<p> Operational risk events have translated into billions of dollars of losses for financial and insurance institutions. A recent example of an operational risk event was the $7.2 billion trading loss of a capital markets trader, which caused the near collapse of Societe Generale Bank in 2008. The purpose of this quantitative descriptive comparative study is to aid in the decision-making process of allocating capital by examining the underlying probability models. The objective of the study was to compare the Poisson distribution to the alpha-stable probability distribution as a basis for allocating capital for the required capital reserves as mandated by Basel II. The study compares the degree for which the frequency distribution of operational risk loss events adheres to the Poisson distribution and the alpha-stable probability distributions. Using the Operational Riskdata eXchange Association (ORX) operational risk loss events dataset, the analysis within the study included goodness-of-fit tests. The intention of the goodness-of-fit hypothesis test is to identify how well data adhered to probability distributions or compare observed activities to expected activities. The ORX data includes loss figures from European, North American, and Asian financial institutions. The major results of study reveal that the ORX loss events frequencies do not adhere to the Poisson distribution. In making such a conclusion, the study supports the idea that the Poisson distribution is used incorrectly as a foundational model for frequency within operational risk</p>

<p>The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore the publicly documented perceptions of the SEC regulators to determine if SOX 404 requirements have been supportive of influencing transparent financial reporting, preventing fraudulent financial statements, or misrepresentation of ICFR. A total of 15 archived, secondary, publicly available documents, representing 15 different SEC regulators? perspectives, were retrieved from the SEC website over a research time frame of July 30, 2002 until November 1, 2010. The samples were explored to identify the common perspectives of the 15 SEC regulators? relative to the effectiveness of SOX 404, and determine the overall perspectives of the holistic SEC entity or single case. Nvivo 8 was used to perform the data analysis and yielded 9 common themes. The findings revealed that although the SEC deemed SOX 404 supportive of influencing transparent financial reporting, preventing fraudulent financial statements, or misrepresentation of ICFR, the Commission was aware that gaps and opportunities for enhancing the law to promote its effectiveness and remove inefficiencies existed. The findings also revealed that the SEC was conscious of the issues, topics, opinions, observations and findings raised by SOX 404 critics and complying companies, and have been attentive, responsive and willing to address to those matters.

published_or_final_version / Business / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Master / Master of Economics

published_or_final_version / Law / Master / Master of Laws

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.