Preview

Effect of Unethical Behavior Article Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
597 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Effect of Unethical Behavior Article Analysis
Effect of Unethical Behavior Article Analysis

Effect of Unethical Behavior Article Analysis

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed in congress in 2002 is designed to protect investors from the potential of fraudulent corporate accounting activities. This act strictly mandates reform, aimed directly to prevent fraud and improve corporate financial disclosures (INVESTOPEDIA, 2012). As a result of several confidence shaking investor accounting scandals that occurred during the late 90s which involved high profile corporations such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco, a much required overhaul regarding financial statements and regulatory standards laid the foundation for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This act is making the accounting world more accessible to others for auditors to come in and help in checking the books. It will hold the executives and directors accountable for the internal controls of the company especially with the threat of imprisonment if the internal controls are not maintained. The act ensures that a “checks and balance” internal auditing of the accounting cycle for the company and investors to keep their assets in check. The role of internal audits is to ensure that Institute of Internal Auditor’s Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing Standard 300 Scope of Work be followed. The scope of the internal audit should encompass the examination and evaluation of the adequacy and effectiveness of the organization 's system of internal control and the quality of performance in carrying out assigned responsibilities (M. Wood Company, 2012). The internal audit standards are to review the dependability and integrity of financial and operating information and the resource being used to identify measure and classify those reports. The standard requires the system be reviewed to ensure compliance with those policies, plans, procedure, laws and regulations which may have a huge impact on operations and reporting. The standard is used to



References: Hazels, B. (Nov/Dec 2010). Eight Years After The Fact Is SOX Working? A Look At The Brooke Corporation. Journal of Business Case Studies, 6(6.6), 19-29. Invesotopedia. (2012). Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002 - SOX. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sarbanesoxleyact.asp#axzz2BCoqABsQ M. Wood Company. (2012, November 1). The role of Internal Audit in Complying with Sarbanes- Oxley. Retrieved from http://www.mwoodco.com/value/Internal_Audit_7-03.pdf

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) originated on July 29, 2002 due to fraudulent bookkeeping practices and misleading financial reports from large corporations. These practices created a number of accounting scandals, which resulted in this in the government creating such an act. The purpose was to prevent and punish corporate corruption and, along the way, try to repair investor confidence. The law was passed by congress after well-known companies (Enron, Peregrine Systems and Tyco International, to name a few) caused great humiliations to its investors, which in result cost them billions of dollars. The share prices of the affected companies collapsed, which shook public confidence in the nation’s securities markets.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Acc291Individual Paper

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was created in response to the series of misleading and fraudulent activities of publicly traded big business’s in the 1990s. During this time, multiple large publicly-traded businesses increased their stock prices by “publishing false or deceptive financial statements” (Lasher, 2008, p. 187). The most publicly charged company was Enron, which was then followed by Xerox, WorldCom and Global Crossing. This resulted in millions of dollars of stock market value disappearing in what seemed to be overnight. It is in response to these events that Congress drafted and passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Acc 290 Week 5 Analysis

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In recent years there have been many highly publicized financial accounting scandals. Enron, WorldCom, and AIG are a few of the well- known corporate companies that have been involved in financial reporting scandals. United Sates regulators and lawmakers made known their concerns of mistrust in corporate accounting, because of unethical financial reporting. In 2002 Congress formed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to certify that publically traded companies were reporting their finances honestly. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act specifies the requirements for financial reporting for public Corporations. The Securities and Exchange Commission oversees the financial reports from these companies. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act calls for all publicly traded corporations to…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Acc 544 Week 1

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The need for an internal audit function cannot be understated. While the need to properly assess a company’s risk and controls has always been important, in today’s world it is mandatory. The accounting scandals, such as Enron and WorldCom and the early 2000’s led to the passage of the Sabanes-Oxley Act (SOX). SOX aimed to give the investing public confidence in the financial statements of company’s by offering guidelines and spelling out regulations that publicly traded companies must adhere to.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sarbanes-Oxley Act

