Walmart's Success Driven by Control Mechanisms

In consideration of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, the CPA auditor of Walmart is required to comment on the internal control of the company. The auditor of Walmart, Ernst & Young carries out the requisite examination of

Since the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 was passed, it is required for all public companies to have an audit of financial statements as well as reporting internal controls over its financial reporting. This applies to all public companies across every industry, including the retail industry. Retail companies are especially susceptible to fraud and misstatement due to the continuing efforts to incorporate technology with its business processes. With the growing use of technology, it is easier for managers or employees to alter digital data with or without intent. In order to conduct a sufficient audit,

Due to increasing economic and financial growth, many types of audit have been incorporated throughout the development process of internal activities. Audits can be performed manually or they can incorporate technology. According to Hunton and

Before reading this book, I had no idea about the story of Walmart or who its founder was or anything like that. All I knew was that Walmarts are huge and everywhere you go. After reading this book, I learned that Walmart really did start from the bottom and came out of nowhere. In addition, I learned that a reason Walmart was successful was because Sam Walton wasn’t a risky man like most greedy business owners who want to make as much money as fast as possible “Sam never did anything in size or volume until he actually had to. He played it close to the belt”(Walton 89). He was careful with his money and considered all his options before making any decision. Another thing that really stood out to me was his policy on giving back to his employees

Wal-Mart is one of the biggest companies in the United State. Wal-Mart is basically the place or the store where they sell almost everything such as grocery, clothing, electronics, baby products, school suppliers and so many things.Wal-Mart is the best store to buy these inventories from because it has the lowest prices compare to the others stores such as WinCo or Albertsons. Wal-Mart is open 24 hours, so it is the place where you can shop anytime you want. Wal-Mart is the store where they provide a lot of discount on their inventories. Even though, Wal-Mart does not have the best qualities on their inventories, their inventories are still good enough to enjoy their products. Wal-Mart is a really successful company because almost every city has a store of Wal-Mart. It’s the place where you see the rich people,

When auditing a public company, the auditor must form an opinion on the effectiveness of internal control

The concept of control involves monitoring, assessment, feedback, and regulation, and infers that there are standards, ideals, or objectives to which the organization is compared (Fleming, 2015). Inputs, processes, and outputs are standards to

Annual plan controls helped determine if the new product results were being achieved. Profitability controls determined if the new product was making or losing money. Efficiency controls balanced the spending and marketing expenditures. Strategic controls confirmed whether the company was targeting the best opportunities with the retailers, media, and advertising (Kotler-Keller, 2009, p. 331-333).

‘Wally world’ also known as Walmart, is a corporate retail store that has made a major impact in people lives in the United States and even around the world. Wal-Mart is a great place to shop for variety of products in short time or just to go ‘window shopping’ with a group of friends. The items are well organized throughout the store where you can see signs of the departments within the store. Another advantage of Walmart is its low price. Wal-Mart supports slogans like “We sell for less” and “Always on low price”. As a large retail company, they have prices that are lower than local stores in your neighborhood and they are certain that one could save money by shopping at Walmart. Yet, Walmart has the tendency to be crowded, especially on the weekends that can make a shopping trip longer than it needs to be. Even with the large parking lot, it seems like full every time I visited Wal-Mart. However, when I do find a spot to park my car, a camera on a light post is already watching me before I even walk in the store.

As a young adult, I remember wanting to work for Walmart because I was told that it was a great place to work for. The employees were treated well, products were nice, and wages were comparable. That is not the story these days. Today Walmart is now known for poor quality products, treating their employees bad, and the type of people that shop there (Facebook has a page dedicated to “people of Walmart” showcasing colorful attire.) According to Walmart’s own SWOT analysis they outline their three major weaknesses. The first of the three is that they have a high employee turnover rate. They attribute this to the fact that the mass majority of the employees ear a minimum wage and that they do not offer basic benefits. From friends of mine that have or currently work for the company I have heard that this is a huge issue for them. The second weakness that they point out is that they have negative publicity. They write that this is from criticism about their questionable practices such as bribery of authorities and poor work conditions. What I have heard about the work environment is that most managers do not take the time and care with their employees and push them to work with little to no affirmation or rewards. The third and last weakness that is outlined is that there is little differentiation. This is that Walmart is not the only store that carries a lot of the products that they have. Walmart has to compete with Target, Amazon, Kmart, and many more. I know that I can buy the same thing at Target as I can Walmart and if it is at a better price at Walmart Target will match that price so I do not have to go to Walmart at all. (Wal-Mart, n.d.)

We will conduct our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAS”). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraud. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. The procedures selected depend on our judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material

In terms of ‘Identify Basic Appeal’ which concerns suitability of climate, restriction on certain items, access to material, and others – Walmart has used this step of the market screening process for much of its international business ventures (Wild and Wild, 2013, p.301). For instance, in Brazil the tropical temperature (which normally does not fall below 20°C throughout the year) – has apparently influenced the type of apparel that the company sells in its stores (World Travel Guide, 2016; Walmart, 2016). Because, within the stores of Walmart in Brazil, one can find clothing made from fabric - as in, cotton and linen, which are material suited for the warmer weather found in Brazil (Walmart, 2016). Whereas, for a country like Canada – within Walmart stores, clothing can be found that are tailored for each of the four seasons, thus one will be able to find winter jackets and shorts in line with the seasons that they are most suited for. As for restricted items, in Ontario (Canada), since the retailing of liquor presently falls under the purview of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) - one would not find alcohol base beverages on the shelves of Walmart or being marketed by the entity (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, 2010). However, on the websites of Walmart in the US, there are several options available as it relates to the purchase of alcoholic beverages (Walmart, 2016). As it relates to access to material, when

In 1962, Walmart was founded by Sam Walton. The headquarter of Walmart is located in Bentonville, Arkansas. Their mission which is “ To help people save money, so they live will be better and more earlier. Push Walmart become in an international brand is the goal that Walmart want. At first he announced three policy goals that describe about his business which are respect for the individual, service to customers, and striving for excellence. Selling high quality of product and lowest price of brand name products are the strategy that is Walmart’s corporate management. However, to make the low price, Walmart has to use advanced electronic technology and warehousing for reducing the cost. In recently, Walmart has

Controlling involves ensuring that performance does not deviate from standards. Controlling consists of three steps, which include

The current business environment has turned the spotlight on the role that a internal audit system must play within the larger drive towards effective governance, risk, compliance and quality management. An internal auditor has to work as a Technology savvy in-house that not only reports problems, but also gives constructive suggestions to line managers about how to