...Financial Statement Fraud ACCT 710: Assignment 6-2 Shannon Baxley David Welch September 24, 2011 Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………3 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..3 Literature Reviews……………………………………………………………………………5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..16 References…………………………………………………………………………………...18 Abstract This paper describes financial statement fraud (FSF) and how it may occur within companies. The reason of this study was to research FSF detection and prevention. Research was also done to determine any influences that SAS (Statement on Auditing Standards) No. 82 and SAS No. 99 had on audit programs and the analysis from external auditors. Thirteen scholarly journals were reviewed in order to analyze SAS No. 82 and No. 99 and to show ways to detect and prevent fraud. Results found that managers and/or auditors can create fraud intentionally and unintentionally. There are ways to prevent fraud and educating managers and/or auditors is a good way to make sure fraud does not occur. Introduction Financial statement fraud (FSF) involves the premeditated issuing of phony information on a financial statement (financial statement fraud, 2011). FSF occurs when a company exaggerates assets or revenue, or when it devalues liabilities and expenses (financial statement fraud, 2011). The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or AICPA defines fraudulent financial reporting as “intentional misstatements or omissions...
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...in Professional Skepticism, Knowledge Acquisition, and Fraud Detection Recent notable instances of accounting fraud have led to regulator and public concern over the failure of experienced auditors to detect frauds prior to the issuance of a company’s financial statements. In response, the AIPCA has issued a new auditing standard, SAS 99, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit, in an effort to help auditors better assess fraud risk, detect fraud symptoms, and sharpen professional judgment as to whether a fraud has actually been committed in a firm. The purpose of this term paper is to examine the role of experience in increasing professional skepticism, knowledge acquisition, and ability to detect fraud. We suggest that the typical audit environment does not provide auditors with the type of experience, i.e., practice and feedback with fraud, which is necessary for successful fraud detection. Results of an experiment indicate that audit novices who have received practice and feedback with fraud detection exhibit a higher level of skepticism and knowledge about fraud and are better able to detect a fraud when it exists than individuals with typical audit experience. 1 I. INTRODUCTION The apparent inability of auditors to detect financial statement fraud has prompted regulators, practitioners, and academics to examine the question, “Why do experienced auditors often fail to detect fraud?” There are several factors that contribute to this failure...
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...has auditing. The concept of auditing is as old as civilization. The need for a knowledgeable, external, third person to verify transactions or accounts and detect fraud has been present since the advent of trade and accounting. Thus the goal of auditing, in this sense, has not changed since. Teck-Heang Lee observed that “auditing serves as a mechanism to monitor conduct and performance, and to secure and enforce accountability (Lee 2008). All in all, an audit function plays a crucial role in maintain welfare and stability in society.” However, what has changed is how the roles and responsibilities of auditors have changed to reflect the needs of the business environment of the time. As such, auditors and the auditing profession have always played a very important role in business and, more recently, in society in general. As business in today’s world becomes more dynamic, accounting (and therefore by extension auditing) must also evolve to become more dynamic. The evolution of auditing is a complicated history that has always been changing through historical events. This can be seen in the shift in the role of external auditors from a cyclical audit approach to now more of a top-down risk-based continuous audit. The factors that have played a major role in this shift of role and responsibilities are the cycle of fraud, regulation, and compliance; and also the rise and importance of technology in the Information Age we currently live in. The combination of these two factors...
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...that were used to first detect them which is include the sophisticated accounting systems and etc. Information technology which brought high tech computerization, digital storage and communication became very sophisticated, which made possible the accumulation of gathering of information in an instant. Recording and verification of accounting transactions in real time were made easier and more accurate, which facilitated the reconciliation of supporting documents versus sources, with very little effort needed. Federal regulators were provided with data that revealed the corrupt practices of high-profile companies and their CEOs. Their bankruptcies became inevitable as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and financial analysts began to see the signs of irregularities among numerous companies. When the SEC ordered the restatement of their financial reports in accordance with the GAAP rules, it turned out that these companies were mostly founded by inflated revenues and negative financial conditions. Short after, companies reputations and financial credibility began break like bubbles, in the wake of the ensuing investigations. The result of these action caused investors once again lost their trust and confidence in America’s publicly traded companies, which eventually led to more bankruptcies. As a result, multitudes became jobless, and the trend went from bad to worse throughout the decade. these accounting anomalies was the heart of all that frauds. The accountancy profession...
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...Seetharaman and Tan Wei Khong Faculty of Management, Multimedia University, Cyber Jaya, Malaysia Abstract Purpose – To highlight the pressures that the auditors would face in the era of globalisation and the challenges they should be willing to accept in order to maintain trust and integrity. Design/methodology/approach – A wide range of articles and journals published in international journals as well as local journals has been reviewed. The areas covered include audit fraud, true and fair view interpretation, auditor independence and role of internal auditors. Further, ideas have also been obtained from critical write-ups in the business magazines on the fall of multinationals. Findings – A wide range of interpretation has been given by various groups of people on their understanding of the phrase “true and fair”. This has created great confusion as to the interpretation of the audit reports. This has been proven by the fall of many multinationals and the audit pioneers, Andersens. This is one of the causes of audit fraud and it is also seen that as the auditors face an enormous challenge as they enter the twenty-first century, they should be willing to change their attitudes towards their clients. Professionalism should be in the forefront, and an overhaul in the concept of “true and fair” could probably be the solution to harmonisation of the economy. Research limitations/implications – This paper lacks statistical data on the views of the authors. It is based purely on secondary...
