Running Head: Is Ethics The Main Reason For Accounting Scandals? Is Ethics The Most Important Reason Behind Years of Accounting Scandals? Joshua A. Williams DeVry University Is Ethics The Main Reason For Accounting Scandals? Ethics: Is It The Most Important Reason Behind Years of Accounting Scandals? Ethics is a term that refers to a code or moral system that provides criteria for evaluating right and wrong (Spiceland, Spe, Tomassini, 2007). An ethical dilemma is a situation in which
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Over time, many unethical accounting scandals existed. The WorldCom scandal is one of the most known unethical scandals. WorldCom submitted the largest bankruptcy filing in United States’ history after admitting improperly accounting for more than $3.8 billion dollars in expenses (Moberg, 2012). The company used acquisitions to spurt large growth. Two of WorldCom’s acquisitions included MCI Communications and MFS Communications (UUNet). This caused WorldCom to appear more favorable on Wall Street
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Inwon, J. (2011, May/June). Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Was the ’one-size-fits-all’ approach justified? Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance (Wiley), 22(4), 65-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.20691 ARTICLE SYNOPSIS The article discusses whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the subsequence laws were the correct solution for the problems that arose from the Enron and WorldCom bankruptcies. The article illustrates how the different rules and legislature affect different size business, and the
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Case Study The Rise and Fall of Worldcom This case study is about Bernard Ebbers CEO of Worldcom, Inc. and Scott Sullivan CFO of Worldcom, Inc. once they were boosted the company growth and they got awards. Later on they made frauds by using their influential tactics on employees and company’s board. Those are Assertiveness: it involves applying legitimate and coercive power to influence others by threatening or giving punishment. This tactic was used by sullivans office where they berated and
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Enron, WorldCom and some other large companies in the beginning of this century, encouraged Congress to introduce the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) 2002 in order to fight the escalating commitment of financial statement fraud. The main objective of this legislation was to recover the investors’ trust in the American stock market, and enhancing the prevention and detection of corporate fraud. In this thesis I would like to analyze the effectiveness of SOX 2002 in preventing financial statement fraud, corporate
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Unraveling the Details of 10 High-Profile Accounting Scandals written by: ciel s cantoria • edited by: Linda Richter • updated: 12/30/2010 Before digging into the dirty details of each of these major accounting scandals, we’ll take a look at some of the tools that were used to first detect them – including sophisticated accounting systems and advancements in high-tech communication. Technology Fighting Against White Collar Fraud Looking back at the 10 major accounting scandals that changed the business
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bookkeeping and in auditing internal and external financial representations. The institutionalization of the audit profession was then merely a matter of time. Management Controls Operations and Communications Management has control over the accounting systems and internal controls of the enterprises that auditors audit. Management is not only responsible for the financial and internal control reports to investors, but also has the authority to determine the precise nature of the representations
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2. Arthur Andersen Contribute to the Enron Disaster AA was incapable to either spot or ignored Enron’s manipulation which allowed fraud to take place. AA did not provide opinion to Enron’s audit committee. The firm CFO and the assistants were involved in situations that resulted in a significant conflict of interest and AA have no alternatives approach to manage those conflicts. Even though AA had undertook Enron’s audit function responsibility, AA failed to advice on Enron’s internal controls
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MAIN ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT (SOX) OF 2002 When the US Congress hurriedly passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, it had in mind combating fraud, improving the reliability of financial reporting, and restoring investor confidence. Perhaps SOX's most burdensome element was Section 404, which says that it is management's responsibility to maintain a sound internal control structure for financial reporting and to assess its effectiveness; and that it is the auditors'
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In the aftermath of the Enron and WorldCom, Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Act is considered by many to be the most important legislation affecting the auditing profession since the 1933 and 1934 Securities Acts (Arens, 2010). The Act also established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The PCAOB provides oversight for auditors of public companies, establishes auditing and quality control standards for public company audits, and performs inspections of the
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