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- Title
- Conditions Associated with Increased Risk of Fraud: A Model for Publicly Traded Restaurant Companies.
- Creator
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Yost, Elizabeth, Croes, Robertico, Severt, Denver, Robinson, Edward, Murphy, Kevin, Semrad, Kelly, Jackson, Leonard, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The central focus of this dissertation study is to understand the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the factors that contribute to increased risk of fraud in order to determine why fraud may occur despite the imposed regulation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The main premise of the study tests the application of the fraud triangle framework constructs to publicly traded restaurant companies during the time period of 2002-2014, using proxy variables defined through literature. Essentially, the...
Show moreThe central focus of this dissertation study is to understand the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the factors that contribute to increased risk of fraud in order to determine why fraud may occur despite the imposed regulation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The main premise of the study tests the application of the fraud triangle framework constructs to publicly traded restaurant companies during the time period of 2002-2014, using proxy variables defined through literature. Essentially, the study seeks to identify the factors that may provide the optimal criteria to engage in fraudulent or opportunistic behavior. The fraud triangle theoretical framework is comprised of the constructs of pressure, opportunity and rationalization, and has mostly been utilized by external auditors to assess the fraud risk of various companies. It has never been applied to the restaurant industry, and the proxy variables selected have never before been tested in a comprehensive model. Thus, a major contribution of this study may enable executive managers to assess the fraud triangle conditions according to the model in order to afford conclusions regarding increased risk of fraud. The study first hypothesized that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has had a significant impact on detecting increased risk of fraud for publicly traded restaurant companies. Additionally, the study controlled for and tested the proxy variables of the fraud triangle constructs to determine if any of the variables had a significant impact on detecting increased risk of fraud for publicly traded restaurant companies. The variables tested included company size, debt, employee turnover, organizational structure, international sales growth, executive stock compensation, return on assets, the Recession, and macro-economic factors of interest, inflation, and unemployment rates. The research study adopted an exploratory research design using the case of publicly traded United States restaurant companies in order to provide a better understanding of the characteristics that may contribute to increased fraud risk. The study assumed a binary distribution of the dependent variable, increased fraud risk, measured by the incidence of a reported internal control deficiency over the testable time period. Specifically, the study employed a probit model to estimate the probability that an entity or company will be at an increased risk of fraud based on the independent variables that support and are linked to the fraud triangle framework. Additionally, the model assumes equal weight to the variables of the fraud triangle framework. Through use of the probit model, the major findings of the study were as follows: First, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act does have a significant impact on highlighting areas of increased fraud risk for publicly traded restaurant companies. Second, for the total population of restaurant companies, only the Recession, interest rates, inflation rates and unemployment rates are significant indicators of increased fraud risk. None of the internal variables were significant. However, once the data was segmented by type of restaurant, the results revealed significance of both internal and external variables. These results imply a couple of theoretical notions: first, that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is an effective means for detecting risk of fraud for publicly traded restaurant companies when considering variables that support the fraud triangle; second, that the fraud triangle is contextual when applied to the restaurant industry because only the variables that are outside of managements control were significant. Finally, from a managerial perspective, the study provides evidence that macro-economic conditions that might affect consumer demand may increase the risk of fraud for publicly traded restaurant companies.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005745, ucf:50101
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005745
- Title
- THE ACCOUNTING FRAUD @ WORLDCOM: THE CAUSES, THE CHARACTERISTICS, THE CONSEQUENCES, AND THE LESSONS LEARNED.
- Creator
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Ashraf, Javiriyah, Roush, Pamela, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The economic prosperity of the late 1990s was characterized by a perceived expansive growth that increased the expectations of a company's performance. WorldCom, a telecommunications company, was a victim of these expectations that led to the evolution of a fraud designed to deceive the public until the economic outlook improved. Through understanding what led to the fraud, how the fraud grew, and what its effects were, lessons can be derived to gain a better understanding of the reasons...
