...lessons that were discussed in the case were based on misleading information, or information that was inaccurate when trying to make a final decision. The decisions discussed in the case were not made in order to help make decisions; rather top managers were trying to save themselves and their reputations. The first ethical lesson pulled from the case was that when there is information that is misrepresented or wrongly described, one should not hesitate to speak up. Whether you are looking over information from peers on your own level or information from top-level management or anyone higher in a company than you, one should be able to speak up to misrepresented information. As someone going into an accounting field, one thing that accountants strive for is to have accurate information in order for stakeholders and shareholders to make correct and informed decisions based off of accurate and up to date data. When you are able to voice your opinion, good things can come from this. In the accounting profession it is good to have an eye to seek out mistakes in data that could...
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...(SOX), a new era of stakeholder expectations was crystallized for the business world and particularly for the professional accountants that serve in it. The drift away from the professional accountant’s role as a fiduciary to that of a businessperson was called into question and reversed. The principles that the new expectations spawned and renewed resulted in changes in how the professional accountants are to behave, what services are to be offered, and what performance standards are to be met. These standards have been embedded in a new governance structure and in guidance mechanisms, which have domestic and international components. The influence of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) will be as important as that of SOX in the long run. This chapter examines each of these developments and provides insights into important areas of current and future practice. Building upon the understanding of the new stakeholder accountability framework facing clients and employers developed in earlier chapters, this chapter explores public expectations for the role of the professional accountant and the principles that should be observed in discharging that role. This leads to consideration of the implications for services to be offered, and of the key “value added” or competitive edge that accountants should focus their attention on to maintain their reputation and vitality. Sources of ethical governance and guidance are...
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...INTRODUCTION The learner brings an accumulation of assumptions, motives, intentions, and previous knowledge that envelopes every teaching/learning situation and determines the course and quality of learning that may take place Biggs’s understanding of the determining influences students may have on the teaching/learning environment . and it said to be that assumptions, motives, intentions, and previous knowledge that the students have may influence student success. Many students face considerable difficulty in successfully completing accounting. The amount of material typically covered is substantial and the course requires of the student a significant increase in motivation, analytical ability, and academic effort over the usual principles. Factors that are beyond the control of students but may affect their academic performance include institutional issues such as fast changing environment, large class size and heavy teaching load for the instructor. There may also be limited availability of supplemental instruction or tutoring assistance. All of these factors may adversely affect the probability of student success in understanding accounting. The purpose of this study is to investigate some of the factors that may influence student academic performance in accounting. Identifying the factors that are positively related to performance should enhance faculty understanding of the problems related to student failure in accounting. In addition, identifying these factors...
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...Jacqueline Murphy AC504 Unit 2 Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy is commonly referred to in the English community as Leo Tolstoy was a Russian novelist, a social reformer, a pacifist, a Christian anarchist, and a moral thinker (Contributors, 2008). He was born on September 9, 1828 on his family’s estate in the Tula Province of Russia. He is the youngest of four boys. His mother Princess Volkonskaya, died in 1830 when he was very young. His father County Nikolay Tolstoy died seven years after his mothers’ death. After his fathers’ death his aunt was appointed legal guardian of him and his siblings (Leo Tolstoy, 2013). Tolstoy is broadly considered as one of the utmost of all novelists. He is particularly well-known for his works of War and Peace and Anna Karenina. In those writings he showed that he had insight into human motives. Tolstoy found the pacifist doctrine of nonresistance in the Christian Gospels. He rejected all forms of coercion from both the government and the church. He suffered a spiritual crisis and grew depressed. He struggled to uncover the meaning of life, he came to believe that Christian churches were corrupt and, in lieu of organized religion, developed his own beliefs (Contributors, 2008). Tolstoy should be recognized as a crusader for social justice. He was a constant thorn in the side of the Russian Orthodox Church, the czarist government, and local authorities. His work was banned in the Soviet Union because of his resistance to violence and...
