Description
Resources: The University Library or the Electronic Reserve Readings
Identify a business research project in your own business or locate a business research article in the library. This project should be one that you perceive to be conducted in an ethical manner.
Write a 600- to 1,200-word paper in which you create a set of ethical research guidelines for the research:
- Summarize the business research project or article.
- What unethical research practices should be avoided in this project?
- Which particular parties involved in the research could face injury? What injuries could occur?
- How could unethical behavior in this research affect the organization, the individual, and society?
- How could the unethical behavior be monitored or resolved if found to be occurring?
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
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ACT 560 CSUGC Portfolio Project Module Discussion
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You graduated from CSU Global with a Master of Professional Accounting ...
ACT 560 CSUGC Portfolio Project Module Discussion
Here's the role you are playing in this Case Study:
You graduated from CSU Global with a Master of Professional Accounting degree.
You earned your CPA credential from the state of Oklahoma; you applied and were accepted by the AICPA. After working in the field for years, you are now a qualified auditor and you recently joined Skylar, Morgan and Anderson Accounting Firm (SM&A).
First review the case study, and then answer the questions that follow.
Here's an outline of this Case Study:
This year, Oklahoma Natural Solutions (ONS) was preparing for the end-of-year audit plan, procedures and opinion for the annual 10K report. SM&A was selected as the public audit firm that will prepare the annual audit plan, assessment, audit procedures and opinion.
ONS is trading on NASDAQ for $9.00 per share. Two years ago, ONS had a $25.00 per share value. ONS has a market float value of $100 million. The main stockholders are pension funds, state retirement funds, hedge funds in the oil sector, and thousands of individual stockholders. Last year, ONS had earnings per share (EPS) of $2.00 and paid cash dividends of $1.50 per share. The company has been under tremendous pressure to raise the stock price. However, the oil and gas marketplace has been very difficult with West Tennessee Intermediate (WTI) at $47.00 per barrel and the natural gas well price at $3.05 cubic foot at Henry Hub in Kansas. Henry Hub has nine major gas pipelines converging to supply gas at the location in Oklahoma. Most of this natural gas product is shipped by ONS to the northeast. ONS mostly has gas wells in the Lakeland Shale play area of Oklahoma.
Background of ONS top Leadership:
Chairman of the Board: Alexander Fred, age 65. He has been with the company for 40 years and was part of original group of individuals that started the company.
CEO: Patrick Fred, age 42, son of the chairman. Family owns 36% of all common stocks and 90% of preferred Stock A.
CFO: Melinda Jones, age 38, a CPA who has been with the company since she was 22 years old. Ms. Jones worked her way up through the organization. She is well liked by the chairman, Alexander Fred. Ms. Jones is a member of the AICPA and the State of Oklahoma CPA organization.
VP Production: Roger Rock, age 44, a petroleum production person; oil is in his veins. Received his Petroleum Engineering Degree from Texas A &M. Has been with the company just one year. Prior to joining ONS, he worked for Chevron for over 20 years.
Treasurer: Mrs. Hanna Hemp, age 36. She joined the firm just six months ago. Worked for a hedge fund in the Boston area for 15 years. Considered a team player by the chairman, Alexander Fred.
Audit subcommittee from Board of Directors:
James Fernandez, 63. He is on the BOD. College roommate of Alexander Fred. Mr. Fernandez has a CPA from Northern Kentucky.
Bill Fideo, financial expert on the committee, age 27. Just joined the board less than six months. He has never before been a member of the Board of Director (BOD) or been on the audit committee with any company. He is currently on the BOD. He earned his CPA from Southern Oklahoma Tech.
Public Audit firm: Skylar, Maryland, & Anderson
Location of office: Swayzee, Oklahoma.
Partner in Charge, Ms. Loise Maryland. Partner with 25 years' of experience in the oil and gas industry.
