Acts of Fraud Essays

For years adults have been questioning whether or not college is worth its cost. Over time the price for college has increased drastically and the potential income of a college graduate is barely following that trend. As colleges become more wealthy and powerful, they’re too pricy for someone to afford without help and debt.

Phar-Mor, Inc was a thriving discount grocery store in the late 1980’s. Phar-Mor was moving product quickly but profit margins were not significant enough to pay the bills. By the early 1990’s, Phar-Mor declared bankruptcy due to fraudulent financial reporting and misappropriation of assets, making it one of the largest frauds in U.S. history. Below, we will use auditing standard AU 316.85 Appendix A in conjunction with the video “How to Steal $500 million” to analyze how incentives/pressures, opportunities, and attitudes/rationalizations allowed for fraud to start and continue at Phar-Mor.

Introduction: 5 a.m. The alarm clock rings, on a normal day you would dread waking up so early. But today, is not your normal average day. Monday, August 21st, 2017, is the beginning of your first day of a new journey of college as a freshman; the nerves of the unknown lingers on as you sat in the classroom, awaiting your professor arrival. Suddenly, the door swung open and a tall, muscular, Caucasian male walked in, commanding the class attention by his demeanor. The nervousness intensifies as he proceeded to call on the attendance. This is it people! the moment everyone, including your family, have been waiting for; first-generation of your lineage to attend college. Name by name each student signified their attendance by raising their right arm when called upon, but, there’s a problem, your name was not called on. What? How can it be? There’s no way! you are overcome with complete and absolute shock; realizing you’ve been dropped from your classes due to financial aid issue. To continue enrolling, you would have to pay out of pocket. The excitement that was there before, no longer remains. Countless number of young adults are overwhelmed with the reality of college and paying for an education. For many students, each year, they are the recipient of such a catastrophic experience. Unfortunately, I was the victim of this heart-rending incident; imagine a society where financial aid and student loans did not exist, but instead, the necessity of these financial programs would diminish because college tuition would be free.

Have you ever just stopped to think about what it must be like to be “qualified” for a job yet be unemployed and homeless? Starving on the streets because you paid everything you had to an institution that was supposed to guarantee a better life, a more stable and successful career. Obviously this is an extreme case, not everyone who pays for college ends up living on the streets and broke, but almost every college graduate is in debt. For as long as college has been around it has always meant a better life, it’s always been that people who went to college were more successful, smarter, and would make way more money than someone who didn’t go to college ever would. Lately, however, college has become so expensive that going to college will more than likely leave you in debt working for years upon years just to pay back what you owe and then start making money for yourself.

First, there are some students that disagree on college being worth it because of the cost of tuition that is, so high. They feel that college is far too expensive to even attend, so they just look for a job, instead because they feel that they’re wasting time and money. But, what they don’t know is, that there are other colleges out there that have much cheaper tuition to pay. According to Louis Menand, “Public Colleges are much less expensive—the average tuition is $7,605—and there are also many less selective private colleges where you can get a good education, and a lot more faculty face time, without having to spend every minute of high school sucking up to your teachers and reformatting your resume” (Live And Learn). Also, there are people that say they don’t have the money after they graduate from high school to get into college, which then, they can apply for financial

There are many choices and paths to choose when the time comes to attend college however, a question to ask is, is it worth it? If decided to attend college, the following decision to be made revolves around an area of study one would like to pursue and the topic of study that will be available for them. Though many can further their education in different ways, a couple of ways consist of attending a four year college (private/ public) or a community college. Not going to college at all is the other alternative, but is it really a smart idea? Most adults have continuously told young students all through high school to attend college. A student’s chance of economic success in the future can be risen due to a college education. Judith Scott-Clayton, who is an assistant professor of economics and education at Teachers College at Columbia University states, “Individuals with bachelor’s degrees earn about 60 percent more than those with just a high school diploma, who in turn earn about 40 percent more than high school dropouts.” Students who seek higher education, are more likely to experience a better future and a better life. The cost of going to college may seem overwhelming at times however, the experiences and education obtained throughout college is priceless in regards to the way one interacts with others on a global basis, has a stronger job stability, and has better employment benefits.

College is a dream that almost every American wants to come true, however, with the extreme rise in the costs of tuition it is a dream that has quickly turned into a nightmare. “Tuition at a private university is now roughly three times as expensive as it was in 1974, costing an average of $31,000 a year; public tuition, at $9,000, has risen nearly four times,” (Davidson). “For the average American household that doesn 't receive a lot of financial aid, higher education is simply out of reach,” (Davidson). That is why many students have begun questioning the worth of a college degree and if the amount of debt that is received upon exiting college is all for the better. And considering that costs have risen much faster than the rate of inflation, many are starting to believe that college just isn 't necessary any more. However, according to White, economically, the answer would still be a yes. “While unemployment rates for new grads and experienced workers alike have fluctuated throughout the recession and recovery, the earnings premium that college-and advanced-degree holders enjoy over their peers who didn 't attend college has remained relatively stable, and in some instances, grown, according to the report that was released this week,” (White). A study was shown that many college grads are able to get earnings that are significantly higher than those who did not get enough education or only hold a high school diploma (White). Even

Today, college is an option in some homes because many work places will not hire you if you do not have some type of college education. When applying to college it can be very stressful on one, especially when one start to think about how much money it is going to cost someone each year that they are trying to earn your degree. Most of your college students go to school not because they want to spend money, but because they must earn their education to make it somewhere with a career. According to Jacques Steinberg in a New York’s Time article, he says that when someone goes to college school

Throughout the years, America has always debated whether education is needed- if it helps people succeed or not. The argument in the past was always over high school education, which is now mandatory. That decision has helped the US rise economically and industrially. Today, the US is in the middle of the same debate- this time, over college. Some, like David Leonhardt, a columnist for the business section of The New York Times, think a college education creates success in any job. Others, such as Christopher Beha, an author and assistant editor of Harper’s Magazine, believe that some college “education” (like that of for-profit schools) is a waste of time, and can even be harmful to students. Each stance on this argument has truth to it,

The amount listed is the enrollment agreement was 10,020.00 which gives a difference of :

Generations of Americans have used college as a ticket to a better future, not just in terms of money, but also in terms of a higher quality of life. That could mean jobs, security, greater social mobility, or the ability to afford big things like a house. So the big question is

The whole idea that students don’t really need a college education in today’s society is questionable, because employers will often hire someone based on whether or not they have a degree, as well as their past experiences. In many cases today, the people that are making a reasonable amount of money either have a college degree or invented/discovered something that ended up making them wealthy. If you’re one of the lucky few who have invented or discovered something of significance, then you may not need a college degree. For the many of us who aren’t as fortunate, however, a college degree is a

Higher education, college, has always been seen as a no brainer for most of us. Is that because we grew up in a place of privilege and assume college is something we deserve? Or is it because we love to learn and a university is one of the best places to do such a thing? If the answer is the latter, then college is the right choice; that is, if there is a way to pay for it. If the former fits better, then it’s time to rethink what attending a university means and take a look at the alternatives. In today’s economy, college isn’t for everybody.

A College degree doesn’t only require hard work, but also a lot of money which can lead to conflict. Students might get discouraged to continue with their education because of how much it costs. Having a college education provides the benefits of better job opportunities, higher salaries, and improves

Not only does a college degree increase one’s chances of getting a job, but it can also get a person employer-paid health insurance and pension plans. That is great considering that the