1. Consult PCAOB Ethics and Independence Rule 3520. What is the auditor independence, and what is its significance to the audit profession? What is the difference between independence in appearance and independence in fact? According to PCAOB Ethics and Independence Rule 3520 a registered public accounting firm and its associated persons must be independent of the firm's audit client throughout the audit and professional engagement period. Independence is required for all audit engagements. The auditor must be independent of an entity when performing an engagement according to General Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS). Independence is very significant to the audit profession, because the primary purpose of an audit is to provide financial …show more content…
According to SARBOX Arthur Andersen should not have been a consultant according to the case in 2000 they were paid $50 million dollars for services of which $27 million more than half was for consultation and other services. I believe that section 201 is needed, because an auditor should not be able to audit and consult at the same time this created a conflict of interest and it compromised Arthur Andersen independence this also lead to …show more content…
Before Sarbanes-Oxley section 301 it was more difficult for an auditor to conduct his/her job because it would be often difficult for them to confront or challenge the CFO or the Controllers with accounting issues because these individuals had the authority to firing an auditor of auditing firm. This section has helped to improve the auditor’s independence because now the auditor reports directly to the audit committee who are above the CFO and Controller. Therefore if the auditor has an issue and go the CFO and he challenges the auditor he can go above
3. Which of the following is not normally a condition that must be met for revenue to be recognized
Objectivity and independence is most related to the section 5062.2 of CA Accountancy Act because both focus on maintaining objectivity and be free of conflicts of interest in making professional decision. In addition, section 5062.2 shows that a CPA should not accept employment with the Corporation that they audited within last 12 months.
The parties who could potentially be affected by the outcomes of these dilemmas include Cardillo, the audit firms involved, investors of Cardillo, creditors, and the general public. If the auditors had agreed to accept the transactions, they would not only have subjected their respective audit firms to litigation risk but also compromised the integrity of the audit since it would not be free of material misstatement. On the other hand, by refusing to accept Cardillo's explanation, the auditors could lose Cardillo as a client. Lastly, the auditors have a responsibility to the public, including investors, creditors, and competitors who rely on the financial statements to be accurate. The auditors must maintain independence to ensure that the financial information is fair to all parties and not biased to benefit Cardillo.
Under the accrual basis of accounting, expenses are matched with revenues on the income statement when the expenses expire or title has transferred to the buyer, rather than at the time when expenses are paid. The balance sheet is also affected at the time of the expense by a decrease in Cash (if the expense was paid at the time the expense was incurred), an increase in Accounts Payable (if the expense will be paid in the future), or a decrease in Prepaid Expenses (if the expense was paid in
The independence of mind or independence in fact means Betty has to have a state of mind that allow her to form an opinion without bias due to influence that compromises professional judgment. By having an independence of mind allowing an individual to perform his or her audit work with integrity, as well as, maintaining her objectivity and professional skepticism behavior. However, in this case, she did not have an independence of mind since she trusted Toby and she enjoyed working with him since he is also a CPA because it is easy for her to work with him compare to her other clients who do not have the accounting background. As a result, because of long-term relationship and trust that Betty has with Toby, it influenced her decision about the audit opinion. Additionally, to be independent in appearance Betty and her audit team must show unbiased professional judgment when she reviews her clients ' financial statements. Betty had Problems with independence in appearance because in the case study shown me that she has become too close to her client, Toby. Therefore, all auditors have to maintain their professional skepticism as well as maintain independence in their mental attitude and also independence in appearance to provide an unbiased opinion on
With every business activity come opportunities for fraudulent behavior which leads to a greater demand for auditors with unscathed ethics. Nowadays, auditors are faced with a multitude of ethical issues, and it is even more problematic when the auditors fail to adhere to the standards of professional conducts as prescribed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The objective of this paper is to analyze the auditors’ compliance with the code of professional conduct in the way it relates to the effectiveness of their audits.
5 Recognition and Measurement in Financial Statements of Business Enterprises, revenue should not be recognized until they are realized or realizable (FASB, 1984). In other words, when revenues are recognized if they are realizable is when the stated assets have need received or they are readily held convertible to known figures. It is also stated that revenue can be recognized when it is earned. Accounting Standards Codification 606-10-25-1 states that an entity shall account for a contract with a customer that is within the scope of: the parties to the contract approving the contract (in writing, orally, or in accordance with other customary business practices) and are committed to perform their respective obligations, the entity can identify each party’s rights regarding the goods or services to be transferred, the entity can identify the payment terms for the goods or services to be transferred, the contract has commercial substance (that is, the risk, timing, or amount of the entity’s future cash flows is expected to change as a result of the contract), and it is probable that the entity will collect substantially all of the consideration to which it will be entitled in exchange for the goods or services that will be transferred to the customer (FASB,
"Audit Independence - Independence of Australian Company Auditors." Insert Name of Site in Italics. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014 .
