(PLease type the answers) (accounting 5520) case study 4 Big Oil versus Big Deals

1. Discuss how each of the following questions might have alerted George to the corporate culture of the organization when he was interviewing for the job. Could George have predicted ahead of time how the organization would react if he challenged their accounting practices?

a. How is the company perceived in the media?

b. How do employees describe the organizations culture? What could George have done to investigate the mood in the middle and the buzz at the bottom?

c. Is it enough to know that others from your current firm work there?

d. Do you have any information about how the firm has handled prior whistleblowing reports? For instance, have they required whistleblowers to sign arbitration agreements either before or after a whistleblower has made a report?

1. Professional guidance:

a. Consult the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. What components might guide a CPA working in a corporate environment?

b. Consult the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice. Describe how this case presents a conflict between Confidentiality and Integrity

2. If you were in Georges position, whom would you talk to at the company? Outside the company?

1. What is the SEC authority for and policy on investigating financial state-ment misstatement?

2. Read the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX). Note that some provisions address required hotlines and others address retalia-tion against those who use the hotlines. Now, search the business press for articles and opinion pieces on these provisions. Based on your research, discuss whether SOX has sufficiently increased the likelihood an individual will report fraudulent financial reporting. Examples of questions you might address include: What real protection does SOX offer whistleblowers? How are whistleblower retaliation reports investigated under this law? Is the law producing its intended effect?

3. Read the section of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 related to whistleblowers. How does this newer act change protections and motivations for corporate whistleblowers? Search the business press for articles and opinion pieces on these provisions. Describe the provisions and contrast them to those of SOX. Based on your research, discuss whether the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 is likely to be more effective than SOX

4. Based on your research, is there evidence whistleblowers are not equally protected and taken seriously across industries, company types (public/ private), or levels of authority (their own) in the organization? Consider the reactions of the SEC and the PCAOB to George. Did each organization react as you would have expected? INDIVIDUAL EXERCISES

1. Research a recent (past 2 years) whistleblower case. Summarize the details of the case, including its resolution, if known. Identify and discuss key fac-tors that influenced the whistleblowers actions. Consider the individuals personal characteristics, the corporate culture, and the subject of the whistleblowers report

2. Visit the SEC and PCAOB websites. Locate each agencys confidential hotline and analyze and evaluate their policies regarding their hotline use