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Case Study Analysis: Accounting Fraud at WorldCom
Knowing how to analyze a case will help you attack virtually any business problem. A case study helps you learn by immersing you in a real-world business issues—and makes you a decision-maker. A case presents facts about a particular organization and you must focus on the most important facts and use the information to determine the best (of multiple alternatives) course(s) of action to deal with the problems you identify.
A case study analysis must not just summarize the case. It should identify key issues and problems, and outline and assess alternative courses of action.
In this case, you will have an opportunity to analyze the factors that led senior executives at WorldCom to launch and sustain an accounting fraud. This case will give you an opportunity to look at the various controls that should have been in place and to analyze them.
In addition to the requirements for the analysis of a case study covered below, please specifically answer the following questions:
What were the forces leading the senior executives to “cook the books”?
What is the boundary between earnings smoothing or earnings management and fraudulent reporting?
This fraud occurred in a major public company and went undetected for 3-4 years. How could this occur?