...Alia Rahman Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) is an act was created as a safe guard mechanism for the investor. The massive accounting fraud created by Enron and WorldCom in 2000, caused many individuals’ savings and retirement. The company falsified their earnings; disclose false report in their accounting statement, they used the investors’ money to generate personal wealth. This unlawful, unethical and negligent behavior of the company management shocks the financial world. The investor lost confidence and other company was losing their investors. The congress got involved. It was crucial to reduce this abuse and corruption with accounting practice, save the investors fund and other company. As a result the Congress created an Act called...
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...Sarbanes-Oxley Act.2002 Darrell Kelley LAW/412 June 27,2013 Mark Reed Sarbanes-Oxley Act.2002 In this essay one will be discussing Enron, the illegal activity of Enron and the establishment of the Sarbanes-Oxley act 2002. Also one Discusses the ethical views in todays business world and the criminal penalties that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides Enron was an American energy business in commodities and services company based out of Houston, Texas. Enron was a rapid growing corporation that organization goal was in producing natural gases, communications, electricity, pulp and paper with was once believed to have had employed approximately over 18,000 employees (Frontain). With monopolizing in such resource ventures Enron was once believed to have made well over 100 hundred billion dollars in revenue. In the height of Enron’s success of banking in million of dollars through out their empire there were also faulty accounting be done internally. Thousand to millions of dollars being signed off to hire up E of the company leading to questioning of the money (Frontain), account scandals and audits. By the early 2000’s Enron was in over their head in fraudulent financial documents, having less than enough funds to payback what was owed, as well keeping employees on payroll Enron made the move of filing bankruptcy leaving whatever ethical, moral responsibility they have had abandoned. With Enron’s fraudulent financial secrets and bankruptcy being brought...
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... ACC/291 This paper will analysis different situations that might lead to unethical practices and behavior in accounting. This paper will also examine the effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on financial statements. Accounting could be described as a type of instrument or dialectal put in order to provide information with regards to the financial position of an organization or business. This type of information is very important to investors as it gives them important and detailed information that could turn out to be the determining factor as to their decisions to invest or not to invest in a specific organization. Consequently, it is not unusual to find unethical behavior in accounting as unethical practices come in different practices. Different situations that might lead to unethical practices in accounting could include misrepresentative financial analysis in order to obtain personal gains, mismanagement of funds, embellishing revenue, purposely providing wrong information in regards to expenses, embellishing the value of corporate assets, purposely providing wrong information in regards to liabilities, bribery, manipulation of financial markets, and lastly inside trading. According to Osanyin 2008 “Two well-known examples of unethical practices in accounting are those of the 2002 Enron / Andersen and the WorldCom scandal. Both of these companies were involved in unethical accounting practices.” Although Enron was alleged of a massive number of under the tree...
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...LS311: Business Law I Instructor: Prof. Jeffery Hazard Unit 9 Assignment: Case Study Name: Bridget Okpobia Date: 12/19/2012 This essay will explain the following four questions. First, would registration with the SEC be required for Dakota Gasworks securities? Second, Did Emerson violate Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5? Third what theory or theories might a court use to hold Wallace liable for insider trading? Finally, under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, who would be required to certify the accuracy of financial statements filed with the SEC? Would registration with the SEC be required for Dakota Gasworks securities? Why or why not? Reliant Energy has registered securities and faces a takeover attempt, or third party tender offer, then the SEC’s tender offer rules will apply to the transaction. The filings required by these rules provide information to the public about the person making the tender offer. The company, Dakota Gasworks, is experiencing the takeover so they must file with the SEC its responses to the tender offer. These rules set time limits for the tender offer and provide some protection to shareholders. Did Emerson violate Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5? Why or why not? Moreover, Emerson did violate rule 10b-5 of the Securities exchange act, in where it protects against insider trading; which is the purchase or sale by person with access to information not available to those...
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...Date: The Sarbanes-Oxley act was enacted in the congress after a financial scandal which affected a number of companies and led to the loss of many billions of dollars owned by shareholders in the respective companies (Fletcher & Plette, 2008). To illustrate the severity of the matter under study, the essay shall use the case study of one of the culpable companies Enron which necessitated the drafting of the act by Sarbanes and Oxley. Enron applied for deregulation which meant that the company was not liable to comply with the stipulations of the government in relation to the submission of financial records. Due to deregulation, only the Enron executives had the mandate to inspect the financial records and as a result they resulted to the manipulation of the records so that they could dupe investors into investing in the company. They concealed all reports in the financial records which captured the presence of losses in the prior financial years. The company misrepresented the total earnings and revenue and continued to embezzle the revenue provided by investors. Consequently, the investors lived under the perception that the company was making profits and as a result more investors invested in the company for the financial gains. The executives of the company used the money for their personal gains which led to the discovery of the fraud since the company was approaching bankruptcy in 2001 (Sterling, 2002). Sarbanes-Oxley act gives the Public Company Accounting...
