" This project is considered to be the first major update to the Smith Guidance. It was felt that the update was required to shore up some of the deficiencies in the Smith Guidance that have emerged since it was published. There were characteristics of the market that it was felt needed to be addressed, in particular the oligopolistic nature, which exposed the market to considerable uncertainty in the event of a failure of one of the Big Four (FRC, 2008). This report remains a work in progress at this time.
Corporate Examples

One company that has been impacted by the changes brought about by the Combined Code is oil services firm Lamprell. The company joined the London Stock Exchange in early 2008 and was immediately required to make changes to its governance structure in order to comply with the Combined Code. The company needed to make several changes to its traditional…...

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Works Cited:

The Committee on Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance and Gee & Co, Ltd. (1992). The Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance. Retrieved April 8, 2009 from http://www.ecgi.org/codes/documents/cadbury.pdf

The Committee on Corporate Governance. (1998). Final Report. Retrieved April 8, 2009 from http://www.ecgi.org/codes/documents/hampel.pdf

Financial Reporting Council. (2005). Internal Control: Revised Guidance for Directors on the Combined Code. Retrieved April 8, 2009 from  http://www.frc.org.uk/documents/pagemanager/frc/Revised%20Turnbull%20Guidance%20October%202005.pdf 

Deloitte & Touche. (2004). Report on the impact of Director's Remuneration Report Regulations. Retrieved April 8, 2008 from http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file13425.pdf

boards of this type of organizations accountable?
The boards of this type are accountable to the company and its stakeholders/shareholders. They are responsible for the company's overall success. Such a board has to ensure the integrity of its own actions as well as those of the company and should make every effort to present a factual and frank presentation of its current outlook to the company's stakeholders.

Shareholders, thus, are the number one entity to whom such boards are accountable. If shareholders are not happy with the way in which a board is directing a company, they will likely not be shareholders for long or will place pressure on the board for changes in leadership.

The board is also accountable to employees, to members, to supporters and to investors. The rules and regulations that govern a board's actions are the means by which a board is held accountable, but the stakeholders are…...

External Corporate Communications Audit
Demonstrate how you would conduct an external corporate communications audit

An external corporate communications audit is a critical undertaking that must be carried out in every organization. Auditing processes are common when it comes to the realization of the basic avenues of growth and development in organizations. In order to realize the best fruits of service from the department of communication, the channels of communication should have to be renewable or accessible for audit. The first section will be used for major auditing activities. The second avenue of the auditing process will involve the personnel that have been put in place as a measure of oversight between the channels of communication, communication processes, and the major pillars of communication within a corporation. Furthermore, it is important to realize the importance of having a sound truth and recognition avenue where the auditing processes are to be executed within a…...

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References

Institutes for Organization Management. (1965). Studies in organization management:

Association. 1st-[3d] year. Washington: Chamber of Commerce of the United States,

Institute Dept.

Jreisat, J.E. (1999). Public organization management: The development of theory and process. Westport, Conn: Praeger.

On the other hand, Enormo Corp is a big client for CPA, and exposing its case to authorities, would mean losing it.
As an alternative, CPA can refuse to work with Enormo Corp in this case and Enormo would be forced to resort to a different auditing company.

3. ecommended course of action. CPA has the right to handle this situation with the client, while trying to continue to have a professional relationship in the future. So, the suggested course of action would be to address the issue to a higher authority, start documenting it and explain to the client the implication of such documentation. The auditing firm also has the right to protect its integrity, so in this case it is essential to document the findings. However, since there is no rule that forces the auditor to report such discrepancy, the auditor will chose to restrict its actions to including…...

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Reference List

AICPA - the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 1999, ET Section 102 - Integrity and Objectivity,  http://www.aicpa.org/ 

IFAC - the International Federation of Accountants, 2007 Handbook of International Auditing, Assurance, and Ethics Pronouncements, www.ifac.org

SAS Number 99 and the Corporate Audit
This report attempts to explain how the new SAS No.99 will change the way accounting firms will be required to conduct corporate audits. News about the collapse of Enron continues to dominate the American media circuits and in the wake of the now infamous Enron accounting scandal, accounting firms will be required to pay more attention then ever. Since the recent American Institute of Certified Public Accounts issue of SAS 99, the approach of auditors in the United States will for ever more be greatly enhanced. ith SAS 99 for example, external auditors will be required to discuss and gather facts with internal auditors. As of SAS 99, corporate America will now be required to monitor and share the findings of internal auditors who may be privy to critical fraud-related data residing with their clients. SAS 99 will therefore provide new opportunities for external…...