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...Management Representations 1941 AU Section 333 Management Representations (Supersedes SAS No. 19.) Source: SAS No. 85; SAS No. 89; SAS No. 99; SAS No. 113. See section 9333 for interpretations of this section. Effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after June 30, 1998, unless otherwise indicated. Introduction .01 This section establishes a requirement that the independent auditor obtain written representations from management as a part of an audit of financial statements performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and provides guidance concerning the representations to be obtained. Reliance on Management Representations .02 During an audit, management makes many representations to the auditor, both oral and written, in response to specific inquiries or through the financial statements. Such representations from management are part of the audit evidence the independent auditor obtains, but they are not a substitute for the application of those auditing procedures necessary to afford a reasonable basis for an opinion regarding the financial statements under audit. Written representations from management ordinarily confirm representations explicitly or implicitly given to the auditor, indicate and document the continuing appropriateness of such representations, and reduce the possibility of misunderstanding concerning the matters that are the subject of the representations. [Revised, March 2006, to reflect conforming...
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...Characteristics of Fraud a. Evaluation of the auditor’s fraud detection responsibilities b. Treadway Committee Report findings c. Who commits fraud and why? 2. The Auditor’s Responsibility for Detecting and Reporting upon Fraud (AU 316) a. Misstatements arising from fraudulent financial reporting – Fraud for the Entity b. Misstatements arising from misappropriation of assets – Fraud against the Entity c. The overall process: i. Identify client fraud risk areas ii. Consider client anti-fraud programs and controls iii. Respond to results of the fraud risk assessment d. Responding to misstatements identified in the audit i. Effects, if due to fraud, likely immaterial ii. Effects, if due to fraud, could be material e. Detection and reporting responsibilities within the client organization – how do we respond to fraud internally f. Responsibilities for reporting fraud to outsiders – is the same criteria for reporting fraud externally as we had to do with illegal acts. g. Audit documentation responsibilities h. Typical fraud warning signs and red flags (AU 316.85) – they are arranged by 3 elements that typically exist in some kind of combination of fraud. AU 316.85 “Examples of Fraud Risk Factors. Separately presented are examples relating to the two types of fraud relevant to the auditor’s consideration – that...
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...AUDITING THEORY TESTBANKS / REVIEWERS 1. When an auditor believes that an understanding with the client has not been established, he or she should ordinarily a. Perform the audit with increase professional skepticism. b. Decline to accept or perform the audit. c. Assess control risk at the maximum level and perform a primarily substantive audit. d. Modify the scope of the audit to reflect an increased risk of material misstatement due to fraud. 2. An auditor should design the written audit program so that a. All material transactions will be selected for substantive testing. b. Substantive tests prior to the balance sheet date will be minimized. c. The audit procedures selected will achieve specific audit objectives. d. Each account balance will be tested under either tests of controls or tests of transactions. 3. Which of the following fraudulent activities most likely could be perpetrated due to the lack of effective internal controls in the revenue cycle? a. Fictitious transactions may be recorded that cause an understatement of revenues and overstatement of receivables. b. Claim received from customers for goods returned may be intentionally recorded in other customer’s accounts. c. Authorization of credit memos by personnel who receive cash may permit the misappropriation of cash. d. The failure to prepare shipping documents may cause an overstatement of inventory balances. 4. Accepting an engagement to examine...
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...AUDITING THEORY TESTBANKS / REVIEWERS 1. When an auditor believes that an understanding with the client has not been established, he or she should ordinarily a. Perform the audit with increase professional skepticism. b. Decline to accept or perform the audit. c. Assess control risk at the maximum level and perform a primarily substantive audit. d. Modify the scope of the audit to reflect an increased risk of material misstatement due to fraud. 2. An auditor should design the written audit program so that a. All material transactions will be selected for substantive testing. b. Substantive tests prior to the balance sheet date will be minimized. c. The audit procedures selected will achieve specific audit objectives. d. Each account balance will be tested under either tests of controls or tests of transactions. 3. Which of the following fraudulent activities most likely could be perpetrated due to the lack of effective internal controls in the revenue cycle? a. Fictitious transactions may be recorded that cause an understatement of revenues and overstatement of receivables. b. Claim received from customers for goods returned may be intentionally recorded in other customer’s accounts. c. Authorization of credit memos by personnel who receive cash may permit the misappropriation of cash. d. The failure to prepare shipping documents may cause an overstatement of inventory balances. 4. Accepting an engagement to examine an entity’s financial...
