The Sarbanes Oxley Act Dealt With Four Major Issues Accounting Essay

What responsibilities did David Duncan owe to Arthur Andersen? To Enron ‘s direction? To Enron ‘s shareholders? To the accounting profession?
David Duncan owed Arthur Anderson the duty to make what a sensible employee would make in any state of affairs to include a responsibility to work with sensible attention and accomplishment. Not to interrupt concern, non to vie in concern against Arthur Anderson while still working for them as an employee or behavior Acts of the Apostless of corporate espionage, nor to unwrap Arthur Anderson? s confidential information. Duncan had the responsibility and duty to be honest, and carry out and follow the orders of Arthur Anderson, so long as they were legal, and if non to unwrap the error, even if this will imply him.
As a professional comptroller, David Duncan had an duty to record, supply, and attest to information sing the economic personal businesss of Enron. Because investors and creditors place great trust on fiscal statements in doing their investing and recognition determinations, it is imperative that the fiscal coverage procedure be true and reliable. ‘ Therefore, the duty Duncan owed to Enron? s direction and Enron? s Stockholders was to exert the general responsibility of public presentation, accomplishment and attention of the ordinarily prudent comptroller in the same fortunes and detect a criterion of ethical or societal duty. This responsibility is non merely morally right, but it is required by jurisprudence, and arises from the jurisprudence of carelessness, contract, and fiduciaries ; required by those in professional services, such as comptrollers.

David Duncan owed a duty to the accounting profession to continue and adhere to the ethical codification of the profession. These codifications of moralss are established throughout the professional associations of comptrollers such as The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, The Institute of Management Accountants and the Institute of Internal Auditors. These codifications provide guidelines for responsible behaviour by accounting professionals, and stress unity, objectiveness, confidentiality, and competence.
Duncan failed in his duties to Arthur Anderson, Enron? s direction and shareholders, and the accounting profession. He did non keep his unity, objectiveness, confidentiality, and competence. He did non decently follow By and large Accepted Accounting Principles and unwrap Enron? s true fiscal position, ensuing in an inauspicious impact to Arthur Anderson employees and Enron? s shareholders and employees. When he suspected Enron of unethical behaviour, he failed to inform direction at Enron or Arthur Anderson, his silence was a inactive tolerance to their behaviour. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants codification of moralss suggests that the best involvement of the client is served when comptrollers fulfill their duty to the populace, one time once more Duncan failed.
What are the ethical duties of a corporate lawyer, such as Nancy Temple, who works for an “ aggressive ” client wishing to force the envelope of legality?
The professional responsibilities of an lawyer, who represents or advises hearers, as was the instance with Nancy Temple and Arthur Anderson, must integrate an consciousness of the hearer ‘s professional duties.
Nancy Temple finally owes her responsibility to Arthur Andersen as in-house advocate and was ethically bound to prosecute the involvements of her client and in making so serves the public involvement best by stand foring Arthur Andersen? s involvements. As an lawyer admitted to the Illinois saloon, Nancy Temple was capable to the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct. These regulations impose professional duties of competency, diligence, communicating, and confidentiality. Under both the Illinois Rules and the Model Rules, if a attorney stand foring an organisation “ knows that an officer, employee, or other individual associated with the organisation ” is go againsting the jurisprudence in a mode that is “ likely to ensue in significant hurt to the organisation, ” the attorney shall react by taking “ moderately necessary ” steps that are “ in the best involvement of the organisation. ” Such steps may finally ensue in the attorney ‘s surrender, but shall be designed to minimise the hazard of uncovering confidential information.
Nancy Temple, although non be required to unwrap Arthur Andersen? s confidential information, she could hold elected to stop representation of Arthur Anderson? s due to their engagement in fraud and illegal Acts of the Apostless.
Under what conditions should an employee such as Sherron Watkins blow the whistling to outside governments? To whom did she owe trueness?
Although touted as the “ Enron whistle blower ” Sherron Watkins ne’er truly blew a whistling. Whistle-blowing is the release of information by a member or past member of an organisation who has grounds of illegal or immoral behavior in the organisation, or behavior in the organisation that is non in the public involvement. Whistle-blowing reveals information that would non be normally revealed in mundane context. In about every instance whistle-blowing involves an existent or at least a declared purpose to forestall something bad that would otherwise occur ( Beauchamp, Bowie, & A ; Arnold, 2008 ; Boatright, 2000 ) .
Sharron Watkins, as a whistle blower should hold written the missive to the Houston Chronicle ; Watkins wrote it to Ken Lay, saying “ We ‘re such a crooked company ” and warned him of possible whistle blowers skulking among them, and recommended actions to understate, or minimise the harm ( Time Magazine ; Beauchamp, Bowie, & A ; Arnold, 2008 ) .
In the finding and under which conditions an employee should blow the whistling to outside governments there are two theories, DE Georges? Standard theory and Davis? s Complicity theory.
Harmonizing to DE Georges? Standard Theory, whistle-blowing is allowable when the company will make serious injury, the whistle blower has reported the menace to her superior but concludes it will non be fixed, and the whistle blower has exhausted other internal coverage processs. Furthermore, whistle-blowing is required when there is converting grounds to an impartial perceiver, and a good ground to believe uncovering the menace will forestall the injury at sensible cost ( Beauchamp, Bowie, & A ; Arnold, 2008 ) .
