Shortly after you completed your work of unpacking all the players in the CrookEd Partners drama and identifying all potential fraudulent activity that had been relayed to you (Week One Scenario Assignment), your secretary came into your office and said you had a visitor. You inquired who it was and she said it was an accountant, C.H. Ainge O’Hart (Chainge ‘O Hart) from a local CPA firm, Inn, Kaw, Hoots (IKH). You were familiar with this firm and familiar with their reputation. You also know they were the external auditors and business advisors for CrookEd Partners, as mentioned by Bubba. You immediately dropped what you were doing and rushed out of your office to meet Mr. Hart. He is escorted into a private office where you also invite your team.
Mr. Hart was obviously nervous and sweaty, so you offer him something cool to drink. Almost before you could sit down and begin to inquire why Mr. Hart has joined you, he blurts out that one set of the financial statements he provided Steamy and Daddy were correct and one set was wildly incorrect. The one created by CrookEd Partners is false; the one by Inn Kaw Hoots is correct.
He had tried to bring this information to local authorities, Steamy and Daddy, and others, and when he had done so, he was threatened with his life by the partners of his CPA firm (they did not want to lose a “good” client), by someone named “Tony” from one of the local unions, by the state head of the Department of Professional Licensing who licenses CPAs, and finally by a CRookEd Partner VP. To avoid being discovered he had recently been living in Vegas as a showgirl, doing two shows a night; three on the weekends.
This story sounded so preposterous you request some proof. Mr. Hart stated he had the depreciation schedule CRookEd Partners created for the bogus balance sheet they are planning to present to the bank to secure a loan to buy equipment for the second phase of this project: a combo pipeline/waterslide from Rock Springs to Laramie, Wyoming.
There are two team assignments related to the Crooked scenario this week.
Part 1:
Based on the depreciation schedule given to you by Mr. Hart (see attached), and with your team, please perform an analysis on it using concepts from Fraud Examination, 5th Edition Chapters 11 – 13 and from Executive Roadmap to Fraud Prevention and Internal Control: Creating a Culture of Compliance, 2nd Edition, Chapter 6 (Reading for this week).
Create a 350-700 word page for the instructor outlining what you observe in this data.
Part 2: Your observations from the depreciation schedule prove to be fruitful, so you request both sets of financial statements and notes (see attached). From these, and with your team, consider the following, perform the following tasks. Create a 350-700 word page for the instructor outlining what you observe in this data.
NOTE: Analytic principles for this assignment can also be obtained from Fraud Examination, 5th Edition Chapters 11 – 13 and from Executive Roadmap to Fraud Prevention and Internal Control: Creating a Culture of Compliance, 2nd Edition, Chapter 6:
• When reviewing these financial statements consider these investigative techniques: o Strategic Reasoning (Chapter 11 and Sherlock Holmes)
• Please consider any and all pertinent information from the Week One Scenario
• Compare the two sets of financial statements and make some observations on initial reactions
• Consider which, if any of the following abuses in financial statement presentations, are possible or applicable to these statements and why (see Chapter 11 and Chapter 6) o Cooking the Books o Corporate Looting o Insider Trading o Excessive CEO and Top Management Perks o IPO Favoritism o Excessive Perks o Quid Pro Quo o Excessive Debt
• Which of the following circumstances may be applicable to potential abuses with these financial statements (see Chapter 11 and Chapter 6) o Booming or Troubled Economy o Decay of Moral Values o Misplaced Incentives o High Analyst Expectations o High Debt o Focus on Accounting Rules vs. Principles o Lack of Auditor Independence o Greed
• Financial statement fraud is often committed at the highest levels of the organization and with cooperation of a number of individuals (collusion). When reviewing these financial statements, consider, discuss and include in your memo the following. Use the series of related questions in Chapter 11 when considering these:
o Top management’s background, motivations and influence
o Potential involvement of outsiders including banks, lawyers, auditors, regulatory bodies, potential investors, related organizations and individuals
• Consider special Revenue and Inventory matters (see Chapter 12)
• Consider special Liability, Asset and Inadequate Disclosures (see Chapter 13)
Mr. Hart was obviously nervous and sweaty, so you offer him something cool to drink. Almost before you could sit down and begin to inquire why Mr. Hart has joined you, he blurts out that one set of the financial statements he provided Steamy and Daddy were correct and one set was wildly incorrect. The one created by CrookEd Partners is false; the one by Inn Kaw Hoots is correct.
He had tried to bring this information to local authorities, Steamy and Daddy, and others, and when he had done so, he was threatened with his life by the partners of his CPA firm (they did not want to lose a “good” client), by someone named “Tony” from one of the local unions, by the state head of the Department of Professional Licensing who licenses CPAs, and finally by a CRookEd Partner VP. To avoid being discovered he had recently been living in Vegas as a showgirl, doing two shows a night; three on the weekends.
This story sounded so preposterous you request some proof. Mr. Hart stated he had the depreciation schedule CRookEd Partners created for the bogus balance sheet they are planning to present to the bank to secure a loan to buy equipment for the second phase of this project: a combo pipeline/waterslide from Rock Springs to Laramie, Wyoming.
There are two team assignments related to the Crooked scenario this week.
Part 1:
Based on the depreciation schedule given to you by Mr. Hart (see attached), and with your team, please perform an analysis on it using concepts from Fraud Examination, 5th Edition Chapters 11 – 13 and from Executive Roadmap to Fraud Prevention and Internal Control: Creating a Culture of Compliance, 2nd Edition, Chapter 6 (Reading for this week).
Create a 350-700 word page for the instructor outlining what you observe in this data.
Part 2: Your observations from the depreciation schedule prove to be fruitful, so you request both sets of financial statements and notes (see attached). From these, and with your team, consider the following, perform the following tasks. Create a 350-700 word page for the instructor outlining what you observe in this data.
NOTE: Analytic principles for this assignment can also be obtained from Fraud Examination, 5th Edition Chapters 11 – 13 and from Executive Roadmap to Fraud Prevention and Internal Control: Creating a Culture of Compliance, 2nd Edition, Chapter 6:
• When reviewing these financial statements consider these investigative techniques: o Strategic Reasoning (Chapter 11 and Sherlock Holmes)
• Please consider any and all pertinent information from the Week One Scenario
• Compare the two sets of financial statements and make some observations on initial reactions
• Consider which, if any of the following abuses in financial statement presentations, are possible or applicable to these statements and why (see Chapter 11 and Chapter 6) o Cooking the Books o Corporate Looting o Insider Trading o Excessive CEO and Top Management Perks o IPO Favoritism o Excessive Perks o Quid Pro Quo o Excessive Debt
• Which of the following circumstances may be applicable to potential abuses with these financial statements (see Chapter 11 and Chapter 6) o Booming or Troubled Economy o Decay of Moral Values o Misplaced Incentives o High Analyst Expectations o High Debt o Focus on Accounting Rules vs. Principles o Lack of Auditor Independence o Greed
• Financial statement fraud is often committed at the highest levels of the organization and with cooperation of a number of individuals (collusion). When reviewing these financial statements, consider, discuss and include in your memo the following. Use the series of related questions in Chapter 11 when considering these:
o Top management’s background, motivations and influence
o Potential involvement of outsiders including banks, lawyers, auditors, regulatory bodies, potential investors, related organizations and individuals
• Consider special Revenue and Inventory matters (see Chapter 12)
• Consider special Liability, Asset and Inadequate Disclosures (see Chapter 13)
Field of study:
