Seminario para optar al título de Ingeniero Comercial / En la universidad aprendemos mucha teoría que nos intenta explicar de una manera relativamente simple como se comportan ciertos fenómenos de nuestra vida cotidiana y como reaccionan ante movimientos de otros factores que los determinan. Pero estas teorías están basadas en una serie de supuestos, los cuales los alejan de la realidad y la práctica, lo cual hace sentirse inseguro a los alumnos cuando llega el momento de entrar al campo laboral. En los últimos años, y sobre todo en las escuelas de negocios, se ha venido incorporando un sistema que intenta explicar la realidad con la realidad, es decir, un método por el cual el alumno adquiera los conocimientos teóricos que le expliquen de que manera se comportan las cosas, pero con la salvedad que los esta aprendiendo en la práctica. Nos referimos al sistema de resolución de casos, en donde, el profesor orienta a los alumnos y los insta a participar de la discusión de cómo se llegó a resolver por alguna empresa en particular, algún tipo de problema ya fuese financiero, económico, o de cualquier otra naturaleza. Es por esta razón y motivado por nuestro profesor guía, quien posee una vasta experiencia en la publicaciones de casos chilenos, que he desarrollado dos temas: el primero trata de una de las quiebras más grandes que han ocurrido en el último tiempo, la de Enron Corp., la cual fue provocada principalmente por una serie de artificios contables, la avaricia de los principales administrativos, los vacíos en la regulación del sector de este tipo de empresa , etc. El segundo caso trata de la quiebra de una empresa chilena, CRAV S.A., la cual fue de gran envergadura para la época en que se produjo (en la década de los ochenta). Esta fue provocada principalmente por la caída en los precios en el mercado azucarero, el cual era muy volátil. Los administradores, a pesar de conocer estas características de este mercado, no se protegieron adecuadamente.

This diploma thesis describes ethics in the profession of external and internal audit. It provides comprehensive overview about ethics, from the basic definitions to business ethics. It deals with audit, its history, organisations, Sarbanes -- Oxley Act and ethical relations of audit profession. It is focused on codes of ethics, auditor act and some standards on internal audit related to ethics. Thesis in its theoretical part also speaks about fraud, its basics, frauds in corporations and audit. Practical part of thesis is focused on concrete fraud cases in relation with (un)ethical behaviour of auditors. It is concerned with history and reasons of fall of Arthur Andersen. It shows its unethical behaviour on fraud examples of its clients, american corporations Enron, WorldCom, Sunbeam and Waste Management. This thesis also describes one of the latest fraud in Olympus. Czech republic is represented by the case of Czech office of Deloitte.

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2005.

The aim of this Master´s Thesis is to introduce fraudulent schemes within organizations and suggest possible actions to prevent this unjust behaviour that negatively affects not only organizations themselves, but also society as a whole. Audit, which is described in the first chapter, plays a major part in preventing fraud. The evolution of audit is described there as well as its main divisions consisting of external, internal and forensic audit, which is important for the investigation of fraud. Second chapter describes fraud as itself, dividing it into external and, more common, internal fraud, which is divided into corruption, asset misappropriations and financial statement fraud. This chapter also contains cybercrime, which is increasingly relevant nowadays. Detailed fraud statistics put together profile of the typical fraudster. Third chapter describes some real fraud cases within business practice. It contains four fraud cases, namely those in companies Enron, Toshiba, Target and Czech corruption scandal concerning former politician David Rath.