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...offers the most GAAP generally accepted accounting principles. The site is set up so that you can access the topics you’re looking for in a sort of drill down menu type of search. The site is somewhat user friendly in that it offers a tutorial on how to use the site. It also offers several useful functions such as cross-referencing and join-sections. The AICPA sets ethical standards for the accounting profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private companies, non-profit organizations and federal, state and local governments. This resource offers tabs with drop down menus; one of which is marked Research under this tab you can find Standards that will take you to the Standard page offering a list of topics on Professional Accountant Standards such as ‘Audit and Attest Standards’, Code of Professional Conduct, Peer Review Standards, and Tax Standards. By clicking on any of these main topics you can access the statement or information you are seeking. This was by far the easiest to understand because of the commonly used format and the language. The AICPA The mission of the FASAB is to develop accounting standards after considering the financial and budgetary...
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...the profession to the crisis of credibility being faced because society perceived accountants to have lost their commitment to public service. The credibility of the profession is threatened when the ideals of integrity, independence, public service and ethical standards come under suspicion. Well-known scandals of one of the major leading accounting firms in the United States Arthur Andersen coupled with alleged unethical acts committed by Enron have arouse the conscious of the public and stakeholders as to the moral decline and unethical posture of public accountants unveiled a decline in moral reasoning and ethical standards of public accountants (Dellaportas, 2006; Esmond-Kiger, 2004). Over the last few years, the accounting profession has been beaten up badly in the media, somewhat justifiably. The forces at work were numerous and complex and a variety of phenomena created the entire profession had its reputation tarnished. Some forces were not new: delivering services that acted to impair independence; becoming too cozy with clients, active participation in finding ways to circumvent accounting standards, and even simple greed. The profession has paid dearly for failing to meet the expectations of investors, creditors, and other users of financial statements. Finally, the public lose their trust and confidence on the accounting profession and thus, the professional standing of accountant is jeopardized. There are several ethical issues faced...
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...1.0 Introduction This report talks about china s accounting systems and how it has developed and changed continuously till present. It looks into the history of Chinese accounting, followed by explaining how the institutional factors have had an impact and is backed up by 2 theorist, Hofestede and Grays model. It identifies the significant changes that occurred during its journey in adapting to the IFRS standards starting from 1949. Culture is a main aspect of china and has been incorporated into its accounting systems as well. To conclude it explains future problems that may arise and whether or not china will fully adapt to the IFRS system. 2.0 Brief history of accounting Previously there was no real accounting system in china with the exception of providing financial reports, therefore the Chinese government wanted to implement an accounting system. In 1949 the people Republic of China (PRC) a communist party came into power and adopted a communist accounting approach from Russia to achieve socio economic development without the reliance on developed nations. 2.1 Significant changes that have taken place 2.2 Great Leap Forward The regime of the Great Leap Forward 1958 – 59 was an effort to strengthen china’s economy, and catch up with the western world, but ended during the Cultural Revolution. A series of natural disasters like shortage of water, starvation led to the worst period in china’s history. 2.3 Cultural Revolution However the Cultural Revolution...
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...Disappointing because accountants are misusing such huge funds, reporting understated earnings and double-dealing with their investors and shareholders even until these days. On the other hand, it is also interesting to know how they do it, what courage they have to do that and why they are doing such things like that. I know that it is good to have money to live but for what reason do they have to have that great amount of money if having just enough or a little more of what they have is enough to live? It is really obvious they aren’t contented of what they have. They may think of their children’s future but just like Madoff’s case, he trusted his sons but they even let their father get caught. If it is me, I won’t even know what to do in the first place but it is good to know that the sons did what is right. The results of the scandals are different. Some had their corresponding penalties and some are freed after the hearing or investigation. I hope that everyone involved was only given enough years in their sentence and was given a chance to live outside the jail. But maybe there are some reasons why some still live normally outside the prison after all and some like Madoff who was sentenced for 150 years of imprisonment. I really hope that accountants and future ones will d their jobs as what the program taught while studying. Being honest and responsible for the things they’re handling. Also, as a student under this program, if I will not be a good accountant in the future...