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is an act passed by U.S. Congress in 2002 to protect investors and the general public from the possibility of fraudulent accounting activities by corporations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act authorized strict modifications to improve financial disclosures from corporations and to prevent accounting fraud. This law was passed after a couple of big the accounting scandals like Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom shook investor assurance in financial statements and required an overhaul of regulatory standards. The act is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which sets deadlines for compliance and publishes rules on requirements. It is not a set of business practices and does not specify how a business should store records; rather it tells more which records are to be stored and for how long in case of hearings.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is the most far-reaching change in organizational control and accounting regulations since the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The new law made securities fraud a criminal offense and made more strict penalties for corporate fraud. The law now requires top executives to sign off on their firms financial reports, and they risk fines and long jail sentences if they…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Sarbane-Oxley Act of 2002

    • 3019 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 – its official name being “Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002” – is recognized to be the most significant U.S. federal disclosure and corporate governance legislation since the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act), and, the provisions of the Act are significant enough that it is considered by many to be the most significant change to federal securities laws in the U.S. since the New Deal.…

    • 3019 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002(SOX which is also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act was enacted in July, 30, 2002 as a prompt response to the financial crimes scandals (Adelphia, Enron, WorldCom, Peregrime Systems , Arther Anderson and Tyco International). SOX establishes new, stricter standards for all US publicly traded companies. It does not apply to privately companies. The Act is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which deals with compliance, rules and requirements. The Act also created a new agency, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, which is in charge of overseeing, regulating, inspecting, and disciplining accounting firms in their roles as auditors of public companies. In my opinion, the benefits of the act cant be able to overcome the frustration and the cost of it.…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act

    • 1677 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted on July 2012 under the administration of President George W. Bush. The passage of this law was a reaction to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals that included Enron, Tyco International, WorldCom and Adelphia. What the myriads of corporate scandals have in common was skewed and questionable reporting of financial transactions that cost investors billions of dollars. Stock prices of these companies collapsed and questioned the confidence of the independent auditors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were questioned. Commonly referred to as Sarbox or SOX, the Act was named after the…

    • 1677 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley act arose as a result of several corporate accounting scandals that became public in late 2001 and early 2002. These scandals involved many publicly traded companies such as Enron, which “boosted profits and hid debts totaling over $1 billion by improperly using off-the-books partnerships”; WorldCom, which “overstated…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Week 2 Discussion 1

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (often shortened to SOX) is legislation enacted in response to the high-profile Enron and WorldCom financial scandals to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices in the enterprise. The act is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which sets deadlines for compliance and publishes rules on requirements. Sarbanes-Oxley is not a set of business practices and does not specify how a business should store records; rather, it defines which records are to be stored and for how long.…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Acc 291

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was approved in order to keep corporations form scamming the government. The law was a consequence of many corporate scams. This law was to protect the investors and give them the correct information and to make the corporations reveal all information which may impact an investor’s judgment of the corporation. This act/law will make corporations complete an internal audit from time to time as to keep all the information correct and up to the standards of the laws.…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reports, statuary and regulatory authorities were provoked to initiate a legal agreement which would stop theses activities, thus Sarbanes Oxley act was formed in 2002. The act is of core importance as it deals with proper representation and disclosure of financial data and restricts the tampering of financial records. Sarbanes Oxley act is a helpful tool in maintaining a healthy and a trustworthy relationship with the stakeholders of the company.…

    • 248 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After studying about the success rate of the SOX, it appears that the victories are far and few especially for the whistle blowers. The provisions of SOX are supposed to make it easier and less risky for employees to report bad corporate behavior by protecting employees…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Although recently the focus of internal auditing is on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, the importance of maintaining the independence and objectivity of internal audit should never be underweighted. In fact, if the independence and objectivity of internal auditing is impaired, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is impaired at the same time.…

    • 2196 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays