Accounting and Audit Enforcement
1. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act applies to publicly-traded companies. Thus, it does not apply to non-profit entities. Nor does it apply to for-profit entities that are not publicly-traded. This is because SOX was passed specifically to address instances of accounting fraud in publicly traded companies that were undermining consumer trust in the capital markets (101.com, 2018). A publicly traded companies has a variety of different obligations under SOX that will help to reduce the opportunities and incentives for accounting fraud. Both opportunity and incentive are components of the fraud triangle – one needs to have a perceived need to commit the fraud and the circumstances with which to do so (ACFE, 2018).
Non-profit organizations have no obligations under SOX. However, there is a school of thought that holds that non-profit entities can benefit from some of the recommendations and mandates that SOX contains. Fritz (2016) writes that "non-profits are under tremendous pressure to be financially responsible and transparent" and that because of this "the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, while meant for the business world, provides a blueprint for non-profit financial clarity as well."
Some of the practices that nonprofits have adopted in order to shore up their own finances are to have a financial expert on an audit committee, and the recommendation to have an outside auditor is something that many larger nonprofits have adopted (Fritz, 2016), and nonprofits have also been encouraged by this practice. As such, SOX truly does provide a blueprint for financial transparency – these practices were often not commonplace until the law mandated them for some companies. It was only then that other entities started to examine these practices and their outcomes, and have evaluated the suitability of SOX-type practices in their organizations, even if those organizations are not typically obligated to follow those practices by law.
As such, it is recommended that where not unduly burdensome, non-profit organizations should adopt some of the practices mandated in SOX. While these practices would be strictly optional, the reality is that SOX provides the most robust framework for audit best practices and fraud prevention in the canon of American law. As such, it provides a valuable framework for organizations of all types, including those that are not otherwise obligated to follow SOX. Even without the enforcement mechanisms, a commitment to follow the prescriptive measures contained in Sarbanes-Oxley should...
Cardsmax The Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release (AER) for this proceeding is no. 3288 June, 2011. In this case there was a violation of Section 10A of the exchange Act by L&H, Howley and Wood 2005 & 2006-year-end audit, in addition this proceeding also discussed the year-end audits and quarterly interim reviews of the financial statements of Locate Plus Holdings Corporation ("Locate Plus") (Collectively "the Engagements"). Howley served as the Engagement
Accounting standards and IFRS adoption in Cambodia and Thailand The significance of accounting standards Accounting may be considered as a business language through which the statistical results can be acquired which help in analyzing how well the firm is functioning. They give out timely statements of these statistics and help the stakeholders get all the information they need. Accounting is like a separate language which has its own grammar and these outlines
Loyalty to the client was clearly placed above loyalty to the overall public good and the standards of the profession. "Enron paid Andersen $25 million for its audit…and $27 million for 'consulting' and other services" which meant that Anderson had a substantial financial stake in retaining Enron as a client (Kadlec 2002). The Enron case illustrates the difficulty of self-policing within the industry. Today, providing additional services besides the
Accounting and the Public Interest: The accounting profession is not only an integral aspect of the society but it also plays a critical role in the nation and the corporate sector. As a result, this profession is expected to serve or contribute towards the public interest. The ability of the accounting profession to contribute towards the public interest is determined in the context of its standard setting process and legislation. In
Accounting Qualitative Characteristics of Financial Statements There are four principal qualitative characteristics that make the information provided in financial statements useful to users. These are understandability, relevance, reliability and comparability. The first section of this paper will be dedicated to explaining each of these concepts and how they relate to making financial statements more valuable for the audience. The first principal qualitative characteristic is understandability. This relates not only to the information but
Accounting Several terms and definitions are valuable to understand financial statements. In the United States, financial statements of public corporations are produced in accordance with the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. These principles govern how the information for financial statements is compiled and presented. The purpose of these principles is so that all stakeholders can easily understand the statements and make comparisons across both time and across different companies, because the
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