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Works Cited

BBCi. "Enron finance chief denies charges" BBC International. November, 2002..http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2756345.stm6

BBCi. "Ex-WorldCom Finance Boss Indicted." BBC International. August 2002.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2222137.stm28

SAS 99. Ed. AICPA. AICPA.  http://www.aicpa.org/ index.htm.

Ethical Violations - South African Audit ScandalIntroductionBrowning, Levin, & Wolod is interested in expanding accounting and auditing services to Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, and south Africa. The introduction of international operations into the organization creates new opportunities that can be leveraged by the organization to generate revenue and new risks that can be mitigated by training the recruits accordingly (Minh Duc et al., 2019). The KPMG case is recognized internationally for the egregious violation of accounting and auditing professional codes of conduct. The training process of the auditors and accountants who will be involved in the international operations will focus on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Code of Professional Conduct, and International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (Schilder, 2017). The KPMG SA was selected since it encompasses comprehensive auditing and accounting professional…...

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ReferencesAbdullah, Z., Almsafir, M., & Al-Smadi, A. (2015). Transparency and Reliability in Financial Statement: Do They Exist? Evidence from Malaysia. Open Journal Of Accounting, 04(04), 29-43.   I. (2018). The audit profession needs a New Dawn. Daily Maverick. Retrieved 25 October 2021, from  https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2018-03-19-audit-profession-needs-a-new-dawn/ .BBC News. (2017). B.T. Italy scandal prompts auditing probe. BBC News. Retrieved 26 October 2021, from  https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40441128 .Dimitriu, R. (2017). Auditor Independence: Lessons from KPMG South Africa & Other Scandals. sustainalytics.com. Retrieved 25 October 2021, from  https://www.sustainalytics.com/esg-research/resource/investors-esg-blog/auditor-independence-lessons-from-kpmg-south-africa-other-scandals .Erah, D., Izedonmi, F., & Onwuchekwa, J. (2012). Mandatory Audit Rotation and Audit Independence: Survey of Southern Nigeria. Research Journal Of Finance And Accounting, 3(7). Retrieved 25 October 2021, from  https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234629325.pdf .Fildes, N. (2017). B.T. warns on profits after Italian accounting scandal worsens. Ft.com. Retrieved 25 October 2021, from  https://www.ft.com/content/f1027f38-e207-11e6-9645-c9357a75844a .Henderson, R. (2021). Bloomberg - Are you a robot?. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 25 October 2021, from  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-15/kpmg-to-end-consulting-services-for-south-african-listed-clients .Holtzblatt, M., Foltin, C., & Tschakert, N. (2020). Learning from Ethical Violations in Public Accounting: A South African Audit Scandal and a Firm’s Transformation. Issues In Accounting Education, 35(2), 37-63. https://doi.org/10.2308/issues-19-062KMPG. (2017). KPMG opposes Mandatory Audit Firm rotation (MAFR). KPMG. Retrieved 25 October 2021, from https://home.kpmg/za/en/home/insights/2017/01/kpmg-opposes-mandatory-audit-firm-rotation.html.KPMG report signals firm’s renewal. KPMG. (2019). Retrieved 25 October 2021, from https://home.kpmg/za/en/home/media/press-releases/2019/03/kpmg-report-signals-firm-s-renewal.html.Minh Duc, L., Thi Hoang Yen, N., Hoang Ngoc Thuy, V., Hoang Tien, N., & Hung Anh, D. (2019). Enhancing auditors’ independence in auditing enterprises in Vietnam. Cogent Economics & Finance, 7(1), 1602240. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2019.1602240Pang, J. Acceptance and Continuance Of Client Relationships And Specific Engagements. Embracing Quality For Sustainability. Retrieved 25 October 2021, from https://isca.org.sg/media/775266/elements-of-ssqc-1_acceptance-and-continuance-of-client-relationships-and-specific-engagements.pdf.Rapoport, M. (2018). KPMG Acts Globally but Keeps Scandals Local. WSJ. Retrieved 25 October 2021, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/kpmg-acts-globally-but-keeps-scandals-local-1520418601.Schilder, A. (2017). Professional Skepticism in an Audit of Financial Statements [Ebook]. Retrieved 26 October 2021, from  https://www.ifac.org/system/files/publications/files/IAASB%20Professional%20Skepticism%20QandA-final.pdf .Shawver, T. (2020). A practitioners’ guide to the new AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. The Journal Of Finance And Accountancy, 20. Retrieved 24 October 2021, from  https://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/162407.pdf .Triodos Investment Management. (2020). Why Integrated Reporting (I.R.) is a powerful tool towards sustainability. Triodos-im.com. Retrieved 26 October 2021, from  https://www.triodos-im.com/articles/2018/integrated-reporting---a-powerful-tool-towards-sustainability .Wolfe, J., & Stanley Sterna, J. (2020). Managing the Risks of Client Acceptance and Continuance - The CPA Journal. The CPA Journal. Retrieved 25 October 2021, from  https://www.cpajournal.com/2020/02/12/managing-the-risks-of-client-acceptance-and-continuance/ .Writer, S. (2019). KPMG announces new leadership team for South Africa. Businesstech.co.za. Retrieved 25 October 2021, from https://businesstech.co.za/news/finance/203860/kpmg-announces-new-leadership-team-for-south-africa/. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojacct.2015.44004 Abedian,