Accounting Audit Supervisor assigned to ONS, Ms. Sarah Diamond. She has audit experiences with 15 years in the petroleum marketplace.
Audit accountants assigned to the client, ONS: Ms. Lisa Lang, two years' experience; Mr. Andy Anderson, 18 months of experiences; Mr. Arnold Hernandez, one year of experiences.
SM&A won the bid process to perform the audit of ONS. The bidding was extremely competitive among five firms. The partners with the public accounting firm are hoping to have ONS as a client for the next five years. The public accounting firm has been losing customers to regional accounting firms in the last three years.
Ms. Maryland lives in a 5,000-sq. foot home in Oak Hill Country Club. Her husband loves to play golf. He does not have employment with any firm. Ms. Diamond loves working for Ms. Maryland and she would do anything for her. They are extremely close.
Situation:
This year's audit plan started out fine with cooperation between management and the audit firm. However, during the first quarter review, revenue numbers appeared to be higher in the vertical and horizontal analytics on previous quarters and the annual financial statement. The audit team meet to discuss the impact but could not find any negative or accounting entries earnings management numbers. Ms. Maryland and Ms. Diamond requested a meeting with Ms. Jones, CFO. In the meeting, Mrs. Jones informed the audit team that everything was fine. They booked some good sales in the quarter.
ONS management behind the scenes:
Sales have been flat for this year compared to last year. Natural gas well prices are trending downward at Henry Hub. The average revenue gas well per cubic foot price in the last year was $3.50. In this year, the Henry Hub gas well price is around $3.05. Gas volume is only 5% higher.
In a recent closed meeting, Patrick Fred and Alexander Fred suggested that Ms. Jones be creative and aggressive in booking revenue. No record was kept of the conversation. Ms. Jones said she knew what to do. Mr. Alexander Fred said having positive revenue would create a positive environment for the ONS stock versus other companies of similar size in the marketplace. In the meeting, Ms. Jones said nothing about integrity or the duty to stockholders. She simply kept quiet on the issue.
Questions
Using the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (Links to an external site.), describe how this was either applied, misapplied, or completely ignored.
Using the COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework Executive Summary (Links to an external site.), describe the internal control weaknesses. Provide your recommendation for how to tighten up the controls for ONS based on the COSO summary.
Explain some of the actions of ONS leadership and the audit team based on the Fraud Triangle.
Using a virtue ethics approach, explain the shortcomings and describe how these principles could have benefited SM&A?
How would the duty-based concepts of deontology have been applied to this situation from both ONS and SM&A?
Describe how ONS and SM&A might have altered their choices if they would have been operating in the mode of transparency and in the best interest of various stakeholders (stockholders, community, employees, creditors)?
How might the consequentialism ethical theory have been expressed and practiced by Patrick and Alexander Fred?
What could be the quantitative and qualitative benefits and costs for Mrs. Melinda Jones to follow the request?
What might be the criminal and punitive damages under SOX to upper management if they certify this year's financial statements?
G440POT4001 Rasmussen College Module 04 Democracy and Majorities Discussion
You work at a research lab and are 1 of the 6 researchers. Philip, a
well-known and highly respected scientist in the la ...
