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Research Paper
One of the principal requirements of this course is for students
Research Paper
One of the principal requirements of this course is for students to write an extensive accounting
research paper. The paper must demonstrate the student’s ability to identify and articulate an important
or controversial accounting or auditing issue; use library resources to access practical and academic
research, as well as current press, on the topic; integrate relevant summaries or citations from the
research into a personal analysis with an individual viewpoint; and write a lengthy document that
effectively and persuasively communicates the particular viewpoint, while demonstrating a thorough
knowledge of relevant research. Hence, papers should be about fifteen or sixteen pages long and
should include at least twenty references, which may come from academic articles (at least 4 or 5),
authoritative literature, professional journals, legal cases, newspapers, or whatever other source is
appropriate.
This paper will give you the opportunity to explore a situation in which a company and/or its auditors
behaved unethically and/or fraudulently, and to evaluate the consequences. In your text, Accounting
Ethics and Professionalism, Mintz and Morris present many well-known examples of such instances (e.g.,
Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, ZZZZ Best). You may select one of these companies, or another company
mentioned in the text, or another company that fits the description whose story intrigues you. Very current
situations are acceptable, but it may be more challenging to find references. I prefer that students do not
select the same company, so make your selection as soon as possible. You must schedule a brief
meeting with me to discuss the company you have chosen and your outline or planned approach
by
Content: The paper should address the following:
1. Summarize the facts of the situation chosen. (The summary should be no more than one or two
pages.)
2. Identify the principal characters who created, or benefited from, the unethical behaviors or fraud.
Support your answer with specific examples.
3. What is your opinion of the board—its composition and expertise? Did you note any governance
issues?
4. Describe the strategies of the company and how they affected its culture or tone at the top.
5. What audit risks were indicated? That is, what red flags are evident that might have, or should
have, affected the auditors’ assessment of risk? Provide potential audit responses for each, using
the fraud triangle where appropriate.
6. Did the audit firm act appropriately when the fraud was discovered? Under auditing standards, did
the auditors adhere to their responsibilities when a potential fraud is discovered? (Be sure to cite
the literature, AICPA and/or PCAOB.)
7. Whether complicit or not, were the auditors sanctioned? Did they face legal proceedings? What
legal remedies did they have?
8. Do you believe that the outcome was appropriate to the situation?
9. Be sure that your viewpoint regarding the underlying factors that contributed to the fraud is clearly
stated. The evidence you present in the paper should support your conclusion.
Format: It is expected that papers will be grammatically and stylistically correct. The format should
include
a title page;
as many sections as are needed to develop the paper, not necessarily corresponding to the
numbered items above, as long as they are covered to the extent possible (e.g., if there is no
information available on the board, for instance, you will need to omit that issue);
sections may be separated by headings or sub-headings, as deemed appropriate (again, not
necessarily corresponding to the numbered items above;
conclusions;
a separate page of references, which will consist of an alphabetical listing (by author) of the
research cited or referred to in the paper in the appropriate form.
Footnotes or endnotes may be used if you feel they are necessary to provide additional or ancillary
information, but they should not be used to reference citations in the manuscript. The format for citations
and references should be patterned on the Guidelines for Citations and References that is available to
you on Canvas or on that used in an academic accounting journal, such as Accounting Horizons. Please
refer to my notes on your previous papers regarding appropriate format; I should not see the same errors
in the final paper.
Plagiarism: Using paragraphs, sentences, or even phrases written by another author without quoting
them is unacceptable. Papers containing any form of plagiarism will be returned unmarked, and may
result in your receiving a failing grade in the class.
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