Show moreThe economic prosperity of the late 1990s was characterized by a perceived expansive growth that increased the expectations of a company's performance. WorldCom, a telecommunications company, was a victim of these expectations that led to the evolution of a fraud designed to deceive the public until the economic outlook improved. Through understanding what led to the fraud, how the fraud grew, and what its effects were, lessons can be derived to gain a better understanding of the reasons behind a fraud and to prevent future frauds from occurring or growing as big as the WorldCom fraud did.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0003811, ucf:44772
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003811
- Title
- THREE STUDIES INVESTIGATING THE LEGAL LIABILITY IMPLICATIONS OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002.
- Creator
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Phillips, Jillian, Arnold, Vicky, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This dissertation examines the litigation and legal liability exposure of auditors related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Three separate studies were conducted to examine how auditorÃÂ's litigation exposure is evaluated by potential litigants (lawyers), and how auditor liability is evaluated by jurors, following the bankruptcy of a client. The first study examines whether the auditorÃÂ's SOX Section 404 reporting decisions influence...
Show moreThis dissertation examines the litigation and legal liability exposure of auditors related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Three separate studies were conducted to examine how auditorÃÂ's litigation exposure is evaluated by potential litigants (lawyers), and how auditor liability is evaluated by jurors, following the bankruptcy of a client. The first study examines whether the auditorÃÂ's SOX Section 404 reporting decisions influence lawyersÃÂ' assessments of their litigation exposure. The second study investigates whether voluntary disclosures of significant deficiencies in internal controls within the SOX Section 404 report, and the subjectivity of the internal control judgments made by the auditor, influence jurorsÃÂ' perceptions of auditor liability for negligence. The third study examines how the requirements of SOX Section 302 related to audit committee independence and audit committee expertise influence jurorsÃÂ' perceptions of auditor independence and auditor liability for negligence. Overall, these three studies provide insights on how different provisions of SOX, specifically the Section 404 report and audit committee requirements, influence the likelihood that auditors will be sued and the likelihood that they will be held liable by a jury.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003340, ucf:48480
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003340
- Title
- BRAVE NEW WORLD RELOADED: ADVOCATING FOR BASIC CONSTITUTIONAL SEARCH PROTECTIONS TO APPLY TO CELL PHONES FROM EAVESDROPPING AND TRACKING BY THE GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE ENTITIES.
- Creator
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Berrios-Ayala, Mark, Milon, Abby, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Imagine a world where someone's personal information is constantly compromised, where federal government entities AKA Big Brother always knows what anyone is Googling, who an individual is texting, and their emoticons on Twitter. Government entities have been doing this for years; they never cared if they were breaking the law or their moral compass of human dignity. Every day the Federal government blatantly siphons data with programs from the original ECHELON to the new series like PRISM...
Show moreImagine a world where someone's personal information is constantly compromised, where federal government entities AKA Big Brother always knows what anyone is Googling, who an individual is texting, and their emoticons on Twitter. Government entities have been doing this for years; they never cared if they were breaking the law or their moral compass of human dignity. Every day the Federal government blatantly siphons data with programs from the original ECHELON to the new series like PRISM and Xkeyscore so they can keep their tabs on issues that are none of their business; namely, the personal lives of millions. Our allies are taking note; some are learning our bad habits, from Government Communications Headquarters' (GCHQ) mass shadowing sharing plan to America's Russian inspiration, SORM. Some countries are following the United States' poster child pose of a Brave New World like order of global events. Others like Germany are showing their resolve in their disdain for the rise of tyranny. Soon, these new found surveillance troubles will test the resolve of the American Constitution and its nation's strong love and tradition of liberty. Courts are currently at work to resolve how current concepts of liberty and privacy apply to the current conditions facing the privacy of society. It remains to be determined how liberty will be affected as well; liberty for the United States of America, for the European Union, the Russian Federation and for the people of the World in regards to the extent of privacy in today's blurred privacy expectations.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004537, ucf:45187
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004537