Fin 2001, début 2002, les États-Unis ont été frappés par un nombre élevé de scandales financiers. Plusieurs affaires ont été révélées par les médias, singulièrement le cas Enron. La reformulation de la profession d'audit en matière d'indépendance des auditeurs et des comités d'audit après le scandale Enron a cherché à garantir la crédibilité des états financiers. L'objectif de ce travail est de tester l'effet de la nouvelle formulation de la profession d'audit, notamment en matière d'indépendance des auditeurs et des comités d'audit, précisément sur la question de la crédibilité des états financiers. Trois objectifs opérationnels ont été traités dans le cadre de cette étude. Premièrement, nous avons analysé les effets de l’affaire Enron sur la réaction des marchés financiers, le choix des commissaires aux comptes et l’affermissement du conservatisme des auditeurs, dans le contexte français. Deuxièmement, nous avons étudié l’impact de l’institution du Haut Conseil du Commissariat aux Comptes sur l’indépendance des auditeurs. Finalement, nous avons étudié l’influence du Comité d’audit sur la crédibilité des états financiers après le rapport Bouton de 2002. Les résultats empiriques s’attachent à montrer que la présence d’un co-commissaire aux comptes Non-Big a minimisé l’effet négatif de la réaction du marché financier français lors de l’annonce du scandale Enron. Par contre, le scandale Enron n’a pas influencé significativement la perception des investisseurs institutionnels étrangers envers les services des grands cabinets d’audit. Ces derniers n’ont pas justifié la production d’une bonne qualité d’audit par rapport aux Non-Big. Pour rétablir la confiance sur les marchés financiers, le législateur français est intervenu via la création d’un organisme de supervision publique de la profession comptable intitulé le H3C. Les résultats empiriques montrent que la création du H3C a renforcé l’indépendance des auditeurs. Par contre, l’annonce du lancement des activités disciplinaires de ce nouvel organisme après 2005 n’a pas d’effet significatif sur l’indépendance des auditeurs. Par contre l’apparition du rapport Bouton en 2002, et la nouvelle dimension accordée au contrôle interne, montre que ce dernier dépendant des caractéristiques des comités d’audit notamment l’expertise et l’indépendance de leurs membres. / At the end of 2001, the scandal series was announced in the US context. Several scandals, especially the Eron failure, were revealed in the first stage by the media. The main purpose of this research is to study the impact of the new reform, in audit after Enron scandal, on auditor independence, audit comity and financial statement credibility. Three operational objectives have been treated in this study. First, we have analyzed the effects of Enron scandal on financial market reaction, auditor choice and auditor conservatism in the French context. Second, we have investigated the impact of the new reform on the auditor independence. Finally, we have examined the effect of audit committee on financial statement credibility after the adoption of the Bouton Report in 2002.The empirical results have shown that the presence of the Non-Big4 members in the legal audit process have minimized the negative effect of the reaction of the SBF 250. However, the perception of the foreign institutional investors has not changed significantly for the Big4 audit services. This auditor group (Big4) does not justify the production of the audit quality compared to other auditors in France. To restore confidence in the financial market, the French legislative authority has created the H3C. The empirical results have revealed that the establishment of the H3C has ameliorated the auditor independence. Hence, the announcement of the launch of H3C disciplinary activity after 2005 has not had a significant effect on auditor independence. In contrast, the appearance of the Bouton Report in 2002 and the reform related to the internal control depend on the audit committee characteristics (expertise and independence audit committee members).

Fin 2001, début 2002, les États-Unis ont été frappés par un nombre élevé de scandales financiers. Plusieurs affaires ont été révélées par les médias, singulièrement le cas Enron. La reformulation de la profession d'audit en matière d'indépendance des auditeurs et des comités d'audit après le scandale Enron a cherché à garantir la crédibilité des états financiers. L'objectif de ce travail est de tester l'effet de la nouvelle formulation de la profession d'audit, notamment en matière d'indépendance des auditeurs et des comités d'audit, précisément sur la question de la crédibilité des états financiers. Trois objectifs opérationnels ont été traités dans le cadre de cette étude. Premièrement, nous avons analysé les effets de l’affaire Enron sur la réaction des marchés financiers, le choix des commissaires aux comptes et l’affermissement du conservatisme des auditeurs, dans le contexte français. Deuxièmement, nous avons étudié l’impact de l’institution du Haut Conseil du Commissariat aux Comptes sur l’indépendance des auditeurs. Finalement, nous avons étudié l’influence du Comité d’audit sur la crédibilité des états financiers après le rapport Bouton de 2002. Les résultats empiriques s’attachent à montrer que la présence d’un co-commissaire aux comptes Non-Big a minimisé l’effet négatif de la réaction du marché financier français lors de l’annonce du scandale Enron. Par contre, le scandale Enron n’a pas influencé significativement la perception des investisseurs institutionnels étrangers envers les services des grands cabinets d’audit. Ces derniers n’ont pas justifié la production d’une bonne qualité d’audit par rapport aux Non-Big. Pour rétablir la confiance sur les marchés financiers, le législateur français est intervenu via la création d’un organisme de supervision publique de la profession comptable intitulé le H3C. Les résultats empiriques montrent que la création du H3C a renforcé l’indépendance des auditeurs. Par contre, l’annonce du lancement des activités disciplinaires de ce nouvel organisme après 2005 n’a pas d’effet significatif sur l’indépendance des auditeurs. Par contre l’apparition du rapport Bouton en 2002, et la nouvelle dimension accordée au contrôle interne, montre que ce dernier dépendant des caractéristiques des comités d’audit notamment l’expertise et l’indépendance de leurs membres. / At the end of 2001, the scandal series was announced in the US context. Several scandals, especially the Eron failure, were revealed in the first stage by the media. The main purpose of this research is to study the impact of the new reform, in audit after Enron scandal, on auditor independence, audit comity and financial statement credibility. Three operational objectives have been treated in this study. First, we have analyzed the effects of Enron scandal on financial market reaction, auditor choice and auditor conservatism in the French context. Second, we have investigated the impact of the new reform on the auditor independence. Finally, we have examined the effect of audit committee on financial statement credibility after the adoption of the Bouton Report in 2002.The empirical results have shown that the presence of the Non-Big4 members in the legal audit process have minimized the negative effect of the reaction of the SBF 250. However, the perception of the foreign institutional investors has not changed significantly for the Big4 audit services. This auditor group (Big4) does not justify the production of the audit quality compared to other auditors in France. To restore confidence in the financial market, the French legislative authority has created the H3C. The empirical results have revealed that the establishment of the H3C has ameliorated the auditor independence. Hence, the announcement of the launch of H3C disciplinary activity after 2005 has not had a significant effect on auditor independence. In contrast, the appearance of the Bouton Report in 2002 and the reform related to the internal control depend on the audit committee characteristics (expertise and independence audit committee members).

