Accounting Scandals

Corporate accounting scandals are political and business scandals which arise with the disclosure of misdeeds by trusted executives of large public corporations. Such misdeeds typically involve complex methods for misusing or misdirecting funds, overstating revenues, understating expenses, overstating the value of corporate assets or underreporting the existence of liabilities. In public companies, this type of "creative accounting" can amount to fraud and investigations are typically launched by government oversight agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States.

In 2002, a wave of separate but often related accounting scandals became known to the public in the U.S. Several leading public accounting firms  Arthur Andersen, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and others  have admitted to or have been charged with negligence in the execution of their duty as auditors to identify and prevent the publication of falsified financial reports by their corporate clients which had the effect of giving a misleading impression of their client companies' financial status. In several cases, the monetary amounts of the fraud involved are in the billions of dollars USD.

3. Scan the text again and find the English equivalents of the following Russian collocations.

Разоблачение преступлений; злоупотребление денежными фондами; завышать доходы; занижать расходы; занижение сведений об обязательствах; манипуляции с бухгалтерской отчетностью; мошенничество; начать расследование; надзорный орган; предъявлять обвинение в халатности; давать искаженное представление; финансовое положение.

4. Work with a partner. Put the events in Enron's history into the correct order. Start with D.

The Rise and Fall of Enron

A Ken Lay, boss of Houston Natural Gas, was immediately appointed CEO of the newly-formed company.

В When it didn't receive answers, the regulator launched a formal investigation into Enron's investments. As a result, Enron's Chief Financial Officer resigned.

С During the 1990's Enron continued to expand and diversify at an incredible rate, it invested $2 billion in a power plant in India, bought a water company in the UK and acquired an electricity company in Portland, Oregon.

D Enron was founded in 1985 when two gas companies, Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, merged to create the first national natural gas pipe network.

E Finally, the company was declared bankrupt, but the directors had already sold their shares and walked away with the profits.

F Three years after its creation, Enron opened its first offices abroad as part of a strategy to take advantage of newly-privatized markets.

G By the end of 2000, annual revenues had readied $100 billion, making Enron the sixth-largest energy company in the world. Most of this was from trading activities.

H However, Enron was not satisfied with revenue just from gas trading, so it also moved into electricity trading, establishing a trading centre in London. This became the company's most profitable activity.

I The first evidence of false accounting came in the first few months of 2001 when Enron admitted it had lost $570 million. Its share price fell, causing a cash and credit crisis.

J In July, the regulator started asking Enron to give more details about its financial performance.

K At the same time as opening offices overseas, Enron began trading natural gas in North America.

L By the turn of the century, a highly competitive work culture had developed. Each year 15% of Enron's employees were sacked and replaced with younger, ambitious graduates.

M The investigation found that the company and its accountants had lied to its shareholders and employees about $2 billion of debt.

5. Give a brief account of the rise and fall of Enron: explain the reasons for its fall.

Language

1. Practise reading the following international words, give their Russian equivalents.

standard, privatized, audit, auditor, scandal, ambitious, client, balance, total, transaction, certified, licensed, potential, execute, execution, control, controller, record v, keep records.

2. Practise saying the numbers from Figure 1 and 2 on p.

3. Read the following numbers and expressions in English.

0.4 2.5 3.6 0.5 4.867

7/8 2/5 ¼ 27/38 3/10

305 4,057 25,478 1,946 925,046,305

5 x 7 = 35 249 x 35 = 8,715

15 : 3 = 5 756 : 6 = 126

16 – 10 = 6 7056 – 250 = 6806

Assets = Liabilities + Owner’s Equity

4. Complete the sentences by forming adjectives from the verbs on the right according to the given pattern, work out the Russian equivalents of the derivatives obtained.

v + -able  a 'that can be v-ed', e.g.

manage + -able  manageable 'that can be managed' – 1) поддающийся управлению, легко управляемый; 2) выполнимый, осуществимый

market-able securities = 'that can be easily marketed (sold)' - рыночные (легкореализуемые) ценные бумаги,

1. The page had so many corrections and comments that the original text was virtually un……. . 2. The proposals must be …… to the shareholders. 3. The new bank building is the most …… structure in the city. 4. This section of law is only …… to businesses. 5. Her help made an …… difference. 6. A good manager must be able to adjust easily to …… environment. 7. A large international meeting was held with the aim of promoting ……development in all countries. 8. This is a highly …… product. 9. The recent tax reforms have made government more …… for its spending. 10. A cheque that is not …… cannot be exchanged for cash and must be paid into a bank account. 11. The price of the car is …… in 12 monthly installments. 12. Accounts …… are classed as current assets on a balance sheet. 13. Accounts …… are the amounts owed by a business to suppliers. 14. The two of them are in …… financial situation.