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...Regardless of the term accounting in forensic accounting, the discipline isn’t related to simply reading financial statements that are available to the public or dealing with other accounting issues; the usual accountants, portfolio managers, investment analysts, and etc. already do the regular financial tasks. Instead, forensic accounting scrutinizes the financial documents that are internal which aren’t readily available to the public; these documents are usually considered in litigation affairs. Generally, the field of accounting was undergoing a major overhaul; before the recent economic crisis that has devastated some parts of the western world, the accounting scandals regarding WorldCom and Enron pushed the field towards change. Accounting in general was put under scrutiny as a result of increasing white collar crime and the economic crisis pushed that process even faster and further. Ergo, there was an increasing need to have forensic accountants and the field in general needs proper development in its education system and practice for it to be effective. Overall, the laws of the developed world favor the ones who commit white collar crimes rather than a person robbing a convenience store with a gun. The problem with policymaking in the current democratic regimes is that it’s a paradox that allows white collar crimes like WorldCom and Enron to get away or only end up with a milder outcome than the robbers who may physically go out and do it with a gun. Of course, debating...
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...Question | ONE Accountants owe the duty to act in a professional and ethical manner concerning clients, as well an obligation to respect the laws that are involved with the profession. This is where a crossroads of ethics and legalities are formed and potentially the defining point of crucial decision-making. Stephen Richards and his actions under employment with Computer Associates (CA) are then examined in light of this concept. Accusations against Stephen Richards permitting the backdating of contracts unlawfully were confirmed, giving sanction to the unethical nature of his behaviour. Henderson describes that illegal behaviour will not be deemed unethical when the legal system, accounting profession and society all agree upon the same moral assumption (p 944, 2011). Committing fraud is against the law, which is socially unethical as it is legally unethical. In this case however, the accounting profession challenges the acceptable accounting practices undertaken at CA, leading to the result of Richards’ choices. “[a]ggressive financial reporting was not [an] uncommon… [e]vidence suggested that earnings management… was a widespread corporate practice” (Soltes, 2011). This gave CA precedence to govern their firm by societal standards, and not solely by rules and regulations. In defense, CA’s audit did assure that financial statements were in accordance with GAAP (Soltes, 2011). It was therefore believed by Richards that the manipulation of reports was merely a reflection...
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...Week 2: This week talked about the accounting environment in Australia. At the beginning of the lecture, we were asked to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire contained the definitions of accounting terms. Introduction to course outline, trying to understand how it relates to accounting degree as a whole. The way to develop an understanding is to focus on the suitability of current accounting practices and how to develop improved accounting practices where current practices are unsuitable for changing business circumstances. This allows me to look at the course as a whole. Team formation with group of 4 led to some problems as two members had a personality clash and had a fight about the first task which included choosing photos out of a magazine that represented accounting. The group worked the problem out however it just shows the pros and cons of team work as sometimes personalities that clash each other may erase any benefits of team work. The vital issue this week is why regulation is needed and I hope to reflect about this in the weeks to come Other issues is who regulates and why one framework has begun to dominate world wide Why were certain regulations introduced such as “Intangible assets” Not reliable or timely, can’t be measured accurately. Problem is it undervalues organisation. Found the topic beneficial as a whole Week 3: Watched the movie “Company Men”, which reflects the operation of a financial company during the global financial crisis...
