...pipeline decided to merge to form The Enron Corporation. Enron was once the seventh largest publicly-held corporation in the nation. The purpose of this case study is to first research how the corporate leaders at Enron, who are so smart, managed to display such poor judgment. Secondly, answer the question: What do you see as the contributing factors to the demise of corporate giants like Enron, World Com, TYCO, Arthur Andersen, and others? This case study will identify at least three, and explain how their poor judgment contributed to their demise. Also in this case study I will address the questions: What might possibly happen when a corporation is placed in an oversight role of a business partner? One example of this was Arthur Andersen serving as Enron's auditor. How might a corporation ensure that this does not happen? What risks are involved if an individual decides to blow the whistle on unethical behavior within their company or institution? Are they really protected by law? The corporate leaders at Enron although smart managed to make poor decisions first by falsely reporting net income and cash flow. “Enron claimed a net income of $979 million in that year, it earned $42 million” (Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2015). Enron could also be defined as a cooperation with an arrogant culture, which “Enron executives believed competitors had no chance against it” (Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2015). Enron had a belief that its employees were...
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...What do Enron, Tyco, and World-com have in common Intro The purpose of this work is to show you what happens when you try to cheat the system. the reason the government does audits and checks for so many frauds is because people nowadays will do whatever it takes to make a little extra money. What these companies did not only hurt themselves in the long run but hurt the millions of workers and families that were connected with them. The Companies Enron was formed in 1985 by two gas companies, Houston Natural Gas and Nebraska InterNorth.Enron incurred massive debt and, as the result of deregulation, no longer had exclusive rights to its pipelines. In order to survive, the company had to come up with a new and innovative business strategy to generate profits and cash flow. To try to fix this Enron came up with the idea of becoming a “gas bank” to try to fix its problems. They would buy gas from a network of suppliers and sell it to a network of consumers, contractually guaranteeing both the supply and the price, charging fees for the transactions and assuming the associated risks. This became so successful that they decided to apply this to other things instead of just gas like, coal, paper, steel, water and even weather. In 2001 CEO Kenneth Lay retired and named Jeffrey Skilling president and CEO of Enron. On October 16th 2001 They reported their first quarterly loss in over four years and went downhill until the company filed for bankruptcy on December 2 2001. Tyco labs...
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...Stakeholders and shareholders alike are in a uniquely vulnerable position which becomes clear in most business schemes (“The Biggest Stock Scams of all Time”, 2011). Corporate scandals for over a decade serve as a reminder of the inability shareholders have to effectively control management and its owners in business. In the Enron, World Com, and Tyco disasters for every employee whose job was displaced another shareholder lost on average $4 million. Enron continued to exist under Chapter 11 protection until 2004 until assets where liquidated to pay off debtors. Prior to the debacle this company was the seventh largest energy company in the U.S. based out of Houston. The controversy arose when Enron allowed investors to be fooled into thinking the company was stable keeping hundreds of millions of debt off of its books. Shell companies that were run by the organization recorded fictitious revenue giving the illusion of unbelievable earning figures ("The Biggest Stock Scams of all Time”, 2011). This deception eventually unraveled causing share prices to dive an example of their inability to use market ethics and allowing greed to overtake their common sense and use of principles (Gauthier, 1986). Soon after Enron rocked the nation with the discovery of its scandals telecommunications giant World Com came under scrutiny. It was discovered that this corporation was “cooking the books” recording office supplies as operating investments capitalizing on the cost of these items for...