read accept recognize apply appreciate change sustain market account negotiate pay receive pay compare

5. Add an appropriate negative prefix to italicized words, choose from the list given.

ir- un- in- dis- ab- under- mis- de-

1. Low demand for their products has made production very …profitable. 2. You must make everything clear now in order to avoid any …understandings later. 3. Four Season Ltd have been ... successful in marketing the new product. 4. The report showed that moving the production to a new site was …desirable. 5. We don't have a detailed cost analysis yet, so the management are …decided about future investment. 6. The management think that the policy of expanding sales is …correct. 7. Since …regulation, telephone companies have been able to set their own prices. 8. They …estimated the effect of the competitor's products on sale in this market sector. 9. Lots of the documentation which was lost in the fire is …replaceable. 10. Prices for raw material are …normally high at the moment. 11. They have decided to …continue the production of Product P because sales have fallen. 12. They were accused of …using their power to keep prices artificially high. 13. He was accused of …appropriating $30,000.

6. Make word partnerships and use them in the sentences of your own.

1. supply 2. keep 3. evaluate 4. overstate 5. prepare 6. adhere to 7. audit 8. make 9. cook

a. performance b. a balance sheet c. accounting reports d. books e. information f. standards g. records h. decisions i. revenues

7. Identify which term of those on the right describes each mathematical expression.

1 75% 2 E = mc2 3 000's 000's Jan 2.4 July 3.5 Feb 2.3 Aug 4.7 Mar 3.9 Sept 6.9 April 4.6 Oct 6.3 May 3.4 Nov 6.8 June 3.6 Dec 3.4 Monthly = 4.33 4 1,623 + 3,004 =4,627 5 9,260 – 1,111 = 8,149 6. 87 x 25 = 2175 7. 1,505 = 301 5 8. Direct costs 724 Indirect costs 200 Costs Direct : Indirect = 3.62 9. $12,24/hour

a. formula b. multiplication c. division d. average e. addition f. ratio g. rate h. subtraction i. percentage

8. Match the words on the left to the right definitions, then use them to complete the sentences that follow.

1. Accountancy	a. record of money received and spent
2. Accounting	b. theory of keeping financial records
3. Account	c. a person who keeps and works with financial records.
4. Accountant	d. activity of keeping financial records

1. He's at university studying ______. 2. A bookkeeper writes details of financial transaction in the ______. 3. A business manager needs some ______ knowledge in order to understand what he reads in the company's ______. 4. Most people in the profession read ______ magazines and journals to stay informed. 5. The chief ______ has completed the draft ______ for the year. 6. Can you check that the figures have been entered correctly in the bank ______? 7. The directors of the company approve the ______ at the end of the ______ year. 8. Each branch maintains its own full _____ system. 9. The management of the company have not yet decided on their _____ policies. 10. He's been working as an ______ with this firm for several years now.

9. Identify the meanings of the 'account' phrases in bold in the sentences below and give their Russian equivalents. Choose the correct definition from the list on the right.

1. How do you account for the sudden fall in the stock value? 2. Agents buy and sell goods on their own account. 3. They gave the solicitor a detailed account of the customer's business deals in the last year. 4. The draft accounts had to be adjusted on account of the discovery that a major debtor had gone bankrupt. 5. Raw materials account for 30% of the manufacturing cost. 6. They are regular customers in this shop and are now able to buy on account. 7. On no account should these figures be released before the board meeting. 8. When making decision for the future the managers have to take this year's poor performance into account. 9. By all accounts, they will benefit greatly if the deal goes through. 10. The advertising company has won two new accounts in South Africa

a. people say b. report c. under no circumstances d. consider e. explain f. big customers g. for themselves h. because of i. on credit j. represent

10. Translate the following sentences into English using 'account' phrases from Activity 9.

1. Эти товары были приобретены в кредит. 2. Вы должны представить нам детальный отчет о Ваших расходах за данный период. 3. По общему мнению, к концу года произойдет слияние этих двух компаний. 4. Ни в коем случае нельзя прекращать работу предприятия. 5. При принятии решений менеджеры должны учитывать информацию, предоставляемую бухгалтерами. 6. Оплата за отопление составила 30% накладных расходов. 7. Мы должны скорректировать бюджет из-за происшедших изменений на рынке. 8. Моя функция – искать новых заказчиков. 9. Ему приходится покупать канцелярские принадлежности за свой счет. 10. Как можно объяснить рост дефицита федерального бюджета в США в начале 90-х годов?

