...Angelica Olivarez 430 ethics Fannie Mae Accounting Scandal 2001 Ethics is based on how people should act through well-based standards. Ethics on the other hand, does not describe the way people actually act. Ethics is a prescriptive term in which people should always aim to make the right decision. Those who act on ethics do not rationalize their actions founded own perceived self-interest. The accounting profession has its own understanding and framework of ethics. Accounting applications of ethical reasoning can become a common dilemma faced by auditors, internal auditors and all others who work in the business field. For example, The American Institute of Public Accountants (AICPA) Code requires CPAs to place the interest of the public first. To place the interest of the public first means that CPAs should not place themselves, their client or their employer’s interest above the public. Many business dilemmas involve managers, CPAs, and/or top management who have placed their interest above the public’s interest. An example of an accounting and business dilemma where the public interest was not placed first is Fannie Mae accounting scandal in 2001. Fannie Mae is the Federal National Mortgage Association, a government supported entity that assist lower and middle income Americans to buy homes. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) also assists lower and Middle Americans to buy homes. Both supported entities gain special treatment and “aimed to increase...
Words: 2129 - Pages: 9
...Reference 16 a) As the auditor, describe the concerns you have that may suggest fraud is occurring in the company. The Fraud Triangle ©2012 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Auditing 14/e, Arens/Elder/Beasley The fraud triangle originated from Donald Cressey's hypothesis (Donald R. Cressey, 1973). The fraud triangle is a model for explaining the factors that cause someone to commit occupational fraud (acfe, n.d.). Type of fraud: Management fraud Fraudulent financial reporting Misappropriation of assets. (Arens/Elder/Beasley, 2012) ©2012 Prentice Hall Business Publishing, Auditing 14/e, Arens/Elder/Beasley At the types of fraud, usually the Management fraud are including fraudulent financial reporting and the misappropriation of assets. Why the company will occurs the fraud, because the employees and managers have incentive, opportunities and attitude. The fraud specific fraud risk area are including revenue and accounts receivable fraud risk, inventory, purchases and other area Management fraud Management fraud, as the name suggests, is perpetrated by the top management of a company who has the intention of misleading investors (Dutta, 2013). Usually management fraud by accounting manipulation and misstates the...
Words: 4095 - Pages: 17
...WorldCom history The history of WorldCom Company dates back in 1983 which started as a partnership between a former basketball coach Bernard Ebbers. This company was established at Mississippi as a coffee shop, which later developed to long distance Telephone Company. The company’s name initially was Long Distance Discount Service whose operations began on 1984. After several years in operation, the company became public in August 1989 with Bernard Ebbers as the company’s CEO (Moberg 4). Over the years, the company developed through mergers and acquisitions and becomes public in the year 1989. The notable merge which enabled the company to go public was the merger with the advantage companies Inc. This led to changing of the name from just LDDS to LDDS WorldCom in 1995 and to just WorldCom a year later (Moberg 4). In 1993, the company acquires long distance providers in the name of Resurgence Communications Group and Metromedia communications. This made history as the fourth largest long distance communication firm in United States. There were also several other mergers and acquisitions such as with IDB in 1994, WilTel in 1995, MFS communications in 1996, and the greatest merger which involved MCI communications. In 1998, WorldCom completed the merger with MCI at a cost estimated to be $40 billion. This was viewed as the greatest merger after brooks fiber properties and CompuServe which were valued at $ 1.2 and $ 1.3 billion respectively (Moberg 6). Another notable aspect...
Words: 2628 - Pages: 11
...Sarbanes–Oxley, Sarbox or SOX, is a United States federal law which was introduced in 2002. It is also known as the “Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act” and “and 'Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act”. The main objective of the act is to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures. New aspects are created by SOX act for corporate accountability as well as new penalties for wrong doings. It was basically introduced after major corporate and accounting scandals including the scandals of Enron, WorldCom etc so that the same kind of scandals do not repeat again. There are 11 titles on the act. Each title consists of several sections. The Securities and Exchange Commission needs to implement rulings on the requirements to comply with the law. These major elements are- 1. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board: This title establishes the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. It provides specific processes and procedures for compliance audits, policies for control purposes. Basically it provides an oversight of public accounting firms that do auditing. 2. Auditor Independence: It provides standards for external auditor independence, so that conflicts of interest can be minimized. It also mentions the requirements for appointing new auditor and auditor reporting requirements. Auditing companies are prohibited from providing non-audit services (consulting) for the clients for...
