...Practices Act (FCPA) which criminalized transnational bribery and required companies to implement internal control programs. In response, the Treadway Commission, a private-sector initiative, was formed in 1985 to inspect, analyze, and make recommendations on fraudulent corporate financial reporting. The Treadway Commission studied the financial information reporting system over the period from October 1985 to September 1987 and issued a report of findings and recommendations in October 1987, Report of the National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting. As a result of this initial report, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) was formed and it retained Coopers & Lybrand, a major CPA firm, to study the issues and author a report regarding an integrated framework of internal control. In September 1992, the four volume report entitled Internal Control— Integrated Framework was released by COSO and later re-published with minor amendments in 1994. This report presented a common definition of internal control and provided a framework against which internal control systems may be assessed and improved. This report is one standard that U.S. companies use to evaluate their compliance with FCPA. COSO was formed in 1985 to sponsor the National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting (the Treadway Commission). The Treadway Commission was originally jointly sponsored and funded by five main professional accounting associations and institutes headquartered in the...
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...Riordan Corporate Compliance Plan Riordan Manufacturing Riordan Manufacturing is a global plastics producer with an employee base of 550. The company has projected annual earnings at $46million and is owned by Riordan Industries. There are different segments of the company but the major customers are the automotive parts manufacturers, aircraft manufacturers, the Department of Defense, beverage makers, bottlers, and appliance manufacturers. The company has recently undergone some strategic changes in manufacturing and marketing. Some of those recent changes are beginning to effect employee retention numbers. Situation Analysis Riordan Manufacturing has many issues and opportunities laid before them. The company must identify the proper issues in order to make the right adjustments. For the company to prosper, they must first take care of their employees. Issue Identification There are a myriad of issues that exist for Riordan Manufacturing. The company has gone through some recent structural changes because of the ever changing industry. Riordan decided to switch from an individual sales model to a team-based sales model. The issue with the above is that the individuals are used to being compensated solely based on their own performance; now there is apprehension about compensation at the team rate. Another issue is just the pay itself. Some managers are concerned that employees may take proprietary information and share it with competitors after leaving the company. Higher...
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...The Development of COSO Frameworks and Guidance Yongheng Wang Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, DePaul University Abstract Fraudulent financial reporting has always been a crucial issue in business operation. Sometimes companies could report fraudulent financial statements to conceal true information and benefit from questionable transactions. Investors and shareholders would not be able to obtain useful information to make business decisions if financial information failed to reflect business operation and the company’s financial status. Broadly, the market would hurt due to the negative impact on the market efficiency. As a result, COSO, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, was formed in 1985. It has published several comprehensive frameworks to help organizations to improve business operation and governance and to avoid fraud. The aim of this report was to study the development of COSO, including its history and main frameworks and guidance regarding internal control, enterprise risk management and fraud deterrence. The report interpreted the three areas under COSO framework with their key compositions and most recent updates. After the detailed interpretation, conclusion and recommendations were given. Keywords: Fraudulent Financial Reporting, COSO, Internal Control, ERM, Fraud Introduction and Background Financial information is a significant and unique composition of the world of business. Analysis on financial...
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...Corporate Compliance Plan Paper University of Phoenix LAW/531: Business Law Group: DB12MBA01 Joseph Balistocky, JD, MFCC April 17, 2012 Workshop 6 Riordan Corporate Compliance Plan Riordan Manufacturing is a $1 billion Fortune 100 organization with approximately 550 employees specializing in plastic patient design with operations in the United States and China that realized $46 million in revenue last year. Due to concerns originating out of the company’s expansion into e-Commerce and increasing international sales, the company has decided to implement a enterprise risk management (ERM) program based on internationally recognized Committee of Sponsoring Organization of the Treadway Commission (COSO) Guidelines. The COSO design was chosen for its emphasis on defining processes that enhance an organization’s management responsibilities, legal risks and rights of employees in relation by advocating a dispute management process (University of Phoenix, 2012). Management Responsibilities At Riordan Corporation, the executive level officers also act in a fiduciary capacity with responsibility for acting in the best interest of the organization while upholding a high standard of corporate behavior. The executive level senior management of the organization along with the internal auditor level officers of the company are included in the Riordan organizational chart with clear duty responsibilities outlined in detail with corporate...
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...is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which sets deadlines for compliance and publishes rules on requirements. Sarbanes-Oxley is not a set of business practices and does not specify how a business should store records; rather, it defines which records are to be stored and for how long. The legislation not only affects the financial side of corporations, it also affects the IT departments whose job it is to store a corporation's electronic records. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for "not less than five years." The consequences for non-compliance are fines, imprisonment, or both. IT departments are increasingly faced with the challenge of creating and maintaining a corporate records archive in a cost-effective fashion that satisfies the requirements put forth by the legislation. Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley In consequence, Search Financial Security (2009) shows the Section 404 of SOX mandates that all publicly traded companies must establish internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and must document, test and maintain those controls and procedures to ensure their effectiveness. The purpose of SOX is to reduce the possibilities of corporate fraud by increasing the stringency of procedures and requirements for financial reporting. These reports require to be conveyed annually of the public company by management on the internal control...
