Zzzz Best Case 1.9

The case of Rita Crundwell revolves around a town, other employees, and an auditor 's blind trust in a women, who clearly did not deserve the trust. Crundwell was the town Comptroller. The fraud resulted in 53 million dollars to be siphoned from the town 's funds in a time frame of 20 years. Crundwell covered her tracks with a fake bank account, fake invoices, and the party line of blaming the state for simply being behind on payments. There were many red flags during the two decades of this scheme, but due to the town 's small size and trusting attitude, they relied heavily on external audits, which were not up to par.

Appendix A.2 also lists several factors that could provide opportunities for management/employees to commit fraud. One factor that could lead to fraud is if, “There is ineffective monitoring of management as a result of: domination of management by a single person or small group without compensating controls.” The auditors should have taken notice of the lack of controls and segregation of duties with respect to Phar-Mor’s

Scoping and Evaluation Judgments in the Audit of Internal Control over Financial Reporting 12.1 EyeMax Corporation . . Evaluation of Audit Differences

There were two external auditors mentioned in the case that dealt with ZZZZ Best. The first was not a firm that was included in the Big Eight accounting firms at the time. George Greenspan was the sole practitioner who performed the first full-scope independent audit for ZZZZ Best. Greenspan insisted that he had properly audited Minkow’s company, and testified that while planning the audit he had performed various analytical procedures to identify unusual relationships in ZZZZ Best’s financial data. Greenspan’s procedures reportedly included comparing ZZZZ Best’s key financial ratios with its industry norms. Greenspan identifies “unusual relationships” but does not go into detail in order to explain these unusual relationships. This shows that Greenspan did not show enough professional skepticism while conducting the audit and just blew off these unusual relationships. Also Greenspan testified that he had obtained and reviewed copies of all key documents that pertained to the false insurance restoration contracts. It would have been hard for Greenspan to uncover the fraud through the contract paperwork because Minkow and Morze went through such great detail in creating false documents in order to cover the false contracts, but finer details were overlooked by Greenspan. A journalist found one of these finer details which caused the domino effect leading to the destruction of ZZZZ Best. This shows that the first auditor,

The one pattern within the data that appears to be inconsistent yet if the auditors had established an internal control systems would be Monus the founder moving so freely throughout every aspect of the company with no one checking his movements. From choosing what properties to purchase to purchasing supplies. In any company there should be segregation of duties. For example, the person making the deposits should not be the person writing the checks. Had there been stipulations made it would not have been so convenient to commit the

The qualified opinion report is similar in arrangement to the unqualified report with an additional paragraph dictating the reason the audit report is not unqualified. The third report although rare is an adverse opinion. An adverse opinion report is required when in the auditor’s opinion the financial statements as a whole do not conform to GAAP and are grossly misrepresented. The fourth and final report is a disclaimer of opinion. A disclaimer report is issued when the auditor is unable to gather sufficient information pertaining to the financial reports that an opinion cannot be determined. The auditor’s report has a direct impact on a company’s ability to obtain financing from a bank as the report lowers the cost of capital. The audit report also provides commercial value, meaning it’s an assurance the financial data is true and correct. The independent auditor for Verizon indicates an unqualified opinion in that Verizon’s

1. There are numerous differences between performing a review and actual audit on the financial statements, but the major one is that the review does not contemplate obtaining an understanding of internal control structure. Also, a review does not assess control risk, tests of accounting records and responses to inquiries by obtaining corroborating evidence through inspection, observation or any other audit procedure. It can point out significant matters of the financial statements but does not provide assurance of their accuracy. The issue with ZZZZ Best case is that the auditors review was not sufficient enough to review any misstatements on the financial statements. Ernst & Whinney never questioned the internal control, reviewed

It is not possible for the auditor to be 100% certain that he/she has obtained all evidence regarding all significant related party transactions, especially if management is trying to conceal something. However, the

They have significant differences. First, the auditor provides reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement due to error or fraud in an audit report, but provides limited assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material modifications in a review report. A few procedures are performed in a review engagement. (3) Second, a review report is conducted according to the standards of AICPA, while an audit report is conducted according to the standards of PCAOB. Moreover, review service is less cost than audit

1) Identify audit procedures that, if employed by Ernst & Whinney during the 1981 USSC audit, might have detected the overstatement of the leased and loaned assets account that resulted from the improper accounting for asset retirements.

This paper explores the ZZZZ Best Company which was begun by a 16 year old individual who was able to pull the wool over the eyes of many customers, investors and auditors. This paper will define the difference between review and audit when it comes to financial reports, comments on the procedures provided with regard to the management assertion of occurrence, verification of payments for jobs and how they can lead auditors to improper conclusion, the purpose of predecessor-successor auditor communications, as well as whom needs to initiate the communication and information that needs to be obtained. The paper also addresses the limitations of the confidentiality agreement and how and when

The last deficiency is that the engagement team did not take any action even after another partner

But they have significant differences. First, the auditor provides reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement due to error or fraud in an audit report, but provides limited assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material modifications in a review report. A review engagement is substantially less intensive in scope than an audit, and just a few procedures are performed. (4) Second, review report is conducted according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), while audit report is conducted according to the Standards of PCAOB. Moreover, review service is less cost than audit

The objectives of a review in accordance with the statements on standards for accounting differ significantly with those of audit financial statements in compliance with the general accepted auditing standards. During a review the accountants will perform analytical procedures and will obtain their information from asking the management a variety of questions rather than obtaining an understanding of the internal control structures and obtaining evidential matter throughout inspection, observation or confirmation as an audit process requires. Upon completion of the process the accountants will issue an opinion providing limited assurances on the fair presentation of the financial statements. This limited assurance opinion is different from

Audits are the most important type of assurance. An audit which is carried out by a practitioner, is an independent opinion on financial statements of a company assessing the likelihood on how reliable, true and fair they are and if they have been created using the correct financial reporting structure, they are intended for the use of current shareholders and all parties using a businesses financial accounts.