Explore current issues and developments in general that impact accounting and those of global significance. Research past, present, and projected technological advances that could impact a company and its accounting department.

 

1. You are a staff accountant in the accounting department of Cowper Williams Industries, a maker of ball bearings. While the company has been in existence for over 20 years, it has experienced its greatest periods of growth in the past two to three years, thanks to a few revolutionary new patents that have proven very successful. Recently, you attended a company-wide meeting where the chief executive officer (CEO) explained that Cowper Williams would soon be expanding further into the global economy. However, he did not provide details. It is up to you to explore what this will mean for the company and what you need to consider as the accounting department moves forward.

 

a. Conduct research to determine which current issues impact accounting in the United States. (3 points)

b. Describe how these issues will affect Cowper Williams. (3 points)

c. Now, focus your research on exploring issues of global significance. What impact will these issues have on the U.S. business and finance sector and on Cowper Williams specifically? (4 points)

* PLEASE DO NOT PROVIDE THE SOLUTIONMANUAL.

Williams Pharmaceutical Company produces a number of drugs thatare regulated by various agencies, including, in the United States,the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These agenciesissue licenses that approve drugs for sale and establish specificregulations regarding production quality and inventory security,violations of which can result in fines or the suspension ofproduct licenses. All the drugs are protected under patents filedin various jurisdictions, and Williams markets the drugs in theUnited States as well as in a number of other countries. Thecompany faces significant competition from other pharmaceuticalcompanies globally.

a. Identify three business risks that are faced by Williams withrespect to production processes and inventories.

b. For each of the risks identified in part (a), state whetherthe business risk results in a current-period inherent risk ofmaterial misstatement of the financial statements (financialreporting risk). If the business risk results in a financialreporting risk, describe that risk in terms of the type offinancial statement misstatement that could occur.

c. Provide examples of how Williams’s management might mitigatethe risks (e.g., specific controls) identified in part (b) asfinancial reporting risks.

d. For each risk identified in part (b) as a financial reportingrisk, describe substantive auditing procedures that might be usedby the auditors if management did not have controls to mitigate therisk.

Identify a specific asset that could be significant to a business and perform the following:

Describe the asset and identify a potential change in the estimated life of this asset.

Analyze the impact this change would have on the financial reporting, specifically identifying the accounts and the financial statements where these impacts would be reported.

Evaluate whether you believe this change it ethical or not and why.

Simply put, a blockchain can be considered to be a distributedledger which contains the relevant
details for every transaction that has ever been processed. Conducta desktop research and based
on this research:

i. Define blockchain technology, including its basicstructure;
ii. Describe the current and potential uses of this technology bybusiness;
iii. Given (i) and (ii) above, what impact will this technologyhave on the traditional audit process?