Ethicality of Accounting Activities

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Reflection Summary Week two was very informative and full of information. We learned about the legal aspects behind financial reporting. One major act governing ethical financial reporting is the SOX act of 2002. We also learned about the correlation between acceptable accounting activities and financial reporting standards. Many times companies break accounting procedures and falsify their financial statements in order to please both internal and external users. Even though this is a violation of the SOX act of 2002, corporations still chose to engage in these activities. The final thing we learned about is the ethical decisions made behind financial reporting. The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct was put in place to make sure companies have a standard to follow when creating financial statements. Legality Financial reporting activities and standards Earnings management has been used as the manipulation of the current standard of financial reporting established by G.A.A.P. Earnings management is when companies inflate their earnings or revenues. We have seen this with WorldCom who altered capital expenditures instead of expensing them. Waste Management also did this when it extended the useful life of its trash trucks. Materiality is defined by the FASB as an omission that would affect a normal person by a misstatement such as using earnings management to skew the true earnings or revenue. This calls in to play the unethical behavior that earnings management places on the public (violating AICPA Code of Professional Ethics). SOX further required management and accountants to be cognizant of the material errors that financial misstatement and false reporting could have from an ethical standpoint. It holds them accountable for all financial reporting from their company. This includes criminally and financial accountability. The SEC has developed a

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