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Accounting Chapter Principles and Fraud
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Learning Objectives
Define fraud as it relates to financial statements. Identify the main groups of people who commit financial statement fraud. List the primary reasons people commit financial statement fraud. Describe the general methods used to commit financial statement fraud.
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Learning Objectives
Define overstatements. Define understatements. Describe the conceptual framework for financial reporting. List examples of various types of financial statements.
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Who Commits Financial Statement Fraud?
Senior management Mid- and lover-level employees Organized criminals
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Why Do People Commit Financial Statement Fraud?
To conceal true business performance To preserve personal status/control To maintain personal income/wealth
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Why Senior Management Will Overstate Business Performance
To meet or exceed the earnings or revenue growth expectations of stock market analysts To comply with loan covenants To increase the amount of financing available from asset-based loans To meet a lender's criteria for granting/extending loan facilities To meet corporate performance criteria set by the parent company
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Why Senior Management Will Overstate Business Performance
To meet personal performance criteria To trigger performance-related compensation or earn-out payments To support the stock price in anticipation of a merger, acquisition, or sale of personal stockholding To show a pattern of growth to support a planned securities offering or sale of the business
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Why Senior Management Will Understate Business Performance
To defer surplus earnings to the next accounting period To take all possible write-offs in one "big bath" now so future earnings will be consistently higher To reduce expectations now so future growth will be better perceived and rewarded To preserve a trend of consistent growth, avoiding volatile results To reduce the value of an owner-managed business for purposes of a divorce settlement To reduce the value of a corporate unit whose management is planning a buyout
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How Do People Commit Financial Statement Fraud?
Playing the accounting system Beating the accounting system Going outside the accounting system
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Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting
Recognition and measurement concepts
Assumptions
Economic entity Going concern Monetary unit Periodicity
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Recognition and Measurement Concepts
Principles
Historical cost Revenue recognition Matching Full disclosure
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Recognition and Measurement Concepts
Constraints
Cost-benefit Materiality Industry practice Conservatism
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Qualitative Characteristics
Relevance and reliability Comparability and consistency
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Responsibility for Financial Statements
Company management is responsible for financial statements Company's board of directors and senior management set the code of conduct Company's "ethic" the standard by which all other employees will tend to conduct themselves
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Users of Financial Statements
Transaction Activity Accounting System Financial Statements
Bankers Investors Vendors Government Management
Information Users
Decisions
Loan Approval Financial Investment Credit Approval Operational & Financial Decisions
Balance Sheet Income Statement Statement of Owner Equity Statement of Cash Flows
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Types of Financial Statements
Balance sheet Statement of income or statement of operations Statement of retained earnings Statement of cash flows Statement of changes in owner's equity Statement of assets and liabilities that does not include owner's equity accounts Statement of revenue and expenses Summary of operations Statement of operations by product lines Statement of cash receipts and disbursements
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Other Financial Data Presentations
Prospective financial information Pro forma financial statements Proxy statements Interim financial information Current value financial representations Personal financial statements Bankruptcy financial statements Registration statement disclosures
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Other Financial Data Presentations
Other comprehensive bases of accounting, according to SAS 62 (AU 623), Special Reports
Government or regulatory agency accounting Tax-basis accounting Cash receipts and disbursements, or modified cash receipts and disbursements Any other basis with a definite set of criteria applied to all material items, such as the price-level basis of accounting
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The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Establishing higher standards for corporate governance and accountability Creating an independent regulatory framework for the accounting profession Enhancing the quality and transparency of financial reports Developing severe civil and criminal penalties for corporate wrongdoers Establishing new protections for corporate whistleblowers
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SEC Rules Pertaining to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Management's report on internal control over financial reporting and certification of disclosure in periodic reports Improper influence on conduct of audits New standards of professional conduct for attorneys Standards and procedures related to listed company audit committees Strengthening the commission's requirements regarding auditor independence Disclosure in management's discussion and analysis about off-balance sheet arrangements and aggregate contractual obligations
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SEC Rules Pertaining to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Disclosures regarding a code of ethics for senior financial officers and audit committee financial expert Retention of records relevant to audits and reviews Insider trades during pension fund blackout periods Conditions for use of non-GAAP financial measures Certification of disclosure in companies' quarterly and annual reports
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Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
