Assignment 1 - Ethics Research Paper

Assignment 1-Ethics Research Paper

This assignment relates to the following Course Learning Requirements:

CLR 3: Discuss what it means to conduct business ethically and responsibly.  Identify programs to aid a small Canadian business achieve its responsibilities to the various stakeholders.

CLR 2: Explain how events external to a business can influence business decisions, and how environmental changes affect consumers.  Identify challenges and opportunities that environmental changes provide for Canadian businesses

Objective of this Assignment:

The assignment tests your ability to apply ethics and social responsibility of the business.

Pre-Assignment Instructions:

1. Read the content of Module 1 to 5 to prepare for this Assignment.

Assignment Tasks:

· Use the following website to select a business scandal that has occurred since 2000.

· https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_scandals

Paper Requirement:

Paragraph 1: Background

· Write a very brief history of the company - no more than 200 words in length (marks will be deducted if longer).

Paragraph 2: The Scandal/wrongdoing

· In your words describe in this paragraph – no more than 600 words what was the scandal, any accounting falsification, and the specifics of the scandal.

· You are required to use the accounting and business terminology covered in this course when describing the scandal.

Paragraph 3: The Auditors (No more than 300 words)

· Identify who the company’s external public auditors were.

· Explain why the auditors did not find the falsifications and properly notify the public accordingly

Paragraph 4: Legal Actions Taken (No more than 400 words)

· Describe what if any legal actions were taken against management and/or the public auditors – ensure to include all fines and jail time.

· If no legal action taken, then to earn marks here – discuss in your opinion if justice was served or not.

Paragraph 5. Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 2002 (no more than 700 words)

· Research both your textbook and the web to learn what the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is and provide details of some of the critical areas contained in that Act. Specifically, answer the following:

· 1. What is the main purpose of having such an Act?

· 2. Cite and explain four different sections of the act that would specifically prevent a future scandal such as the one you are addressing from ever happening again.

· 3. Do Canadian Public companies have to follow SOX? Why or why not?

Reference Page:

· All references, including the Wikipedia, textbook, and/or the Sarbanes-Oxley ACT you use to find the information on your scandal, must be provided on a references page and written in APA style. In-text citations must also be provided using APA throughout your document any time you provide data or analysis from external sources. Any assignment that does not include references and in-text citations will be subject to academic sanction as per Algonquin’s policy AA20 on Plagiarism.

Formatting requirement:

Font Size: 12

Font Style: Calibri (body)

Double spacing

Grammar and spelling check

Assignment Grading Rubric (15%)

Criteria	Content	Marks
Paragraph 1	All information offered is accurate and all the background information is sufficient for the reader to understand the business.	2
Paragraph 2	The details of the scandal are provided and appropriate accounting and business terminologies are used.	3
Paragraph 3	External auditors are identified and appropriate rationale for auditors’ inability to detect the scandal is outlined	2
Paragraph 4	Legal actions taken are described and provide an opinion on whether the justice is served or not.	3
Paragraph 5	Details of Sarbanes-Oxley act are provided as per the requirements.	3
Overall Paper Presentation	Formatted as per assignment details Correct grammar and spelling is consistently used	2
Reference Page	No grade allotted, however failure to include proper APA citations and references can result in a 0% and academic sanction.
Total Points		15

2