ACC 574 Week 6 Assignment 3 - PWC Audit Scandal and Fraud

Read the article about Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) and its association with the worst accounting fraud in India related to its audit of Satyam Computer Services, Ltd. titled “Price Waterhouse Auditors Arrested in Satyam Inquiry (Update 1)” and located here. Search the Internet for other related articles. 

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

1. Create      an argument supporting that the requirements of SOX have reduced corporate      fraudulent activity due to the requirements placed on public accounting      firms, thereby providing greater assurances to public users of financial      information. Provide support for your argument.
2. Evaluate      the issues related to the audit of Satyam Computer Services Limited,      indicating whether or not PWC followed auditing standards in rendering its      audit opinion of the company. Provide support for your rationale.
3. Assess      whether PWC relied too heavily on the established system of internal      controls and neglected to perform sufficient testing of transactions using      effective computer-aided audit tools. Provide a rationale for your      recommendation.
4. Analyze      whether PWC neglected to sufficiently test transactions or whether it      could have relied on the audit of Internal Control to limited testing in      those areas, indicating any consequences related to their decision.      Provide support for your conclusion.
5. Support      your position for whether or not PWC met its responsibility of “Due Care”      based on the requirements placed on auditors by PCAOB.
6. Suggest      improvements needed to external auditing firms and the accounting      profession to reduce the number of audit scandals and fraudulent activity      within publically traded companies. Provide support for your suggestions.
7. Use      at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia      and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be      typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch      margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or      school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional      instructions.
• Include      a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name,      the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and      the reference page are not included in the required assignment page      length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Analyze      various fraud schemes, determine the implications for the audit, and      identify fraud detection techniques.
• Use      technology and information resources to research issues in emerging      auditing technologies.
• Write      clearly and concisely about emerging auditing technologies using proper      writing mechanics