A review of corporate failures as described in the financial press, such as the Wall Street Journal, often describes the control environment as one of the major contributors to the failure. Often the tone at the top at the failed companies reflects a disdain for controls and an emphasis on accomplishing specific financial reporting objectives such as reporting increased profitability. How will the auditor’s assessment of the operating effectiveness of the control environment affect the design and conduct of an audit? Consider both a positive and negative assessment.