November 14, 2022Technical StaffCosts and Damages of Financial Statement Fraud 1A COSO study, which examined financial statement fraud allegations investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over a ten-year period (1998-2007), found that news of an alleged fraud resulted in an average 16.7 percent abnormal stock price decline in...
November 14, 2022Though it may seem a simple question to many people, it may not. But it is so dangerous for citizens and officials not to have a reasonable and satisfactory understanding of what corruption is and what to do about it. Though it varies among countries, illiteracy about corruption...
October 29, 2022Technical StaffWhen corruption becomes the norm rather than the exception, the quality of life declines, and social values change. For example, the rule of law diminishes, bribery payment becomes usual and acceptable, nepotism becomes a pride source, and connections are the actual qualifications! People’s morale deteriorates, and the...
October 24, 2022Technical StaffDefinition 1It is an intentional act that uses deception by misstating or omitting material information and results in a misstatement in financial statements to deceive financial statements users.AU-C Section 240, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit, defines fraud as” an intentional act by one or...
October 16, 2022Mike J. MasoudOn June 16, 2022, I wrote an article titled “Conflict of Interests: Prevention is better than cure.” and published it on The AACI’s official blog. I stated in the said article the following:When a person runs for public office, he must give up his private business...
Setting the tone at the top of what is acceptable and not acceptable sets the boundaries of expected behavior and conduct. Those charged with governance and executive management are responsible for establishing proper and adequate policies that encourage honesty and reward integrity. For example, when a company establishes a well-written whistleblowing policy, it should encourage all stakeholders to report wrongdoing. However, organizational leadership should be vigilant and have effective communication with management, employees, and other stakeholders.
Evidence shows that when an individual believes that he is being watched, he makes sure that his behavior complies with what is expected of him. For example, it is more likely than not that students do not cheat on exams when they believe that they are being watched by humans or cameras. When deterrence is professionally designed and implemented adequately, its monetary and non-monetary savings are remarkable. But the effectiveness of deterrence depends on three components.
Together, Empowering Tone at the Top
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