CPE Session 14: Sunday, August 7, 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Ethics of Preparing Irrevocable Trust Fund Accountings
This Session has been CANCELED
Description/Objectives:
- Increase awareness of issues in preparing purposeful trust fund accountings, post-SOX
- Identify strategies to potentially identify irregular trust activities
- Acquire 10 preventative measures to curtail preparing irregular trust fund accountings
This interactive and case study workshop identifies the unique issues of ethical trust fund accounting including potential conflict of interests between the client and other shareholders. Attention to recent changes in trust legislation statutes suggests the need for a greater degree of purposeful accounting of irrevocable trust funds.
After an introduction to Trust Fund Accounting Ethics through the lens of leading business ethic academics in finance (Boatright 1999), accounting (Duska and Duska 2003), and information systems (DeGeorge 2003), small groups will discuss cases based on real-life trust administration events.
Context Specific Case Content:
- Current irregular accounting and accompanying disclaimer letter from the CPA who prepared it.
- Previous regular accounting
- Previous annual income schedule
- Excerpts of the ethics code of brokerage house domiciling account.
- Account opening application at brokerage firm housing this trust
- Legal statutes:
- trust fund accounting
- irrevocable trust fund reformation
Closure: group reports and synthesis of strategies and tools for preparing ethical irrevocable trust fund accountings.
Format/Structure:
- Introduction (including review of key terms)
- Body of lecture
- Unique issues and risk factors of irrevocable trust fund accounting
- Relevant statutes and codes of ethics governing irrevocable trust fund accounting
- Group work
Review of an actual 2004 accounting of an irrevocable trust fund in a state with a recent statute enabling modification and/or revocation of the instrument. Discussion addresses: Is this accounting fraudulent? What were the ethical responsibilities of the accountant who prepared this trust accounting?
- Brief reporting
Leaders of group sessions synthesize mini-case working session
- Debriefing
Summary and tips for preparing ethical trust-fund accountings
Intended Audience:
Accountants preparing irrevocable trust-fund interim and final accountings, auditors of financial institutions, particularly brokerage houses; compliance officers. Academics teaching Financial Reporting from a systems’ perspective and/ or accounting ethics faculty. Forensic accounting students. Compliance officers in financial institutions.
Presenter:
Elisabeth Rossen, Florida International University
* Denotes special requirements or prerequisite
|
