2006‚ Vol. 31‚ No. 1‚ 10–29. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND THE CASE OF AUDITOR INDEPENDENCE: MORAL SEDUCTION AND STRATEGIC ISSUE CYCLING DON A. MOORE Carnegie Mellon University PHILIP E. TETLOCK University of California‚ Berkeley LLOYD TANLU MAX H. BAZERMAN Harvard University A series of financial scandals revealed a key weakness in the American business model: the failure of the U.S. auditing system to deliver true independence. We offer a two-tiered analysis of what went wrong. At the more micro tier
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The WorldCom Accounting Scandal WorldCom was started in Mississippi as a long distance telephone service provider in 1983 (Lyke and Jickling‚ 2). Over the next decade and a half‚ the company expanded to offer a whole range of telecommunication services through a series of mergers and acquisitions (Lyke and Jickling‚ 2). At its height‚ WorldCom was the largest long distance phone company in the United States and was one of the leading companies in the telecommunication market in the world‚ providing
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Auditor Independence and Non-Audit Services: A Literature Review Vivien Beattie University of Stirling and Stella Fearnley University of Portsmouth TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of tables and list of figures About the authors v vi List of abbreviations vii Executive summary ix Part 1 Auditor independence 1 Introduction 2 1 1.1 The role of audit in regulating capital markets 1 1.2 The ‘problem’ of non-audit services (NAS) 1 1.3 The current UK regulatory and professional environment
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Review of Accounting Ethics – Worldcom ACC557 Financial Accounting Cornelia H. Brown Strayer University Review of Accounting Ethics - Worldcom In a business world pressured to meet organizational objectives such as high revenue growth it is not alarming that conduct by decision makers may be deemed as questionable practices. These practices within the past two decades have resulted in a number of organizations finding themselves confronted with ethical dilemmas and the aftermath
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Casey Noble 15 October 2008 Sabo SWOT Analysis WorldCom WorldCom‚ formerly known as the second largest long distance phone service‚ had taken its fall and officially took its final name on April 14‚ 2003. This Company’s mission statement was to “Create a competitive advantage for WorldCom and contribute significantly to WorldCom’s business success by promoting business practices that provide greater opportunity for a diverse supplier base." Throughout WorldCom’s lively years‚ it had great
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KAPLAN DAVID KIRON Accounting Fraud at WorldCom WorldCom could not have failed as a result of the actions of a limited number of individuals. Rather‚ there was a broad breakdown of the system of internal controls‚ corporate governance and individual responsibility‚ all of which worked together to create a culture in which few persons took responsibility until it was too late. — Richard Thornburgh‚ former U.S. attorney general1 On July 21‚ 2002‚ WorldCom Group‚ a telecommunications company with
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external financial statement audits. 1. What is the purpose of a financial statement audit? a. To confirm the accuracy of management’s financial statements. b. To provide assurance that the audited entity is financially sound. c. To express an opinion on the fairness of the financial statements. d. To provide assurance that fraudulent activities have not occurred. 2. Information risk arises from which of the following situations? a. Adverse selection threats. b. Audit risk‚ inherent risk‚ control
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they could be retroactively consolidated into Enron’s accounts. The SPEs helped to hide the inaccurate accounting records. Enron’s legal department wrote contracts that helped provide a cover for misuse of funds regarding the SPEs. Future revenue was reported as current revenue. Stocks were paid with promissory notes instead of cash. They also engaged in off-the-books activities and excessive executive compensation. Enron’s board of directors allowed the executives‚ accountants and legal department
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Accounting Education: an international journal Vol. 20‚ No. 2‚ 203– 222‚ April 2011 Adding Value to Audit Education through ‘Living’ Cases JULIE DRAKE University of Huddersfield‚ UK Received: November 2009 Revised: July 2010 Accepted: September 2010 ABSTRACT This paper seeks to address the perceived failure of university teaching to foster critical understanding of audit practice and to identify a potential remedy. It contributes to the debate (Maltby‚ 2001‚ “Second thoughts about ‘Cases in
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Introduction WorldCom‚ the telecommunications giant‚ once was the largest telecommunications company in the world‚ with more than $30 billion annual revenue‚ $104 billion in assets and more than 20 million customers. John Sidgmore (2002)‚ Ebbers’ successor after the scandal‚ said “WorldCom is a key component of our nation’s economy and communications infrastructure.” However‚ the giant collapsed in 2002. 1. The Main Issue: Earnings Management 1.1 Definition of Earnings Management A commonly acknowledged
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