Words: 1425 - Pages: 6
...“Corporate accounting scandal at Satyam “, which is also infamously called as India’s Enron. The reason why I selected this particular company is that I had my cousin brothers and sisters working for this company and this scandal affected our families in a big way. The background Scandals are like an iceberg, they represent the only visible catastrophic failure. Saytam Computers was founded By Mr. Ramalinga Raju who hailed form a traditional agriculture family of Andhra Pradesh, India in 1987 with a just 20 employees and converted the company got Public in 1992.The chairman of the company was the founder himself, Mr. Ramalinga Raju (Alias Raju) until January 7, 2009 when he resigned from the board of directors after admitting to corporate fraud. (Author HT correspondent, April, 9, 2015). The company offered consulting and information technology services to the various business sectors. The company had services in 66 countries and 53000 employees in 6 continents. It was listed on Bombay stock exchange, NSE & NYSE. The scam Ironically,...
Words: 1572 - Pages: 7
...Running head: INDIVIDUAL PROJECT: Forensic Accountants: Fraud Busters 1 Individual Project: Forensic Accountants: Fraud Busters Pamela Turner Professor Ann Nelson Contemporary Business 508 February 13, 2013 Strayer University INDIVIDUAL PROJECT: Forensic Accountants: Fraud Busters 2 Individual Project: Forensic Accountants: Fraud Busters Determine the most important five skills that a forensic accountant needs to possess and evaluate the need for each skill. Be sure to include discussion regarding the relationship between the skill and its application to business operations. The age of information technology there is a definite rise in computer crimes, financial frauds, employee thefts and securities scams, insurance and bank frauds. The forensic accountant searches out fraud and criminal transactions in banking, corporate entity or from any other financial records within an organization. Forensic accountants take a more proactive, skeptical approach in examining books of accounting. The base of a forensic accountant is accounting knowledge. The dispersement of the knowledge of auditing, internal controls, risk assessment and fraud detection. There must be a basic or general understanding of the legal environment. The legal environment is essential in order to support the litigation. A strong set of communication skills both oral and written (Houck, 2006). Forensic...
Words: 2306 - Pages: 10
...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 make up the model are perceived pressure, perceived opportunity and rationalisation. In reference to the events of WorldCom, which has been labelled to date, ‘one of the biggest accounting scandals in history’ (CNN Money- WorldCom’s Financial Bomb, Available from:http://money.cnn.com/2002/06/25/news/worldcom/. [June 2002]) the initial pressures that were the driving force behind the actions of CEO, Bernie Ebbers and CFO Scott Sullivan are quite vast. Firstly Ebbers, was faced with the managerial strain of financial pressure on management due to the decline in the economic environment and the high expectations of Wall Street. As a result, he was aware that the key to growth was in acquisition and mergers, which required an illusion of a solid investment portfolio and therefore ‘a heavy dependence on the performance of WorldCom shares’ (Forbes- Bernie Ebbers Guilty, Available from: http:// www.forbes.com/2005/03/15/cx_da_0315ebbersguilty). In addition, Ebbers was fuelled by greed, ‘nearly a billionaire’...