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...Riordan Manufacturing. Growth is a necessity to any organization, but with growth provides risks that should be assessed. The following discussion, will analyze potential areas of risk within Riordan Manufacturing. The potential risks that will be analyzed include contract, tangible and intellectual property risk, employee risk, along with tort and regulatory risk. Each of the identified potential risk areas could inhibit the ability for Riordan Manufacturing to continue growth and potentially include major decrease in business success. In addition to the potential risk areas, compliance is another factor that needs to be ensured. Sarbanes-Oxley has specific requirements that will require Riordan Manufacturing to meet for continued growth and success, but the assistance of principles from the Committee of Sponsoring Organization of the Treadway Commission will assist Riordan Manufacturing in meeting compliance. (Riordan Manufacturing, 2006) The first assessed risk area will include the intellectual and tangible property areas of Riordan Manufacturing. An area that has been identified as a potential issue with contract...
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...Riordan Corporate Compliance Plan LAW/531 3/4/2012 Marlene Wilhite Table of Contents I. Internal Environment II. Mission Statement/Objective Setting III. Code of Business Conduct a. Legal obligations and compliance b. Enterprise liability c. Real and Intellectual Property IV. Board Member Code of Ethics a. Selection of Board b. Board Leadership c. Composition and Performance d. Board Meeting Etiquette and Proceedings V. Control Activities a. Governance principles of regulatory compliance b. International Laws c. Steps to adhere to international laws VI. Legal Counsel VII. Reporting Violations Internal Environment As an industry leader in global plastics manufacturing Riordan must remain on the forefront of internal controls and corporate compliance. This plan has been assembled to form a strategic corporate compliance plan for the board of directors. The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations defines Enterprise Risk Management as the following: “Enterprise risk management is a process, effected by an entity’s board of directors, management and other personnel, applied in strategy setting and across the enterprise designed to identify potential events that may affect the entity, and manage risk to be within its risk appetite...
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...{text:bookmark-start} Corporate Compliance Report {text:bookmark-end} In order for any company or organization to be successful, it is essential that the management team take steps to identify, access and manage risk. For many businesses, risk management has been identified as a way to thwart and reduce losses, as well as develop business performance. A collection of new tools have been introduced over the past few years to help measure enterprise risk. The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) has also played a major role in helping companies manage risk. COSO was formed in 1985 and is a U.S. private sector initiative whose major goal is to identify the different factors that lead to fraudulent activities such as fraudulent financial reporting and make recommendations to reduce the incidences. COSO established a variety of internal controls and criteria that companies and organizations can use to assess their control systems in order to manage risk. “In 2001, COSO initiated a project, and engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers, to develop a framework that would be readily usable by managements to evaluate and improve their organizations’ enterprise risk management” (COSO Executive Summary, 2004). Based on the many COSO recommendations of risk management, many companies and businesses have implemented enterprise risk management techniques within their organization. The goal of this paper is to summarize a plan to apply enterprise risk management for...
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...Running head: CORPORATE COMPLIANCE PLAN 1 Corporate Compliance Plan Business Law/ LAW 531 MJ Meade June 25, 2011 Judge Gregory P. Holder CORPORATE COMPLIANCE PLAN 2 Corporate Compliance Plan for Riordan Manufacturing Date: June 25, 2011 To: Riordan Executive Officers and directors Subject: Corporate Compliance The Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer of Riordan Manufacturing are devoted to ensure high ethical standards and compliance with the laws in all areas and services provided by Riordan Manufacturing. To guarantee operations are conducted, in agreement with the laws and the uppermost of ethical principles, a compliance plan is put in place and required to be enforced. Company Overview and Structure Riordan Manufacturing is an international plastic manufacturing company with more than 500 employees and our headquarters are in San Jose, California. Our goods include plastic beverage containers created in the Albany, Georgia plant. Custom plastic parts are produced at the plant in Pontiac, Michigan, and plastic fan parts are produced at our new amenities in Hangzhou, China. Our company's research and development is conducted at the corporate headquarters in San Jose. Riordan's major customers are automotive parts manufacturers, aircraft manufacturers, the Department of Defense, beverage makers, and bottlers...
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...Securities and the Exchange commission and the United States Congress together ratified campaign finance law reforms and the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. These two laws made it a criminal offense for any corporations or persons to be involved in global bribery and required all companies to implement internal control systems. In 1985, in response to these reforms 5 major private sector accounting associations together created The Committee Of Sponsoring Organizations, also referred to as COSO, to help sponsor the National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting (Treadway Commission). The 5 associations included the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, American Accounting Association, Financial Executives International, Institute of Internal Auditors and the Institute of Management Accountants. The original chairman of COSO was James Treadway, which led to it being referred to as the Treadway Commission. This association was formed to inspect, analyze and make recommendations of fraudulent corporate financial reporting. Today this association is dedicated to providing thought leadership through the development of frameworks and guidance on enterprise risk management, internal control and fraud deterrence. COSO offers 5 key components to the Internal Control Framework: Control Environment, Risk Assessment, Control Activities, Information and Communication, and Monitoring. Control Environment basically sets the groundwork for an organization by directly influencing...