11. Identify accounting terms defined on the left, some prompts are given.

1. all objects, tangible or intangible, that are of value to its possessor, such as buildings, machinery, money in the bank, money owed by customers, etc.	a_ _ _ _ s
2. a financial plan for the future	b_ _ _ _ t
3. the loss of value of the things that have been consumed	d_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _n
4. a statement of the financial position of the company	b_ _ _ _ _ e s_ _ _ t
5. official books for keeping accounts	l_ _ _ _ _ s
6. goods which are bought by the company	p_ _ _ _ _ _ _ s
7. goods which the company has available to sell	s_ _ _ k
8. customers who have received goods but not paid for them yet	d_ _ _ _ _ s
9. the company that has supplied goods but has not received any money for them yet	c _ _ _ _ _ _ r
10. companies make this when they sell their goods for more than it costs them to make them	p_ _ _ _ t
11. money which is borrowed	l _ _ n
12. an official examination of accounts	a_ _ _ t

12. Match the English accounting terms to their Russian equivalents.

a. accounts receivable (US), or debtors (GB) b. liabilities c. profit and loss account d. stock taking e. income statement f. double entry bookkeeping g. ledger h. inventory i. balance sheet j. accounts payable (US) or creditors (GB) k. intangible assets l. cash flow m. accounting transaction

1. инвентаризация, переучет 2. дебиторская задолженность, счета дебиторов 3. отчет о доходах и расходах 4. баланс, балансовый отчет 5. материально-производственные запасы, наличные товары 6. кредиторская задолженность, счета к оплате, счета кредиторов 7. задолженность, обязательства, пассивы 8. нематериальные активы 9. движение денежной наличности 10. проводка 11. система двойной записи 12. главная книга, гроссбух 13. счет прибылей и убытков

13. Render the following Russian text into English, use some of the active vocabulary from activity 12:

Согласно международным бухгалтерским стандартам (МБС), финансовая отчетность охватывает балансы, отчеты о доходах (счета прибылей и убытков), отчет о движении денежных средств и другие материалы. Обычно финансовые отчеты готовятся или публикуются один раз в год и являются объектом аудиторского заключения.

Баланс предприятия отражает финансовое положение предприятия на определенную дату. В соответствии с МБС баланс раскрывает содержание трех важнейших категорий: актива, обязательств и капитала. Активы, характеризующие хозяйственные средства предприятия, представлены в активе баланса, а обязательства, а также собственный капитал фиксируется в пассиве баланса. Несмотря на то, что во всех странах баланс принципиально понимается одинаково, расположение его статей отличается многообразием.

Отчет о доходах, или отчет о прибыли, представляет собой описание отдельных обстоятельств, которые обусловили тот или иной результат деятельности предприятия за определенный период.

В некоторых странах, например, в США, придается большое значение отчету о движении денежных средств.

14. During a job interview Alan is talking about his previous jobs. Complete what he says with the best form of the verb in brackets. Choose between past simple, past continuous or past perfect, the first has been done for you.

INTERVIEWER: So, Alan, why did you quit your last job?

ALAN: Well at the time I (1) was working (work) as a financial officer for an International Accountancy firm in London. I (2) ………. (be) in the same company for three years.

INTERVIEWER: How (3) ……… (you/get) the job?

ALAN: Just after I (4) ……… (finish) university I (5) ………. (go) to a job fair. I still (6) ……… (decide) what I wanted to do and I was interested to see what kind if jobs there (7) ……… (be) at the fair. While I (8) ………. (look) at information on one of the stands for a large international accountancy firm, someone (9) ………. (give) me an application form to fill in. I thought this might be a good career opportunity for me as I (10) ………. (already/take) some accountancy exams for my degree. So I (11) ……… (complete) the form and (12) ………(send0 it off. They (13) ………. (interview) me the following week and got job. At first, I (14) ……… (feel) satisfied with the job, but as time went by, things (15) ………. (change) and I began to hate working there.

INTERVIEWER: So what (16) ……… (go) wrong?

ALAN: Well the situation was this: I (17) ……… (work) for a person who was very difficult, er …very demanding … never satisfied. What's more, my job (18) ………. (become) too repetitive and really wanted to do something more creative. So, that's why I resigned … I (19) ………. (not have) another job to go to, but I knew I (20) ………. (have) to make a change.

15. Study the figures in the table describing the changes in three oil companies' performance and then complete the presentation extract analyzing these changes with phrases of comparison given below; the first has been done for you.