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In response to continuing
concerns regarding financial statement fraud, the Committee of
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) is
sponsoring a comprehensive study of fraudulent financial
reporting, slated to be released in the Spring of 1999. The
study builds on the landmark 1987 report of the Treadway
Commission by examining all the financial statement frauds
investigated by the SEC from 1987 through 1997. The study
addresses characteristics of the frauds committed, the
companies involved, the individual perpetrators, and the
consequences of the frauds. The goal is to provide a current
profile of financial statement fraud. This study will provide
a basis for recommendations on preventing and detecting
financial statement fraud.
The study should be of
interest to a diverse audience, including corporate directors,
CEOs, financial executives, auditors, and regulators.
The study is being conducted
for COSO by three experienced researchers, Mark Beasley of
North Carolina State University, Joe Carcello of the
University of Tennessee, and Dana Hermanson of the Corporate
Governance Center at Kennesaw State University.
COSO is dedicated to the
prevention of fraudulent financial reporting and is an
alliance of five professional organizations: the American
Accounting Association, the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants, the Financial Executives Institute, the
Institute of Internal Auditors, and the Institute of
Management Accountants. Collectively, these five organizations
represent over 500,000 members. |
