...“Visicalc, the first worksheet would take some 20 hours of work per week for an accountant and has now been reduced to 15 minutes, allowing accountants to be more creative”1. When I first used this worksheet back in 1986, I immediately sensed the effect that it would have in my work. In particular, I had that same sensation when another important moment for my practice came about which was the wide-spread use of personal computers - the PCs. At that time, a computer was assigned to me at my job and with it, I was able to perform a series of analyses that complemented the reports issued at that time by an AS 400 from IBM. I even became an expert in Lotus 123 and was given the opportunity to give courses on this program. But this was not only a change at a personal level. Agnes Ann Pepe pointed out that “towards the ending of the twentieth century, the accounting profession began to take on a whole new look. Computers and accounting software has changed the industry completely. With programs such as Microsoft Excel, the accountant is enabled electronic worksheets. With the use of these technologies, the CPA can make statistic analyses, financial forecasts and calculations with great...
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...their role is Important to Business, Industry, and Society? Virginia Commonwealth University Writing and Rhetoric April 15, 2011 Why are Certified Public Accountants Important to the Accounting Industry, and why their role is Important to Business, Industry, and Society? CPAs became prominent after the 1800s when America started into the industrial era. They mainly did the basic bookkeeping for businesses at that time. As the industrial age grew and the government started to impose taxes, CPAs became more important to businesses as they now had to handle the filing of taxes for businesses. Although many people don’t see how important CPAs are to business, industry, and the economy, as well as, society. With the many changes over the centuries that government and CPA societies have put on CPAs, there have been some big changes in educational requirements, as well as governmental regulations. But in today’s society ethics has become the biggest problem that CPAs have to deal with and yet have more control over in the economy, and especially in business and industry. History has shown just how business and industry has needed CPAs, from controlling payroll and taxes, auditing accounting journals at the local mom-and-pop stores, to auditing financial papers of big corporations in order to let the investors at banks and Wall Street have some sort of an idea of how sound a Corporation is. America moved from an agricultural to an industrial...
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...SEMESTER 2 2011 CPA 118 ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE CPA - ETHNIC SEMESTER 2 2011 MODULE 1 ACCOUNTING AND SOCIETY 1.05 1.05 Part A: Ineraction with society Depictions of A/cting Depiction Defeating depictions defeat Fig 1.1 new bean counter How to become professional? 3 aspects 1.06 Recruiting the best Beard(1994),Smith and Briggs(1999) and Simnik and Felton(2006) Friedman& Lyne(2001);Albrecht and Sack(2000);Coate et al.(2003) Jeacle: colourful accountant linked to corporate collapses 1.07 Moral agency Biddle(2006) Value creation - key to maintain high standards Moral agent - refer to individual making moral judgement for others Moral agent theory based on concept " act appropriotely and professionally" 1.08 Technical functions and social impact Understanding A/cting A/cting defination - Macquarie Dictionary - Technical practice - bookkeeping Not Prefect def - AAA(American A/cting Association) -communication skill… 1.09 Social impact of A/cting + impact - based on historic A/cting info professional capabilities - technical knowledge,soft skill & experience 1.10 Social impact example - A/cting and the GFC "mark-to market" Lonergan (2009) - if A/cting causative factor in GFC 2008/2009 1.11 Q 1.1 Logergan 'standard setters'slow reaction only cause GFC ? NO How wisdom come out? - experience /knowledge Distinguishing feature - building relevant wisdom over time Parker et al. (1989) - induce other behaviour Miller(1994) - intrinsically and inredeemable social impact IMPACT Macro level:...
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...second partner review, is not a new practice and was first mandated in 1977, but it has most recently been required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for each registered public accounting firm to "provide a concurring or second partner review and approval of [each] audit report (and other related information), and concurring approval in its issuance...." It has been further clarified in the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Auditing Standard No. 7 (AS No. 7), that was approved by the SEC in January 2010. Early guidance on engagement quality reviews was vague, and the practice was not standardized from firm to firm. The practice involves a second partner to review the engagement and serves as an internal check for engagement quality for the audit firm. Varying degrees of partner qualifications, involvement, responsibilities, scope, and documentation requirements existed. The first section of this paper explores the evolution of this practice in the standards and the surrounding auditing profession climate leading to the new standard, AS No. 7, adopted in 2009 by the PCAOB. In the second section, various research findings are presented and discussed. Finally, we draw conclusions on the current need for engagement quality reviews in the auditing profession based on our research. Evolution Many firms instituted concurring partner reviews over a decade before it was mandated by the Security and Exchange Commission’s Practice Section in 1977; however, the nature...