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...internal controls caused by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, stock price drop due to internal control deficiencies, and internal control limitations. In internal controls there a few goals, but the primary two are to guard assets from theft and unauthorized use. The two goals help to increase accounting records with reliability and accuracy. Internal controls are brought into place within companies and organizations achieving a goal and avoiding undue problems while understanding the focused target without resource loss. By the implementation and use these controls, management is able to adapt within the economic changes and competitiveness while making sure regulations and laws are abided by. In business there is a simple fact of life which is, everyone is not an honest person. In business this includes employees along with customers to the organization and or business. Internal controls which are implemented in a correct manner can help the company identify cost consuming employees with unethical behavior and poor management style. There are times that mistakes happen and are a true mistake or error. An example of this would be a simple mistake an accountant made during book maintenance. This types of mistake could be identified with a implemented internal controls. These type of mistakes which are not intentional are the company’s key in minimization through the company's accuracy and reliability of the accounting records. On July 30, 2002 due to scandals of corporate accounting...
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...has been bribery, security fraud, manipulation of profits, and more. This is the reason the government created the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002(Bannon, S., Ford, K., & Meltzer, L.,2010). There are many general rules and concepts that govern accounting. In this essay the writer will examine the effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on corporations and identify solutions that may lead to unethical behavior. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was created in 2002 when major corporations failed to conduct business ethically. In the early twentieth century, scandals irrupted when companies like Enron were caught misrepresenting their accounting results(Bannon, S., Ford, K., & Meltzer, L.,2010). The federal government created regulations that will prevent unethical behavior in the future and provide protection against fraud. In addition, The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, is supposed to protect employees when reporting unethical behavior in their company(Bannon, S., Ford, K., & Meltzer, L.,2010). In the article,” How to Instill a Strong Ethical Behavior”, It talks about how difficult reporting unethical behavior is for employees(Bannon, S., Ford, K., & Meltzer, L.,2010). The majority of employees fear relation if they report misconduct in the workplace. In 2009, the Ethical Resource Center received a survey showing that business ethical behavior had improved since Sarbanes-Oxley Act was created(Bannon, S., Ford, K., & Meltzer, L.,2010). The survey encompassed 2,852 employees from profit companies...
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...Sarika Bond Auditing-Ambler Short Essay #2 November 3, 2009 Sarbanes-Oxley Act Provisions Publicly held companies are mandated to specific regulations of Sarbanes-Oxley Act; while privately held and non-profit companies are not specifically required to adopt the provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). I don’t agree with private companies adopting the entire provision of Sarbanes-Oxley Act. I do support adopting certain parts of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provision. It is cost prohibitive for private and nonprofit companies, especially for small private companies. Private companies and non-profit companies do not have to adopt the provision of Sarbanes-Oxley act, but they may pick and choose part of the governing principals that apply to them. There are advantages and disadvantages to adopting The Sarbanes-Oxley Act for private and non-profit companies. The advantages are that private companies that intend to go public in the future have already established an auditing committee, a whistleblower protection policy, and improved internal controls. The disadvantages are it is costly to adopt Sarbanes-Oxley Acts and requires hiring an outside independent auditor. It also creates more paperwork, such as checklist full of questions. My main argument with not adopting the entire Sarbanes-Oxley Act is that it is very costly for small private companies. “A survey of more than 300 public companies by Financial Executives International determined an average, first-year compliance...
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...Research Proposal The Quality of financial Reporting after the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley Act Dr. Hassan Ahmed Assistant Professor at Cameron University Abstract The complexity of business environment necessitates a set of required disclosures in a timely fashion. The full disclosure principle under U.S. GAAP is based on a vague definition that cannot be clearly implemented. The cost of disclosures can be significantly large and can have a negative impact on companies’ future earnings (small businesses). The purpose of this article is to examine the disclosure establishment of pre and post Enron, the effect of those disclosures on both corporations and on potential investors and to examine whether financial reporting quality improved with the passage of SOX. A total of 360 audited annual financial statements of the 500 fortune companies were selected. The paper will specifically concentrate disclosures on financial statements, Notes, supplementary (required or voluntary), and other expanded disclosures required by the SEC. The findings will shed light on our understanding about the intended and unintended consequence of SOX. 1.0 Introduction/Literature Review The purpose of SOX Act is to increase corporate transparency and accountability (Friedman, The Business Forum). Though SOX did not address the full disclosure required by the FASB, it simply expanded disclosures by establishing responsibilities. The company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial...
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...corporations to overstate the value of assets or understate liabilities causing the true value of a corporation to be undiscovered. Some unethical behavior on an individual level, would be insider trading, kickbacks fraud and, as seen far too many times, the manipulation of the financial markets. The Enron Corporation was the perfect example of this unethical behavior and its discovery led to the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The company used systematic and planned accounting fraud to misrepresent the corporation’s financial standing and, as a result, led to its shocking downfall. The company’s stock fell so sharply and quickly that many stockholders were caught off guard and lost millions of dollars. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted to mandate a sound ethical structure for corporations to operate; creating a level playing field where everyone plays by the same rules. A specific section of the Act seems to get the most response from individuals within the corporate world. Section 404 consists of three main issues that reflect the strongest impact the Act will have on...