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...Internet Controls Vanessa King July 29, 2012 Internal controls are used within an organization to help safeguard assets and enhance the reliability and accuracy of accounting records. I think internal controls are essential for any public company to function. Safeguarding assets includes stopping robbery, employee theft, and unauthorized use and is very important for an organization. Minimizing the risk of unintentional mistakes, or errors as well as intentional mistakes or irregularities within the accounting process is what enhancing the accuracy and reliability means. It is required by law to monitor the different models of internet controls and the main reason for internet controls is so a company can monitor its actions and procedures. Physical safeguards include cameras, physical barriers, locks, and anything else to protect property. IT Security helps ensure that restricted documents are obtained by only authorized personal by using a lock, security code, or an employee ID as identification. I work at home and have to use a password, and a RSA token, which is a six digit number that changes each minute and helps my company make sure that I am the only one logging in because I have my password and the token. The two primary goals of internet controls are to safeguard assets from theft and unauthorized use, and to enhance the accuracy and reliability of company accounting records to avoid errors or irregularities in the accounting process...
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...Management Planning for Tyco MGT 330 Management Planning for Tyco Planning is one of the important actions management must consider when forming the foundation and goals of an organization. The company’s mission is set from the goals set by management. According to Tyco’s mission statement the company’s mission is to, “To be our customers’ first choice in every market we serve by exceeding commitments, providing new technology solutions, leveraging our diverse brands, driving operational excellence, and committing to the highest standards of business practices all of which will drive Tyco’s long-term growth, value and success" (Tyco. 2011 para 1) The best way for Tyco to obtain the goals for the company is for management to distinguish the superior between strategic planning, tactical planning, operational planning, and contingency planning that best serves the needs of the company. While keeping in mind the Influence of legal, ethical, and social responsibilities. Strategic planning or strategic goals is the making of choices concerning the organizations long and short-term goals. These goals can be the supporting element for one or more of the following company growth and profits, return on investments (ROI), market shares, productivity, quantity, quality, and customer satisfaction. Short and long-term goals can range from a week to years to complete. In 2007 Tyco faced adversity when “Kozlowski and Mark H. Swartz, the company's former chief financial officer...
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...The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107-204, 116 Stat. 745, also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and commonly called SOX or Sarbox; July 30, 2002) is a United States federal law passed in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals involving prominent companies in the United States. This examination of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002, will address the following: 1.Analyze the new or enhanced standards for all U.S. public company boards, management, and public accounting firms that the SOX required. 2.Examine why the new enhanced standards are necessary 3. Evaluate the benefits and cost of the SOX Through research of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the above questions will be addressed. Analyze the new or enhanced standards for all U.S. public company boards, management, and public accounting firms that the SOX required. Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted following a number of major corporate and accounting scandals involving prominent U.S. companies. Public trust in accounting and reporting practices was in a spiraling decline, SOX was designed to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made in accordance with the securities laws. SOX standards must be followed or strict penalties for noncompliance can result. According...
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...simple fact of life which is, everyone is not an honest person. In business this includes employees along with customers to the organization and or business. Internal controls which are implemented in a correct manner can help the company identify cost consuming employees with unethical behavior and poor management style. There are times that mistakes happen and are a true mistake or error. An example of this would be a simple mistake an accountant made during book maintenance. This types of mistake could be identified with a implemented internal controls. These type of mistakes which are not intentional are the company’s key in minimization through the company's accuracy and reliability of the accounting records. On July 30, 2002 due to scandals of corporate accounting,...
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...Tyco-ADT is a worldwide supplier of electronic security/fire alarm, communication and building management systems. Tyco-ADT has branch offices in 50 different countries, with over 62,000 permanent employees worldwide and another 32,000 contractors. That number is expected to Grow as Tyco ADT is currently in the middle of a breaking itself down into three different companies (Tyco Integrated Systems, ADT LLC, and Tyco Fire and Security) in an attempt to earn more value. They have recently bout out its main competitor Brinks Home Securities who were operating under the name of Broadview to make this split more successful in terms of providing customers with the products and service they have come to expect from Tyco-ADT. Tyco-ADT has numerous human resources challenges that they are now currently facing and will continue to deal with in the future. The fist being of those challenges deals with the current split in to three companies. Human Resource managers have to work effectively with directors and managers to place people in equally balanced work teams as to ensure that the duties are being met and that the teams put together have a vast range of diversity as to not single out any one group of people (Matthews, 1998). They will also need to handle the stress of employees due to the uncertainty of what will happen with the new team members, and how that plays into the stability of their careers (Matthews, 1998). Tyco ADT human resources managers, especially during the split...
