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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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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Bonds and Their Valuation After reading this chapter‚ students should be able to: • List the four main classifications of bonds and differentiate among them. • Identify the key characteristics common to all bonds. • Calculate the value of a bond with annual or semiannual interest payments. • Explain why the market value of an outstanding fixed-rate bond will fall when interest rates rise on new bonds of equal risk‚ or vice versa. • Calculate the current yield
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What are Yield to Maturity (YTM) and Yield to Call (YTC)? By calculating the present and future value of bonds‚ managers can make sound decisions about their potential strengths and weaknesses as investments. Answer the following questions in this week’s Discussion 2 thread: 1. What terms (or inputs) are needed to calculate yield to maturity (YTM)? How does this compare to calculating yield to call (YTC)? To calculate the YTM you will need to use Annual Interest‚ Par value‚ Market Price
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Creative accounting refers to accounting practices that seem to follow the letter of the applicable accounting standards but deviate from the spirit of those standards. It is the use of accounting methods to hide aspects of a company’s financial dealings in order to make the company appear more or less successful than it is in reality. In other words‚ Creative accounting is the transformation of financial accounting figures from what they actually are to what preparers desire by taking advantage
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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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to takeover Enron‚ but eventually the takeover was withdrawn‚ which meant that they no longer had any protection against bankruptcy. Consequently‚ profits were substantially overstated and in late 2001 the company had to file for bankruptcy. Corporate Governance Issues in Enron: - There were a number of issues in Enron such as- a) SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES (SPVs): Andrew Faslow (CFO) and Micheal Kopper had made partnerships creating a trading concern known as Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
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90‚000 Share of dividends (.25 × $160‚000) (40‚000) Balance in investment account $550‚000 2)During 2008‚ PK Co. purchased 2‚000‚ $1‚000‚ 9% bonds. The carrying value of the bonds at December 31‚ 2010 was $1‚960‚000. The bonds mature on March 1‚ 2015‚ and pay interest on March 1 and September 1. PK sells 1‚000 bonds on September 1‚ 2012‚ for $988‚000‚ after the interest has been received. PK uses straight-line amortization. The gain on the sale is Discount amortization: $40
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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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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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