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka bankernas syn på internkontroll och vidare undersöka vilka mekanismer som används föratt effektivisera den interna kontrollen. Studien riktar sig på attundersöka huruvida visselblåsning används som en av demmekanismerna för att stärka förmågan med att upptäcka ochförhindra oegentligheter av ekonomisk art. Studien använder en induktiv metod för att leda insamlingen avdatamaterial. Vidare använder studien en kvalitativ metod baseradpå intervjuer med fyra olika banker där datamaterialet analyserasmed datamaterialet i kapitel två. Studien visar att det finns en positiv syn på den interna kontrollenoch visselblåsning som mekanism för att skapa en framgångsrikverksamhet. Fastän visselblåsning anses ha en kompliceradfunktion, används den fortfarande för att upptäcka och förhindraoegentligheter, såsom ekonomiska brott. Förutom visselblåsning,använder bankerna mer mekanismer för att stärka och effektiviseraden interna kontrollen. Att uppmana medarbetarna att följa lagaroch principer, utbilda medarbetarna inom olika områden samt attskapa olika arbetarsätt inom verksamheten, att genomföra interntillsyn och ständiga granskningar är en del av de mekanismer somanvänds. / The purpose of the study is to examine the banks view of internalcontrol and further investigate what mechanisms are used tostreamline the internal controls. The study is directed into whetherthe whistle-blowing is used as one of the tools in the internalcontrol to enhance the ability to detect and prevent irregularities ofa financial character. The study use a inductive method to lead the collection of datamaterial. The study further use a qualitative method based on fourinterviews with different banks were this data material is comparedwith existing theories in the second chapter. The study shows that the view of internal control and whistleblowingis positive in the process to create a successful company inthe banks. Despite that the whistle- blowing is known as acomplicated function, it’s still used to detect and preventirregularities of crimes, such of financial character. Except whistleblowing,the banks are using more tools to streamline the internalcontrol. To urge employees to comply laws and other principles,education in different areas for employers but also to createdifferent work approaches in the company, to make internal checkupsand constant supervision of the organization work is some ofthe tools that are used.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / The Study Project is entitled: "Corporate Governance and the fall of Enron", Concepts like corporate government have been developed and created due to needs of owners and society to supervise management but more importantly influence the direction of companies. The term "corporate governance" derives from an analogy between the governments of cities, nations or states and the governance of corporations. The early corporate finance textbooks saw "representative government" (Mead 1922:31) as an important advantage of the corporation over partnerships but there has been and still is little agreement on how representative corporate governance really is, or whom it should represent. The analogy between corporate and political voting was explicit in early corporate charters and writings, dating back to the revolutionary origins of the American corporation and the first railway corporations in Germany (Dunlavy 1998). The precise term "corporate governance" itself seems to have been used first by Richard Eells (1960, p.l08), to denote "the structure and functioning of the corporate polity". An important objective of this Study Project was to investigate the case study of Enron, why it failed and the outcome relating to Corporate Governance in the future. A review of the activities by Enron was done in order to determine the possible reasons of its failure. To achieve the above, it was determined that qualitative, investigative research would be conducted, rather than a quantitative, numerative approach. The research methodology used in this Study Project of a secondary research. Secondary research, in the form of an in-depth, global literature review was conducted on the topic.

