Accounting Ethics Chapter 6 Quiz

1. In the U.S., if the auditor can demonstrate having performed services with the same degree of skill and
judgment possessed by others in the profession, it can be said to have exercised:
A. Prudence
B. Scienter
C. Nonfeasance
D. Due Care

D. Due Care

2. Which of the following would normally be considered sufficient to demonstrate due care on the part of
the auditor?
A. The auditor had its work reviewed by another audit firm
B. The auditor cites adherence to generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS)

B. The auditor cites adherence to generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS)

3. A privity relationship means that
A. A party may be a user of the financial statements
B. A party may sue if fraud has taken place
C. A party's financial liability is limited
D. A party has a contractual obligation

D. A party has a contractual obligation

4. The Ultramares v. Touche case of 1933 held that a cause of action based on negligence could not be maintained by a third party who was not in contractual privity however, it did leave open the possibility that:
A. Third parties that were "foreseeable

C. Third parties may sue in the case of fraud or constructive fraud

5. The Rosenblum case ruling was of concern to the accounting profession because it implied that
A. Full joint and several liability would be reinstated
B. All possible third party users of financial statements must be anticipated
C. The concept of contra

B. All possible third party users of financial statements must be anticipated

6. When an auditor acts so carelessly in the application of professional standards that it implies a reckless
disregard for the standards of due care is referred to as
A. Scienter
B. Fraud
C. Constructive fraud
D. Negligence

C. Constructive fraud

7. When courts find accountants liable for constructive fraud, the implication is that
A. Auditors should always be liable when investors lose money due to deceit
B. Accountants may be liable for fraud even when they had no knowledge of deceit
C. Auditors

B. Accountants may be liable for fraud even when they had no knowledge of deceit

8. All of the following proof can be used in an auditor's defense against third party lawsuits for fraud except
for:
A. The third party was not in contractual privity
B. The auditor did not have a duty to the third party
C. The third party was negligent
D

A. The third party was not in contractual privity

9. An audit engagement letter
A. Offers an auditor's services to a client
B. Is required by generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS)
C. Details the SEC's expectations for the audit firm for a specific engagement
D. Formalizes the relationship between

D. Formalizes the relationship between the auditor and the client for a specific engagement

10. The most relevant sources of civil liabilities for auditors failing to adhere to the requirements of the laws
in carrying out professional obligations include all of the following except for:
A. Securities Act of 1933
B. Private Securities Litigation

B. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

11. The Securities Act of 1933
A. Regulates the auditing of financial statements for publicly-traded companies
B. Limits the financial liability of independent auditors except in the case of gross negligence
C. Regulates the initial offering of securities

C. Regulates the initial offering of securities

12. Under the Securities Act of 1933, if damages were incurred and there was a material misstatement or
omission in the financial statements, the CPA will most likely lose the lawsuit unless
A. The management intentionally deceived the auditors
B. The dam

D. The CPA rebuts the allegations

13. The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934
A. Limits the financial liability of independent auditors except in the case of gross negligence
B. Requires the filing of audited annual statements and reviewed quarterly statements
C. Regulates the initial off

B. Requires the filing of audited annual statements and reviewed quarterly statements

14. The legal term for the intent to deceive, manipulate or defraud is
A. Nonfeasance
B. Misfeasance
C. Constructive fraud
D. Scienter

D. Scienter

15. In the case of Equity Funding, the audit client
A. Fraudulently recorded inventories that did not in fact exist
B. Inflated its earnings by recording fictitious sales of insurance policies
C. Moved liabilities off the balance sheet by using thousands

B. Inflated its earnings by recording fictitious sales of insurance policies

16. As a result of Scott London's actions to give inside tips about two audit clients, KPMG took each of the
following actions except for
A. Admitted London violated the firm's independence rules
B. Issued a modified audit opinion on the clients financial

B. Issued a modified audit opinion on the clients financial statements because of the adverse actions of London

17. "Disgorgement" with respect to legal rulings refers to
A. A defendant being forced to at least partially repay fraudulently gained money
B. An auditor being forced to reveal private client information because fraud has occurred
C. An auditor being hel

A. A defendant being forced to at least partially repay fraudulently gained money

18. A payment made to a foreign government official to ensure that s/he does what is expected given their job
requirements can be characterized as a:
A. Bribe
B. Asset misappropriation
C. Facilitating Payment
D. Legal Payment

C. Facilitating Payment

19. What is a worrisome consequence under the joint and several liability principle?
A. Each negligent party is liable for the portion of the damages for which it is responsible
B. All negligent parties are always liable for damages
C. Only the negligent

D. Each negligent party could be held liable for the total of damages suffered

20. Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, if an auditor concludes that an illegal act with a
material effect on the financial statements has been reported to, but not dealt with by senior management,
the auditor should then report his/her co

B. The company's board of directors

21. Section 10A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 establishes each of the following requirements for
auditors of public companies with respect to illegal acts except for
A. Determine whether it is likely that an illegal act has occurred
B. Determine

