Abstract
This paper explains that, after it was discovered that several major corporations in the U.S. had committed accounting fraud, it became the responsibility of auditors to discover evidence of accounting fraud in businesses. The paper discusses the impact of Sarbanes Oxley as well as SAS 99 on auditors and on the companies they audit.

From the Paper
"Many decisions in accounting and auditing involve judgment calls. Nevertheless, there are rules that cannot and should not be broken. Over the last several years a number of major publicly traded corporations in the United States have committed accounting fraud and as a result have filed for bankruptcy protection. John Weinberg, in "Economic Quarterly", comments that these bankruptcies have resulted in the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars in stock value, wiping out the life savings of numerous investors and putting tens of thousands of..."

Tags:Audit, auditor, cpa, accounting fraud, Sarbanes oxley act, SOX, Statement of Auditing Standards

Abstract
In this article, the writer examines a case of a trusted employee committing accounting fraud and looks at what the employer, the Dodgers baseball team, could have done to prevent this through effective internal accounting controls.

From the Paper
"According to an essay published online by the University of California Office of the President the key audit objectives for any payroll function would include the following: Interviews with key personnel and review of applicable organization charts and levels of authority; Review of available reports; Reviews of training material; Consideration of key aspects of the organization of the payroll department; Assessment of the security and weaknesses or vulnerabilities of the information systems used to manage payroll and generate payroll payments. Substantive ..."

Tags:auditing, bookkeeping, payroll, fraud, internal controls, baseball

Abstract
This paper discusses the accounting fraud committed by Xerox Corporation, which involved accounting irregularities in connivance with Xerox's auditing firm at that time, KPMG. The paper provides a background of Xerox Corporation and discusses the legal complaint filed against them in 2002. It describes the actions that were taken and the aftermath of the scandal.

From the Paper
"At present, Anne M. Mulcahy is the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation. She was appointed as the company's CEO on August 1, 2001, and five months later, was eventually given the chairmanship on January 1, 2002. Before reaching the top helm of the corporation, Mulcahy was Xerox's "president and chief operating officer from May 2000 through July 2001. Prior to that, she was president of Xerox's General Markets Operations, which created and sold products for reseller, dealer and retail channels. She began her Xerox career as a field sales representative in 1976 and assumed increasingly responsible sales and senior management positions. From 1992-1995, Mulcahy was vice president for human resources, responsible for compensation, benefits, human resource strategy, labor relations, management development and employee training. (About Xerox, 2007)" In the more than 30 years Mulcahy worked for Xerox, she handled several other positions such as "chief staff officer in 1997, corporate senior vice president in 1998, vice president and staff officer for Customer Operations, covering South America and Central America, Europe, Asia and Africa. (About Xerox, 2007)" She is a graduate of the Marymount College, New York and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English/Journalism."

Tags:diversity, revenue, financial

Abstract
In this case study, the writer examines how the owners of Crazy Eddie, a consumer electronics chain in New York, were able to accomplish a relatively unsophisticated accounting fraud. The writer examines the gaps in accounting that allowed the company to fool investors and auditors for years prior to the discovery of financial fraud.

From the Paper
"Several factors present red flags We see that sales revenues increased by times but inventory levels more than quadrupled. Even as inventories grew dramatically the accounts payable did not. Inventory quadrupled but accounts payable increased by ..."

Tags:auditing, case study, fraud, crazy eddie, enron, opportunity, internal controls, external auditors

Abstract
This paper explains that the American International Group--AIG, the world's largest insurer--was reported to have arranged deals to manipulate financial figure in its own records and those of General Re, a reinsurance company, resulting in financial fraud during the autumn of 2000. The author points out that AIG also was involved in another accounting fraud with Brightpoint Inc., which was reported by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2003; AIG worked closely with the Brightpoint people to tailor an alleged insurance policy that let Brightpoint overstate its earnings by an amazing 61% in a cash circulation deal from Brightpoint to AIG and again back to Brightpoint. The paper defines receivables are monies due from the customers, which are tallied by invoices and happen due to operating cycle's process of selling inventory or services on terms that permit delivery before cash is collected.

Table of Contents
The General Re Fraud
The Brightpoint Fraud
Cash & Accrual Basis of Accounting
Receivables and Inventory
Fixed and Intangible Assets
Liability & Stockholders Equity

From the Paper
"Under the cash method of accounting, the books are maintained on the actual cash flow. Income is recorded on its receipt and expenses enter the books on their actual payment. Whereas majority of the businesses use the accrual basis, the most correct method for the company depends on the sales volume, credit policy of the company and business structure. In case of the accrual method, income & expenses are recorded while they occur, notwithstanding whether there has been exchange of cash and an example of this is sale on credit. Accrual method is appropriate when the annual sales are more than $5 million and the business is a corporate organization. Besides, it is suggested that while selling on credit, matching of income and expenses during a given period must be done."

