place under the restrictions of laws and regulations. In the accounting profession, the regulations included GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), SOX...
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...1 Legality and Ethicality of Financial Reporting Paula E. Noble University of Phoenix January 19, 2015 Mrs. Juanita Davis 2 Introduction Excello Telecommunications has been a profitable company for several years, but for the first time they have encountered an increase in competition for its products by overseas manufactures. It seems that their earnings will not be met for the year ending 2010. Therefore, management is worried of how the company’s future with investors will be impacted (Legality and Ethicality of Financial Reporting Anti Essays, 2013). A large sale has been made right at the end of the year and this sale could make the company better or not. At the end of the year is when buyers can purchase the items. This is not entered in the accounting period and that’s a problem. The CFO wants to draw attention of the investors, so he is asking if there is a way to report the sales for this year, in this year’s books Legal Issues and Laws In a business, there a federal and state laws that must be followed when financial transaction are being reported. These three important components of accounting go hand and hand when to come down to enforcing laws are the Sarbanes-Oxley act, the AICPA Code of Conduct and the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Sarbanes- Oxley was created to protect investors from Corporations that may try to do fraudulent accounting activities. AICPA Code of Conduct sets standards for the professionalism and auditing...
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...Legality and Ethicality of Financial Reporting Petra Clark ETH / 376 June 3, 2013 Ding Hardin Abstract Excello Telecommunications is a successful organization, but because of a growing rivalry, the organization has begun to notice their earnings estimations might not be achieved. Excello’s top administrators are worried how this will impact the organization. We will look at possible options as well as their moral ramifications as well as the federal laws which can be applied to the situation. Legality and Ethicality of Financial Reporting There are a number of rules that Excello must follow to comply with if it is to fall in line with accounting actions, especially when it comes to posting dealing as well as financial statements. Some of the regulations include the SOX act of 2002, the GAAP as well as the AICPA Code of Conduct. Excello’s accounting team must take into account the laws and regulations to make the best decision that will be legal, ethical and honest for the organization as well as its clients and vendors. The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) act of 2002 was created in reaction to the accounting scams of WorldCom and Enron. The act is a body of provisions that provide guidelines on the responsibilities of the higher management as well as penalties for unethical activities. The CFO of Excello, Terry Reed, wanted to post the sale of $1.2 million of equipment before the end of 2010. This type of transaction would typically be recorded as a sale on the...
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...Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance Name ETH 376 January 30, 2012 Instructor Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance United Thermostatic Controls is a publically traded corporation, and currently they are in the middle of an internal audit. The company manufactures and markets residential and commercial thermostats. The company is divided into four regions, U.S.A Sales Division, Western Sales Division, Eastern Sales Division, and Southern Sales Division. Each of these divisions has its own goals, and so far all of them have met them, except the Southern Sales Division, from which Frank Campbell is the director. Due to fluctuation in the market, parts are no longer in a high demand, and as the year end approaches, projections and goals are most likely not to be met. This paper will analysts the decision takes by Frank Campbell and the ethicality of his actions and the results of the internal audit. Legal Issues and Applicable Laws There are several laws that United Thermostatic Controls need to abbey in order to function. Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) act of 2002, the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and the AICPA Code of Conduct, and in this case, the regulations that auditors need to comply with while performing an audit, for example the Statement on Auditing Standards, and their responsibilities to the company they work for. Sarbanes-Oxley and United Thermostatic Controls There are several provisions in particular, from the...
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...Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance Paper ETH/376 Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance Paper United Thermostatic Controls is a publicly owned company that manufactures and markets residential and commercial thermostats (Mintz & Morris, 2011). As a publicly owned company, United Thermostatic Controls common stock is listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Frank Campbell is the director of the Southern sales division. Because of regional economics getting worse, the pressure to achieve sales revenue targets has created stressful and possibly unethical situations. Mr. Campbell feeling the pressure that he would not meet budgeted revenues for the fourth quarter, researched purchase orders received during late November and early December. Mr. Campbell decided to manufacture and ship orders prior to the end of the year to have the sales revenue contribute toward the fourth quarter. This action by Mr. Campbell resulted in sales revenue to be 18.6-percent increase over the actual sales revenue for the third quarter of the year and exceeded the budgeted amount by $80,000. This prompted the internal audit staff to question the appropriateness of the recorded revenue of $150,000 on two shipments made by the Southern division in the fourth quarter of the year. Further investigation revealed that the customers did not want delivery of product until the earliest of February 2011; in addition, one of the customers did not want partial shipment...
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...Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance This paper will discuss the legality and ethicality of United Thermostatic Control’s (“United”) corporate governance. Given the fact that United is a publicly owned company, the role that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) played in this case will be examined. The discussion will cover various regulations such as the AICPA Code of Conduct, GAAP, and the ethicality of the activities that occurred at United. United Thermostatic Controls manufactures thermostats for commercial and retail users. Like most companies its goal is to achieve increased sales and higher profits for its shareholders. This is particularly important because it is public traded and any drop in sales or deviation from earnings might cause the price of the stock to drop. United is divided into four divisions, Eastern Sales, Western Sales, Southern Sales and USA Sales. With the exception of Southern Sales, all of the other divisions are doing well and meeting expectations. Southern Sales has been experiencing a decrease in its sales and is not meeting the targeted amounts. If the year end financial statements are released and this situation has not improved, it would not only have a negative impact on the market price but it would probably affect management’s bonuses as well. The company will face ethical and legal challenges in how to maximize the last quarter of 2010 to meet sales goals. Frank Campbell is the director of Southern Sales. Realizing...