C. Determine whether management participated in the illegal act

22. Under the rules of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, who must certify the public reports filed with the
SEC?
A. The independent auditor
B. The CEO
C. The CEO and CFO
D. The CFO

C. The CEO and CFO

23. Under section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the financial statement certifying officials must
include in their certification that
A. A list of all deficiencies in the internal controls and information on any fraud that involves employees
who

A. A list of all deficiencies in the internal controls and information on any fraud that involves employees
who are involved with internal activities has been created

24. How long do management and the audit committee have to act if the independent auditor reports possible
illegal acts to them?
A. One week
B. One month
C. Three business days
D. One business day

D. One business day

25. What argument can be made that Sarbanes-Oxley may not be effective in reducing fraud?
A. It is not as stringent as international standards
B. The SEC has had many laws for many years that have not seemed to make much of a difference
C. The penalties u

B. The SEC has had many laws for many years that have not seemed to make much of a difference

26. Clawback provisions under Dodd-Frank differ from those under SOX because:
A. Dodd-Frank requirement extends to current or former executive officers versus CEO only under SOX.
B. Dodd-Frank is a three-year period versus the one-year period under SOX.
C

D. All of these

27. The major purpose of the amended Federal Sentencing Guidelines is to:
A. Allow federal judges to mitigate any sentence imposed on a company according to a mathematical
formula
B. Extend the statute of limitations for bringing a lawsuit for fraud again

A. Allow federal judges to mitigate any sentence imposed on a company according to a mathematical
formula

28. Pfizer was investigated by the SEC for violating the FCPA because it allegedly
A. Made improper payments to foreign officials to obtain regulatory and formulary approvals
B. Made improper payments to foreign officials to obtain sales
C.
Made improper

D. All of these

29. Which Act requires firms who engaged in international operations to have internal controls and an audit
committee?
A. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977
B. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act of 1973
C. The Foreign Exchange Management Act of 19

A. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977

30. The difference between an auditor's services regarding reports 10Q and 10K is
A. The auditor provides "limited assurance" regarding 10Q and "reasonable assurance" regarding 10K
B. The auditor provides "reasonable assurance" regarding 10Q and "limited

A. The auditor provides "limited assurance" regarding 10Q and "reasonable assurance" regarding 10K

31. With respect to the director duty of good faith, former Delaware Chancery Court Chief Justice Veasey
defined good faith as
A. Acting in the best interests of the corporation
B. An honesty of purpose that leads to caring for the well-being of one's con

B. An honesty of purpose that leads to caring for the well-being of one's constituents

32. The business judgment rule applies to audit committee acts in each of the following instances except
for:
A. Decisions on hiring the auditor
B. Approving audit services
C. Preparing the audit report
D. Responding to deficiencies in internal controls

C. Preparing the audit report

33. The Caremark opinion dealt with which element of directors' obligations?
A. Audit obligations
B. Financial reporting obligations
C. Fiduciary obligations
D. All of these

C. Fiduciary obligations

34. In the case of SEC v. Halliburton & KBR, the SEC charged Halliburton & KBR with
A. Bribing Nigerian government officials to look the other way while the companies developed and
presented fraudulent financial statements
B. Bribing Nigerian government o

B. Bribing Nigerian government officials in order to obtain construction contracts

35. In the Vertical Pharmaceuticals case, Deloitte & Touche was sued because
A. Vertical claimed the firm's false accusations of fraudulent conduct led to the withdrawal of another
public company's planned acquisition of Vertical
B. Deloitte failed to iss

A. Vertical claimed the firm's false accusations of fraudulent conduct led to the withdrawal of another
public company's planned acquisition of Vertical

36. The defendant-auditors in the Anjoorian case argued, in their defense, that:
A.
To be found guilty to third parties, the court must find that an accountant had contemplated a specific
transaction for which the financial statement will be used and that

D. All of these

37. The main focus of the Con-Way case is the company's:
A. Bribery of Philippine customs officials
B. Payments to foreign officials at state-owned airlines doing business in the Philippines
C.
Failure to properly record and disclose illicit payments to P

D. All of these

38. The Livingston & Haynes case involves the audit firm
A. Engaging in illegal acts in covering for a failed audit
B. Resigning from an engagement
C. Failing to follow procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance of detecting illegal acts
D. All o

C. Failing to follow procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance of detecting illegal acts

39. Kay and Lee performed an audit required for Holligan Industries to extend a loan with Second National
Bank & Trust. Kay and Lee may be liable for:
A. Second National Bank & Trust declining to extend the loan
B. Ordinary negligence to Second National B

B. Ordinary negligence to Second National Bank & Trust

40. The SEC v. Zurich Financial Services case deals with:
A. Zurich's use of finite reinsurance transactions to inflate improperly financial performance
B. Zurich's use of false insurance invoices to inflate revenues
C. Failure of Zurich's board of direct

A. Zurich's use of finite reinsurance transactions to inflate improperly financial performance