To oversee the audit of public companies that are subject to the securities laws, and related matters, in order to protect the interests of investors further and the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate, and independent audit reports for companies, the securities of which are sold to, and held by and for, public investors
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PCAOB's Duties
Registering public accounting firms that audit publicly traded companies Establishing or adopting auditing, quality control, ethics, independence, and other standards relating to audits of publicly traded companies Inspecting registered public accounting firms
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PCAOB's Duties
Investigating registered public accounting firms and their employees, conducting disciplinary hearings, and imposing sanctions where justified Performing such other duties as are necessary to promote high professional standards among registered accounting firms, to improve the quality of audit services offered by those firms, and to protect investors Enforcing compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the rules of the Board, professional standards, and securities laws relating to public company audits
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Certification Obligations for CEOs and CFOs
Criminal certifications
Corporate officers who knowingly violate the certification requirements are subject to fines of up to $1 million and up to 10 years imprisonment, or both Corporate officers who willfully violate the certification requirements are subject to fines of up to $5 million and up to 20 years imprisonment, or both
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Certification Obligations for CEOs and CFOs Civil Certifications
They have personally reviewed the report Based on their knowledge, the report does not contain any material misstatement that would render the financials misleading Based on their knowledge, the financial information in the report fairly presents in all material respects the financial conditions, results of operations, and cash flows of the company
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Certification Obligations for CEOs and CFOs Civil Certifications
Accepted responsibility for designing, maintaining, and evaluating the company's internal controls; have evaluated the controls within 90 days prior to the report; and have presented their conclusions about the effectiveness of those controls in the report Disclosed to the auditors and the audit committee any material weaknesses in the controls and any fraud, whether material or not, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the company's internal controls Indicated in their report whether there have been significant changes in the company's internal controls since the filing of the last report
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Management Assessment of Internal Controls
All annual reports are required to contain an internal control report that
States management's responsibility for establishing and maintaining an adequate internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting Contains an assessment of the effectiveness of the internal control structure and procedures of the company for financial reporting
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New Standards for Audit Committee Independence
Audit committee responsibilities Composition of the audit committee Financial expert Establishing a whistleblowing structure
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New Standards for Auditor Independence
Restrictions on non-audit activity
Bookkeeping services Financial information systems design and implementation Appraisal or valuation services, fairness opinions, or contributionin-kind reports Actuarial services Internal audit outsource services Management functions or human resources Broker or dealer, investment advisor, or investment banking services Legal services and expert services unrelated to the audit Any other service that the PCAOB proscribes
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New Standards for Auditor Independence
Mandatory audit partner rotation Conflict of interest provisions Auditor reports to audit committees
All critical accounting policies and procedures used Alternative GAAP methods that were discussed with management, the ramifications of the use of those alternative policies, and the treatment preferred by the auditors Any other material written communications between the auditors and management
Auditors' attestation to internal controls Improper influence on audits
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Enhanced Financial Disclosure Requirements
Off-balance sheet transactions Pro forma financial information Prohibitions on personal loans to executives Restrictions on insider trading Code of ethics for senior financial officers Enhanced review of periodic filings Real-time disclosures
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Protections for Corporate Whistleblowers under Sarbanes-Oxley
Civil liability whistleblower protection
Creates civil liability for companies that retaliate against whistleblowers Protects only employees of publicly traded companies The employee must report the suspected misconduct to a federal regulatory or law enforcement agency, a member of Congress or committee of Congress, or a supervisor Employees are protected against retaliation for filing, testifying in, participating in, or otherwise assisting in a proceeding filed or about to be filed Protected even if the company is ultimately found not to have committed securities fraud
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Protections for Corporate Whistleblowers under Sarbanes-Oxley
Criminal liability whistleblower protection
Makes it a crime to knowingly, with the intent to retaliate, take any harmful action against a person for providing truthful information relating to the commission or possible commission of any federal offense Information must be provided to a law enforcement officer in order for protection to be triggered Broader than the civil liability protections Protections covers all individuals regardless of where they work
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Enhanced Penalties for White-Collar Crime
Attempt and conspiracy Mail fraud and wire fraud Securities fraud Document destruction Freezing of assets Bankruptcy loopholes Disgorgement of bonuses
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Frequency of Types of Occupational Fraud and Abuse
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Median Loss of Types of Occupational Fraud and Abuse
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Financial Statement Schemes by Category
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