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...Welcome to WritePoint, the automated review system that recognizes errors most commonly made by university students in academic essays. The system embeds comments into your paper and suggests possible changes in grammar and style. Please evaluate each comment carefully to ensure that the suggested change is appropriate for your paper, but remember that your instructor's preferences for style and format prevail. You will also need to review your own citations and references since WritePoint capability in this area is limited. Please see the other helpful writing resources in the Tutorials and Guides section of the Center for Writing Excellence. Thank you for using WritePoint. Running head: Corporate Compliance Plan for Riordian Corporate Compliance Plan for Riordian Robert Trujillo University of Phoenix Corporate Compliance Plan for Riordian Riordian Manufacturing Inc. makes plastic products through the process of plastic injection molding. The main industries that use Riordian products are automotive parts manufactures, aircraft manufactures, aero space manufactures, beverage manufactures, and home appliance manufactures. The company’s annual revenues are $46 million. The company employs 550 people throughout three plants located in Georgia, Michigan, and China. Research and development is done at the corporate headquarters in San Jose, California. In 2000, Riordian Manufacturing Board of Directors decided to expand its...
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...WITH THE PCAOB AT THE TIME OF THIS ARTICLE. The author of this paper is Douglas R. Carmichael. On April of 2003, Mr. Carmichael was appointed the first Chief Auditor and Director of Professional Standards for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. As such he was the primary advisor to the PCAOB on policy and technical issues relating to the auditing of public companies, including but not limited to auditing standards, registration, inspection, and thus enforcement of any mandates that are part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. QUESTION 2) WHAT DOES CARMICHAEL SEE AS THE UNDERLYING MISSION OF THE PCAOB? Carmichael views the underlying mission of the PCAOB to be the restoration of the public’s confidence in the auditor’s reports and findings. Accounting scandals, involving companies like Enron and WorldCom, prompted Congress to adopt the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as a means to establish control over accounting and auditing functions. A main focus of Sarbanes-Oxley was the establishment of the PCAOB. The PCAOB is a nongovernmental body, fully funded by fees collected by public and investment companies that benefit from independent audits. They are charged with overseeing the audit of public companies that are subject to SEC laws and related matters of the kind. Carmichael states that the confidence is not only to be earned by the accountants and auditors producing and reviewing the information, but also “by those who aspire to set the standards for auditors.” QUESTION...
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...Business Research and Ethical Issues in Independent Auditing Te’ Portia Sibley RES 351 John Gilpin Jan, 22, 2014 The role of an auditor is to audit with integrity and objectivity. In an essay by Roger D. Martin, the role of an auditor should expand to assess the integrity and ethical values of their client as well. The purpose of this research was to bring to light how the auditor-client relationships could devolve into questionable behaviors. This article is in response to the regulations of the Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002, that an independent auditing firm be contracted to audit a company in compliance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Practices. Prior to the act, company management hired the auditing firm, negotiated the fee and could request the firm perform other services. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that an audit committee of the company’s Board of Directors hire the auditing firm with restricted duties. The researcher concludes that an auditor could and should be trained to understand ethics and how it influences behavior. This is a tool auditors could use to assess the integrity and ethical values of clients and better understand the ethical infrastructure (organizational elements that contribute to an organizations ethical effectiveness) of an organization. What unethical research behavior was involved? The article discusses how auditors maintain integrity and fulfill their responsibilities independently. Auditors should be aware of risks when dealing...
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...Comparing IFRS to GAAP In financial reporting the U.S uses the generally accepted accounting principles, to record and report. The international financial reporting standards have been used in over 110 countries all over the world. The have similarities but are very different in structure as well, the GAAP is rules based and the IFRS is more principle based when it comes to financial reporting. I will cover some of these difference and similarities in this essay. In what ways does the format of a statement of financial position under the IFRS often differ from a balance sheet presented under GAAP? The IFRS does not require that the statement of financial position be put into a specific order, when reporting financial information. However most under companies IFRS will report their assets in reverse order of liquidity. Under the GAAP companies are required, to report all accounts in specific order by liquidity. Do the IFRS and GAAP conceptual frameworks differ in terms of the objective of financial reporting? No the objectives are both the same for the GAAP and IFRS, they have very similar ways of reporting financial information. They both want companies to keep the information they report up to date, and data needs to be reported in an honest manner. All data reported should also be useful, to an investor, creditor, or regulator. When information is reported correctly, companies are abiding by the industry standard set forth. What terms commonly used under IFRS are synonymous...
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...corporate governance regulations it is concerned. Besides the executives, the external auditors were accused and found guilty as accomplices in distorting the accounting information the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) required from them as a public company that traded its securities in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). US Government’s reaction was to increase the regulation on the activities performed by all public companies by issuing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA) and creating the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). It was now required that the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of each company signed a statement on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control and that the external auditors issued a report on this management’s statement, besides their previously required report on the fair presentation of its financial statements. The auditors became also subject to many regulations on the quality controls of their procedures and were now going to be overseen by the PCAOB. The objective of this essay is to analyze how the initial regulation on public companies itself provided the incentives for the existence of the Enron case and several similar cases and how additional regulation on the activities of public companies...
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