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Refer to the Focus feature "Embezzlement at a casket and Burial product Company: A case of Inadequate Segregation of Duties."

1. Access the following link to find a description and pictures of the over 250 assets that the federal government seized from Cynthia and Gary Mills http://www.post-gazette.com/local/west/2017/01/25/Feds-charge-Robinson-women-with-stealing-9-5-million-from-Mathews-International-pittsburgh/stories/201701250171 What is your reaction to seeing these items?
2. Visit the website www.pinkcollarcrime.com. Since 1990. What has been the rate of increase in embezzlement by men as compared to women? Read the section of the website titled "The Ladies of PCC." Explain on the cases that the author describes: explain what is funny about the situation, and what is sad.
3. Hews Obtain the June 30, 2015,8-K filing of Matthews International. Read the filing, particularly the other Events section. What does this 8-K reveal?
4. The amended 10-K for FYE 2014, filed on August 7, 2015, had this say about the discovery of the embezzlement, the company's evaluation of the materiality of the embezzlement, and the state of this internal controls:

In addition, as disclosed in Current Report on Form 8-K dated July30,2015, the Company identified a theft of funds from the Company by the employee that had occurred over a multi-year period through May 2015 which had not been recorded in the Company's financial statements. Pursuant to the guidance of Staff Accounting Bulletin ("SAB") NO.99, "Materiality" the Company evaluated the materiality of these amounts quantitatively and qualitatively and has concluded that the amounts described above were not material to any of its annual or quarterly prior period financial statements or trends of financial results. However, because of the significance of the cumulative out-of-period adjustment to the fiscal 2015 third quarter, the financial statements for years prior to fiscal 2015 have been revised in accordance with SAB No. 108, "Considering Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements". As a result of this matter, a reassessment was conducted on the internal controls in the Company's treasury process. Specifically, the design of the internal controls over segregation of duties within the treasury process had been determined to constitute a "material weakness" (as Defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) in internal control over financial reporting and disclosure in Part II, Item 9A "Controls and Procedures" of this Amendment. In response to this matter, the Company has taken immediate action and implemented changes in the design of this internal control to ensure appropriate segregation of duties within Company's treasury process.

Do you agree that the embezzlement was immaterial? Explain your rationale.

1. Obtain the December 23,2015, 8-K filing the Matthews International. Red the filing. How do you feel about the transparency of the disclosures made about possible reasons for the change of auditors? It seems that the audit committee decided to change auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers to Ernst & Young because of the detection of the theft. However, it was the company itself that had weak controls that led to the theft. Comment on your views about the fairness of this situation to the various parties involved.