Educating and Training Library Practitioners: A Comparative History with Trends and Recommendations

published or submitted for publicatio

Management Accounting & Academe

Management accounting offers rewarding research opportunities. If researchers are able to identify more efficient ways to analyze internal accounting data, these new methods can be adopted immediately by interested companies. Breakthroughs in management accounting research do not have to filter through a standard-setting body before they can have an impact on practice. Due to the absence of management accounting rules, the great demand for management accounting research, and the availability of management accounting data, it is not surprising that academic research is beginning to drive the field of management accounting

The Internal Control Paradox: What Every Manager Should Know

Examines some conflicting trends concerning internal control systems of companies in the 1990s. Definition of internal control; Trends toward internal control; Trends away from internal control; Balanced view of internal control; Solution to the internal control paradox

Organizational Control Systems: Matching Controls with Organizational Levels

Companies today face a number of risks, such as environmental liabilities, losses from misuse of derivatives or harassment suits, which underscore the need for better control systems. Clearly, there is a tradeoff between having too much versus too little control. However, in addition to the amount of control, the mix of controls is important in maintaining the right balance within an organization. A framework is proposed that should help managers determine the appropriate matching of control types and control levels in their organizations. The matching is discussed for both traditional companies and modern, information-age companies

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Insights for Internal Auditors

Douglas Faggioli, president and CEO of Nature\u27s Sunshine Products (NSP) made the above remarks as he accepted, on behalf of NSP, a 2004 100 Best Corporate Citizens award from Business Ethics magazine. NSP received the award two years in a row. Less than two years later, NSP would discover a bribery scheme in its Brazil operations that would expose it to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Faggioli and the company\u27s CFO, Craig Huff, along with NSP, would be plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit, and the SEC would fine each officer $25,000. In order to register and import more products in Brazil, NSP made undocumented cash payments to Brazilian customs brokers, some of which were ultimately paid to Brazilian customs officials. NSP\u27s Brazilian subsidiary falsified its books and hid the nature of these payments in its filings with the SEC. NSP\u27s internal investigation revealed internal control weaknesses, which likely led to the violations

COSO: More Relevant Now than Ever

In 1992 when the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) issued its internal control framework, few would have guessed that the framework would become an integral part of corporate accountability a decade later, but things are moving in that direction. COSO\u27s framework may become an important tool for implementing the directives set forth in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. With the newly mandated reporting on controls and other directives set forth in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the full effect of COSO\u27s internal control vision may finally be realized. COSO\u27s framework may help to address compliance with the new internal control reporting requirements. Although the primary focus of the COSO report is internal control, the framework has implications for other areas of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as well

Audit Committee Material Weaknesses in Smaller Reporting Companies

One of the critical elements of internal control over financial reporting is an effectively functioning audit committee. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) defines an audit committee as committee (or equivalent body) established by and amongst the board of directors of an issuer for the purpose of overseeing the accounting and financial reporting processes of the issuer and audits of the financial statements of the issuer. Recent SOX section 404 filings by smaller reporting companies ( nonaccelerated filers, or registrants with less than $75 million of public float), however, indicate that some small companies still are struggling to develop effective audit committees. Examining the disclosures made by smaller reporting companies and then analyzing the available resources can be useful for small businesses seeking to establish and maintain effective audit committees. The SEC rules public companies to issue an annual report on the company\u27s internal control over financial reporting and to include an auditor\u27s opinion on their effectiveness

Audit Committees Oversight of Information Technology Risk

This exploratory study examines the role of the audit committee in overseeing information technology (IT) risk. We address the degree of audit committee oversight of specific IT risks, as well as factors associated with variations in audit committee IT oversight. Based on responses from 39 audit committee members, we found (1) little audit committee emphasis on oversight of IT risks, (2) audit committees involved with IT oversight focus on more traditional risks (e.g., monitoring), while very little attention is devoted to IT acquisition and implementation, and (3) the amount of IT oversight is positively associated with the responding members auditing experience and prior familiarity with the COBIT model for assessing IT risks. Audit committee independence, diligence, and expertise, company size, and industry were not significantly associated with IT oversight

Information Technology in the Undergraduate Accounting Curriculum

This study examines the extent to which undergraduate accounting programs are integrating information technology (IT) across the curriculum. Based on responses from nearly 70 accounting programs, respondents believe that integrating IT into the curriculum is important, but (1) few departments have an IT policy, (2) coverage of general IT topics is minor to moderate, and (3) student usage of computer applications is fairly low. The main technical barriers to IT integration are inadequate lab personnel and continual changes in technology

Building an Effective Internal Audit Function: Learning from SOX Section 404 Reports

In the wake of the major accounting scandals, internal auditing has emerged as a powerful force in promoting effective controls, risk management, and governance in U.S. companies. This article highlights recent internal audit-related problems that were revealed in SOX Section 404 reports and offers specific recommendations for building an effective, value-adding internal audit function