<p>Skandalen som omvärvde Enron skakade affärsvärlden då det var den största skandal som dittills inträffat. De brott Enrons ledning stod anklagade för var många och av varierande art. De undersökningar som redan har genomförts har till stor del fokuserat på organisationen och ledarskapet. För att ge en annorlunda vinkel fokuserar denna uppsats istället på redovisningen och några av de misstag som begicks av Enrons ledning. Det är även därför som händelserna granskas ur ett revisorsperspektiv. Målgruppen är revisionsintresserade samt de som är intresserade av ekonomisk historia. De data som har använts i arbetet är sekundärdata som blev åtkomlig genom databaser och relevanta sökord. Enron använde sig av enheter som de skapat för speciella ändamål (SPE-enheter) för att kringgå gällande regler samt för att dölja förluster. Detta skedde bland annat i fallet med Talon, då de kringgick reglerna gällande redovisning av förluster genom att ta upp nya inkomster och på så sätt upprätthålla det egna aktievärdet. Tillgångarna i de SPE-enheter Enron skapade bestod till största del av aktier i Enron vilket gjorde enheterna beroende av att Enrons aktievärde upprätthölls. Enligt de regler som var aktuella innan konkursen skulle SPE-enheter konsolideras med grundarens balans- och resultaträkning då vissa kriterier inte uppfylldes. Detta var en regel som Enron konsekvent bröt mot genom att fortlöpande bilda nya enheter för att bibehålla det egna aktievärdet samt för att dölja att kraven kring konsolidering inte uppnåddes. Mark-to-market var en process som Enron utnyttjade frekvent när det gällde värdering av långtidskontrakt inom energihandeln. Processen går ut på att uppskatta kommande marknadsvärden för att kunna beräkna kommande inkomster. Enron var emellertid alltför optimistiska i sina uppskattningar vilket ledde till att vinsterna som redovisats var betydligt högre än de verkliga. För att dölja detta använde sig företaget av vinstförvaltning, vilket innebär att de flyttade inkomster för att upprätthålla en jämn vinstnivå genom åren. Något som blev till ett stort problem då avtalet med videojätten Blockbuster avbröts utan att några vinster verkligen inkommit. Enrons redovisningsbrott är till största delen fria tolkningar av reglerna eller det faktum att de lyckats kringgå dem helt. Enbart i fallen med SPE-enheterna kan brott påvisas.</p> / <p>The Enron scandal was the biggest scandal that had existed (at the time it occurred) and it chocked the entire business world. The crimes that Enron’s management were charged with were many and of different species. Previous investigations concentrate on leadership and organization. To give a different visual angle, this essay focuses on the accounting issues and some of the mistakes that the management in Enron made. Furthermore, the events in the case of Enron are seen from an auditor’s perspective. Our goal is to reach audit and other economic history interested parties. The data that were used is secondary data that became available through carefully selected search words. Enron used entities created for special purposes (SPE-entities) to avoid rules and to hide losses. This happened in the case with Talon, when Enron circumvent the rules regarding the ways in which losses presents in the financial statement, by showing incomes to maintain the value of the stocks. The assets in the SPE-entities were mainly stocks in Enron, which meant that the entities depended on Enron’s stock value to maintain an acceptable level. According to the rules before the bankruptcy, the entities balance- and result sheets did not need to be consolidated with the founders if certain criteria were met. This was a rule that Enron consistently broke by continuously create new entities and Enron could in that way retain their stock value and hide from the consolidating requirements. Mark-to-market is a process that was frequently used by Enron when they were to appreciate the values from long-term contracts within the energy business. According to the process the company estimate market values to present future incomes. However, Enron were to optimistic when they calculated, which meant that the profit estimated were higher than in reality. To cover the truth Enron used profit administration, which means that they shifted the profits to present a better profit level over the years. This became a big problem in the case with Blockbuster Video, a case that was interrupted before any profits were made. The crimes that were made by Enron’s management are to a large part their own interpretation of the accounting rules or the fact that they entirely manage to avoid the rules. Crimes can be pointed out only in the case with the SPE-entities.</p>

This diploma thesis accents the value of accounting as the most important business informational system especially in the recent period of time. The most of financial decisions are based on accounting, thats why accounting is used for manipulation with financial results by management. I described various ways of accounting frauds including the creative accounting. The economic criminality and accounting frauds became a serious problem so I suggested possible methods for preventing frauds.