Brian Marlow recently was hired to prepare Louise Michenor Consulting’s year-end financial statements. Brain just entered his CPA certificate, and Louise Michneor was one of his first clients. Louise employs a bookkeeper, Martha Hailing, who does the daily journal entries and prepares a year-to-date trial balance at the end of the of each month. Martha gives the December 31 trial to a CPA to make adjustments and generate the financial statements. As Brian was looking through Louise Michenor’s books, he noticed two things. First, in each of the last three years, a different COA had prepared the financial statements. Second, the amount shown on the December 31 trial balance for miscellaneous expense was quite high this year compared to prior years. Brian called Martha to find out is she new why miscellaneous expense had such a high balance. Martha’s response was “ I just do what Louise tells me to do. If she wants to charge personal expenses to the company, it’s none of my business “. 1. What should Brian do? 2. How might Brain’s decision affect Martha? Has Martha done anything unethical? 3. Why should personal items not be charged to business? Explain to Louise. 4. What are the ethical responsibilities of an accountant relating to a client’s book?

College Accounting (Book Only): A Career Approach
13th Edition
ISBN:9781337280570
Author:Scott, Cathy J.
Publisher:Scott, Cathy J.
Chapter11: Work Sheet And Adjusting Entries
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 3A
icon
Related questions
Question
Brian Marlow recently was hired to prepare Louise Michenor Consulting’s year-end financial statements. Brain just entered his CPA certificate, and Louise Michneor was one of his first clients. Louise employs a bookkeeper, Martha Hailing, who does the daily journal entries and prepares a year-to-date trial balance at the end of the of each month. Martha gives the December 31 trial to a CPA to make adjustments and generate the financial statements. As Brian was looking through Louise Michenor’s books, he noticed two things. First, in each of the last three years, a different COA had prepared the financial statements. Second, the amount shown on the December 31 trial balance for miscellaneous expense was quite high this year compared to prior years. Brian called Martha to find out is she new why miscellaneous expense had such a high balance. Martha’s response was “ I just do what Louise tells me to do. If she wants to charge personal expenses to the company, it’s none of my business “. 1. What should Brian do? 2. How might Brain’s decision affect Martha? Has Martha done anything unethical? 3. Why should personal items not be charged to business? Explain to Louise. 4. What are the ethical responsibilities of an accountant relating to a client’s book?
Expert Solution
trending now

Trending now

This is a popular solution!

steps

Step by step

Solved in 2 steps

Blurred answer
Knowledge Booster
Transaction cycles
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, accounting and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
  • SEE MORE QUESTIONS
Recommended textbooks for you
College Accounting (Book Only): A Career Approach
College Accounting (Book Only): A Career Approach
Accounting
ISBN:
9781337280570
Author:
Scott, Cathy J.
Publisher:
South-Western College Pub
Financial Accounting
Financial Accounting
Accounting
ISBN:
9781305088436
Author:
Carl Warren, Jim Reeve, Jonathan Duchac
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
CONCEPTS IN FED.TAX., 2020-W/ACCESS
CONCEPTS IN FED.TAX., 2020-W/ACCESS
Accounting
ISBN:
9780357110362
Author:
Murphy
Publisher:
CENGAGE L
Principles of Accounting Volume 1
Principles of Accounting Volume 1
Accounting
ISBN:
9781947172685
Author:
OpenStax
Publisher:
OpenStax College
Intermediate Accounting: Reporting And Analysis
Intermediate Accounting: Reporting And Analysis
Accounting
ISBN:
9781337788281
Author:
James M. Wahlen, Jefferson P. Jones, Donald Pagach
Publisher:
Cengage Learning