Final Reflection Paper

During the course of the semester, we learned about various topics which have affected the accounting field in the past 20 years, as well as, recent research on these topics. The most impactful topics I learned about were notable frauds, the regulation that came from them, and the realities of how the board of directors operate. It was very interesting to learn about my own professor’s research in these areas while hearing his first-hand experience from conducting this research. Overall, the course expanded my knowledge beyond what a textbook could have. While it was important to learn about the roles and responsibilities of the board of directors, it was more important for me to learn about the events which shaped today’s board of directors

As far as notable frauds, the Enron and Worldcom scandals occurred at a hectic period in U.S. history. This period included many unexpected economic and political events, including the September 11th terrorist attacks and the crash of NASDAQ. The Enron scandal, which resulted from managements’ fraudulent revenue recognition and costed investors about $74 billion in losses, seemed like a one-time event. However, a few months later, the Worldcom scandal came to light. This fraud costed investors about $107 billion in assets and in both of these cases, fault was placed on management and the external auditors. Such notorious frauds caused a frenzy in the financial world and made investors and executives more aware of the potential of fraud within organizations. In our course, we studied the role of the audit committee in selecting the external auditor, overseeing effective internal controls and management’s role of assessing fraud risk. These duties work to mitigate the occurrence of frauds like Enron and

We have covered many topics, including notable frauds, the characteristics of a fraudster, regulation that followed these frauds, and CEO influence over corporate governance. These topics have given me greater insight to how the board of directors actually works, outside of the textbook, and a continuous timeline of how certain frauds and events have shaped the accounting industry we will enter after graduation, whether that is in corporate accounting, auditing, or even academics. As I continue my career as an external auditor, these key takeaways will be beneficial because they provide a realistic outlook about the way companies work. I focus on internal control and audit engagements at my firm, and this course has helped me when assessing fraud risks and considering the line of reporting within these