Tags:cash-circulation, invoices, cash-method, reserves, equity

Abstract
The paper relates that the Bernard Ebbers conviction in the WorldCom scandal was considered to be a landmark success in the fight against corporate fraud. The paper discusses how Ebbers' harsh sentence appears to have set new boundaries on CEO liability. The paper then examines the case with the approach of utilitarian and deontological ethics.

From the Paper
"On March 15th, 2005, Bernard Ebbers was found guilty on all chargers pertaining to an accounting fraud perpetrated at his company, WorldCom, between 1999 and 2002. The basis of these charges was the overstatement of revenues and the understatement of expenses in order to improve the bottom line of Worldcom. The fraud was committed by a group of individuals in Worldcom's accounting department under the direction of CFO Scott Sullivan. By the time the fraud was discovered, Worldcom's assets were reportedly overstated by $11 million. Sullivan and the others all plead guilty; Ebbers went to trial and was found guilty. He had attempted to feign ignorance of the situation, famously claiming that he knows what he doesn't know, and he doesn't know accounting."

Tags:utilitarianism, deontological, ethics, CEO, liability

Abstract
This paper discusses the birth and development of accounting over time. The paper discusses the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and the way in which the the U.S. accounting profession has been a self-regulated industry. The paper then examines the Worldcom fraud scandal and how this, along with other large-scale accounting fraud scandals, cast doubt on the profession's ability to regulate itself.

From the Paper
"The Worldcom penalty, at $2.25 billion was one of the highest penalties ever obtained by an SEC enforcement action. Recently WorldCom outside directors agreed to pay an additional $18 million out of their own pockets (Scannell, 2005). It is obvious that the efforts of regulators and prosecutors are sending a clear and concise message to the professionals within the business community. Bishop, President of the Association of Chief Fraud Examiners (ACFE) says "It's a crime-not just aggressive accounting-and that individual [the controller] should not be aiding and abetting in a felony" (Sweeney and Marshall 2003, 20). If executives and corporate wrongdoers lied and committed accounting fraud in the past because they did not think they would get caught or they did not fear the punishment, this new environment should certainly make them think twice now."

Tags:penalty, insurance, CEO, ACFE, controller

Abstract
The paper discusses how with an emergence of large-scale fraud cases over the last few years, internal auditing and financial controls have come under scrutiny on a legislative as well as a corporate level. The paper explains that the increased risk associated with expense fraud cases, like that of Carter's actions at Scout's, has led companies to develop new protocols to ensure that the negative actions of employees do not have an impact on corporate stakeholders.

From the Paper
"With an emergence of large-scale fraud cases over the last few years, internal auditing and financial controls have come under scrutiny on a legislative as well as a corporate level. The increased risk associated with expense fraud cases, like that of Carter's actions at Scout's, has led companies to develop new protocols to ensure that the negative actions of employees do not have an impact on corporate stakeholders. Organizational controls and context: At Scout's, internal controls were limited prior to the investigation of..."

Tags:accounting, fraud, reform

Abstract
This paper summarizes the ASB exposure draft on Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit. This draft, which supercedes SAS 82, introduces new concepts and requirements to assist the auditor in detecting fraud. It discusses the definition of fraud, identifying risk of fraud, and general assessment of fraud risk. The summary outlines the appropriate response to each fraud risk identified through the analytical process, including evaluation of implications.

From the Paper
"As the need for new standards and ways to look for this fraud got stronger, the AICPA auditing standards board (ASB) responded by issuing an exposure draft on Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit. This exposure draft would supersede SAS 82, which is the current standard for detecting fraud in an audit. The exposure draft was not meant to change any of the auditor's responsibilities in a financial statement audit but rather introduces new concepts and requirements to assist the auditor in detecting fraud. Some of the major areas that the exposure draft discusses are the description and characteristics of fraud, discussion of fraud and professional skepticism, a wider range of inquiries, identifying and assessing risks that can result in fraud, evaluating programs and controls and responding to the results of the assessment. "

Tags:aicpa, accounting, audit, finance, standard, board

Abstract
This paper addresses what forensic accountants look for in ferreting out who is committing managerial fraud and how. It discusses how auditing relies on tests of controls, risk analysis and sampling to make an honest assessment.

From the Paper
"As much as CPA's hate to admit it, auditing is an art not a science. It simply is not cost effective to verify every assertion in a set of financial statements with certainty. Instead, auditing relies on tests of controls, risk analysis and sampling to give the reasonable assurance that a set of financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with the applicable accounting standards. When that reasonable assurance is found to be misplaced, forensic accountants are called in. The definition of forensic accounting according..."

Tags:forensic accounting methods, definition, constrast with financial accounting, auditing