Reference no: EM133255338 , Length: word count:850
Legal Environment Of Business
Assignment - An Ethical Question
Overview
Adherence to a widely accepted business code of ethics is important to engendering public trust in a company. Ethical decision making by accountants is part of this trust. In this assignment, you are asked to make an ethical business decision.
Preparation
The following optional resources may help you to analyze the scenario below and aid your decision-making process.
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 107 P.L. 204, 116 Stat. 745.
- Sec. 406. Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers.
- Code of Ethics Pursuant to Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
- SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 99 - Materiality.
Scenario
Imagine you are the auditor at Acme Company (a large publicly traded company based in the United States), which intends to acquire another company for a price of 8.5 billion dollars, or 7.8 percent of Acme's total assets.
The SEC has created materiality standard rule-of-thumb guidance (not a mandate or law) for mergers and acquisitions regarding reportable events. It states that mergers or acquisitions that exceed 5 percent of the acquiring company's total asset should be registered with the SEC. So, technically, this acquisition is considered material and does not legally need to be registered. The question is, should it be?
Instructions
Consider the above scenario and address the following question:
- From an ethical standpoint, would you advise registering this acquisition?
Write a three-page memo to your company leadership that explains your decision on whether or not to register the acquisition with the SEC. It should:
- Explain your approach to answering the question of whether to file using sound reasoning that includes all critical areas that will inform the decision. Consider the following:
- The criteria upon which you base your decision.
- Ethical and professional reference points that guide you.
- Possible ramifications for shareholders or other potentially interested parties.
- State and justify your decision effectively using support from appropriate statutes, laws, or other ethical standards. Note: There is no right or wrong answer, but you must support your position.
Be sure your assignment meets the following requirements:
- Three pages in length.
- A minimum of three references from appropriate professional or academic sources.
- There is no special formatting required for the memo, but it should be professionally composed and presented.
Attachment:- Legal Environment Of Business.rar