D6

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Northeastern University *

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Accounting

Date

Feb 20, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by SuperHumanWillpowerHeron34

Charlie Brown, the controller for Kelly Corporation, is preparing the company's income statement at year-end. He notes that the company lost a considerable sum on the sale of some equipment it had decided to replace. Since the company has sold equipment routinely in the past, Brown knows the losses cannot be reported as an unusual item. He also does not want to highlight it as a material loss since he feels that will reflect poorly on him and the company. He reasons that if the company had recorded more depreciation during the assets' lives, the losses would not be so great. Since depreciation is included among the company's operating expenses, he wants to report the losses along with the company's expenses, where he hopes it will not be noticed. Instructions (a) What are the ethical issues involved? (b) What should Brown do? a) The primary ethical problem is that Charlie Brown is lying in order to boost the company's profits. He is misleading the public by misrepresenting income statements. He is attempting to enhance depreciation, which will result in a reduction in total assets on the balance sheet. So, this behavior will necessitate the filing of a loss report as well as the replacement of highly depreciated equipment. Moreover, the investors' trust in the company is maltreated when false information is presented. Investors are eager to put money into a company that delivers critical financial data. It might be difficult for a company to structure its financial records ethically, but it is definitely advantageous to the company's long-term since it establishes the company as a reliable and safe investment. Thus, I believe the representation of false financial statements is morally wrong, exclusively under the GAAP principles. b) Charlie brown should report the loss of the organization accurately. So, it would be ideal if he classified the loss as one of his unusual gains/losses. The disclosure of the data as a material loss will not cause any ethical worries on his end. References: Kieso, D. E., Weygandt, J. J., & Warfield, T. D. (2019).  Intermediate accounting  (17 th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. ]
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