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...SEMESTER 2 2011 CPA 118 ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE MODULE 1 ACCOUNTING AND SOCIETY 1.05 1.05 Part A: Ineraction with society Depictions of A/cting Depiction=描述 Defeating depictions defeat =挫败 Fig 1.1 new bean counter How to become professional? 3 aspects 1.06 Recruiting the best Beard(1994),Smith and Briggs(1999) and Simnik and Felton(2006) Friedman& Lyne(2001);Albrecht and Sack(2000);Coate et al.(2003) Jeacle: colourful accountant linked to corporate collapses 1.07 Moral agency Biddle(2006) Value creation - key to maintain high standards Moral agent - refer to individual making moral judgement for others Moral agent theory based on concept " act appropriotely and professionally" 1.08 Technical functions and social impact Understanding A/cting A/cting defination - Macquarie Dictionary - Technical practice - bookkeeping Not Prefect def - AAA(American A/cting Association) -communication skill… 1.09 Social impact of A/cting + impact - based on historic A/cting info professional capabilities - technical knowledge,soft skill & experience 1.10 Social impact example - A/cting and the GFC "mark-to market" Lonergan (2009) - if A/cting causative factor in GFC 2008/2009 1.11 Q 1.1 Logergan 'standard setters'slow reaction only cause GFC ? NO How wisdom come out? - experience /knowledge Distinguishing feature - building relevant wisdom over time Parker et al. (1989) - induce other behaviour Miller(1994) - intrinsically and inredeemable social impact IMPACT Macro level: all types of business...
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...passing the CPA licensure exam. The predictor variables of the study were GPA, pre-review grade, and the subject clusters of the exam. The study covered periods 2007-2011. It was noted that the performance of the Accounting Education for the period covered was found to be impressive. Pre-review and the GPA have high statistical influence in passing the board exam. The threshold GPA is 2.2 while 2.4 for the prereview. Of the subject clusters in the board exam, accounting problems have the highest impact in the actual board score followed by theory of accounts, management services, practical accounting problems 2, practical accounting problems 1 and the least yet still bear impact is the business law and taxation. The collegiate validation exam used as indicator of readiness showed statistical association with the actual exam. A simulated model revealed that the scores of management and services, auditing problems, audit theory, business law and taxation and accounting problems 1 have strong board outcome effects. The theory of accounts and accounting problems 2 showed no statistical significance. Keywords: Accounting education, intervention measures, maximum likelihood 1 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2394997 INTRODUCTION It had been claimed that licensure examination secures protection of the profession during economic downturn (Young, 1988) because it is used as a measure of competence. It has an associational requirement for the practice which...
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...Are Over the past 15 to 20 years more and more CEOs have been scrutinized and the typical CEO's pay is largely driven by market factors. CEOs pay is strongly related to stock performance. Because of more bureaucracy, the CEO's job has become increasingly more difficult over the past decade. In fact some would even argue that they are not paid enough and should be paid more. CEOs are being scrutinized more than ever. Some have taken on a celebrity persona such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Jack Welch. The fact of the matter is their pay is driven by market forces. You don't really hear of athletes being scrutinized like CEOs. However, since the collapse of companies such as Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco, their exposure has put them in the forefront of our society. CEOs are not unique. Other industries with similar backgrounds have earned just as well in the last decade. This includes top lawyers, athletes and top financial executives. Kaplan contends that it would be difficult to understand how pay increase could be driven by non-market forces when pay to athletes, lawyers and other groups have increased just as much. Their pay is strongly related to stock performance. Kaplan's recent analysis of CEO pays in a given year found that CEOs in the top 20% of actual pay generate stock returns 60% greater. This is greater than other firms in their industries over the past three years. In addition, CEOs from firms in the bottom 20% of actual pay underperformed...
