...ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Vol. 24, No. 2 May 2009 pp. 237–252 If You Need Love, Get a Puppy: A Case Study on Professional Skepticism and Auditor Independence Robert L. Braun and H. Lynn Stallworth ABSTRACT: The purpose of this teaching case is to expand students’ understanding of the concepts of professional skepticism and independence. The case is based on an actual incident and illustrates the exercise of professional skepticism by a staff auditor who finds himself in the uncomfortable situation of accusing a friend of fraud. The case demonstrates the difficult personal and professional choices that auditors must sometimes make. In analyzing the case, students consider auditor independence rules, as well as the concepts of independence in appearance and independence in mental attitude. Students are asked to identify the types of audit evidence and internal controls needed to detect and prevent the fraud, and to consider the appropriate audit response to an adverse situation. Keywords: auditing; professional skepticism; fraud; independence; internal controls; misappropriation of assets. L THE CASE ife is good, thought Will Stallard as he got into his truck that October morning. He could have been thinking of any one of a number of things—his wife of seven years, his beautiful baby girl, or his job as a staff auditor at Dykstra, Banister, and Huston (DB&H), a CPA firm with offices in Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama. Or, maybe it was the slight chill in the air and the...
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...If You Need Love Get a Puppy: A Case Study on Professional Skepticism and Auditor Independence Question #5: Identify controls that could have helped prevent or detect this theft, had they been in place Answer: * By providing fiscal policies and procedures in writing that are approved Board of Directors the entities sets a major underlying foundation for behavior that is expected and required. * These policies should include conflict of interest and code of ethics section. * Procedures should be updated every year * It is important that employees are taught and trained in the policies so that they learned of their existence and they get a sense of what is expected of them. * It is also important to exercise segregation of duties in the workplace. This means require different parties to perform key parts of the transaction. Specifically, separate the authorization, custody, record keeping and reconciliation duties. In the case, not only is Jessica in charge of the custody and record keeping duty, but there also seems that there isn’t any supervising bank reconciliation activity being performed. There are different controls that this entity could have used to avoid segregation of duties problems experienced that led to the burglary of funds by Jessica. Some of these are: * Implement a bank lockbox system that receives the entity payments. These system would have avoided Jessica or any employee to have to deal with cash by just getting...
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...last year and depicts a small puppy that lives on a farm with his horse best friend. The puppy is young and curious, he wanders off into a truck, the door behind him closes and he is taken into the city. He is cold in the rain and lost. He wanders through the woods as his owner is searching high and wide for him. As the night gets darker and scarier, the puppy gets closer to home however he is surrounded by wolves. Unbeknownst to him, his best buddy, the horse has escaped the barn and is coming to his rescue with friends. The pup starts barking at the wolves but he is tiny. The horses arrive just in time to save him and he is reunited with his family. At the end of the commercial there is the Budweiser logo and the hashtag “ #bestbuds”. Every time I watch this ad I cry. It is just so cute, and as a dog owner pulls at my heart strings. As a human, it makes me connect with the puppy and his fear of being lost and lonely and his search for home. What draws me most to this advertisement is that there is no beer, this ad is not selling beer, it is selling the feeling that you want to have when you drink beer: family, love, friendship. Throughout the commercial, the focus is on the puppy and the horse, their friendship and bond. How they yearn for each other when they are apart, and how they will go through hell or high water to get back to each other and keep each other safe. The whole time you are watching, you do not think this is about beer; rather you are just enthralled in the...
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...I am sure most of you have at one time or another crossed a pet store with cute little, happy puppies staring at you through the glass windows. Animals bring such joy and wonder into our lives. What can be more exciting than sharing your life with a young puppy as it grows; watching it develop its own personality, and experiencing the unconditional love that is given by our furry, four-legged friends? As any devoted pet owner can tell you, proper care and nutrition can help establish a foundation of good health and ensures a long, happy life for your pet. Unfortunately, many consumers are unaware that the sweet little puppy that peered hopefully at them from the pet store window or the enticing advertisement in the newspaper that offered a pure bred puppy for such a bargain often comes with a hidden catch – these puppies, and their abundance of health problems, may be coming from a puppy mill. Puppy mills are either operated in private homes, farms or underground run organizations where they are not easily monitored by animal control units. It’s a large-scale commercial, outside, breeding facility with many different breeds of dogs. Dogs are forced to breed continuously without any rest between cycles. Starting six months after the birth of a female dog, she is bred every heat cycle. Could you imagine being six months old and being forced to have babies?! Female dogs are constantly pregnant, and due to lack of veterinary care they become extremely weak, malnourished and...