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...Legality and Ethicality of Financial Reporting ETH/376 August 25, 2014 Legality and Ethicality of Financial Reporting Excello Telecommunications has a history of excellent performance but with a surge in oversea competitors the company may not be able to meet its financial estimates for the first time. Executives were worried that not being able to meet the financial estimates could impact stock options, bonuses, and the share price of company stock. While looking to find a way to meet the financial estimates Terry Reed, the CFO, discovers a transaction on December 20, 2010 that might solve the problem. Excello sold $1.2 million of equipment to Data Equipment Systems. This type of transaction would be recorded as a sale on the date of the shipment. In this case the customer had requested that Excello hold the product until January 11, 2011. This was due to Data Equipment Systems not having the needed warehouse room for the product until then. This means that the sale would not be recorded until the product is shipped in 2011 but if there was a way to record the transaction before December 31 then it could help to meet the financial estimates. Reed went to the controller, Marty Fuller, to discuss this dilemma. Fuller and Reed both understand the rules for accounting for the sale of goods that are help for future delivery. Reed then went to the accounting department to discuss what can be done to record the revenue in 2010 while keeping the decision defensible from...
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...Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance Nicolle Pack ETH376 / University of Pheonix Abstract The publicly traded company, United Thermostatic Controls, is currently in the middle of an internal audit. The different divisions of the company are regionalized according to their area. The southern division has had struggled with decreasing sales and is having a hard time reaching the target set for their sales. The company pushes the different divisions to be aggressive with increasing revenue and sales. Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance Corporate Governance is a combination of rules and regulations that function as a control mechanism to keep management operating ethically and legally. The absence, of corporate governance, would allow a company’s management team to operate under guidelines which may or may not involve integrity, responsibility, or accountability. The publicly traded company, United Thermostatic Controls, is currently in the middle of an internal audit. The different divisions of the company are regionalized according to their area. The southern division has had struggled with decreasing sales and is having a hard time reaching the target set for their sales. The company pushes the different divisions to be aggressive with increasing revenue and sales. Legality United Thermostatic Controls needs to be in compliance with certain laws and accounting regulations in order to maintain operations. These laws and regulations are the Sarbanes-Oxley...
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...Legality and Ethicality of Financial Reporting Jacqueline Carr ETH/376 December 17, 2012 Samuel Hinton Legality and Ethicality of Financial Reporting Excello Telecommunication is a very successful business; however, just recently they have been experiencing some heavy competition in the businesses industry. Terry Reed the businesses CFO has realized the business is not going to meet the years estimated earnings, which can cause problems meeting financial responsibility to the stakeholders. Terry Reed found a transaction which can help the business meet the financial responsibility; however, in order to apply the transaction, he must first find a legal and ethical way off reporting the transaction on the financial report. The transaction in question, the product was sold on December 20, 2010 for $1.2 million; however, the receiver of the product is not able to take control of this product until January 11, 2011. Terry Reed needs to find a way to record the transaction before December 31, 2010 in order to meet their obligations. The accounting principle for reporting on the financial statements is the product must be posted in the quarter the product leaves the warehouse. (Mintz, S., Morris, R.E, 2011). In the accounting world, there are several different agencies, which regulate the reporting of financial statements. These rules and regulations protect the stakeholders and public from any wrong, fraudulent reporting and unethical behavior. The main agencies are (SOX),...
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...Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance United Thermostatic Controls is a publically traded corporation and is in the middle of an internal audit going on. The company makes and sells the thermostats that are in refrigerators and furnaces in residential and commercial properties. Frank Campbell (the director of the Southern sales division) is worried about their goals not being met due reasons concerning the big fluctuations in the market, the end of the year approaching, the thermostat parts not being in such a high demand anymore, etc. Frank Campbell starts making decisions concerning the ethicality behind the results of the internal audit. Legal Issues and Applicable Laws Since United Thermostatic Controls is a publically traded company, there are several laws that the Company needs to abide by. The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) act of 2002, the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and the AICPA Code of Conduct. In regards to this specific case, there are certain regulations that the auditors need to follow when they are performing an audit. Sarbanes-Oxley and United Thermostatic Controls When examining the criteria that need to be followed by United Thermostatic Controls concerning the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) act of 2002, there are a few specifics that come to mind. For example, Corporate Responsibility for Financial Reports (Section 302) is in reference to the responsibility that the CEO and CFO have when signing off on financial reports, and it certifying...