Words: 3980 - Pages: 16
...decent salary and stock options that make other companies within the industry jealous. How many other middle managers in the industry can claim a net worth of over one million dollars? During WorldCom’s highest point, some of the middle managers could honestly make such a claim because they had so much stock and the price seemed to just keep going up and up. The stock splits, and because of the stock option, instead of a dividend the employees get more stock. Then all of a sudden one March morning all these millionaire managers wake up to discover they are not only now worth just a few hundred bucks, but that their jobs were disappearing. This situation was a reality for many WorldCom workers, because on that March morning America’s largest fraud at the time had been reported. WorldCom was a publicly traded corporation established in 1983 to provide Long Distance Discount Services (LDDS) (Internet Services, 2011). Through the acquisition of other businesses Worldcom became the world’s second largest telecommunication company. LDDS began by leasing a wide-area telecommunications service (WATS) line and resold time to other businesses (Internet Services, 2011). WATS is a form of fixed-rate long distance telecommunication service in which certain area codes, such 800, 888, or 877, are reserved for businesses and when customers call these numbers they are not charged for long-distance but rather the business is charged as a subscriber of the WATS service (Rouse, 2006). Beginning...
Words: 2840 - Pages: 12
...• ACFE= Association of Certified Fraud Examiners; conducts comprehensive fraud studies; Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud & Abuse • Fraud - deception that includes: a representation, about a material point, which is false, and intentionally or recklessly so, which is believed, and acted upon by the victim to the victim’s damage. Fraud is an act of dishonesty with the intention to deceive or cover the truth to gain an advantage. Most critical element: confidence. Fraud can be classified as (in terms of organization): against or on behalf of • Occupational fraud - use of one’s occupation for personnel enrichment through deliberate misuse or misapplication of the employing org’s resources or assets. Categories: Asset misappropriation (steal asset), f.s fraud (manipulate f.s), Corruption scheme (misuse connections). • Employee embezzlement-can be: direct (e.g: asset misappropriation, making dummy company and making employer pay for goods not actually delivered) (from perpetrator to employer); or indirect (corruption, taking bribes from outside) (3rd party involved) • Management fraud- aka financial statement fraud; involves top management’s deceptive manipulation of f.s.; more inclusive • Investment scam-consumer fraud: Ponzi scheme, telemarketing, identity theft, money scam, advance fee scam, letter of credit fraud, etc. • Vendor fraud-overcharge, send inferior goods, charge for goods not shipped; • Customer fraud-not pay, shoplift; • Miscellaneous¬-other ...
Words: 1542 - Pages: 7
...Ethics in the Workplace University Of Phoenix Ethics in the Workplace Cause for the Fall of Enron The cause for the fall of Enron was in 2001 when the accounting firm Arthur Andersen was involved in unethical practices with the accounting procedures conducted throughout the 1990’s. This scandal caused the dissolution of the accounting firm which was one of the top five accounting firms. One August 14, 2001, the CEO of Enron, Jeffrey Skilling announced he was resigning his position after only six months. He sold a minimum of 450,000 shares of his stock earning him $33 million dollars. Kenneth Lay, the chairman of the company assured stakeholders that there was no accounting issues or any trading issues and that he would resume the position of CEO after the departure of Skilling. Enron’s stocks plummeted from $90 per share to less than .50 cents when it was revealed that much of its profits and revenue were from deals with special purpose entities. On October 22, 2001, the share price of the stock went from $20.65 down to $5.40 in one day, following the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announcement that it was investigating several suspicious deals struck by Enron pronouncing “some of the most opaque transactions with insiders ever seen”. Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling were indicted in January 2006 for bank fraud, money laundering, wire fraud, conspiracy, and insider trading. Mr. Lay pleaded not guilty to eleven criminal charges...
Words: 391 - Pages: 2
...as feedback and images, are available for question creation. Add Name Description Instructions Modify Creation Settings Chapter 2--Why People Commit Fraud Add Question Here Multiple Choice 0 points Modify Remove Question Which of the following is NOT a common rationalization of fraud perpetrators? Answer The organization owes me I'm only borrowing the money No one will get hurt I don’t deserve more. Add Question Here Multiple Choice 0 points Modify Remove Question Which of the following is NOT a primary control procedure to minimize the occurrence of fraud? Answer Dual custody Systems of authorization Internal audit department Documents and records Add Question Here Multiple Choice 0 points Modify Remove Question Each of the following is an example of an inadequate control environment EXCEPT: Answer The HR department failed to check an applicant's background and hired someone who had committed fraud in the past. A manager instructs employees not to share passwords, and then shares her passwords with others. A company does not establish codes of conduct and does not have training meetings to teach employees to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The employees know who has responsibility for each business activity. Add Question Here Multiple Choice 0 points Modify Remove Question A fraud perpetrator uses the float time between banks to give the impression that he had money in his accounts. Which crime is he committing? Answer Floating Strip...
