The purpose of this article analysis is to identify situations that may lead to unethical practices and behavior in accounting. Brooke Corporation and founder Robert Orr are an example of how Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) laws have not been as effective as most want to believe as based on the article, “Eight Years after the Fact is SOX working? A Look at the Brooke Corporation” by Beth Hazels. Brooke Corporation was, “once the largest franchisors of property and casualty insurance in the United States” (Hazel, p.19) until both company and founder filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Robert Orr and Brooke Corporation committed fraud on their financial statements as well as misappropriated commissions and funds due to their franchisee agents, customers and lenders during their 24-year reign of deceit. Lawsuits alleging anywhere from “fraud and civil racketeering to business valuations and financing were brought up against Brooke corporation and most were dropped. Brooke was also in violation of several SOX laws that have yet to be raised against them” (Hazel, p.23).…
In 1982, Phar-Mor chain of discount drug stores founded by Michael “mickey” Monus and David shapira in the United States. Phar-Mor business was to sell large quantity of merchandise with a very small profits margin. Instead, they had it set up were the products can get send direct delivery or shipped though Tamco Warehouse. Sam Walton was feared of Monus because he didn’t know how the Phar-Mor grew in short time. In 1992, the company expanded, it was 300 stores and they hire 25,000 employees. Monus was accused of embezzlement and his CFO Patrick Finn they assumed that Monus moved $10 million from Phar-Mor to the world Basketball League that he founded. According to the data and inventory Phar-Mor borrowed millions and file bankruptcy protection.…
The auditors should have raised concerns over several fraud risk factors that were present. There was a perceived ethical disconnect between JP Morgan’s Code of Conduct and the “tone at the top” that upper management created. Jamie Dimon built an environment that allowed employees to do practically anything to achieve more impressive earnings. A special group was permitted to function outside the established business standards. According to Spoehr (2012), this group included individuals with strong personalities and significant clout, and these employees were excluded from ordinary review, oversight, and approval practices in place.…
Pressures explain why fraud is committed and they are categorized as being either personal, professional, or financial. WoolEx Mills’ senior management felt the pressures of maintaining a healthy financial position and meeting shareholder expectations. Executives believed that there was no other way to meet these financial objectives by legitimate means. Opportunity consists of how perpetrators commit fraud. With the most power, WoolEx Mills’ CEO launched the financial statement fraud by delegating tasks to the remainder of the company. Senior management then utilized their knowledge to manipulate and conceal financial irregularities. Rationalization is the perpetrator’s reasoning for justifying his or her actions. WoolEx Mills’ senior management felt that creating fictitious revenues was the only way to keep the company afloat and the likelihood of getting caught was low (Krishnan & Shah 2015) (The Fraud Triangle…
The affect of the unethical behavior has changed the profitability of the company drastically but is now starting to regain their name with the new CEO pillmore and he has worked hard to reestablish the company’s integrity. He has also set new guidelines for ethical conduct and has…
This case is about the $4 million embezzlement fraud by an employee of a magazine publisher, and how the fraud was discovered. The type of fraud discovered was a billing scheme that was found on accident. A billing scheme is, “Any scheme in which a person causes his employer to issue a payment by submitting invoices for fictitious goods or services, inflated invoices or invoices for personal purchases.” 1 In this case, it just so happened that the new chief internal auditor decided to stop by the accounts payable department to collect a series of recently submitted invoices so that he could meet with the vice president to understand how the accounting codes work. In doing so, they found that a number of invoices had been forged. According to the 2010 Global Fraud Studies, “11% of the time, victim organizations either had to stumble onto the fraud or be notified of it by a third party in order to detect it.” 2 With coincidence one, the investigation revealed that the forgeries were coming from the painting operations in its facilities department, in which was overseen by Albert Miano. Miano started his scheme by creating false invoices for the jobs done by painters. He would not reinvoice exactly the same work done during a week, but he would make it look similar to where no one would ever become suspicious. The opportunity for Miano to commit fraud came into play when he was allowed to go and collect the approved invoices and insert his own replicated fraudulent invoices as approved. He also was the one who transported the invoices and collected…
Professional auditing standards discuss the three key “conditions” that are typically present when a financial fraud occurs and identify a lengthy list of “fraud risk factors.” Briefly explain the difference between a fraud “condition” and a “fraud risk factors,” and provide examples of each. What fraud conditions and fraud risk factors were apparently present in the Madoff case?…
The mission of Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services (PCHAS) is to provide Christ-centered care and support to children and families in need. PCHAS opened its doors in 1914 in Farmington, Missouri, when four Presbyterian ministers established the Elmwood Presbyterian Orphanage to house children who were orphaned or abandoned when their fathers were incapacitated in mining accidents.…
Ans 1: Mr. Monus set up a complex web of companies to do business with Phar-Mor. These companies received million from Phar-Mor. There were reported to be 91 related parties the complexity of these companies made it very difficult for coopers & Lybrand to detect. A number of things were done to cover up the massive losses the company was taking including issuing false invoices for merchandise purchases, making fake journal entries in order to increase the inventory and decrease cost of sales, recognizing inventory purchases but then not accruing the corresponding liability, and over-counting merchandise.…
While evaluating Apollo Shoes, there are some areas of concern that are potential fraud schemes. Fraud can lead to the entire collapse of a company if not corrected, and will also affect share value and investor confidence. This paper provides an overview of the process of investigation along with recommendations for the company.…
Gloria Steinem - women's rights activist and journalist - a female who has left a big footprint on American history and contemporary society. Born March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem has had a full life of adventure and outstanding accomplishments towards the women's movement. As a child, Steinem and her family traveled a lot due to her fathers work. Before reaching her teens, Steinem's parents divorced, her older sister Sue left for college, and she was left to take care of her mentally ill mother (who had anxiety and agoraphobia) in a run-down house back in Toledo, Ohio. Steinem had to balance her school work, social life, and caring for her mother during her teen years before leaving for college.…
2. What impact did the fraudulent behavior identified above have on the published financial statements? Please be specific.…
Next, the potential risk of material misstatements arising from fraudulent financial reporting to depict company’s unusual growth in trying economic times, are supported by the following fraud risk factors from SAS 99. The factors that apply are: (1) high degree of competition, accompanied by declining margins, (2) High vulnerability to rapid changes, such as changes in technology, or product obsolescence, (3) Significant declines in customer demand and increasing business failures in the industry or overall economy, (4) Rapid growth and unusual profitability, (5) overly optimistic press release issued to shareholders, and (6) Need to obtain additional debt to stay competitive. The pressure to remain on top of the industry, from the CEO and expected forecasts, may result in fraudulent activities. Also claims against the entity for patent infringement, and strained relationship between management and the predecessor auditor, are fraud factors which reflect Apollo’s attitude. The significance of this risk is very high, but the likelihood of this risk is low, due to the complexity needed to perform such a deception of department cooperation. If fraud does exist, it would have to be committed by multiple departments. For example, the Finance departments, treasury and…
The unique characteristics in L&H that made it prone to engage in fraudulent accounting practices were the rapid expansion and acquisition of companies beyond their boundaries, and the inability to oversee these operations. Another important factor that stands out is the lack of ethical values portrayed by the founders of L&H. The top management did not set code of ethics, but instead wanted to maximize their future software value. Mr. Hauspie’s creative but legally acceptable financing plans help him to retain control of the company by selling minority interests. The desperate ambition to succeed together with the accounting knowledge, the company was in a prime position to engage in fraudulent practices.…
The patient I chose for my case study is a one-year-old female infant. The patient was born to term, but was lethargic at birth and had feeding difficulties. At 3 months’ old, she was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Prader-Willi syndrome is a complex genetic condition that affects many parts of the body. In infancy, this condition is characterized by weak muscle tone (hypotonia), feeding difficulties, poor growth, and delayed development. Beginning in childhood, affected individuals develop an insatiable appetite, which leads to chronic overeating (hyperphagia) and obesity.” Behavioral and psychiatric problems are also part of the normal disease progression. Due to the complex nature of her condition, this patient’s medical history states that in addition to her physical therapist, she sees many specialists such as: a neurologist, a geneticist, an endocrinologist, an ophthalmologist, and an orthopedist.…