Accounting Fraud at WorldCom Vanessa Gail Woods Strayer University Connor-Green/ACC 576 March 21‚ 2010 Accounting Fraud at WorldCom The break up of AT&T opened the long distance service market to small companies during the mid- to late-1980s and 1990s. Long Distance Discount Service (LDDS) opened in 1983 with moderate growth until its stock went public in 1989. CEO Bernie Ebbers decided to grow the organization through acquisitions (70 companies over the course of its lifetime)
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non-audit revenue has out-grown audit revenue to become a much more dominant source of public accounting firms’ total revenue. After the recent financial scandals involving large firms like Enron and Worldcom‚ concern regarding auditor independence has climbed to a height. This triggered the adoption of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act which passed into law on July 30‚ 2002. The effect of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has been far reaching from corporate governance to auditor independence rule in the US and abroad
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report‚ it will show how Enron was involved in improper accounting practices that led to over $70 billion of losses and also Enron’s method that was used to able them in covering their losses. Enron’s fall and bankruptcy had affected not only the employees‚ but also the shareholders‚ U.S Citizens and also the impact that it had on other countries that Enron was affiliated with. The focus of this paper is on the creation of Enron’s business model that resulted in the fall of Enron. Also‚ how the SPEs
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In 1998‚ Betty Vinson was promoted to a senior manager in the firm’s corporate accounting division. Two years later in her position she experienced a major ethical dilemma. The company WorldCom was a very successful company up until the middle of 2000 when the telecommunication industry entered a protracted slump. The company’s earnings were not Wall Street expectations‚ and it was saddled with unpaid bills. Vinson’s job was to repair the problem by doing some wrong accounting practices. The ethical
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Wan-Ting Shao * Ananya Chandra * Niteesh Chinta * Shraddha Rane * Swathi Punreddy The Rise and fall of WorldCom This case study WorldCom is a telecommunications company which was led by CEO‚ Bernard Ebbers‚ and CFO‚ Scott Sullivan. In 1999‚ WorldCom was not meeting Wall Street’s revenue and earnings expectations‚ and it appeared that the coming year would produce more bad news. The CFO argued for setting realistic targets.
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KAPLAN DAVID KIRON Accounting Fraud at WorldCom WorldCom could not have failed as a result of the actions of a limited number of individuals. Rather‚ there was a broad breakdown of the system of internal controls‚ corporate governance and individual responsibility‚ all of which worked together to create a culture in which few persons took responsibility until it was too late. — Richard Thornburgh‚ former U.S. attorney general1 On July 21‚ 2002‚ WorldCom Group‚ a telecommunications company with
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Question 1 At the time Cynthia Cooper discovered the accounting fraud‚ WorldCom did not have a whistle-blower hotline process in place. Instead‚ Cynthia took on significant risks when she stepped over Scott Sullivan’s head and notified the audit committee chairman of her findings. Discuss the key criteria for the operation of an effective corporate whistle-blower hotline. Be sure to highlight potential pitfalls that should be avoided and reference professional codes‚ legislation and academic
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Case 1.4 AMRE‚ Inc. 1. Generally‚ ethics refer to moral principles and values. Random House Webster’s College Dictionary notes that ethics are “the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or governing a particular group‚ culture‚ etc.” An individual ’s ethics generally define what that individual believes to be right and wrong. Professional ethics are typically expressed by a code of conduct adopted by an organization that represents a profession. Professions
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Assignment # 3 WorldCom Accounting Fraud By Mark A. Cowan Strayer University ACC 499- Accounting Capstone May 15‚ 2011 The purpose of this paper is to discuss the aspects of the WorldCom accounting scandal and the effects that this scandal had on the accounting world as we know it. We will discuss the corporate culture at WorldCom and how it contributed to the accounting fraud‚ how the CEO’s desire to be the #1 stock on Wall Street contributed to the fraud‚ pressures on accountants to book
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Auditing Case 6.3 Question 1 Recent Developments in WorldCom Case * March 26‚ 2010: Third Distribution of Settlement Fund Made in Accordance with Court Order of September 18‚ 2009. * September 18‚ 2009: Judge Cote Grants Approval of the Final Distribution Plan * February 15‚ 2008: Second Distribution of Settlement Fund Made in Accordance with Court Order of January 23‚ 2008. * January 23‚ 2008: Judge Cote Grants Approval of Second Distribution of Net Settlement Fund. Question
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