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...accounting fraud and auditor legal liability c a S eS inc lu de d in t hiS Se ction 4 89 99 4.1 Enron Corporation and Andersen, LLP Analyzing the Fall of Two Giants . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Comptronix Corporation 4.3 Cendant Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Identifying Inherent Risk and Control Risk Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 119 127 137 Assessing the Control Environment and Evaluating Risk of Financial Statement Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Waste Management, Inc. 4.5 Xerox Corporation 4.6 Phar-Mor, Inc. Manipulating Accounting Estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluating Risk of Financial Statement Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accounting Fraud, Litigation, and Auditor Liability instructor resource Manual — do not coPy or redistribute instructor resource Manual — do not coPy or redistribute enron corporation and andersen, llP analyzing the fall of two giants inS tr uc t ional o b je c t ive S [1] c a s e 4.1 Mark S. Beasley · Frank A. Buckless · Steven M. Glover · Douglas F. Prawitt [2] [3] To help students understand what happened at Enron Corporation and how Andersen’s involvement with Enron led to the accounting firm’s downfall. To enhance students’ appreciation of the importance of understanding an audit client’s core business strategies. To develop students’...
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...Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit 1719 AU Section 316 Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit (Supersedes SAS No. 82.) Source: SAS No. 99; SAS No. 113. Effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2002, unless otherwise indicated. Introduction and Overview .01 Section 110, Responsibilities and Functions of the Independent Auditor, paragraph .02, states, "The auditor has a responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraud. [footnote omitted]"1 This section establishes standards and provides guidance to auditors in fulfilling that responsibility, as it relates to fraud, in an audit of financial statements conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS).2 .02 The following is an overview of the organization and content of this section: • • • Description and characteristics of fraud. This section describes fraud and its characteristics. (See paragraphs .05 through .12.) The importance of exercising professional skepticism. This section discusses the need for auditors to exercise professional skepticism when considering the possibility that a material misstatement due to fraud could be present. (See paragraph .13.) Discussion among engagement personnel regarding the risks of material misstatement due to fraud. This section requires...
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...economy. Audits, which were conducted to assess the validity and reliability of a company’s financial statements, were not detecting the material misstatements in the statements. As a result, both the US Government and the accounting profession needed to come up with a way to prevent these immense frauds from occurring in the future. As a response to these large frauds, in 2002, the US Government passed the Sarbanes – Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) issued Statement on Auditing Standards 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...
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...Reports………………………………………………….…………….8 Information Technology (IT)……………………………………………………..…………9 Appendix AICPA Released Questions……………….…………….…………….……..….Appendix AUD-2 Internal Control The following is an excerpt from the Roger CPA Review Text books, which are included with purchase of the Roger CPA Review course. Written and updated by your instructor, Roger Philipp, CPA, the textbooks are the perfect companion to our dynamic lectures. www.RogerCPAreview.com AUD-2 Internal Control The second standard of fieldwork states: “The auditor must obtain a sufficient understanding of the entity and the environment, including its internal control, to assess the risk of material misstatement (RMM) of the financial statements whether due to error or fraud, and to design the nature, timing, and extent of further audit procedures.” For Financial Statement audits, the auditor expresses an opinion on the client's financial statements, not on their internal control structure. The reason the auditor is interested in the client's internal control structure is the...
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...A GUIDE TO FORENSIC ACCOUNTING INVESTIGATION THOMAS W. GOLDEN, STEVEN L. SKALAK, AND MONA M. CLAYTON JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. A GUIDE TO FORENSIC ACCOUNTING INVESTIGATION THOMAS W. GOLDEN, STEVEN L. SKALAK, AND MONA M. CLAYTON JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright © 2006 by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the individual member firms of the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organization. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this...
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...1. What does forensic mean? From Latin forensis ‘in open court, public,’ - Relating to, used in, or appropriate for courts of law or for public discussion or argumentation. - Of, relating to, or used in debate or argument; rhetorical. - Relating to the use of science or technology in the investigation and establishment of facts or evidence in a court of law: a forensic laboratory. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/forensic 2. Define forensic accounting. Forensic accounting is a type of accounting which unites investigation accounting and litigation support to provide an accounting analysis that is suitable for court. 3. What are the key components of the definition of forensic accounting? Forensic, accounting, time, purpose - legal forum, peremptory. 4. How does a forensic audit differ from a regular audit? According to Ronald L. Durkin, the following differences in a forensic audit versus a traditional audit: •Not limiting the scope of the engagement based upon materiality. •Not accepting sampling as evidence. •Not assuming management has integrity. •Seeking the best legal evidence. •Melding the requirements of the evidential matter standard with the rules of evidence R.L. Durkin, "Defining the Practice of Forensic Accounting," CPA EXPERT (Special Edition, 1999). 5.Who may have been the earliest expert witness? Hercules De Cordes may have been an early expert witness. 6. What impact did the IRS have on forensic accounting in...
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