The SEC issues Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAERs) summarizing SEC actions concerning civil lawsuits brought by the SEC in federal court and related settlements from administrative proceedings. Visit the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov) and locate the link to Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAERs) under the “Enforcement” tab. Locate AAER-3932 involving Maxwell Technologies, Inc. issued on March 27, 2018. 

Required

a. Briefly describe how the Maxwell Technologies, Inc. 2011 and 2012 financial statements were misstated. 

b. Describe examples of deficiencies in Maxwell Technologies’ control environment. 

c. One of the inherent limitations of internal control is management override of internal control procedures. Give an example of management override from the Maxwell Technologies AAER. 

d. Maintaining adequate documents and records is an important element of an entity’s control activities. How did the company’s vice president of sales and marketing violate this important element of internal control? 

e. The risk assessment component of internal control involves a process for identifying and analyzing risks that may prevent the organization from achieving its objectives. How did the senior financial personnel exhibit deficiencies in risk assessment procedures related to red flags regarding sales and collections from the German distributor?