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... To Fran’s disappointment she was not welcomed at the company. Even worse she discovered that there was no vacancy for her in Cost accounting instead she had been assigned to management information systems (MIS). Peter Bruton is her new boss and Mike, Tom and Adrian are her colleagues. Her first assignment was the compilation of the monthly Management Report known as “Big Brother”. Fran found that her part was almost entirely One day the Chief Accountant called Fran to his office to tell her about an upcoming management workshop in Auckland on Performance Measurement. Rob suggested Fran to attend the workshop. Unfortunately her boss was away on two weeks leave at the time but Rob said he would talk with Peter. Fran enjoyed the workshop. She even wrote a detailed report on the workshop for the Chief Accountant. On her return to Hamilton however she found all was far from well. Fran’s boss Peter was furious on Fran for going to the workshop without any prior intimation to him. He also attacked her verbally. The Chief Accountant on listening to her complaint advised her for a transfer, as he did not feel there was much work for Fran with the MIS although he assured her of raising this issue at the company meeting. Fran was asked to submit a written report of the entire happenings. One afternoon Peter called on his staff to talk about the revision of “Big Brother”. Mike later told Fran that what Peter was describing was his revision plans, not his...
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...Malaysia Keywords Accounting profession, Malaysia, Standards Abstract This paper offers insights into the conflicts and tensions within the Malaysian accounting profession and the power struggle therein to dominate the accounting standard setting process, within the context of a rapidly developing country. It shows how interest groups and parochial interests, along with issues of self-protection, affected the process of standard setting, which was controlled by different interests over the period under study. At one time the profession dominated. But far from being a monolithic body, it was in turn split according to various interests: the Big Six behind the Malaysian Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA) and the smaller firms behind the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA). At other times big business prevailed. These conflicts and power struggles are revealed through an analysis of the case of the Goodwill Accounting Standard. Selvaraj D. Susela 358 Introduction This paper offers an understanding of the struggle within the accounting profession for control of the standard setting process, in the context of a developing nation. The focus on standard setting is specially geared to reveal the impact of that process on the profession, market, state and community, and vice versa. Susela (1996) illustrates that because standards clearly impact on practitioners (the profession), it is hardly surprising that they develop ``interests'' around standard setting...
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...Running head: DIVERSITY IN THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION 1 Diversity, Gender, and Ethnicity in the Accounting Profession Our Lady of the Lake University DIVERSITY IN THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION 2 Discussion of gender, race and ethnicity According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the accounting profession is expected to grow faster than average through the year 2014. With women and people of color joining the accounting industry at an increase rate, firms are forced to create more inclusive environment (Women, 2008).This type of investigations let us understand better the characteristics, attributes and professional identities and expectations about the privilege and disadvantage people of color face every day in the accounting field (Catalyst 2008). Also minority groups face a barrier too such as the grade point average but this barrier still in debate by accounting firms because a good grade point average don’t always guarantee a good work performance (Julius C. Green & Meenu Khanna 2011). Gender Structure in Accounting Profession. According to research done by Song and Liu (2007), in today’s major accounting firms half of new employees are women and because of that China has been forced to change the working environment and management of the male-dominant firms. The accounting profession has increased its social visibility, but also become a major player in a market based economy. Because of the growth in the accounting sector women’s are the new hard...
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...Accountant Track record of initiatives, analyses, and insights that contribute to the company’s bottom line. Skilled in financial reporting, expense reporting, cost accounting, G/L, financial closing, balance sheet analysis, bank reconciliation, Excel report building, annual and project budgeting, variance analysis, inventory analysis and reporting, cost estimating. Team player and articulate communicator. Versatile, detail oriented, and effective. Professional Experience , Dover, DE. June 2012- Present Accountant II- Responsible for the accounting and financial analysis of Chesapeake Utilities electric division including monthly closing duties and analysis of financial statements. • Perform all monthly cash posting and reconciliations for all Florida Business Units. • Responsible for all monthly closing activities including but not limited to journal entries, account reconciliations and analysis of financial statements related to the electric business unit. • Oversee accounting of Capital Expenditures and Retirement of Assets. • Responsible for all public filings for the natural gas and electric divisions including the FERC 1 and 2 forms and Statistical data filings • Leader of quarterly physical inventory counts at each location at ensure that all materials are accounted for and valued correctly within the Inventory System. • Involved in the drafting and reviewing of the SEC 10-Q and 10-K filings. Independence...
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