Auditors have come into a department as part of a company-wide audit prior to issuing an audit opinion for the company’s financial reports. In a one- to two-page paper (not including the title and reference pages), explain what the staff should expect the auditors to do. Be sure to include the requirements of the Sarbanes Oxley Act in your explanation.
Your paper must be formatted according to APA style, and it must include citations and references for the text and at least two scholarly sources.
Grading Rubric
Total Possible Score: 7.00
Explains What the Staff Should Expect the Auditors to Do
Total: 6.00
Distinguished – Accurately and thoroughly explains what the staff should expect from the auditors, including SOX requirements.
Proficient – Explains what the staff should expect from the auditors, including SOX requirements. The explanation has few inaccuracies or minor details are missing.
Basic – Explains what the staff should expect from the auditors, including SOX requirements. The explanation has several inaccuracies and/ or relevant details are missing.
Below Expectations – Attempts to explain what the staff should expect from the auditors, including SOX requirements; however, the explanation has many inaccuracies and/ or significant details are missing.
Non-Performance – The explanation of what the staff should expect from the auditors is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.
Written Communication: Control of Syntax and Mechanics
Total: 0.25
Distinguished – Displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains no errors and is very easy to understand.
Proficient – Displays comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains only a few minor errors and is mostly easy to understand.
Basic – Displays basic comprehension of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains a few errors which may slightly distract the reader.
Below Expectations – Fails to display basic comprehension of syntax or mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains major errors which distract the reader.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.
Written Communication: APA Formatting
Total: 0.25
Distinguished – Accurately uses APA formatting consistently throughout the paper, title page, and reference page.
Proficient – Exhibits APA formatting throughout the paper. However, layout contains a few minor errors.
Basic – Exhibits limited knowledge of APA formatting throughout the paper. However, layout does not meet all APA requirements.
Below Expectations – Fails to exhibit basic knowledge of APA formatting. There are frequent errors, making the layout difficult to distinguish as APA.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.
Written Communication: Page Requirement
Total: 0.25
Distinguished – The length of the paper is equivalent to the required number of correctly formatted pages.
Proficient – The length of the paper is nearly equivalent to the required number of correctly formatted pages.
Basic – The length of the paper is equivalent to at least three quarters of the required number of correctly formatted pages.
Below Expectations – The length of the paper is equivalent to at least one half of the required number of correctly formatted pages.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.
Written Communication: Resource Requirement
Total: 0.25
Distinguished – Uses more than the required number of scholarly sources, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.
Proficient – Uses the required number of scholarly sources to support ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.
Basic – Uses less than the required number of sources to support ideas. Some sources may not be scholarly. Most sources on the reference page are used within the body of the assignment. Citations may not be formatted correctly.
Below Expectations – Uses an inadequate number of sources that provide little or no support for ideas. Sources used may not be scholarly. Most sources on the reference page are not used within the body of the assignment. Citations are not formatted correctly.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.
WEEKLY Lecture
Evaluating the Quality of Financial Reports
The collapse of Enron in the early 2000s, which was a result of massive financial manipulation, gave rise to a new era of financial reporting supervision with the establishment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002. The Act required all executives to give certified and accurate financial information. Various mechanisms were put in place to reduce financial accounting irregularities (Cunningham, 2005). Managers are therefore required to have a clear understanding of the regulations put in place and the bodies which enforce them in order to conform with them accordingly. Issuance of financial reports and sale of securities to the public is monitored by such organizations as:
1. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
2. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and
3. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FIRA)
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has developed the financial accounting standards to be used in the U.S. since 1973. Its function is to oversee the preparation of financial reports by non-governmental entities. FASB ensures that financial statements contain information relevant for sound decision making. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been charged with the statutory authority of establishing reporting standards for U.S. public companies. Although it does not develop the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), it has power to monitor financial reporting. The SEC seeks its authority from three security laws: The Securities Act of 1933 (SEC, 2012b), The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (SEC, 2012c), The Investment Company Act of 1940 (SEC, 2012a), The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SEC, 2005), and The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (SEC, 2014). The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FIRA) regulates securities firms conducting business with the public in the U.S. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) develops and Publishes International Financial Reporting Standards through the help of its 15-full time members from different countries working with stakeholders all over the world. The usefulness of financial reports to readers depends on report quality. The conceptual framework for financial reporting categorizes qualitative characteristics of financial reports into two broad categories: fundamental qualitative characteristics, which include relevance and faithful representation, and enhancing qualitative characteristics, which make financial reports more useful and include comparability, timeliness, verifiability, and understandability. Presentation of financial reporting is limited by materiality and cost constraints. There exist differences in U.S. reporting requirements and the international requirements, although efforts have been undertaken to congregate the U.S. GAAP rules with the international financial reporting rules (Oxford Analytica, 2009). Differences in U.S. reporting requirements and international financial reporting are evident in terms of asset value, revenue recognition, research and development, inventory and discontinued operations. It is a requirement by law that financial statements of a public company be audited by an external auditing body that reviews the company’s operations and the financial statements to ensure that they are accurate and are in conformity with proper internal controls. They also help cross-check financial statements for creative accounting tricks that companies can use to mislead the public. These include false reporting of revenue, assets, expenses and liabilities.
References:
Cunningham, C. (2005). The gain and pain of Sarbanes-Oxley. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2005/12/29/microsoft-guidant-sox-in_cc_1230soapbox_inl.html Oxford Analytica. (2009). Accounting for a difference of opinion. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/14/global-accounting-standards-iasb-fasb-business-accounting-standards.html