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...television or radio, or something related to doing business or for business purpose. I think without commercials a lot of things would not be sold in this world. When would be the best time to let everyone know what businesses are selling, the Super Bowl? In most commercials I think they use sex to sell or catch our attention to see what they are selling. As I watched the Super Bowl there was a lot of commercials and most of them if not all was advertising to sell something. One commercial that caught my attention was a coca-cola commercial. I think it was selling a lot and also showing that this product has been around for a long time. In this commercial to me it showed that the world has diversity by showing that different cultures also love to drink this product. Seeing that would make me want to buy their product because to me it shows that it’s not just one culture that buys this product and also it wants everyone to be satisfied with their product. This commercial also sold me by showing a family spending time together and really it looks like they’re enjoying the time their spending together drinking a soda that everyone in the family enjoys. It also shows that this product is good to have during a gathering because it seems so refreshing. Another thing this commercial used to sell this product was bright colors to catch the eye. It was showing that family should spend more time together. A second commercial that caught my attention was the new Jeep Cherokee. In this...
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...right around the corner. You should adopt pets rather than buying them because of puppy mill conditions, that all the animals are all unique and that you will be helping many animals in the process. Approximately 6.5 million animals go to animal shelters in the U.S. alone each year. Of the 6.5 million, 2.9 million are euthanized, that is equivalent to the population of Nevada every year. The amount of animals being sent to shelters are exponential and are rapidly growing. Puppy mills make money by selling animals to the common consumer. However, behind the scenes, these dogs are mistreated and are...
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...Effects of Puppy Mills Throughout history dogs have played many roles in the life of humans. From companion to helper, dogs serve important roles in our society. Not only are dogs adopted for friendship but also to be guide dogs, herders, search and rescue, and K9 units in police and fire stations. These dogs are extremely important to our society and need to be well behaved, healthy, and mentally stable. In order to be all of these the dog has to be raised properly. As someone who loves animals and aspires to be a veterinary technologist I find it heart breaking to see dogs caged up for what is considered their childhood. It concerns me to see puppies raised in such horrible conditions and gets me wondering. I started thinking about the ways puppy mills can affect a dog, not only its health but its behavior as well. This led me to this question: How do puppy mills’ conditions affect a dogs behaviors and health, not only while in the puppy mill but in its new life outside of the mill as well? The first thing I decided to do was to contact my local veterinarian to see if he could help me better understand how puppy mills can affect a dog’s life when they finally get out. I figured that there was a good chance he might have come across dogs from puppy mills throughout his career and who better to ask than someone who deals with the health of animals. He, however, said he had no knowledge that he had actually treated dogs that came from puppy mills. Since the veterinarian did...
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...a nice movie...You know I really loved dogs and this story about dogs really touched me. It's not because he rescued someone or do something heroic but this is something different. Among the dog's movies that I ever watched this is the story that I truly like and I can't help of sharing this for you. There was a dog which should be delivered in a certain place but apparently the dog lost in travel. Then there was a man found that cutie dog along the road. The man brought that dog in his home because when he found that puppy there are no identification or location where the dog should be delivered. At that night the man watching television with his new pet. afterwards, he go upstairs and sleep with his wife. Suddenly, the puppy realize that he was already alone in the room. So, he push the door and try to find the man...while looking around he found stairs and decided to go up there. He saw someone sleeping on the bed...so he move closer and he tounged the feet that he saw at the bottom of the bed. Then, a women shouted and so frightened that makes her husband awake. The man explained to his wife about that puppy. Because of the disturbance that causes by that dog the man lazily raise in bed and decided to bring back the puppy in the room where in left it. But the problem is the puppy follow him again and again for that he decided there to stay for a while He gets a bowl of popcorn and share it with that naughty puppy. Yet, the man fall asleep with that puppy:) The next day...
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...People buying pets from pet shops abetted inhuman puppy mills In the recent years, more people are buying pets than ever and this has become a trend. The main reason for this are because of the increasing awareness of the advantages of pet ownership and the disposable income per capital (Pet Care Industry Analysis, 2015). The demand for pets, especially cats and dogs, is expected to continue to rise through 2018 and probably beyond (10). However, when more people are buying pets from pet shops, it would directly abetted and supported the puppy mills industry. Puppy mills and pet shops are mostly for profited, and their way of producing animals are cruel and inhuman. In order to protect animal rights and break this merciless cycle, the best solutions are to adopt from shelters or rescue organizations (19) rather buying from pet shops and never abandon pets. Puppy mill, also known as puppy farm, is a commercial animal breeding organization or kennel that breed puppies in large amounts (18). They aim to make profit through reproducing and selling the animals to pet shops. “Puppy mill dogs are viewed as a crop to their breeders, are bred as a means of profit, and are seen as a commodity, no different than soybeans or metal widgets.”(3) Most of them are illegal and inhuman. In order to minimize the cost and maximize the profit, most of the puppy mills have extremely poor environment and facilities for reproducing dogs. Dogs may suffer from different affliction such as lack of...
