Case 1.11 WorldCom: The Definition of an Asset Line Cost Expenses WorldCom generally maintained its own lines for local service in heavily populated urban areas. However, it relied on non-WorldCom networks to complete most residential and commercial calls outside of these urban areas and paid the owners of the networks to use their services. For example, a call from a WorldCom customer in Boston to Rome might start on a local (Boston) phone company’s line, flow to WorldCom’s own network, and then
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laws in place to determine the behavior of the country. WorldCom: The Final Catalyst 1. WorldCom created excess reserves or provisions for future expenses, which they later released or reduced, thereby adding to profits. The manipulation of profit through reserves or provisions is known as “cookie jar” accounting. According to the SEC first, WorldCom improperly released certain reserves held against operating expenses. Second, WorldCom improperly recharacterized certain operating costs as capital
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The SEC, auditors, banks, and credit rating agencies can be seen as positive reinforcements for companies to use and practice legal forms of accounting. Even though this statement is true, it may not always be true. Sometimes their efforts are not enough or they do not even put the effort in. This paper will evaluate how these four systems of controls had failed to prevent different companies from using unethical forms of accounting practices to their advantage. In order to deal with issues
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employees. Training can help to educate, raise awareness, and increase short and long-term company profits. WorldCom was a classic example of failed corporate governance, accounting abuses, and plain greed that could have been prevented through appropriate management and employee training. This paper will provide an example of a training plan that could have helped prevent the demise of WorldCom. Developing a Training Plan To increase the effectiveness of employees toward the achievement of business
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FROM GREAT TO GHASTLY: HOW TOXIC ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES POISON COMPANIES THE RISE AND FALL OF ENRON, WORLDCOM, HEALTHSOUTH, AND TYCO INTERNATIONAL David R. Lease, Norwich University Abstract This paper presents an analytical and comparative study of four recent corporate scandals involving organizations that had previously been recognized as both ethically and organizationally sound. Based on these case studies, the following issues are discussed: (1) The role of leader behavior and organizational/leadership
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Worldcom Fraud Investigation Use the Fraud Triangle and Fraud Scale to critically analyse the actions of Bernie Ebbers and Scott Sullivan during the WorldCom saga/ What does your analysis suggest? Dennis Greer’s fraud triangle is a key framework in analysing the ‘factors that cause someone to commit occupational fraud’ (ACFE-The Fraud Triangle, Association of Certified Fraud, Examiners Available from:http://www.acfe.com/fraud-triangle.aspx [January 2014]). The three elements that
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The training plan that was developed by Team D focuses on the structure and accountability of the group, effective communication, group collaboration, and conflict management. WorldCom A training plan would have helped leader, managers, and supervisors of WorldCom, better understand effective communication. The WorldCom failure was in part because of the lack of communication from company leaders. By having a training plan in place for all levels of employees, there would have been a higher standard
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issue that Mr. Normand faced was producing fraudulent financial statements. Mr. Normand had to decide whether to trust his Chief Financial Officer, Scott Sullivan, and add a journal entry that would misrepresent the capital WorldCom owned. By misrepresenting the capital, WorldCom would be overstating their profit and lying to their shareholders. Mr. Normand had to decide whether he was going to do what was being asked of him or do what was right and not commit the fraud. Mr. Normand testified that
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The accounting fraud at WorldCom was the result of corporate supremacy, individual liability, and an ultimate collapse of their system of in-house controls that can all be attributed to greed, manipulation and a lack of accountability for top executives. Bernie Ebbers, at the helm of it all, lacked focus, strategic direction, and led WorldCom with a consistently declining moral compass. It is thought that the ethical turn down of WorldCom’s top executives began with the U.S. Justice Department’s
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Assignment on WorldCom Overview: WorldCom Inc. origins can be traced back to 1983 when it was formed with the breakup of AT&T and it enabled small, regional companies gain access to AT&T’s long-distance phone lines at deeply discounted rates. LLDS (Long Distance Discount Services) provided services to those regions where well-established companies, such as MCI and Sprint, had very little presence. At an early stage of the company, Bernard J. Ebbers, was given the charge to run the show
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