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...BUSINESS RISK AND THE AUDIT PROCESS. Should the risk of litigation, sanctions or an impaired reputation affect the conduct of an audit? by Craig A. Brumfield, Robert K. Elliott and Peter D. Jacobson Business risk is the probability that an auditor will suffer a loss or injury to his professional practice. It differs from audit risk, which is the probability that an auditor will issue an unqualified opinion on materially misstated financial statements. For example, an auditor may be sued (business risk) whether or not the audit and the financial statements comply with professional standards (audit risk). Audit risk can infiuence business risk because an inappropriate opinion can be a significant factor in the events that lead to loss or injury to an auditor's professional practice. Conversely, business risk may, within limits, influence the auditor's assessment of the acceptable level of audit risk. The concept of audit risk is directly related to the third standard of fieldwork, which requires the auditor to gather evidential matter sufficient to support the opinion. It follows from the concept of sufficiency that a minimum level of audit work, or evidence gathering, is required on every audit conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Although this is obvious, it must be accepted that the concept of a required minimum level of audit work is basically undefined and the concept of audit risk unmeasurable with current techniques. The auditor uses his...
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...ABC learning a CSR Dilemma Synopsis ABC Learning was an Australian provider of early child hood education services, founded in Queensland in 1988. Through its 18 child care centres it was the largest almost monopolistic single operator of early childhood education services in Australia by 1997. Led by founder and CEO Eddy Groves, ABC Learning continued to grow, by opening new centres and the acquisitions of competitors both locally and internationally. The company experienced a significant drop in their share price in 2008. Trading in the company shares was suspended in early 2008, closely followed by the company going into receivership in November of 2008. This essay will examine ABC Learning and assess the impact of the company’s corporate social responsibility policy or lack thereof and how this contributed to their spectacular collapse. Particular attention will be concentrating on the ethical internal running of the company’s corporate structure and executive leadership, focussing in particular on Eddy Groves’ poor decision making, creative accounting and resulting organisational culture. Dahlberg & Moss (2005) claim that ethics is a practical matter which involves thinking about every day actions and decisions either individually or collectively and then responding with respect for all concerned. When values underpin our responses and choices, ethics is at work. In some instances our decision making can be hindered because there...
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........................... 4 1.4 21st Century – Accounting Regulation in Modern Commerce ........................................................... 4 2. DEVELOPMENT OF ACCOUNTING .................................................................................. 4 3. EVOLUTION OF ACCOUNTING ......................................................................................... 5 4. THE CONSEQUENCE OF DOUBLE ENTRY ..................................................................... 6 5. RECENT GROWTHS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN ACCOUNTING ............................... 7 6. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE ............................................................................................... 8 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 9 1. INTRODUCTION The main objective of this study is to critically review the Origin, Growth and Development of accounting theories and their impacts on financial reporting. Other objectives are to explore accounting theory in resolving areas of diversities among users of financial statements. It further examines the extent to which accounting theory has influenced practices and development of accounting profession in recent times. According to Jennings (1990), accounting is the process of obtaining, recoding, classifying, summarizing, reporting,...
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...Government Regulations Introduce three governmental regulations that have assisted in the checks and balances of government trading. A. Introduce the three government regulations covering the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934, The Foreign Corrupt Practices of Act of 1977 and finally Sarbanes-Oxley Act. B. Origin of Securities Acts of 1933 and 1933 (Beatty, Samuelson & Bredeson, 2013) C. Genesis of the enactment of The Foreign Corrupt Practices of 1977. D. Origin of Sarbanes-Oxley Act and its enactment (retrieving information from: https: www.soxlaw.com/introduction.htm) 11. Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 A. Registration requirement includes the statement and prospectus B. Annual, Quarterly reports and Form 8-k C. Inside Trading D. Private Offerings E. Blue Sky Laws F. Antitrust (The Sherman Act, The Clayton Act, and The Robinson-Patman Act) 111. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 makes it illegal for an American businessperson to give anything of value to any foreign official in order to influence an official decision. A. Applicability of the Act B. Prohibitions under the Act C. Penalties for Violations of the Act 1. Criminal 2. Civil 3. others D. Defense under FCPA 1. Lawful payment 2. Bona fide expenditures E. Fraud/Scandal of the FCPA of 1977 1. Detection method 2. Importance of Early Detection 3. Big problems for small corporations/organizations 4. Types of fraud and who is involved 1V. Sarbanes Oxley Act A. The effects of...
