The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) published a research study that examined financial statement fraud occurrences between 1987 and 1997. A summary of the findings by M. S. Beasley, J. V.

Carcello, and D. R. Hermanson, "Fraudulent Financial Reporting: 1987-1997: An Analysis of U.S. Public Companies," The Auditor's Report Summer 1999, pp. 15-17, is available on the Libby/Libby/Short website at www.mhhe.com/libby6e.* You should read the article and then write a short memo outlining the following:

1. The size of the companies involved.

2. The extent of top management involvement.

3. The specific accounting fraud techniques involved.

4. What might lead managers to introduce misstatements into the income statement near the end of the accounting period.