AVOIDING INVESTMENTS IN FRAUDULENT COMPANIES: THE WORLDCOM FRAUD Introduction The purpose of this report is to investigate and discuss the accounting fraud that occurred at WorldCom in order to recommend improved strategies to Berkshire Hathaway’s management for avoiding investments in companies with fraudulent financials. Accounting fraud is a crime committed by high level employees at an organization to manipulate the organization’s financial statements and intentionally disguise company
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Why were the actions taken by WorldCom managers not detected earlier? What processes or systems should be in place to prevent or detect quickly the types of actions that occurred in WorldCom? The first reason is that both internal audit and external audit of WorldCom were not performing their role as intended. Generally‚ internal audit mainly focus on the reliability of financial reporting and the effectiveness of operations‚ and reports directly to the Board of Directors. In WorldCom‚ however
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M1. Case Study Assignment: Fraud at WorldCom 1. Who were the major characters in WorldCom? There are a couple of major characters that played their roles in the downfall of WorldCom. Mr. Bernard J. (Bernie) Ebbers‚ one of the founders of the original small long-distance carrier‚ was asked to take charge of the company during its early struggles. It was under his tenure that WorldCom began its expanding pursuits and aggressive acquisitions. Although Mr. Ebbers was he head of the company‚ their CFO
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The WorldCom Fraud © 2003‚ 2005 by the AICPA This presentation is intended for use in higher education for instructional purposes only‚ and is not for application in practice. Permission is granted to classroom instructors to photocopy this document for classroom teaching purposes only. All other rights are reserved. Copyright © 2003‚ 2005 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants‚ Inc.‚ New York‚ New York. WorldCom’s Background • Awoke the sleeping giant by leading the telecom
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Accounting has a long history of being an ethical profession. In recent years‚ however‚ some companies have asked their accountants to help "manage earnings." What does it mean to manage earnings? Who is more likely to be involved in such a situation‚ the financial accountant or the management accountant? Why? Do you believe that managing earnings is ethical? Discuss the rationale for your answer. The major role of financial reporting is to effectively communicate financial information
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WorldCom Scandal A summary of WorldCom fraud would include having to describe the greed that would eventually destroy one of the largest communications companies in the United States and world. A humble motel owner‚ Bernard Ebbers took a small long distance company in 1983 and turned it into one of the most successful businesses in the country. It was not so much the business operations that caused the company to grow but the aggressive acquisitions that made the company grow. In its day‚ CEO Bernard
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KNUST SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Earnings management is in the best interest of shareholders. Discuss ACF 351 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTING & FINANCE BY‚ DUNOO SELASI LARRY Earnings management is in the best interest of shareholders. Discuss Earnings‚ sometimes called profit‚ net income are the single most important item in the financial statements. They indicate the extent to which a company has engaged in value added activities‚ they are signals that helps direct resource allocation
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or central operations. Expenses are actual or expected cash outflows that have occurred of will occur as a result of the entity’s central operations. Cost of the goods sold‚ interest‚ rent‚ salaries‚ depreciation may be given as examples. ii) Costs should be expensed when they have expired or used up and when they have no future economic value. They should be capitalized as assets when costs have not expired and they have future economic value. A simple example for capitalized costs is prepaid insurance
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WorldCom Scandal Formerly known as WorldCom‚ now known as MCI‚ this U.S.-based telecommunications company was at one time the second-largest long distance phone company in the U.S. Today‚ it is perhaps best known for a massive accounting scandal that led to the company filing for bankruptcy protection in 2002. In 1998‚ the telecommunications industry began to slow down and WorldCom’s stock was declining. CEO Bernard Ebbers came under increasing pressure from banks to cover margin calls on
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Contemporary Management Technique John Doe ACME University Accounting and Decisions Dr. Jane Doe December 11‚ 2011 Introduction Gaining a competitive advantage in today’s business world can be challenging for any organization. The success of an organization may be measured from its critical success factors. According to Blocher‚ Stout‚ & Cokins (2010)‚ critical success factors (CSF)‚ sometimes referred as value propositions‚ represents the critical process in an organization that delivers value
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