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...Legality and Ethicality of Financial Reporting Janet Tran ETH/376 Kathrine Parks University of Phoenix/Axia July 21, 2014 Excello Telecommunications was presented with a dilemma on how the company should report earnings so that they would appear to have met earning estimates for the 2010 financial year. The CFO, Terry Reed, was concerned with how failure to meet earning estimates would affect bonuses, stock options, and the share price of Excello stock. On December 201, 2010, the company sold $1.2 million of equipment to Data Equipment Systems. However, Data Equipment Systems requested that Excello hold on to the product until January 11, 2011, because they do not have the capacity to hold the product until then. This means the $1.2 million sale cannot be recorded until Data Equipment Systems receives the product, which would be in the next financial year. The accounting team came up with three scenarios on how to creatively report this $1.2 million in sales for 2010 financial reports. This paper will examine the legal aspects, the financial standards involved, and ethicality of the Excello Telecommunications case. In this case, legally the company must adhere to many accounting laws and regulations. One of the laws called Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) would have a huge impact and influence in this case. SOX was created to restructure and further explain the role of corporate governance in corporate America...
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...Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance Corporate Governance is control mechanisms that keep management operating within the rules and regulations. Without corporate governance, management could start operating under their own guidelines which may or may not involve integrity, responsibility, or accountability. Publically traded companies are required to have some type of corporate governance in place since the scandals from Enron and WorldCom. The case study that we are discussing is from United Thermostatic Controls. United has many different divisions and they are all decentralized according to their respected area. The southern division has been gradually decreasing in sales and having a hard time meeting their sales targets. The company as a whole is very aggressive with increasing revenue and pushes the different divisions very hard to try to reach or exceed their sales goals. Top management receives bonuses based on these goals as well as corporate profits. The director of the southern sales division decides that he is going to try to push through PO’s that are really for the next year and this raises many questions from the auditors. The question is which laws or regulations will this particular decision break or be non compliant. The first thing that this would go against is the fact that he is pushing customers into taking products that they are not wanting until the next year. Because the products are being sent FOB shipping point, this means that the buyer...
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...Comparing IFRS to GAAP Lartarsha Thomas Nicholas Mays Melony Soto-Gonzalez ACC/291 2/22/2015 It is important to know about the two main accounting systems, which are Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). These systems are used everywhere. All the accounting systems follow double-entry practices that categorize transactions as revenue or expenses, assets or liabilities. GAAP and IFRS have a few differences and it is important to know the differences. In order for our team to have a better understanding of IFRS and GAAP, we kept the following in mind. What are some steps taken by both the FASB and IASB to move to fair value measurement for financial instruments? In what ways have some of the approaches differed? The steps taken to move fair value measurement for financial instruments are: 1) disclosure of fair value for information in the notes. 2) fair value option which permits but does not require companies to record some types of financial instruments at fair values in the financial statements. The approaches differs in both boards facing bitter opposition from various factions. The boards have adopted a piecemeal approach. Different assets, liabilities, and equity instruments are measured at fair value. The standards in U.S. GAAP and IFRS that require or permit fair value measurements are different. As a consequence, an asset, liability, or equity instrument that is measured at fair value in U.S....
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...Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance ETH/376 Legality and Ethicality of Corporate Governance United Thermostatic Controls, a publicly owned company, like many other companies in the world faced financial difficulties in 2010. The company set sales goals in the different regions they serve for 2010; most of the regions met or exceeded their goals although one region was below the target. The director, Frank Campbell, of the region with below target sales thought of an idea to meet the goals. The CPA, Tony Cupertino, was informed of the idea and the effects to the organization. Could the decision cause ethical or legal effects for the organization? Further review of the decision was needed to ensure SOX was followed and to determine if the decision would be equitable for stakeholders. Many people think accounting decisions are always clear based on laws and regulations; however, organizations need to be mindful of effects for everyone involved in the organization. In the United States there is no formal report for corporate governance; however, companies must disclose, and adapt corporate governance guidelines. The CEO of each organization must acknowledge the acceptance of the guidelines and comply with them (Mintz & Morris, 2011). After the Enron case New York CPA candidates must met ethics requirement criteria (Mintz & Morris, 2011). In this respect it is important for United Thermostatic Controls to separate ownership and control in the organization...
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...7/01/13 Business Contracts: Protocol, Laws & Ethicality There are various kinds of contracts which arise within our business world today; contracts are an essential component to business livelihood. Although a contract is an agreement, not all agreements are valid contractual obligations. In order for any contract to be an official and legally binding agreement, there are essential requirements which must first be fulfilled. Because contracts are vital to the organization and its success, it is important that the organization has an inclusive understanding of the inner workings of business contract and law and sustaining ethicality within these agreements; this will help ensure that each and every business transaction is a smooth and successful endeavor from beginning to end. What is a contract, and what makes it valid? According to Essentials of Business Law, by Susan Rogers (2012), a contract is described as being “a legally enforceable agreement between two or more people.” Therefore, a contract emerges from the voluntary consent of two or more people with mutual accordance to enter into this agreement. Contracts are helpful to business, as these agreements are binding to both parties involved. In order for a contract to be a valid and binding agreement there are five fundamental yet essential elements that must be present, and these are: 1. The Offer, 2. The Acceptance, 3. Consideration, 4. Legality, last but not least, 5. Capacity, (S. Rogers 2012). ...
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