Accounting scandals and fraud, both in the United States and internationally, have ignited the debate over current laws, regulations, and accounting principles. The relative merits of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), a rules-based approach to accounting, and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), a principles-based approach have been under scrutiny. Recently, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) announced that it intends to introduce more principles-based standards to improve general accounting principles and practices.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
- Discuss the primary factors that contribute to fraudulent activity.
- Identify a real-world example of an organization that has committed fraud. What happened and what were the legal ramifications?
- Consider how the GAAP and IFRS principles apply to the example you selected.