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...international Financial Reporting Standards. The SEC appears to transition to the international standards. It might be objective to have a single set of high quality globally accepted accounting standards. • Part Two: 3. What is Sarbanes-Oxley? It is a United States federal law enacted on July 30, 2002 in response to a number of scandals that includes Enron, and World Com. 4. What is the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board? The PCAOB is a nonprofit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies in order to protect investors and the public interest by promoting informative, accurate, and independent audit reports. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of brokers and dealers, including compliance reports filed pursuant to federal securities laws, to promote investor protection. 5. Select two requirements provided for in Sarbanes-Oxley; describe (IN YOU OWN WORDS) the impact of the items you selected on the accounting profession. Your response should be about one page, single spaced. In July of 2002, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in response to a wave of corporate governance scandals. The legislation was designed to increase the oversight and regulation of the accounting profession. By strengthening corporate...
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...No. 99(SAS No. 99) to improve investor confidence and the auditing function’s ability to detect material frauds. The intent of this thesis was to look at the fraudulent factors associated with several recent corporate frauds and compare them to the standards set by SAS No. 99. Through the analysis conducted, this thesis looks at the relationships between pressures, opportunities, and rationalizations made during the act of fraud. Table of Contents ABSTRACT ii INTRODUCTION 1 Sarbanes – Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) 1 Statement of Auditing Standards Number 99 (SAS No. 99) 4 Parts of the Fraud Triangle 5 Types of Fraud 11 INSTANCES OF FRAUD 13 Enron Corporation 13 Adelphia Communications Corporation 17 AOL Time Warner, Inc. 20 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 25 Global Crossing Limited 27 K-Mart 30 Tyco International, Ltd. 34 WorldCom 37 HealthSouth Corporation 41 CONCLUSION 45 Appendix: SOX Titles and Sections List 48 Works Cited 52 INTRODUCTION Between the years 1998 and 2002, the United States suffered a time in which several large companies engaged in...
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...Sarbanes-Oxley: Benefits vs. Costs Sarbanes-Oxley: Benefits vs. Costs The American Competitiveness and Corporate Accountability Act of 2002, commonly referred to as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was enacted in response to corporate financial scandals involving companies such as Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco International. While SOX was written specifically for public companies; a few provisions, including whistleblower protection and document retention apply to all companies and nonprofit organizations (Levy, 2009). The stated purpose of the SOX legislation is “to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures” (Martin & Combs, 2010). SOX requires additional internal monitoring and disclosure of internal accounting control practices. SOX also mandates that CEOs and CFOs personally certify accounting disclosures. Ultimately, SOX was designed to increase accountability and transparency in an effort to restore investor confidence. While SOX has been effective since its enactment, many question whether the benefits outweigh the costs. Major Provisions SOX includes over 60 separate sections, including several significant provisions (H.R. 3763). Section 101 created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to oversee SOX and public accounting firms. Oversight is critical to the successful implementation of SOX requirements. Section 203 requires the lead audit or coordinating partner and the reviewing partner to rotate...
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...providing protection for the organization by ensuring accurate and reliable data, securing policies and evaluating performance. By providing Internal Control this information they can protect the assets of the organization from fraud, theft or any other criminal activities. Internal Control also enhances the financial records by reducing errors and regularities from either unintentional or intentional practices. Every organization big or small should have Internal Controls safeguarding their every move in the business world. In 2002, Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and Representative Michael Oxley (R-OH) composed an act, Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), which then was signed by President George W. Bush in July. The SOX is compiled of eleven titles and a set number of non-negotiable deadlines for companies to adhere to. SOX was created to protect investors from the large amount of scandals and bankruptcies in 2000. Companies like Enron, Tyco International, World Com and Adelphia collapsed which cost investors billions of dollars. With SOX the investors would have not lost as much but they still would have lost some. Sox just insure that the financial records are accurate and reliable for investors to see how the companies are doing if they chose to invest in them. SOX is only applicable to publicly traded companies, but some states are pushing large non-profit organizations to be classified under the act as well. In some States, failure to complied with SOX can and will lead to...