G440POT4001 Rasmussen College Module 04 Democracy and Majorities Discussion
You work at a research lab and are 1 of the 6 researchers. Philip, a
well-known and highly respected scientist in the lab has offered a
theory that the cholesterol in eggs can have serious negative health
effects on children. He cites 5 case studies done in different regions
of the country over a two-year period and all studies suggest that
negative health issues can be linked to egg consumption. His
presentation is very compelling and the research lab has been offered
significant amounts of government grant money to promote the findings of
the cholesterol study.The lab goes forward with the cholesterol research and assigns the
other 5 researchers the task of furthering the study. After one year of
research and much economic success for everyone at the research lab, a
meeting is convened to assess the progress of the program. At this
meeting, Rose, a second scientist with a long history of field research
experience offers the theory that while there could be a relational
effect of the cholesterol in eggs to children, she argues that there is
no causal relationship and these findings should be published. The group
is stunned as no one has ever challenged Philip’s work and his previous
studies on other areas have all been accepted by the scientific
community. Rose is excoriated by the group and is told by the research
lab that Philip’s reputation speaks for itself and her study is not
credible and will not be pursued. Two years later, a rival lab proves
Rose’s theory and Philp’s research lab loses all government funding.How can it be that a group of intelligent, experienced researchers
would not explore the possibility of another theory in their study?What is the importance of dissenting opinions?Do I listen to and fully understand the point of view of the person
expressing a dissenting opinion, especially if that person is the sole
voice in the room.Do I arrive at my opinion without sufficient critical analysis?Am I basing my position on assumptions that I presume to be true, but that perhaps are not sufficiently tested or researched?n 2-3 pages, explain how Locke and Rousseau might respond to this case
of the research lab and groupthink if they were confronted with this
situation. How might they explain majority rule and the social contract
to illustrate their philosophy in dealing with groupthink? Support your
analysis with quotes or paraphrases from the philosophers. Use APA
format and citation when writing your assignment.
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Mba 630 9043 Leading In The Multicultural Global
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Netiquette refers to the correct or acceptable way of communicating on the internet. Here is an example for you to evaluate this week in our discussion:Your co-worker, Kevin, sent an email telling your supervisor that you were not doing your part on a project. He also sent you an email filled with insults and profanity about your work ethic and performance.How do you respond to Kevin in a professional way? Do you: Share your concerns with Kevin in front of everyone in the break roomAvoid speaking to him all togetherAsk to meet with him privately and explain how it makes you feelProvide an explanation of your choice.
ACT 560 CSUGC Portfolio Project Module Discussion
Here's the role you are playing in this Case Study:
You graduated from CSU Global with a Master of Professional Accounting ...
ACT 560 CSUGC Portfolio Project Module Discussion
Here's the role you are playing in this Case Study:
You graduated from CSU Global with a Master of Professional Accounting degree.
You earned your CPA credential from the state of Oklahoma; you applied and were accepted by the AICPA. After working in the field for years, you are now a qualified auditor and you recently joined Skylar, Morgan and Anderson Accounting Firm (SM&A).
First review the case study, and then answer the questions that follow.
Here's an outline of this Case Study:
This year, Oklahoma Natural Solutions (ONS) was preparing for the end-of-year audit plan, procedures and opinion for the annual 10K report. SM&A was selected as the public audit firm that will prepare the annual audit plan, assessment, audit procedures and opinion.
ONS is trading on NASDAQ for $9.00 per share. Two years ago, ONS had a $25.00 per share value. ONS has a market float value of $100 million. The main stockholders are pension funds, state retirement funds, hedge funds in the oil sector, and thousands of individual stockholders. Last year, ONS had earnings per share (EPS) of $2.00 and paid cash dividends of $1.50 per share. The company has been under tremendous pressure to raise the stock price. However, the oil and gas marketplace has been very difficult with West Tennessee Intermediate (WTI) at $47.00 per barrel and the natural gas well price at $3.05 cubic foot at Henry Hub in Kansas. Henry Hub has nine major gas pipelines converging to supply gas at the location in Oklahoma. Most of this natural gas product is shipped by ONS to the northeast. ONS mostly has gas wells in the Lakeland Shale play area of Oklahoma.
Background of ONS top Leadership:
Chairman of the Board: Alexander Fred, age 65. He has been with the company for 40 years and was part of original group of individuals that started the company.
CEO: Patrick Fred, age 42, son of the chairman. Family owns 36% of all common stocks and 90% of preferred Stock A.
CFO: Melinda Jones, age 38, a CPA who has been with the company since she was 22 years old. Ms. Jones worked her way up through the organization. She is well liked by the chairman, Alexander Fred. Ms. Jones is a member of the AICPA and the State of Oklahoma CPA organization.