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...This summer I read the books Ender’s Game and From Baghdad with Love. The book Ender’s Game is about a six year old kid named Ender Wiggin. In this book Ender is called upon by the army to start training in Battle School. In Battle School Ender has to overcome his age and how he is being treated. Ender embarks on this journey so he could eventually save the human species from an alien attack. The book From Baghdad with Love is about a Lieutenant Colonel named Jay Kopelman. At the beginning of the book Jay Kopelman and his squad find a stray puppy in a abandoned house. They adopt this puppy and name it Lava even though it contradicts the Army’s rules to adopt or keep a puppy. On Jay Kopelman's Journey to get Lava home he faces many obstacles...
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...said " I save the best for last". I was confused, what could be better than a cute rabbit. He took me into the back where only workers were allowed. There in rather large pin were 7 adorable, yellow puppys. They...
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...ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Vol. 24, No. 2 May 2009 pp. 237–252 If You Need Love, Get a Puppy: A Case Study on Professional Skepticism and Auditor Independence Robert L. Braun and H. Lynn Stallworth ABSTRACT: The purpose of this teaching case is to expand students’ understanding of the concepts of professional skepticism and independence. The case is based on an actual incident and illustrates the exercise of professional skepticism by a staff auditor who finds himself in the uncomfortable situation of accusing a friend of fraud. The case demonstrates the difficult personal and professional choices that auditors must sometimes make. In analyzing the case, students consider auditor independence rules, as well as the concepts of independence in appearance and independence in mental attitude. Students are asked to identify the types of audit evidence and internal controls needed to detect and prevent the fraud, and to consider the appropriate audit response to an adverse situation. Keywords: auditing; professional skepticism; fraud; independence; internal controls; misappropriation of assets. THE CASE ife is good, thought Will Stallard as he got into his truck that October morning. He could have been thinking of any one of a number of things—his wife of seven years, his beautiful baby girl, or his job as a staff auditor at Dykstra, Banister, and Huston (DB&H), a CPA firm with offices in Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama. Or, maybe it was the slight chill...
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...Of Mice and Men Essay Working with special kids, you can learn a lot. They can be the nicest people you will ever meet. With today’s programs were able to provide their special need and give them many opportunities. But it wasn't always like this. In the 1950 there weren't programs to help the special needs or people who understood. People thought these kids were a mistake and thought they weren’t able to do anything. Nobody cared enough to do anything and if they did they were either too afraid or just weren't sure on what to do exactly. In Of Mice and Men George finds himself in a similar situation. George knows Lennie can't take care of himself. The author doesn't exactly states that he has...
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...Ear Cropping Puppies Quick, think of a cute Doberman pinscher or Great Dane puppy. Now think of that same puppy under anesthesia. Next to a veterinarian who has a scalpel in their hand prepared to cut away the pinna, "the outer thin membranous part of each ear from the base, around the outside and up to the tip" (Admin, 2010). Imagine the thought that will run through that puppies mind when it wakes up confused and its ears in pain. The procedure just explained is ear cropping, preformed on many breeds of puppies aged 6-12 weeks. It is a purely cosmetic procedure endorsed by the American Kennel Club (AKC). The purpose of this paper is to explain why ear cropping is an unnecessary procedure done for selfish human pleasure. Soon after the American Veterinary Medical Association announced in 2008 "The AVMA opposes ear cropping and tail docking of dogs when done solely for cosmetic purposes. The AVMA encourages the elimination of ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards" (Nolen, 2008), the American kennel club...
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...As people continue to buy animals from breeders and puppy mills they fail to remember all of the animals suffering on the streets and in animal shelters. As people continue to not place an I.D. tag or a microchip on their pet, they are contributing to the homeless animal population. When people don’t spay or neuter their pet, the animal homelessness population rises. As people fail to consider the needs of an animal when they’re purchasing one, the risk of abandoning them increases. Animal homelessness is a continuous problem in the United States and needs to be solved. Though animals are suffering on the streets and in animal shelters, people continue to buy their pets from breeders and puppy mills. “Nationally, only 20% of the dogs and cats in homes are adopted from animal shelters” (One At A Time). As more U.S. citizens choose breeder-bred animals, the demand for breeders and puppy mills increase. Animals in puppy mills suffer from cruelty and health problems such as blindness, deafness, heart disease, and kidney diseases. As more animals are bred, the greater the animal homelessness rate grows. As breeders and puppy mills continue to breed more animals, they make it harder for a homeless animal to find a home. When a person fails to place an I.D. tag on their pet, or a microchip, it makes it easier for runaway pets to get lost and end...
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