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...far-reaching reforms since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt” by President George W. Bush when he signed it into law. The act contains 11 titles, or sections, ranging from additional corporate board responsibilities to criminal penalties, and requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to implement rulings on requirements to comply with the law. The act also covers issues such as auditor independence, corporate governance, internal control assessment, and enhanced financial disclosure. The bill was enacted as a reaction to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals including those affecting Enron, Tyco, WorldCom and Arthur Andersen LLP. These scandals cost investors billions of dollars when the share prices of affected companies collapsed and shook public confidence in the nation's securities markets. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Its Effect on the Accounting Profession Enron, World Com and Arthur Andersen LLP, three names that have long become synonymous with deceptive accounting practices and lack of transparency, were but a few of the catalysts to the hastily enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. More commonly known as SOX, it was enacted on July 29, 2002 and signed into law on July 30, 2002 by President Bush. It’s also known as the 'Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act' (in the Senate) and 'Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act' (in the House). Sarbanes-Oxley’s named after sponsors U.S. Senator...
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...Investor Protection Act, is a United States federal law that acts “to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, and for other purposes” (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2011). Mainly, the act was a result of the continuous increase in the number of accounting scandals that can be related to falsification of entries on company’s financial statements. Some of the recent examples of corporate and accounting scandals were that of Enron, Adelphia, Tyco International, World Com, and Peregrine Systems, among others (Levine, 2013). The objective of this paper is to focus on and analyze one of such scandals. In this paper, the Lehman Brothers’ issue with the SEC regarding their malicious use of the Repo 105 maneuver will be studied, focusing on the audit report that the external CPA firm issued, speculations on the company’s statements, analysis of the management and auditor’s responsibility in the falsified financial reporting, the sanctions under the SOX and key actions that the concerned regulatory boards should make. Repo 105 Securities and Exchange Commission Accounting Scandal with Lehman Brothers and Ernst and Young Analysis of the Audit Report When the great financial crisis of 2008 erupted, it left a lot of United States corporations, mostly financial firms, under the water. Some of them were offered bail by the United States government but the damage was so severe plus the government could only do...
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...ACCOUNTING FRAUDS CONTENTS WHAT ARE FRAUDS? | WHAT ARE ACCOUNTING FRAUDS? | NOTABLE FRAUDS | NOTABLE OUTCOMES | MANIPULATION & FALSIFICATION OF RECORDS | MISAPPROPRIATION OF CASH BALANCES | MISAPPROPRIATION OF GOODS | TEEMING & LADING | WINDOW DRESSING | SECRET RESERVES | ENRON FRAUD | WORLDCOM FRAUD | WHAT ARE FRAUDS ??? FRAUDS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS Misstatements in the financial statements can arise from fraud. In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual, Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation. Defrauding people or entities of money or valuables is a common purpose of fraud Industries most commonly effected by fraud are banking, manufacturing, and government. Fraud can be committed through many media, including mail, wire, phone, and the Internet (computer crime and Internet fraud). * The term “fraud” refers to an intentional act by one or more individuals among management, those charged with governance, employees or third parties, involving the use of deception to obtain an unjust or illegal advantage. Although fraud is a broad legal concept, the auditor is concerned with fraudulent acts that cause a material misstatement in the financial statements. Misstatement of the financial statements may not be the objective of some frauds. Auditors do not make legal determinations of whether fraud has actually occurred. Fraud involving one or more members of...
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