Read Major Case Study 6: Waste Management on pages 579-587 of your text.
In six to eight pages, supported by evidence from your text and from other research (at least two resources are required), answer the following questions:
- Characterize the ethical leadership at Waste Management and how it influenced organizational ethics.
- The SEC charged Andersen with failing to quantify and estimate all known and likely misstatements due to non-GAAP practices. Describe the failings of the firm with respect to professional judgment and ethical expectations under AICPA Code.
- Classify each of the accounting techniques described in the case that contributed to the fraud into one of Schilit’s accounting shenanigans. Include a discussion of how each technique violated GAAP.
- Do you believe auditors should be expected to discover fraud when a client goes to great lengths, as did Waste management, to withhold evidence from the auditors and mask the true financial effects of transactions? Explain.