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...Introduction The paper provides an overview of the Riordan Manufacturing Company and explains the purpose of the Corporate Compliance Plan. Next, the paper emphasizes four main issues which are Enterprise and Product Liability, Real and Intellectual Property, Governance and International Law related to Riordan's situation. The paper concludes with the Riordan's future legal responsibilities that can affect workforce productivity, customer relationships and customer relationships. 1. Organization Overview Owned by Riordan Industries, Riordan Manufacturing is an international plastic manufacturing company specializes in manufacturing plastic parts for the beverage manufacturing industry, automotive industry, and fan manufacturers with its headquarters lodged in California. After its foundation by Dr. Riordan in 1991, Riordan Company has tried to expand its capability in terms of production of plastics and beverages containers. The company has increased its level of productivity and opened a number of new manufacturing branches in Albany, Michigan, Pontiac, and China, Hangzhou. Riordan's product line includes plastic beverage containers produced at the plant in Albany, Georgia, custom plastic parts are produced at the plant in Pontiac, Michigan, and plastic fan parts produced at the newest facilities in Hang Zhou, China. Riordan's major clients are automotive parts and aircraft manufacturers, the Department of Defense, beverage makers and bottlers and appliance manufacturers...
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...Running head: CORPORATE COMPLIANCE REPORT Corporate Compliance Report Corporate Compliance Report With so many corporate scandals and misappropriation of finances, the United States government has developed many laws and action agencies to aid in reducing the amount of corporate mishandlings. Regulatory legislation mandating a report on internal controls is now a corporate obligation. Risk management is a fundamental area of importance to stakeholders. Organizations that are best practice companies look to the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations for guidance to develop efficient internal controls, enterprise risk and against fraudulent activities. This paper will outline a plan to implement enterprise risk for an organization of choice. The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) “is dedicated to guiding executive management and governance entities toward the establishment of effective, efficient, and ethical business operations on a global basis. It sponsors and disseminates frameworks and guidance based on in-depth research, analysis, and best practices” (COSO, 2006). COSO is a private-sector program funded and sponsored by five professional organizations. The Committee conducted an 11-year research study to analyze instances of fraudulent financial reporting and determine contributing factors that lead to financial statement fraud (COSO, 2006). COSO’s research demonstrated that most fraudulent behavior involved the chief...
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...Riordan Manufacturing Corporate Compliance Plan LAW 531 – Business Law Facilitator: Gregory Schumacher March 30, 2009 University of Phoenix – Online Campus Riordan Manufacturing Corporate Compliance Plan Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. has been an industry leader in the plastics molding industry for nearly 20 years, and its success has been built on a formula of state-of-the-art research and development, strong customer relationships, and innovative, team-oriented employees. The current economic environment, state and federal regulations, and legislative statues present challenges to Riordan that require implementation of strong methods for organizing risk management responsibilities and activities. To achieve business objectives and continued competitive advantages, Riordan must structure risk management responsibilities and activities using a formalized process. The Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process will ensure identified risks are properly assessed, controlled, and monitored throughout the company to reduce Riordan’s exposure to legal liabilities. This compliance plan outlines the ERM process for Riordan following the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) framework recommendations on critical aspects of organizational governance, business ethics, internal control, enterprise risk management, fraud, and financial reporting. Enterprise risk management deals with risks and opportunities that affect business value, negatively or positively...
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...market enterprises are obliged to execute and take after the rules for inward controls and techniques for monetary reporting, put forward by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002. This implies that upper administration and executives at LJB are in charge of guaranteeing that the controls are viable and solid, besides the organization should intermittently use outside examiners that will have the capacity to affirm the exactness of the interior controls. This data is recorded every financial year in the inside control report and will be incorporated as a feature of the yearly Exchange Act report. This demonstration serves to diminish the likelihood of corporate extortion by guaranteeing that all enterprises take after particular systems for monetary reporting. Overview Our firm recommends that your company adopt the necessary framework set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) so that the company will be in compliance with SOX Act. There are five principles of internal control that LJB should implement and adhere to: * Establishment of...
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...public at a future date. By researching current regulations regarding publicly traded firms we hope to prepare for a smooth transition into the trading market. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) has established the following guidelines for publicly traded corporations and require adherence for internal controls and procedures for financial reporting. Senior management and executives will be responsible for ensuring that controls are effective and reliable. Outside auditors must periodically verify the accuracy of and adherence to the internal controls. As part of the annual Exchange Act report, an internal control report will generated along with the information recorded during each fiscal year. It is recommended that the LJB Company adopt the framework set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) and remain in compliance with the SOX Act. This framework will follow six principles of internal control. 1) Establishment of Responsibility 2) Segregation of Duties 3) Documentation of Procedures 4) Physical Controls 5) Independent Internal Verification 6) Human Resource Controls Bruce Bulmer Consultations has completed its preliminary assessment of the current internal controls at LJB Company. While there are several good practices in effect there are some areas to be improved upon. Currently LJB operates with a lean staff. While this is good to keep labor expenses down, it is recommended...
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