Words: 9238 - Pages: 37
...Business Research Ethics Tina Basso RES/351 September 17, 2012 Tracy Sipma Business Research Ethics There are ethics in everything a person does. There are people trying to get away unethical business research. Here is a finance researcher who got convicted in a fraud trade. The unethical research behavior This person was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud in a crackdown in Wall Street. Winifred who was convicted was selling tomorrow facts today. She would communicate in code so no one would become wise with what she was doing. She was arrested on charges to conspire to accept cash and gifts to give the inside score to hedge funds. She had received gifts that included cash, IPhone, a dozen lobsters, a gift certificate from a restaurant near her home. Winfred Jiau was a consultant for Primary Universal Research that was based in California. The injured parties are the people who worked for the company and the people getting the information a day ahead for the information came out. The article also told how the managers would make-believe the massive trade moments before the confusion of people buying or selling. The unethical behavior can affect the organization This was unethical behavior if a person gives out information before it comes out it can have an effect on how the stocks will go. When one person; who is well known starts selling, or buying, and other people will follow. When information from one person to another is bought...
Words: 783 - Pages: 4
...Reporting Practices and Ethics HCS/405 Victor Ho January 8, 2014 Reporting Practices and Ethics This paper will include a summary of the four elements of financial management, a summary of the generally accepted accounting principles, and a summary of the general financial ethical standards. The four elements of financial management are controlling, planning, directing and organizing, and decision making. The generally accepted accounting principles are generally known as GAAP, and are the basic accounting principles and guidelines. A few articles will be examined and examples that mirror ethical standards of conduct and financial reporting practices will be cited. The articles are Medicare Fraud: California Is Well-Represented on Federal List of Health Fraud Fugitives and Medicare Fraud Arrests. The Four Elements of Financial Management The four elements of financial management are controlling, planning, directing, organizing, and decision making. These four elements are the duties a financial manager must perform. Planning is where the objectives are recognized and the steps that must be taken for accomplishing these objectives are established. In the controlling element the financial manager must make sure each department in the organization is following the plans for accomplishing the set objectives. To ensure all plans are being followed, the financial manager will study the current reports and compare them with older reports. During the organizing...
Words: 984 - Pages: 4
...Sarbanes–Oxley, Sarbox or SOX, is a United States federal law which was introduced in 2002. It is also known as the “Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act” and “and 'Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act”. The main objective of the act is to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures. New aspects are created by SOX act for corporate accountability as well as new penalties for wrong doings. It was basically introduced after major corporate and accounting scandals including the scandals of Enron, WorldCom etc so that the same kind of scandals do not repeat again. There are 11 titles on the act. Each title consists of several sections. The Securities and Exchange Commission needs to implement rulings on the requirements to comply with the law. These major elements are- 1. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board: This title establishes the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. It provides specific processes and procedures for compliance audits, policies for control purposes. Basically it provides an oversight of public accounting firms that do auditing. 2. Auditor Independence: It provides standards for external auditor independence, so that conflicts of interest can be minimized. It also mentions the requirements for appointing new auditor and auditor reporting requirements. Auditing companies are prohibited from providing non-audit services (consulting) for the clients for...
Words: 1426 - Pages: 6
...The fraud perpetuated by Bennie Madoff was one of the largest and longest running Ponzi schemes in history and it caused a ripple effect throughout our country and beyond. There were a considerable number of people and organizations harmed; many were directly affected, but an even larger number were indirectly impacted. Clearly the investors that he defrauded were harmed, both by losing substantial amounts of and by losing faith in investment professionals and financial markets as a whole. But so many more were indirectly affected as well because an event as big as this does not occur in isolation. A number of Bernie Madoff’s associates were also investigated and several were charged with assisting him in his crime, including his CFO, his...
Words: 406 - Pages: 2
