The Institute of Internal Auditors. "Internal Auditing's Role In Section 302 and 404 of the U.S Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002." The Institute of Internal Auditors (2004): 1-13.
Even though internal controls do not always work, every entity that has workers should have internal controls. Internal controls protect entities from dishonest workers. Internal controls are a series of checks and balances. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was needed to gain control of accounting improprieties. Dishonest accounting has cost company employees millions of dollars in retirement funds. It has also cost investors millions of dollars.
Capitalism is almost too good to be true, but there comes a time when government intervention becomes a necessity, especially after a series of scandals in corporate businesses that destroyed the trust of investors and consumers. The government finally had to come up with a solution due to the fact that the free market is no longer efficient on its own. Established in 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also known as Public Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act, is a federal law that aims to improve corporate governance by increasing compliance regulations and financial transparency in hopes of preventing big scale corruptions such as the Enron Scandal from happening again. The Enron Scandal, along with other corruption and fraud in the businesses
The act introduced changes to the regulation of corporate governance. The intent of the act is to protect investors from inaccurate financial reporting. It sets forth strict compliance regulations and harsh penalties for violations (Cross & Miller, 2012). The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is made up of eleven titles designed to restore public opinion and trust. The titles address issues independent of one and another, but it is the fluidity among them that allows them to operate as one. The act requires companies to establish internal controls to safeguard the integrity of its financial reporting. In turn, these controls are designed to provide shareholders a level of confidence in the company’s discloser reports. Also a, year-end financial audit is completed, along with an assessment of the overall effectiveness of the company’s internal auditing programs (Cross & Miller,
Individual Article Review Lily Cobian LAW/421 March 31, 2014 Ramon E. Ortiz-Velez Individual Article Review Introduction My article review is based on Sarbanes-Oxley and audit failure, a critical examination why the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was established and why it is not a guarantee to prevent failure of audits. Sarbanes-Oxley Act talks about scandals of Enron which occurred in 2001 and even more appalling the company’s auditor, Arthur Anderson, found guilty of shredding company documents after finding out Enron Company was going to be audited. The exorbitant amounts of money auditors get paid to hide audit discrepancies was also beyond belief. The article went on to explain many companies hire relatives or friends to do their audits, resulting in fraud, money embezzlement, corruption and even the demise of companies. Resulting in the public losing faith in the accounting profession, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act passed in 2002 by congress was designed to restrict what company owners and auditors can and cannot do. From what I gathered in the article, ever since the implementation of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act there has been somewhat of an improvement but questions are still being asked as to why there are still issues that are not being targeted in hopes of preventing more audit failures. The article also talked about four common causes of audit failure: unintentional auditor mistakes, fraud, fatigue and auditor client relationships. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct clearly states an independent auditor because it produces a credible audit, however, when there is conflict of interest, the relation of a former employer, or a relative or even the fear of getting fire...
In 2002, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) to strengthen corporate governance and restore investor confidence. The act’s most important provision, §404, requires management and independent auditors to evaluate annually a firm’s internal financial-reporting controls. In addition, SOX tightens disclosure rules, requires management to certify the firm’s periodic reports, strengthens boards’ independence and financial-literacy requirements, and raises auditor-independence standards.
In conclusion, internal controls include separation of duties, assignment of responsibilities, third-party verification and the use of mechanical and physical controls. In and of themselves, these tactics stop and prevent much abuse of the bookkeeping and accounting systems. The addition of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements in 2002 require that a company enact internal controls and assign responsibility of the control system to executives and directors, further providing insurance that financial reporting is accurate. Without this insurance that reports are accurate, company stock will fall and investors will be lost. Even with intrinsic limitations, the positive aspects of good internal controls far outweigh the negative implications. Good internal controls equal accurate financial records and future company success.
After major corporate and accounting scandals like those that affected Tyco, Worldcom and Enron the Federal government passed a law known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act. This law was passed in hopes of thwarting illegal and misleading acts by financial reporters and putting a stop to the decline of public trust in accounting and reporting practices. Two important topics covered in Sarbanes-Oxley are auditor independence and the reporting and assessment of internal controls under section 404.
It requires that the annual reports of public companies include an end-of-fiscal-year assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. It also requires that the company's independent auditors attest to, and report on, this assessment. CITATION Ton06 \l 1033 (Noblett, 2006)
Internal controls are increasingly a crucial part of any business large or small. Controls serve two purposes according to financial accounting chapter eight; they safeguard assets and enhance the accuracy and reliability of accounting records. Expanding on that concept internal controls are put in place as a result of activities that have occurred in the past and are an effort to protect internal and external users. Internal controls safeguard company assets by outlining fair and efficient regulations in an effort to prevent theft. Regulations designed to establish responsibility, segregation of duties, and accountability protect investors, management, and the public. The result of a financial outrage and catastrophes of WorldCom, Enron, Tyco, Hollinger, and Tyco necessitated the need for better regulation and control leading to the creation of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX).
The Oxford dictionary states that fraud is the “wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain” (Oxford University Press, 2014). It is arguable that only individuals have the ability to engage in fraud, but these individuals may lead corporations, which allows corporations also to commit acts of fraud. From a high-level perspective for combating this issue, many governments build a regulatory environment that interacts through firms and individuals. This regulatory environment exists as a series of laws and directives on the various government entities interact to ensure this protection. These laws and directives protect the public from fraud. This coverage of the regulatory environment even protects the public from fraud that happens within a corporation. Laws, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002 give protection against internal fraud. Understanding the effects of regulation on ethical behavior, and understanding the regulatory environment, ensures that one possesses a basic understanding of how the regulatory environment protects the public.
The companies will begin to implement its enterprise risk management system by developing an appropriate internal control and corporate governance system. In the wake of high-profile corporate scandals and subsequent regulatory legislation, reporting internal controls has become a requirement. These requirements have led to organizations viewing risk management as an area of vital importance.
Companies must have “Internal Control” to maintain principles and limitations. Internal controls are in place to help with securing the company from theft, robbery, and unauthorized use and enhancing the corrected and reliability of its accounting records by minimizing errors and making sure that are no unknown patterns in the accounting process. All U.S. corporations are required to have an adequate system of internal control because of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 or the companies will be subject to fines and company officers may be imprisoned that do
99, Congress took steps in response to big fraud scandals and passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002 to restore public confidence in accounting profession. The intention of the new legislation is to “improve the audit effectiveness and the credibility of financial reporting” (Ernst & Young 2012). Generally, the Act focus on strengthening corporate governance, enhancing auditor independence and management accountability for financial disclosures and accuracy. Under Sarbanes-Oxley Act, auditors are prohibited to provide non-audit services for audited firms. In addition, Section 404 of the Act requires auditors to evaluate and issue an opinion regarding the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting of the audited firm. The act also requires auditors the audit committee, consisted of independent members, to engage and oversee the external auditors. The implementation of these rules has led to great improvements in audit
The report on internal controls, according to ExxonMobil’s CEO, Treasurer and Controller, states they are solely “responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over (ExxonMobil’s) financial reporting.” They evaluated the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting based on COSO’s framework and concluded that controls were effective (MD&A, F-22). The report in internal controls acknowledged us—ExxonMobil’s independent public accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)—stating that the Corporation maintained effective internal control over financial reporting for 2009 and 2010 as it is the responsibility of management to maintain and assess its effectiveness. We, PwC, are responsible only to express an opinion on internal controls, which we opined in 2009 as unqualified (MD&A, F-22).