VP Production: Roger Rock, age 44, a petroleum production person; oil is in his veins. Received his Petroleum Engineering Degree from Texas A &M. Has been with the company just one year. Prior to joining ONS, he worked for Chevron for over 20 years.
Treasurer: Mrs. Hanna Hemp, age 36. She joined the firm just six months ago. Worked for a hedge fund in the Boston area for 15 years. Considered a team player by the chairman, Alexander Fred.
Audit subcommittee from Board of Directors:
James Fernandez, 63. He is on the BOD. College roommate of Alexander Fred. Mr. Fernandez has a CPA from Northern Kentucky.
Bill Fideo, financial expert on the committee, age 27. Just joined the board less than six months. He has never before been a member of the Board of Director (BOD) or been on the audit committee with any company. He is currently on the BOD. He earned his CPA from Southern Oklahoma Tech.
Public Audit firm: Skylar, Maryland, & Anderson
Location of office: Swayzee, Oklahoma.
Partner in Charge, Ms. Loise Maryland. Partner with 25 years' of experience in the oil and gas industry.
Accounting Audit Supervisor assigned to ONS, Ms. Sarah Diamond. She has audit experiences with 15 years in the petroleum marketplace.
Audit accountants assigned to the client, ONS: Ms. Lisa Lang, two years' experience; Mr. Andy Anderson, 18 months of experiences; Mr. Arnold Hernandez, one year of experiences.
SM&A won the bid process to perform the audit of ONS. The bidding was extremely competitive among five firms. The partners with the public accounting firm are hoping to have ONS as a client for the next five years. The public accounting firm has been losing customers to regional accounting firms in the last three years.
Ms. Maryland lives in a 5,000-sq. foot home in Oak Hill Country Club. Her husband loves to play golf. He does not have employment with any firm. Ms. Diamond loves working for Ms. Maryland and she would do anything for her. They are extremely close.
Situation:
This year's audit plan started out fine with cooperation between management and the audit firm. However, during the first quarter review, revenue numbers appeared to be higher in the vertical and horizontal analytics on previous quarters and the annual financial statement. The audit team meet to discuss the impact but could not find any negative or accounting entries earnings management numbers. Ms. Maryland and Ms. Diamond requested a meeting with Ms. Jones, CFO. In the meeting, Mrs. Jones informed the audit team that everything was fine. They booked some good sales in the quarter.
ONS management behind the scenes:
Sales have been flat for this year compared to last year. Natural gas well prices are trending downward at Henry Hub. The average revenue gas well per cubic foot price in the last year was $3.50. In this year, the Henry Hub gas well price is around $3.05. Gas volume is only 5% higher.
In a recent closed meeting, Patrick Fred and Alexander Fred suggested that Ms. Jones be creative and aggressive in booking revenue. No record was kept of the conversation. Ms. Jones said she knew what to do. Mr. Alexander Fred said having positive revenue would create a positive environment for the ONS stock versus other companies of similar size in the marketplace. In the meeting, Ms. Jones said nothing about integrity or the duty to stockholders. She simply kept quiet on the issue.
Questions
Using the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (Links to an external site.), describe how this was either applied, misapplied, or completely ignored.
Using the COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework Executive Summary (Links to an external site.), describe the internal control weaknesses. Provide your recommendation for how to tighten up the controls for ONS based on the COSO summary.
Explain some of the actions of ONS leadership and the audit team based on the Fraud Triangle.
Using a virtue ethics approach, explain the shortcomings and describe how these principles could have benefited SM&A?
How would the duty-based concepts of deontology have been applied to this situation from both ONS and SM&A?
Describe how ONS and SM&A might have altered their choices if they would have been operating in the mode of transparency and in the best interest of various stakeholders (stockholders, community, employees, creditors)?
How might the consequentialism ethical theory have been expressed and practiced by Patrick and Alexander Fred?