Ethics
With respect to the ethics audit, the company shouldn't change anything other than to institute it. Where we left off, the ethics audit was external, and this is critical, because many of the current ethical issues arise because of the relationships within the company and the way that the different interests within the company are represented in the current ethics program. So the ethics audit has to be external.

The other issue with the ethics audit is that too many people within the company did not seem to want the external audit to take place. This is a major problem, so the delays in the timing of the external audit should be eliminated. The external audit needs to take place as soon as possible, which is the major change that should occur. Let the external auditors determine how and what to investigate -- their ability to ask questions that Jerry or…...

Audit Planning Control
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has published guidelines for preparing an audit plan. The first step is the preliminary engagement activities, which is focused on establishing an understanding of the terms of engagement for the audit. The steps in the planning process are to identify the scope of the audit; to determine the reporting objectives; to consider the results of the preliminary engagement and to determine the resources that are going to be required to conduct the audit -- and the timing of when those resources will be needed (AICPA, 2015).

To audit Home Depot, it is important first to determine what the scope will be, as this will help to determine the resource requirements. A preliminary meeting with the company will help to determine this -- for example is it necessary to visit stores? Conduct inventory? Talk to Canadian HQ? Or is a visit to the main…...

Auditing
We are living in times of continuous change that thrives on information. Information is the cornerstone of the financial construct of organizations. Information and access thereto drives the success of organizations in present times. The way the external world receives the statements of organizations is causal to its perception by individuals and institutions in evaluating it. As such, it is imperative that the architects and designers of this vital information need to pursue diligently highest levels of moral, ethical, and professional standards in preparing it. In providing for the financial and economical framework for such information, services of auditors are simply indispensable. The audited reports of an organization is the basis on which the organization makes its statement of intent public and helps aid the process of decision making and perception about it in the capital and investment markets (Franca & Maria, n.d.).

IMPORTANCE OF MATERIALITY IN AUDITING

"Audire" in Latin…...

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Bibliography

Acito, A.A., J.J. Burks, and W.B. Johnson. 2009. Materiality decisions and the correction of accounting errors. The Accounting Review 84 (3): 659-688.

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). 2008. Clarification and Convergence. An AICPA Auditing Standards Board Project. New York: AICPA, July.

Brody, R.G., D.J. Lowe, and K. Pany. 2003. Could $51 million be immaterial when Enron reports income of $105 million? Accounting Horizons 17 (2): 153-160

Eilifsen, A. & Messier, W., 2014. Materiality guidance of the major public accounting firms. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory.

Auditing; Topic: Materiality in Auditing
With respect to the field of auditing, materiality is a critically important concept addressing the significance of discrepancies, amounts, and transactions. Specific materiality guidelines are required in accounting practices to avoid judgmental (legal) decisions. Materiality is applied for most, if not all, economic decisions, and the topic of materiality is not a new issue. Disclosures in re financial statements have been emphasized by courts in the United Kingdom since the 1800's, whereas materiality initially rose to importance in the United States following 1933's Security act. The significance of the materiality concept and its implications are pertinent to business decisions, as well as for analysis and preparation of financial statements and in order to apply GAAP, generally accepted accounting principles.

