Business Finance

Part 1

400 words 

Read the text in the box on page 280 in your textbook titled: APPLYING THE CONCEPT - TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES: PONZI SCHEMES AND OTHER FRAUDS.

Then, scan the article entitled “Financial Statement Fraud: Motives, Methods, Cases and Detection” by Khanh Nguyen found at:

http://www.bookpump.com/dps/pdf-b/9423197b.pdf

NOTE: You only need to scan this article to gather a general knowledge of some of the major issues concerning financial statement fraud. As you will see in this article, financial statement fraud is a major concern for the financial markets as well as for the overall economy. Note the list on page of this article summarizing some of the harmful consequences of financial statement fraud:

• Undermines the reliability, quality, transparency, and      integrity of the financial reporting process
• Jeopardizes the integrity and objectivity of the      auditing profession, especially auditors and auditing firms
• Diminishes the confidence of the capital markets, as      well as market participants, in the reliability of financial information
• Makes the capital markets less efficient
• Adversely affects the nation’s economic growth and      prosperity
• Results in huge litigation costs
• Destroys careers of individuals involved in financial      statement fraud
• Causes bankruptcy or substantial economic losses by the      company engaged in financial statement fraud
• Encourages regulatory intervention
• Causes devastation in the normal operations and      performance of alleged companies
• Raises serious doubts of the efficacy of financial      statement audits
• Erodes public confidence and trust in the accounting      and auditing profession

After you scan the article, find a company that was convicted for committing financial statement fraud between 2005 and 2018. Then find and read a couple of good articles to learn as much as you can about the company’s actions.

For your DB post, tell us about the company, the fraud they committed, and what happened. Specifically, describe what the company did, how they were caught, and what where the consequences of their actions. Your post should be 3-4 paragraphs in length. Be sure to properly cite all articles that you read about the company so that any who read your post can find the article as well.

Part 2

400 words

Pick one of the twenty (20) questions   or “explain/discussion” items in the Conceptual and Analytical Problems   section of Chapter 14 in your textbook (pages 392-393). Write a 4-5 paragraph   response to the question or “explain/discussion” item that you chose.

I would like for everyone to post   about a different question or “explain/discussion” item so that as many of   the 20 are discussed in the class as possible. Please indicate the question   that you wrote about in the title of your DB post (e.g., Question 1, Question   2, Question 3, and so on). Also, copy and paste the question or   “explain/discussion” item at the beginning of your post. For example, if you   choose to do number 1, begin your post with: “Explain how a bank run can turn   into a bank panic.”

Part 3 

Company chosen Sherwin-Williamss/ 1000 Words 

Research Paper: Chosen Company's Annual Report Summary

Obtain a copy of the most recent 3 annual reports for your chosen company. You can usually find these on the company website under the heading: Investor Relations. Read the letter to shareholders in all three annual reports. Then, read the entire most recent annual report (this should be a 2017 or 2018 report, depending on the company’s fiscal year end). Read this report as per guidance from Module/Week 1.

Write a paper of at least 1000 words using current APA formatting summarizing the most recent annual report, noting any specific changes, improvement, deteriorations, or similar that have occurred over the past 3 years. Note that you should not do a ratio analysis of your company. Instead, your paper should be based on the text in the shareholder letters and in the management discussion and analysis section of the most recent annual report. The summary must include 3 references.