MS6010 – M1A2 Discussion Ensuring the Quality of a Financial Statement
Assignment 2: Discussion—Ensuring the Quality of a Financial Statement
Financial statement fraud is common these days. Phrases like “earnings management,” “cookie jar accounting,” and “accounting hocus-pocus” have entered our vocabulary.
There have been innumerable instances of financial statement fraud perpetrated by many well-known companies over the years. These frauds not only result in a company’s
financial loss but also damage the company’s reputation and brand and affect employee morale. In the role of a non accounting manager, you need to understand what your
role is in the overall fair presentation of financial results.
In this assignment, you will recommend policies to avoid financial statement fraud and ensure the quality of financial statements.
Tasks:
Use the Argosy University online library resources and find at least three scholarly journal articles. These articles will help you identify what can go wrong with
financial reporting and how this should be prevented.
Comment on at least three potential problems in reporting accounting information, including a specific example of earnings management. Note that all examples should be
about specific company fraud.
Articulate specific policies with respect to the discussed problems that will provide assurance that the financial statement is free from fraud and can be relied upon.
Submission Details:
By Saturday, February 18, 2017, post your response to the Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, February 22, 2017, read and respond to at least two other classmates’
posts on at least two different days of the week.
Write your initial response in 300–500 words. Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of
all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Do the following when responding to your peers:
Read your peers’ answers.
Provide substantive comments to at least 2 peers’ posts on 2 different days by
contributing new, relevant information from course readings, Web sites, or other sources;
building on the remarks or questions of others; or
sharing practical examples of key concepts from your professional or personal experiences
Respond to feedback on your posting and provide feedback to other students on their ideas on more than one day during the week.
Make sure your writing
is clear, concise, and organized;
demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and
displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Grading Criteria
Assignment Components
Max Points
Initial response was:
Insightful, original, accurate, and timely.
Substantive and demonstrated advanced understanding of concepts.
Compiled/synthesized theories and concepts drawn from a variety of sources to support statements and conclusions.
25
Discussion Response and Participation:
Responded to a minimum of two peers in a timely manner on at least two different days during the week.
Offered points of view supported by research.
Asked challenging questions that promoted discussion.
Drew relationships between one or more points in the discussion.
15
Writing:
Wrote in a clear, concise, formal, and organized manner.
Responses were error free.
Information from sources, where applicable, was paraphrased appropriately and accurately cited.
10
Total:
50
