Identify and Discuss the Legal, Ethical and Technological Concern of the Accounting and Financial Reporting of Busiiness?

This paper will examine legal, ethical, and technological concerns of the accounting and

financial reporting of businesses. Due to all of the recent changes in the size and scope of

financial markets, finance and accounting departments of businesses have been put under a lot of

pressure. Businesses are responsible to communicate their financial status to people outside the

company through avenues such as annual reports, financial statements, forecasts, etc. "Financial

statements are the main source of information conveyed to external parties." (Love, 2011)

Unreliable and deceptive accounting reports have threatened the trust of those that rely on

financial reporting. An example in which financial reporting might be jeopardized is a situation

in which a manager who is responsible for producing financial reports is compensated based on

the numbers produced in those reports. The purpose of financial reporting is to provide accurate

information that can be used in decision making in the areas of credit, investments and other

areas of business that hinge on a business's financials.

Legal

Financial reporting and accounting related scandals are not new to the U.S. From

ENRON to Halliburton to Tyco, corporate accounting scandals have rocked the U.S. markets

for decades. As a result of scandals such as these, organizations have been created to provide a

governmental enforcement of honesty in corporate financial reporting and accounting practices.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Accounting Standards

Board (FASB) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) are such

organizations. Each of these organizations was established with the intent to help protect the

public from private companies that might misrepresent themselves in their financial reporting.

The mission of the SEC is to "protect investors,