Revenue serves as a representation of how much a company is worth in terms of how many products sold or services offered. The revenue recognition principle states that “revenue should be recognized when earned” (Averkamp 2004, online). When revenue is recognized is split over several periods, it can make a company appear to be more profitable, and display a stability in earnings that does not exist. When revenue is recorded as one lump sum at a future period such a recession, it can make companies appear to be profitable during a time when they should not be.
When an audit engagement team suspects that independence has been lost, the situation should be taken care of immediately to reestablish independence. The definitions and rules presented by the AICPA should be used in accordance with the firm’s independence policies. The article inspiring this discussion concerns an employee of Ernst & Young in Indonesia violating PCAOB standards. The audit failure was during the audit of an Indonesian telecommunications company.
Would you say that Independence for Auditors and the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct are similar? Today I will give details explaining the similarities between the two and the differences between the two. I decided to go with the following ethical codes because they’re possibly the two most important when it comes to being an auditor. In violation of either of the two could hurt your name, business, and company drastically. However following the rules, may also cause you to loose clients, which is always a problem because loosing money is never fun.
To understand how an entity should recognize revenue, it is fundamental that you understand the four criteria for revenue recognition:
FASB Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts (CON) 5, Recognition and Measurement in Financial Statements of Business Enterprises, set forth the historic guiding principle to revenue recognition. Pursuant to paragraph 83, for revenue to be recognized it must be (a) realized or realizable and (b) earned. Revenues are “realized” when products, goods, services, or other assets are exchanged for cash or claims to cash. They are “realizable” when related assets received or held are readily convertible to known amounts of cash or claims of cash. Revenue is “earned” when an entity has “substantially accomplished what it must do to be entitled to the benefits represented by the revenues.” SEC Staff Accounting Bulleting (SAB) 104, Revenue Recognition issued in December 2003 provided additional guidance to when revenue is realized or realizable and earned setting forth four basic criteria: (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (2) delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, (3) the seller’s price to the buyer is fixed or determinable, and (4) collectibility is reasonable assured.
What exactly is accountant independence? I have determined that accountant independence is very similar to being an independent auditor. When it comes to auditor independence, it refers to the independence of the internal auditor or the external auditor from parties that may have a financial interest in the business being audited. The initial concept of auditor independence was developed in the 19th century, which primarily originated with the British. In that era, British investors didn’t allow auditors to work in the businesses that they audited. The initial concept began to change in the early 20th century due to the shift in capital from foreign to domestic sources in the railroad, mining industries and the inventions of the telegraph and telephone. As time passed to the 1970’s, FASB was established as the authoritative independent accounting standards setter. In the second half of the 20th century there were ongoing debates about accountant independence. Thomas A. Lee, in Company Auditing, 3rd ed. (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1986, page 89), said, “An honest auditor will behave like someone who is independent, using independence to mean an attitude of mind which does not allow the viewpoints and conclusions of its possessor to become reliant on or subordinate to the influence and pressures of conflicting interests.” This statement was very admirable but didn’t include the auditor’s state of mind as they audited. On the other hand, P. Moizier, in “Independence” (in Current Issues in Auditing, Publishing Ltd., 1991), argued for an economic rationale for auditor independence. He said “There is an expectation that the auditor will have performed an audit that will have reduced the chances of a successful negligence lawsuit to a level ...
As per ISA (NZ) 200-A17, this ethical requirement includes the auditors integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, & professional behaviour. Integrity is an ethical attitude which includes the auditor’s honesty, accuracy, and fair practice. Objectivity is a mental attitude while carrying out the audit wherein the auditor is fair and just with all his/her work. Professional competence is the knowledge and skill of the auditor, gained through education, training and experience, while due care is a degree of care of an auditor on certain situations wherein an he/she must act diligently. Confidentiality is the commitment of the auditor not to disclose any information regarding his/her client, unless required by law. Professional behaviour means the auditor must act in accordance to the law and set of standard as a manifestation of respect to the