For the accounting field, as well as for all fields of management, the concept of materiality is central to decision making. If something is considered to be…...

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Bibliography

Ball, R., and P. Brown. (1968). An Empirical Evaluation of Accounting Income Numbers. Journal of Accounting Research 6 (Autumn): 158-178

Brennan, N. & Gray, S., (2005). The Impact of Materiality: The Impact of Materiality:. The ICFAI Journal of Accounting Research, IV (1), pp. 61-84.

Chewning G., S. Wheeler, and K. Chan. (1998). Evidence on Auditor and Investor Materiality Thresholds Resulting from Equity-for-Debt Swaps. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory (Spring): 39-53.

Collins, D., and W. Salatka. (1993). Noisy Accounting Earnings Signals and Earnings Response Coefficients: The Case of Foreign Currency Accounting. Contemporary Accounting Research 10(1) Fall: 119-159.

Managing the Effectiveness of the Audit Process
Mission and Objectives of the International Audit Department

Stakeholders

The IAD stakeholder power-interest grid

The Audit Process

Objectives, Scope and Approach of the Research

Purpose and Mandate

Resourcing

Competency Development

Sustaining People Excellence

Tools and Technology

Knowledge Management

Operations

Quality

Governance

People

Infrastructure and Operations

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) is an international tobacco business that is operated by Japan Tobacco Inc. Japan Tobacco Inc. is the third largest player in the international tobacco industry with a market capitalization of 32 billion USD and a market share of 11%. JTI was established in the year 1999 when Japan Tobacco Inc. purchased the operations of United States multinational R.J. Reynolds, for 8 billion USD.

The Internal Audit Department (IAD) of the organization is accountable to the board of directors. The department is headed by the Global Internal Audit Vice President. He took his position in the year 2009.

The basic object of this research is to analyze the operational ability and effectiveness of the…...

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Works cited

Anupindi, Ravi. 2006. Managing Business Process Flows. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Leseure, Michel. 2010. Key Concepts in Operations Management. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Mahadevan, B. 2009. Operations Management. New Delhi: Published by Dorling Kindersley (India), licensees of Pearson Education in South Asia.

Slack, Nigel. 2009. Operations and Process Management. Harlow, England: Prentice Hall/Financial Times.

hythm on the Vine is a concert series that is run on a charity basis by the Shriner's Hospitals for Children. hythm is a concert series and the size of the events is growing rapidly, so there is a need for the Shriners to implement proper procedures for financial management and cash handling at these events. Members of the public pay for their tickets with credit cards or online, but there are some ticket purchases at the events, and in some instances there are cash purchases of food and beverages available. There are several different ticketing tiers, with the highest level of sponsorship at $5,000 and lower levels down to $35 tickets at the picnic area. The picnic area generates cash sales of food and beverages in particular, as many picnic guests rely on ad hoc food purchases. In addition to ticket sales, there are silent auctions as well.
There are…...

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References

Allen, J. (2014). Audit preparation best practices. Maner Costarian. Retrieved November 23, 2015 from  http://www.manercpa.com/images/uploads/AutitPreparation-2014NonprofitUpdateMaterials.pdf 

Cantoria, C. (2011). What internal controls should be in place for handling cash? BrightHub.com. Retrieved November 23, 2015 from  http://www.brighthub.com/office/finance/articles/119173.aspx 

Gustafson, F. (2015). Best practices for handling cash. eHow. Retrieved November 23, 2015 from http://www.ehow.com/info_10052406_practices-handling-cash.html

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…...

Strategic Audit a Corporation1 I. Current Situation A. Current Performance How corporation perform past year terms return investment, market share profitability? B.
Nestle's performance Audit Report

Performance of Nestle in the year 2011

arket performance

In the developed world the corporation faced economic frailty and uncertainty more so in the developed world. The economic down turns in the developed world economies had a significant impact on the performance of the product in the market which set in new challenges. Key to remaining afloat with all this challenges at Nestle is to focus on delivery of both short-term performance result and considering investing along the long-term profitability and sustainable lines Nestle The World's Leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company 32()

On top of the normal growth Nestle corporation experienced organic growths of up to 7.5%. Real internal growth was recorded at 3.9% while growth in pricing stood at 3.6% Nestle The World's Leading Nutrition, Health…...

