31 Aug Advanced Accounting Ethics Case
Here is the link and passcode for the ethics case: https://vimeo.com/243961787 atqhfeb14
INSTRUCTIONS: After watching the video case, please write a 3-5 page reflection paper answering the following questions. This needs to be in paper format, not simply answers to questions!
1. If you were Kathe Swanson, do you think you could report your boss? Why or why not? Would you report suspicions of a fraud if the perpetrator was a friend? Please explain.
2. Do you believe that Rita acted alone and committed the fraud without any co-conspirators?
3. If you were a staff auditor at CliftonLarsonAllen, do you think you would have been able to identify a phony invoice? Why or Why not?
4. If you were a staff auditor at CliftonLarsonAllen and the City of Dixon was your client, how would you discuss the lack of segregation of duties within the city?
5. Rita was recently released early from prison, but if you had written to her in federal prison, what would you ask her? Do you believe Rita regrets her crime? Why or why not?
6. Look up the elements of the fraud triangle. Discuss the fraud triangle in relation to Rita’s case. Discuss the internal control weaknesses at the City of Dixon. Discuss internal controls that could have prevented Rita’s fraud.
7. What are the three characteristics that distinguish white-collar crimes from other types of crime? Explain how these characteristics are illustrated in Rita’s case. Do you think white-collar crimes, such as the one Rita committed, are caused only by individual moral weaknesses or are other factors involved? If other factors are involved, what are they?
8. Can you think of a time in your life when you rationalized an unethical decision? It need not be limited to the workplace; it might be a choice you made in a close relationship, at school, or in another activity. What were your rationalizations? Looking back, how could you have combated those rationalizations in the moment? What are some rationalizations you hear for fairly common unethical choices, like cheating on tests? Can you come up with arguments against those rationalizations?
9. Success is often thought of as the attainment of prosperity (though perhaps less so now than in the past). What problems can arise from this limited definition of success? What better definition of success can you come up with? What do you think the impact would be of living according to that definition?
10. What do you really believe is important in your life? How do you rank order your values? If you believe that your values are appropriately prioritized, what would acting on them look like, particularly in an unethical situation?