Harmonizing to Davis? s Complicity Theory, whistle-blowing is morally required when the information derives from the persons work at the organisation and non obtained through illegal agencies, such as descrying. That the person is a voluntary member of the organisation and are non being held against their will or hale. The single believes there is serious moral wrong-doing, non a injury. The single believes their work will lend or in some manner be supportive to the moral incorrect if they do non travel public ( Beauchamp, Bowie, & A ; Arnold, 2008 ) .
Sharon Watkins, Vice President and a certified public comptroller, knew the information was damaging, both harmful and morally incorrect, to investors, shareholders, and employees likewise. She did informed her supervisor CEO Ken Lay of sensed abnormalities in the accounting patterns of Fastow? s Special Purpose entities. Therefore, within the context of both theories, she was justified to alarm outside authorizes.
To whom did Sharron Watkins owe trueness? Ronald Duska argues that the employee does non hold an duty of trueness to a company, and that whistle-blowing is allowable, particularly when a company is harming society ( Beauchamp, Bowie, & A ; Arnold, 2008 ) . Additionally, since Sharron Watkins was a member of a professional organisation as a Certified Public Accountant, she was required by their professional codification of moralss to describe unethical behaviour on the portion of her fellow professionals in order to modulate their profession, therefore she owed trueness to the populace, her profession and herself.
To whom does the board of managers owe their primary duty? Can you believe of any jurisprudence or ordinances that would assist guarantee that boards run into their primary duties?
In the United States, corporate jurisprudence dictates that a board of managers must supervise the leading of the house to guarantee that the corporation is run right and efficaciously in the long-run involvement of stockholders. Therefore, the board of managers owes their primary duty to investors ; they owe both the responsibility of attention, or due diligence, and the responsibility of trueness, or seting the investors foremost in their decision-making.
Boardss of managers are by and large recognized as holding five cardinal charges. First, and most of import, they must choose, proctor, evaluate, and when necessary replace the CEO of the house, with a cardinal implicit in responsibility of prosecuting in careful, beforehand sequence planning. Second, the board is responsible for signing the company? s overarching vision and strategic program, once it is developed by the CEO and his or her staff. Advising and reding the CEO and other top directors as needed is a 3rd map of the board, underlining the importance of a board? s diverseness of expertness. The board? s 4th duty is to turn up and put up high-quality board members and to measure the procedures of the board and the public presentation of both the board and its members. Finally, the board is responsible for guaranting the adequateness of the house? s internal control systems, a responsibility that is now reinforced by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 act was designed to protect stockholder value and the general populace from corporate error. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act dealt with four major issues in corporate administration of public corporations. First, the act created an inadvertence board to put and implement auditing criterions and discipline public company hearers. Second, the act intended to further auditor independency. Third, the act increased corporate duty, by necessitating that CEOs and CFOs certify all periodic studies incorporating the company? s fiscal consequences. Having cognition of the enfranchisement of false statements is capable to condemnable liability. Finally, the act enhanced fiscal revelation with respect to the off-balance-sheet minutess and duties with amalgamate entities and persons. These cardinal commissariats of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have significantly strengthened the function of the board of managers and have made directions more accountable.
What responsibilities do authorities regulators owe to concern? To the market? To the general populace?
“ One of the chief duties of authorities regulators is to guarantee that the Torahs they enforce are on a regular basis reviewed, and on occasion adjusted, to take history of altering conditions in the world. ? Federal Trade Commission
Government regulators, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, are responsible for administrating Torahs written to supply protection for investors. The duty authorities regulators owe to concerns is to guarantee they are in conformity with the Torahs in consequence. With respect to the market, the duty to ensures markets are just and honest, and if necessary, implement the Torahs through the appropriate countenances. To the populace, regulators owe the duty of trust, to supply the assurance to the populace that the market and concern are carry oning operations in a just, and legal mode and to supply for informed investing analysis and determination devising by the public investors, chiefly by guaranting equal revelation of stuff information
Are accounting and jurisprudence professions or concerns? What is the difference?
A concern is a lawfully recognized organisation designed to supply goods, services, or both to consumers or other concern in exchange for money. Whereas a profession is a career that is to provide disinterested advocate and service to others for a direct and definite compensation without outlook of other concern additions. In that the primary motivation of concern is to do a net income, and in making so may neglect, a professional is relatively safe as he earns fees for his services and there can non be negative fees. In set uping a concern, no particular educational or proficient makings are required, other than supplying a demand, service, or trade good to the market, a professional is required to get a peculiar grade or making prescribed by a peculiar professional organic structure. Most significantly, in a concern upon completion of the dealing there is no premise or implied contract of any kind, but in a profession their actions, workss, or services do attach to an implied contract, a contract which provides that the service or information provided is true, complete, and verifiable. A professional ‘s good repute is one of his or her most of import ownerships
Peoples need to hold assurance in the quality of the complex services provided by professionals. Because of these high outlooks, professions have adopted codifications of moralss, besides known as codifications of professional behavior. Codes of professional behavior are of extreme importance to professionals and those who rely on their services. These ethical codifications call for their members to keep a degree of self-denial that goes beyond the demands of Torahs and ordinances.
Professionals know that people who use their services, particularly determination shapers, anticipate them to be extremely competent, dependable, and nonsubjective. Those who work in a professional field must non merely be good qualified but must besides possess a high grade of professional unity.
Both comptrollers and lawyers are professions, in that they both must provide disinterested advocate for a set fee, they are hired or contracted to execute a service and in making that service, are to supply an honorable appraisal or true information. Therefore they have a professional duty to their clients, to the authorities, and to the populace.