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...CHAPTER 1 Financial Accounting and Accounting Standards ASSIGNMENT CLASSIFICATION TABLE Topics 1. 2. 3. Subject matter of accounting. Environment of accounting. Role of principles, objectives, standards, and accounting theory. Historical development of accounting standards. Authoritative pronouncements and standards-setting bodies. Questions 1 2, 3, 4 5, 6, 7, 8 Cases 1 3, 4 2, 4 4. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 5, 17 5. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 28 29 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 6. 7. 8. Role of pressure groups. International accounting. Ethical issues. 9, 18, 19 15 14 1-1 ASSIGNMENT CHARACTERISTICS TABLE Item C1-1 C1-2 C1-3 C1-4 C1-5 C1-6 C1-7 C1-8 C1-9 C1-10 C1-11 C1-12 C1-13 C1-14 C1-15 C1-16 C1-17 C1-18 C1-19 Description Financial accounting. Objectives of financial reporting. Accounting numbers and the environment. Need for accounting standards. AICPA’s role in standards setting. FASB role in standards setting. Government role in standards setting. Meaning of generally accepted accounting principles. Politicalization of standards setting. Models for setting accounting standards. Standards-setting terminology. Accounting organizations and documents issued. Accounting pronouncements. Issues involving standards setting. Securities and Exchange Commission. Standards-setting process. History of standards-setting organizations. Economic Consequences. Standards-setting process, economic consequences. Level of Difficulty...
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...Licensed to: iChapters User Licensed to: iChapters User CONTEMPORARY AUDITING REAL ISSUES & CASES MICHAEL C. KNAPP SEVENTH EDITION MAKE IT YOURS! SELECT JUST THE CASES YOU NEED Through Cengage Learning’s Make It Yours, you can — simply, quickly, and affordably — create a quality auditing text that is tailored to your course. • Pick your coverage and only pay for the cases you use. • Add cases from a prior edition of Knapp’s Contemporary Auditing. • Add your course materials and assignments. • Pick your own unique cover design. We recognize that not every program covers the same cases and topics in your auditing course. Chris Knapp wrote his case book for people to use either as a core e book or as a supplement to an existing book. If you would like to use a custom auditing case book or supplement the South-Western accounting book you are currently using, simply check the cases you want to include, indicate if there are other course materials you would like to add, and click submit. A Cengage Learning representative will contact you to review and confirm your order. G E T S T A R T E D Visit www.custom.cengage.com/makeityours/knapp7e to make your selections and provide details on anything else you would like to include. Prefer to use pen and paper? No problem. Fill out questions 1-4 and fax this form to 1.800.270.3310. A Custom Solutions editor will contact you within 2-3 business days to discuss the options you have selected...
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...the goal of auditing, in this sense, has not changed since. Teck-Heang Lee observed that “auditing serves as a mechanism to monitor conduct and performance, and to secure and enforce accountability (Lee 2008). All in all, an audit function plays a crucial role in maintain welfare and stability in society.” However, what has changed is how the roles and responsibilities of auditors have changed to reflect the needs of the business environment of the time. As such, auditors and the auditing profession have always played a very important role in business and, more recently, in society in general. As business in today’s world becomes more dynamic, accounting (and therefore by extension auditing) must also evolve to become more dynamic. The evolution of auditing is a complicated history that has always been changing through historical events. This can be seen in the shift in the role of external auditors from a cyclical audit approach to now more of a top-down risk-based continuous audit. The factors that have played a major role in this shift of role and responsibilities are the cycle of fraud, regulation, and compliance; and also the rise and importance of technology in the Information Age we currently live in. The combination of these two factors has had a profound impact on the auditing profession and has helped solidify its place in society as serving the public interest. This...
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...Technologies and the accounting profession Jamie Lee XACC/210 May 18, 2014 Carla White Technologies and the accounting profession Technology is changing at a constant pace. Within people’s lives, it has become the norm to have the newest and greatest in technology and everything it has to offer. The same goes for companies and the technology that they have. One of the differences is that those companies need to have the newest and greatest when it comes to technology. Their business depends upon it. If they do not have that technology, then the company is at a risk for not functioning at their utmost best, and could possible suffer or shut down. Accounting professions are not new to the advancements of technology either. In fact, they are probably more affected by the new ways of technology. Just as mentioned before, it a business does not keep up with the advancing technology, then their future is not bright. With accounting, many of the same effects this profession. If they do not keep up with the changing times, their methods become outdated and slow. We can go back to when the abacus was invented. It kept track of calculations in the business. Then the calculator was invented. This allowed for more accuracy with the number (Pepe, 2001). However, accountants still had to keep track of the business’s functions on paper. The process of measuring, identifying, and communicating financial information was documented by paper records (Pepe, 2011). Then towards the...
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