SUBJECT: Accounting fraud at WorldCom Problem Statement WorldCom penetrated the largest accounting fraud in U.S history by overstating its tax income between 1999 and 2002. The main players in WorldCom’s accounting fraud included CFO Scott Sullivan‚ the General Accounting and Internal Audit departments‚ external auditor Arthur Andersen‚ and the board of directors. While individuals did have their own sins‚ employees cowardice and self-interested‚ the board passive and ineffective‚ external auditors
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An Ethical Dilemma at WorldCom: A case study of Cynthia Cooper The Scenario One May afternoon‚ while sitting in his cubicle at WorldCom Inc. headquarters located in Clinton‚ Mississippi‚ Gene Morse was stunned to find an accounting entry for $500 million in expenses‚ which was not accounted for with any invoices. He immediately reported this entry to his boss‚ vice president of internal audit Cynthia Cooper (Pulliam & Solomon‚ 2002). Little did they know at the time that this discovery would begin
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Enron’s Questionable Transactions 1. Which segment of its operations got Enron into difficulties? * The fact that Kopper was appointed to Fastow and he was an employee at Enron was the first thing that got them into trouble. Another reason was that over 11 million was invested and it ended up not being invested at all. I believe these two situations ended up being the start of Enron’s problems. Enron also was not reporting the revenue for service correctly and his stock was paid
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WorldCom Sunday‚ November 07‚ 2010 10:27 PM The following entries are hypothetical and intended to illustrate the initial recording‚ and subsequent ‘release’ and ‘capitalization’ of line costs. a. Prepare a journal entry to record $3‚500 million of estimated line costs for quarter 1. DR - Accrued Line cost $3‚500 CR - Cash and Cash Equivalents $3‚500 b. Assume that you find out in quarter 2 that the prior quarter’s estimate was too large by $100 million. Prepare the necessary journal entry
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the executives employed at WorldCom. Before 2002‚ WorldCom was one of the top telecommunication businesses in its industry because of many acquisitions obtained by the company. Due to the increased popularity of the internet and the acquirement of UUNet and MCI Communications‚ WorldCom share significantly increased. According to Moberg and Romar (as cited in Browning‚ 1997) "By 1997‚ WorldCom’s stocks had risen from pennies per share to over $60 a share." WorldCom had become an attractive investment
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WorldCom Case Study: Lack of Leadership‚ Lack of Ethics Emily Fearnow ORG 500- Foundations of Effective Management Colorado State University – Global Campus Dr. Cheryl Lentz May 15‚ 2011 WorldCom Case Study: Lack of Leadership‚ Lack of Ethics A multitude of choices made by executives at WorldCom led to the ultimate demise of the company as it was previously known‚ the employees and their livelihoods’‚ and the trust of the American people. In a time when corporations
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was that of WorldCom. In 1983 Bernie Ebbers and several other people invested in a newly formed company in Clinton‚ Mississippi called Long Distance Discount Services‚ Inc. (LDDS). LDDS was a provider of long distance telephone service to residential and commercial markets. Ebbers became CEO of LDDS in 1985. In 1989 the company merged with Advantage Companies‚ Inc. and became publicly traded. In 1995 the company name was changed to LDDS WorldCom‚ and later to just WorldCom. WorldCom grew to be
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In 1998‚ Betty Vinson was promoted to a senior manager in the firm’s corporate accounting division. Two years later in her position she experienced a major ethical dilemma. The company WorldCom was a very successful company up until the middle of 2000 when the telecommunication industry entered a protracted slump. The company’s earnings were not Wall Street expectations‚ and it was saddled with unpaid bills. Vinson’s job was to repair the problem by doing some wrong accounting practices. The ethical
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References: WorldCom profits scandal shakes stock markets‚ The Telegraph‚ 27 Jun 2002 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1398577/WorldCom-profits-scandal-shakes-stock-markets.html) Haywood‚ Elizabeth M.‚ Dorothy A. McMullen‚ and Donal E. Wygal‚ 2004‚ Behind closed doors at WorldCom: 2001‚ Accounting Education‚ 19‚ 101-118. Wearing R.‚ Cases in Corporate governance (2005)‚ Sage Publications
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Wan-Ting Shao * Ananya Chandra * Niteesh Chinta * Shraddha Rane * Swathi Punreddy The Rise and fall of WorldCom This case study WorldCom is a telecommunications company which was led by CEO‚ Bernard Ebbers‚ and CFO‚ Scott Sullivan. In 1999‚ WorldCom was not meeting Wall Street’s revenue and earnings expectations‚ and it appeared that the coming year would produce more bad news. The CFO argued for setting realistic targets.
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