Essay about Inherenet Limitations in Auditing: ZZZZ Best Company, Inc

The Auditor, an instructional novella written by James K. Loebbecke, tells the story of Jack Butler, a man from the San Francisco Bay area, who goes to college, majors in accounting, and goes to work for a large accounting firm referred to as “The Firm.” The story is loosely based upon the real world experiences of the author, and is written to give students a look into the world of public accounting that goes beyond a textbook. The Auditor not only gives students a chance to follow Jack Butler’s journey up the company ladder at The Firm, but also reiterates the relative importance of conventional lessons learned in school.

- The successor should review previous audits in order to whether problems exist that may impact the successor’s acceptance of the audit. Also, the successor should review previous audits in order to have confidence in the current/past figures presented on the client’s financial

There were two external auditors mentioned in the case that dealt with ZZZZ Best. The first was not a firm that was included in the Big Eight accounting firms at the time. George Greenspan was the sole practitioner who performed the first full-scope independent audit for ZZZZ Best. Greenspan insisted that he had properly audited Minkow’s company, and testified that while planning the audit he had performed various analytical procedures to identify unusual relationships in ZZZZ Best’s financial data. Greenspan’s procedures reportedly included comparing ZZZZ Best’s key financial ratios with its industry norms. Greenspan identifies “unusual relationships” but does not go into detail in order to explain these unusual relationships. This shows that Greenspan did not show enough professional skepticism while conducting the audit and just blew off these unusual relationships. Also Greenspan testified that he had obtained and reviewed copies of all key documents that pertained to the false insurance restoration contracts. It would have been hard for Greenspan to uncover the fraud through the contract paperwork because Minkow and Morze went through such great detail in creating false documents in order to cover the false contracts, but finer details were overlooked by Greenspan. A journalist found one of these finer details which caused the domino effect leading to the destruction of ZZZZ Best. This shows that the first auditor,

Read the auditor’s report included in the annual report of the company and explain its purpose. Identify the name of the auditing firm.

in order to obtain stronger or more persuasive evidence, the “bank balance” reported by the

Ann Inc. has a seven member Board that serves the interest of Ann Inc. and its investors. Four of the seven members of the Board of Directors would be considered to be Independent Members by the SEC rules. Five of the presiding members are listed:

Quality Objectives - The quality objectives define measurable goals relative to the company's quality management system. Requirements on the quality objectives are in ISO 9001:2008 section 5.4.1.

5. What is the purpose of predecessor-successor auditor communications? Which party, the predecessor or successor auditor, has the responsibility for initiating these communications? Briefly summarize the information that a successor auditor should obtain from the predecessor auditor.

3. In testimony before Congress, George Greenspan reported that one means he used to audit the insurance restoration contracts was to verify that his client actually received payment on those jobs. How can such apparently reliable evidence lead an auditor to an improper conclusion?

This paper explores the ZZZZ Best Company which was begun by a 16 year old individual who was able to pull the wool over the eyes of many customers, investors and auditors. This paper will define the difference between review and audit when it comes to financial reports, comments on the procedures provided with regard to the management assertion of occurrence, verification of payments for jobs and how they can lead auditors to improper conclusion, the purpose of predecessor-successor auditor communications, as well as whom needs to initiate the communication and information that needs to be obtained. The paper also addresses the limitations of the confidentiality agreement and how and when

As auditors, they have the responsibility of not only requesting a confirmation, but they should also follow up on necessary procedures to make sure that this process is accurately completed. Their duty is to be able to have control over this process from beginning to end in order to be able to rely on the evidence requested.

This frequently puts the auditor in the position, in effect, of deciding whether a company is able to obtain the funds it needs to continue operating. Thus, the auditor’s qualification tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The auditor’s expression of uncertainty about the company’s ability to continue may contribute to making it a certainty.

For nonpublic companies auditing guidance are issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, AICPA. Prior to PCAOB, AICPA served as the primary governing body of public accounting profession. Since the roles have changed with PCAOB regarding the auditing standards for public companies, the AICPA is still developing standards for the nonpublic companies. The organization has developed four fundamental principles that govern an audit conducted in accordance with GAAP. The principles are:

A review is like an audit yet is less in extension and just gives restricted affirmation with respect to the financial statements. This varies with an audit that gives sensible affirmation that no material mistakes or illicit acts are detected. The goal of an audit is to give a sensible freedom of expressed opinion the money related proclamations taken all in all.

The auditor’s responsibilities are to audit annual financial statements and internal controls over financial reporting, and reports from the 10-Q quarterly reports. The auditor must also advice on new accounting pronouncements, and consolidating financial statements. (Intel Proxy Statement 2011, 48)