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Myers H. Trends in the Food Retail Sector across Europe,. Oxford London,: Oxford Institute of Retail Management, 2004. Print.

Nestle. Nestle Corporate Governance Report   Print.http://www.nestle.com/Common/NestleDocuments/Documents/Library/Documents/Corporate_Governance/Corp_Governance_Report_2011_EN.pdf2011 .

-. The World's Leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company.   Nestle S.A., Cham and Vevey (Switzerland), 2011. Print.http://www.nestle.com/Common/NestleDocuments/Documents/Library/Documents/Annual_Reports/2011-Annual-Report-EN.pdf :

Although the company relies on information technology it is not at the forefront so can adapt more slowly. There are limited political-legal and societal implications. The most important force -- economic -- does vary but the North American market is by far the most important. Jet fuel prices do not vary significantly from country to country.
Industry competition is driven by overall demand levels, price and service. These forces do not vary globally. There is low threat of new entrants due to high entry costs. Buyers have average buying power due to competition. There is a high threat of substitution from electronic communications and slower shipping services. Rivalry among firms is intense. Unions, governments, interest groups have low relative power.

Customers are the only immediate factor affecting FedEx, as they have curtailed spending on shipping. A major threat is that customers will find ways to reduce shipping permanently. An opportunity for…...

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Works Cited:

MSN Moneycentral: FedEx. (2009). Retrieved December 8, 2009 from  http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/hilite.asp?Symbol=FDX 

Carey, N. (2009). FedEx says taking market share despite slump. Reuters. Retrieved December 8, 2009 from  http://www.reuters.com/article/pressReleasesMolt/idUSTRE52I3C820090319 

Shult, K. (2008). Battle of the brands: UPS vs. FedEx. Blogging Stocks. Retrieved December 8, 2009 from  http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/05/battle-of-the-brands-ups-vs.-FedEx/ 

2009 FedEx Annual Report. Retrieved December 8, 2009 from http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/FDX/791567587x0x312397/557bd7f3-8372-4afe-a664-1fdb82a488b0/FedEx2009AnnualReportl.pdf

The Anatomy of Fraud in Local Government: A Deeper Dive into the Anatomy of Corruption

Introduction:
Fraud in local government, a persistent and insidious problem, erodes trust and undermines the integrity of public institutions. This essay delves into the anatomy of fraud in this critical setting, exploring its multifaceted nature and proposing novel approaches to combat it.

1. The Anatomy of Fraud:

Types of Fraud:
Procurement fraud: Inflated bids, kickbacks, collusion
Financial statement fraud: Misreporting or concealing financial information
Payroll fraud: Unauthorized payments to fictitious or ineligible individuals
Motivations for Fraud:
Greed and personal enrichment
Pressure to meet financial targets
Lack of accountability....

1. The role of transparency and accountability in local government financial reporting
2. The impact of fiscal decentralization on local government accounting practices
3. Balancing fiscal responsibility and service delivery in local government budgets
4. The challenges of measuring efficiency and effectiveness in local government expenditures
5. The ethical considerations of financial decision-making in local government
6. The role of technology in improving local government financial management
7. The implications of political influence on local government accounting practices
8. The challenges of integrating sustainability goals into local government budgets
9. The importance of citizen engagement in local government financial decision-making
10.....

Essay Topic:

The Evolving Landscape of Local Government Accounting and Accountability: Challenges and Choices in an Era of Fiscal Transparency and Public Scrutiny

Introduction:

Local governments play a vital role in providing essential services and infrastructure to their communities. Effective and transparent financial management is paramount for ensuring the efficient use of taxpayer funds and maintaining public trust. However, local government accounting and accountability practices face significant challenges in the wake of evolving technological advancements, increasing public scrutiny, and heightened regulatory expectations. This essay will delve into the complexities of these challenges and explore the choices that local governments can make to enhance....

Impact of Management Compensation on Financial Reporting Quality
Management compensation is a crucial aspect that can significantly influence the quality of financial reporting. The alignment between compensation structures and financial reporting practices affects the incentives and behaviors of executives, which in turn impact the reliability and accuracy of financial statements.
1. Performance-Based Compensation and Financial Reporting Manipulation
Performance-based compensation schemes, such as stock options or bonuses tied to financial targets, create incentives for executives to manage earnings to meet or exceed these targets. This can lead to aggressive accounting practices and the manipulation of financial data to present a more favorable financial picture.
2.....