What could be the quantitative and qualitative benefits and costs for Mrs. Melinda Jones to follow the request?
What might be the criminal and punitive damages under SOX to upper management if they certify this year's financial statements?
G440POT4001 Rasmussen College Module 04 Democracy and Majorities Discussion
You work at a research lab and are 1 of the 6 researchers. Philip, a
well-known and highly respected scientist in the la ...
G440POT4001 Rasmussen College Module 04 Democracy and Majorities Discussion
You work at a research lab and are 1 of the 6 researchers. Philip, a
well-known and highly respected scientist in the lab has offered a
theory that the cholesterol in eggs can have serious negative health
effects on children. He cites 5 case studies done in different regions
of the country over a two-year period and all studies suggest that
negative health issues can be linked to egg consumption. His
presentation is very compelling and the research lab has been offered
significant amounts of government grant money to promote the findings of
the cholesterol study.The lab goes forward with the cholesterol research and assigns the
other 5 researchers the task of furthering the study. After one year of
research and much economic success for everyone at the research lab, a
meeting is convened to assess the progress of the program. At this
meeting, Rose, a second scientist with a long history of field research
experience offers the theory that while there could be a relational
effect of the cholesterol in eggs to children, she argues that there is
no causal relationship and these findings should be published. The group
is stunned as no one has ever challenged Philip’s work and his previous
studies on other areas have all been accepted by the scientific
community. Rose is excoriated by the group and is told by the research
lab that Philip’s reputation speaks for itself and her study is not
credible and will not be pursued. Two years later, a rival lab proves
Rose’s theory and Philp’s research lab loses all government funding.How can it be that a group of intelligent, experienced researchers
would not explore the possibility of another theory in their study?What is the importance of dissenting opinions?Do I listen to and fully understand the point of view of the person
expressing a dissenting opinion, especially if that person is the sole
voice in the room.Do I arrive at my opinion without sufficient critical analysis?Am I basing my position on assumptions that I presume to be true, but that perhaps are not sufficiently tested or researched?n 2-3 pages, explain how Locke and Rousseau might respond to this case
of the research lab and groupthink if they were confronted with this
situation. How might they explain majority rule and the social contract
to illustrate their philosophy in dealing with groupthink? Support your
analysis with quotes or paraphrases from the philosophers. Use APA
format and citation when writing your assignment.
3 pages
Bus 624 Week 2 Discussion 1
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s denial of suppression motion and sentence. The Court o ...
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The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s denial of suppression motion and sentence. The Court of Appeals did not find any ...
Boston University Publicly-Traded Company Corporate Research Case Study
Choose any publicly-traded company that begins with the same letter as the first letter in your last name. Then, answer th ...
Boston University Publicly-Traded Company Corporate Research Case Study
Choose any publicly-traded company that begins with the same letter as the first letter in your last name. Then, answer the following 10 questions:1. List the company name.2. What is the principal business model of the firm? (How does the firm make most of its profits?) (1-page)3. Identify the major goals of the company. Does the firm seem to have any longer-term challenging or stretch goals that would serve as its strategic intent?4. Trace any changes in strategy that you can identify over time. Try to determine whether the strategic changes of your selected firm are a result of intended strategies, emergent strategies, or some combination of both.5. How dynamic is the industry in which your company is based? Is there evidence that industry structure is reshaping competition, or has done so in the recent past?6. Identify the core competencies that are at the heart of the firm’s competitive advantage. (Remember, a firm will have only one, or at most a few, core competencies, by definition.)7. Does the firm seem most focused on the economic, accounting, or shareholder perspective of its competitive advantage? Give quotes or information from these sources to support your view.8. What suggestions do you have to improve the firm’s business strategy and strategic position?9. Is your firm highly vertically integrated?10. Use the preceding vertical value chain to identify the corporate strategy of the firm. In other words, where within the industry has the firm chosen to compete?
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