Final Paper Matthew Duncan ACC205: Principles of Accounting 1 LaKeitha Givens June 13, 2011 Final Paper What makes a large organization like Wal-Mart financially successful? One could say it is the result of outstanding personnel or perhaps a strong determination to succeed. These factors certainly contribute. However the key to financial success in organizations lies in good accounting. Since early civilization began, accounting has been an important part of our financial transactions. In today’s world our use of modern accounting systems and accurate financial statements are critical components that make modern organizations successful. To facilitate understanding of this point one must understand how
The affects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Public Companies and the Market Shareen Sidhu University of Maryland University College The Affects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Public Companies and the Market The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was implemented and designed to “protect the interests of the investing public” and the “mission is to set and enforce practice standards for a new class of firms registered to audit publicly held companies” (Verschoor, 2012). During the early 2000 's, the world saw an alarming number of accounting scandals take place resulting in many corporations going bankrupt. Some of the major companies involved in these scandals were from Enron, WorldCom, and one of the top five accounting and auditing firms, Arthur Andersen. These companies were dishonest with their financial statements, assuring the public the company was very successful, when in reality they were not. This became a problem because if the public believes a company is doing well, they are more likely to invest in it. That is to say, once these companies were exposed, it caused a number of companies going bankrupt and a major mistrust between the public and the capital market. Consequently, the federal government quickly took action and enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002, also known as SOX, which was created by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Many have questioned what Norman Bowie (2004) had questioned,
Syllabus School of Business ACC/300 Version 3 Principles of Accounting | Copyright © 2012, 2011, 2006 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description: BSAB16TON3 2/19/2013 - 03/25/2013 This course focuses on principles of accounting for the non-accounting student. Emphasis will be placed on the accounting equation and transactions, financial statement preparation and analysis, internal controls, regulatory environment, compliance, and global business implications.
Despite major loses, the companies grew because Enron essentially believed that “saying the right words, turning around three times and throwing salt over your shoulder could somehow transform something without economic substance into something with economic substance. (SEC Historical Society)” Due to this misleading and fraudulent act, shareholders lost billions of dollars when the companies crashed and the share prices went down with it (Citeseer). After uncovering several scandals from companies such as Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco, people found it difficult to trust and invest in companies again. As a result to this unforeseen and unethical scandal, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed on July 25, 2002. The House approved this act with a vote of “423 in favor, 3 opposed, and 8 abstained”, showing a unanimous favor in the necessity and practicality of the act.
I believe the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has been effective in managing the risks exposed through previous corporate fraudulent financial reporting scandals. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act makes fraudulent financial reporting a crime in which strong penalties can be enforced (Ferrell & Ferrell, 2013). This act also protects investors as corporations are required to be transparent with their finances as well as to create a code of ethics in which they are to abide. The purpose of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also known as SOX, is to make top executives responsible for the information that appears on the company’s financial documents. With the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act executives are required to know what is on financial statements and to
1. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passes in 2002 in response to a handful of large corporate scandals that occurred between the years 2000 to 2002, resulting in the losses of billions of dollars by investors. Enron, Worldcom and Tyco are probably the most well known companies that were involved in these scandals, but there were a number of other companies guilty of such things as well. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed as a way to crackdown on corporations by setting new and improved standards that all United States’ public companies and accounting firms were and are required to abide by. It also works to hold top level executives accountable for the company, and if fraudulent behaviors are discovered then the executives could find themselves in hot water. The punishments for such fraudulence could be as serious as 20 years jail time. (Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 2014). The primary motivation for the act was to prevent future scandals from happening, or at least, make it much more difficult for them to happen. The act was also passed largely to protect the people—the shareholders—from corporations, their executives, and their boards of directors. Critics tend to argue that the act is to complicated, and costs to much to abide by, leading to the United States losing its “competitive edge” in the global marketplace (Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 2014). The Sarbanes-Oxley act, like most things, has its pros and cons. It is costly; studies have shown that this act has cost companies millions of
Grand Canyon University: BUS 340 03/28/2014 The Legal, Ethical, and Technological Concerns Paper For as long as businesses have existed, so has accounting. With time, it has become more complicated and detailed, but it is still a process of keeping financial accounts in order. Through accounting, or financial reporting, a system is set up to keep track of, maintain and audit the financial proceedings. Because accounting and financial reporting of a business is so important for its accuracy and in general, a lot of ethical, technological and legal concerns are involved. In this paper, we will look identify and explore the concerns of each of these.
Today I had the opportunity to attend the Business and Technology Career Fair. Since I am a junior and previously a business student, I have some experience with this fair. My visit this time was very different from my two prior years since I am now a Kinesiology major and I am somewhat of an outsider to the majority of companies offering internships. Upon reading the requirements of this assignment I was unsure about who I was going to speak with but little did I know I would only have to do half of the work.
Reference: Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2013). Business ethics: Ethical Sarbanes-Oxley Act, was rushed into existence and did confront some of the major issues that took place by those financial entities. I believe that the law would be more in depth with the responsibility of the financial corporations. The Sarbanes-Oxley failed to address key factors dealing with Enron such like market to market accounting ( ). A new law can address some of the the things that were missed by the SOX act, however the legislation can not eliminate fraudulent acts completely.
Article #1: The Career Fair as a Vehicle This article focused on a study that was conducted with predominantly high school-aged adolescent females. They were taken to a nontraditional career fair and were surveyed on their Occupational Self-Efficacy (OSE) before and after the career fair. Each of the adolescent females rated
GENERAL DISCUSSION The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, enacted as a reaction to the WorldCom, Enron, and other corporate scandals, improved the regulatory protections presented to U.S. investors by adding an audit committee requirement, intensification of auditor independence, increasing disclosure requirements, prohibiting loans to executives, adding a certification requirement, and strengthening criminal and civil penalties for violations of securities laws.
During my time at Accounting Firm X I learned many lessons that apply not only to accounting and the principles and practices associated with that subject, but also to life as a professional in a real world work setting. The purpose of this essay is to highlight my experiences at Accounting Firm X to shed light upon key learning experiences that can contribute to a holistic educational experience. In this essay I will first describe my goals and expectations. Next, I will go in to detail about my daily routine and how these exercises contributed toward the overall experience. I will then explore the overall lessons learned from my time spent at the firm.
An explanation of the benefits of information systems Information systems changed forever the way accounting tasks are processed. The days of green paper pads are gone, and instead businesses have a centralized place where all accounting transactions are entered and saved. No more looking for paper
Accounting can be defined in a number of ways, but I chose the book definition, which is; Accounting is an information system that provides reports to stakeholders about the economic activities and condition of business. The person in charge of accounting is called the accountant. The accountant is typically required to follow a set of rules and regulations. These rules and regulations are called the General Accepted Accounting Principles. Throughout these next few paragraphs, I will be giving you the history and evolution of accounting, and I will be explaining who the stakeholders are and what type of information they require, and I will be explaining the role of accounting in business. There will be many examples and type of business
three products of accounting and bookkeeping procedures that are most useful in personal financial planning. c. How could personal financial software assist you in your personal financial decisions? Introduction In this assignment paper, I would like to describe the meaning of accounting, how accounting