Research paper (Phase1 through Phase 6)
Activity: Understanding Standard and Rule Setting in the Accounting Industry (SSAI)
Background:
The final paper/project challenges participants in the course to design an educational program for presentation to the department heads at Happy Hospital located at Lake Wobegon, Minnesota by you, a health services manager, with the certified Public Accounting firm, Pennypacker & Vandelay, LLC. The engagement will be to create a series of educational presentations (phase 1 through phase 6) to the department head on the topic of Understanding Standard Rule Setting in the Accounting Industry. (1) U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC), Financial Accounting Standards board, American Institute of certified Accountants.
Explanation of background:
What is being laid out basically is, you are an employee of Pennypacker & Vandelay, LLC and Happy Hospital ask you to educate their department Head, and what is being asked is to prepare 6 Presentations in weekly basis to assist them in understanding the rule making and setting in the accounting industry.
• The objectives of these organizations are to provide information that is useful to users of financial information in investing and credit decision, assessing cash flow prospects, and claims and changes in them.
• Over the first four weeks of the semester we will examine each one of these organizations for the purpose of understanding their scope and contribution to the profession, and evaluate the implications.
Research paper outline
• The project is to be worked in phases throughout the term
• Topic for research will be Standard and Rule Setting in the Accounting Industry (SSAI).
• The paper is set at 2,000 words (approximately 8 pages of content) your outline for the paper/project will be due in week 5 of the course. I will grade the outline, and provide you guidance on your final paper/project in my feedback.
• The complete research paper is due in the last week of the course and is intended to take a broad look at Standard Setting in the Accounting Industry that impacts health care organizations.
Week 1 Assignment: (COMPLETED!)
This week’s assignment starts a four-paper project (short paper – 500 to 1,000 words approximately 3 to 4 pages of content pages including three research references). The first week’s short paper assignment should focus on an overview of the standards setting industry topic and a review of its historical roots including the roles of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and The American Institute of Certified Accountants (AICPA).
Example:
SSAI-Phase 1 Discussion Components
• Introduction statement to the Board at Happy Hospital (my name is … and I am a health service manager with the certified Public accounting firm, Pennypacker & Vandelay, LLC).
• The First week’s short paper assignment (Should focus on an overview of the standards setting industry topic and a review of its historical roots including the roles of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and The American Institute of Certified Accountants (AICPA).
• Include three references/citations to each phase of your presentation.
• Follow-up with the audience question, (by simply asking, “is there any questions from the audience?” This is just to act as if you were there in person.
Week 2 Assignment: (COMPLETED!)
The assignment this week will be the second short paper on Standard Setting Industry Project with a focus on the role of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and it oversight responsibilities as a relationship to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Dodd-Frank Act.
Week 3 Assignment: (COMPLETED!)
This week’s assignment is the third component of our Standard Setting Industry Project. The focus of this week’s short paper writing will be on the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) goals and mission. A retrospective look at the prior authoritative body (Accounting Principles Board, APB) and the principle reasons for creating a new rule-making body should be evaluated. Also, a discussion on the FASB’s regulatory relationship with the SEC in standard setting should be included in the presentation.
Week 4 Assignment: (IP)
SSAI-Phase 1 Discussion Components
• Introduction statement to the Board at Happy Hospital (my name is … and I am a health service manager with the certified Public accounting firm, Pennypacker & Vandelay, LLC).
•This week’s assignment is the fourth short paper component of our Standard Setting Industry Project. The focus of this week’s writing is to consider the role of The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and their role in advising the FASB, and setting the auditing standards to be followed by Public Accounting Firms. Also, consideration should be given to their relationship to other authoritative rule making boards such as The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), The Government Accounting Standards Board, and the HFMA Principles and Practice Board.
SSAI Project – Week 4 Reflection:
Prior to Sarbanes-Oxley, the accounting profession was largely self-regulating. The key actors – FASB and the AICPA – were private sector entities subject to minimal SEC oversight. FASB set accounting standards, while the AICPA provided guidance and contributed to the development of generally accepted principles and standards.
SOX shook up that cozy little world in a big way. Section 101 established the PCAOB as a non-profit corporation to “oversee the audit of public companies that are subject to the security laws.” The SEC appoints board members, in consultation with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and the Secretary of the Treasury. The SEC can remove board members for good cause.
SOX, section 103 gives the PCAOB what the Senate committee report on the act called “plenary authority” to set account standards. The PCAOB thus can adopt, amend, or pre-empt guidance issued by the AICPA and other private sector groups.
As the phases of our SSAI project come to a close and we have had a chance to familiarize ourselves with the various entities involved in the standard and rule setting process, so my question to you is: What would you envision as an organization chart that would represent the various roles of the organizations within the standards and rule setting framework look like?
• Include three references/citations to each phase of your presentation.
• Follow-up with the audience question, (by simply asking, “is there any questions from the audience?” This is just to act as if you were there in person.
For our Phase 6 presentation, I would ask that you include a display of this organization chart with you submission.
Week 5 Assignment:
This week’s assignment is the completion of the outline for the final paper on Standard Setting Industry project that will be submitted in week six. The information to be included is the merging of the four earlier assignments on SSAI Project. The outline should include a title page, abstract, the introduction of the body paragraphs, the conclusion, and references presented in APA format.