Management is aware of the increased requirements for a public company to mainta
ID: 436649 • Letter: M
Question
Management is aware of the increased requirements for a public company to maintain a system of internal control to help prevent and detect fraud. The CEO, Mary Moore, is also interested in using a proactive posture toward building an antifraud prevention program, including exploring using a proactive auditing approach to fraud discovery. The internal auditor and the external fraud investigator as well as accounting and consulting firms have discussed proactive approaches for detecting fraud.Management is aware that eliminating the opportunity for fraud is critical. Recently, the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners have adopted a comprehensive guide for managing the business risk of fraud.
Please answer the following questions in preparing this 4–6 page paper. As you answer each question, you must provide support or evidence that will enhance and empirically prove your answers. Academic criminal justice articles or real life criminal justice findings that are not found in journals or other academic sources must be used in supporting your answers. Please use APA style for all cited sources, including your reference page.
What would be the procedures that should be considered for detective controls, including independent checks and a system for documents and records?
Explanation / Answer
Criminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts. Those accused of crime have protections against abuse of investigatory and prosecution powers. There are several people who factor in to the carriage of justice in the United States, and each of them plays special roles. Police officers are generally charged with the apprehension of criminals and the prevention and detection of crime, and the maintenance of public order. Police officers may be sworn to an oath, and have the power to arrest people and detain them for a limited time, along with other duties and powers. Some police officers may also be trained in special duties, such as counter-terrorism, surveillance, child protection, VIP protection, and investigation techniques into major crime, including fraud, rape, murder and drug trafficking. Because different levels of government in the U.S. operate independently of one another, there are many differences between people who perform this function at the federal, state, and county levels. The proper title for an appointed federal prosecutor at the local level (as opposed to an appointed U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor based in Washington, D.C.) is United States Attorney. Such officers are appointed by the President of the United States, serve under the Attorney General, and prosecute cases in the district courts of the federal government. United States Attorneys, in turn, hire prosecutors to handle the daily affairs of the office; they are known as Assistant United States Attorneys, or AUSAs. Defense lawyers are called upon by our system of justice for a variety of tasks. They explain to their clients what is happening, and make sure that each defendant knows his rights, and is fully aware of what is happening. As defense counsel, the lawyer is charged with protecting those rights, and ensuring that the client receives the protections afforded to every citizen by our laws. The lawyer will take over dealing with the prosecution, call and examine any witnesses in court, and do everything the law allows to keep his client from harm--or, at the least, to minimize the damage. This means challenging the prosecution's case, its conduct, and on occasion, the very laws that govern the case (Caminsky, 2007). Judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers apply the law and oversee the legal process in courts. They preside over cases concerning every aspect of society, from traffic offenses, to disputes over the management of professional sports, to issues concerning the rights of huge corporations. All judicial workers must ensure that trials and hearings are conducted fairly and that the court safeguards the legal rights of all parties involved. The most visible responsibility of judges is presiding over trials or hearings and listening as attorneys represent their clients. Judges rule on the admissibility of evidence and the methods of conducting testimony, and they may be called on to settle disputes between opposing attorneys. Also, they ensure that rules and procedures are followed, and if unusual circumstances arise for which standard procedures have not been established, judges interpret the law to determine how the trial will proceed (BLS, 2009). Each of the individuals outlined above represent different facets of our criminal system. There are those who are charged with protecting America’s citizens at the local and state levels, and to ensure the rights of people against criminal activity. There are also those who develop and present cases against those persons who face charges that range from serious to threats against national security. Then there are the lawyers who are responsible for securing the rights of the accused when they are facing criminal prosecution. Lastly, we prize our judges as hey are the ones who ultimately interpret the laws of the United States and make rulings that ensure the final rule of law. There is much debate regarding when the prosecutor’s office should be involved with a specific case, and if it should be before or after an arrest has been made. The prosecutor should be involved in the case whenever he or she is needed to carry out the rule of law. For example, if the police officer has grounds under state law to make an arrest, he may do so without consulting the state. If there are not grounds for the officer to make the arrest on the spot, he then files a report with the prosecutor who determines if there is probable cause. Depending on the offense and case they could file charges with the court and the judge would decide weather or not to issue a warrant for an arrest, or place the question before a grand jury that will decide weather to issue an indictment. If necessary, an officer may seek and be granted a warrant for arrest. This dance, of sorts, is designed to protect the rights of all citizens, even including potential criminals, before they have been found guilty on a court of law. Not only is the involvement by a prosecutor in the original stages of an investigation is a good idea; it is, in fact, a reasonable part of the law. As described above, this situation ensures that the rights of the accused are protected until he or she is found guilty. For example, a recent case involved a vicious attack by brothers on a rival restaurant owner. Reports said the brothers stormed into the competing restaurant about 10 p.m. and hit the restaurant's owner over the head with an aluminum baseball bat 11 times (DLN, 2011). Although the district attorney’s office was not present at the time of the attacks, it would be crucial to have their oversight before bringing any of the attackers to justice. In the United States, there is a concept known as ‘reasonable doubt,’ that protects the rights of the accused when considering a crime. Even in the case highlighted above, we need to be conscious of any potential reasonable doubt before bringing these brothers to justice. The "reasonable doubt" rule was not originally designed to serve the purpose it is asked to serve today: It was not originally designed to protect the accused. Instead, it was designed to protect the souls of the jurors against damnation. Convicting an innocent defendant was regarded, in the older Christian tradition, as a potential mortal sin. The purpose of the "reasonable doubt" instruction was to address this frightening possibility, reassuring jurors that they could convict the defendant without risking their own salvation, as long as their doubts about guilt were not "reasonable." In its original form, the rule thus had nothing to do with maintaining the rule of law in the sense that we use the phrase, and nothing like the relationship we imagine to the values of liberty. This helps explain why our law is in a state of such disquieting confusion today (Whitman, 2005). It is possible for a defense attorney to become involved in a case prior to the defendant’s arrest. This may seem counterintuitive, but it may happen. For instance, the criminal defense attorney can review a pending case and discover evidence that may be used to the accused’s advantage before charges are filed. After carefully screening the case, the lawyer may be able to present substantial evidence to prosecutors that will dissuade them from filing criminal charges against the individual. When someone is brought to court, the judge generally does not participate in the matter until the decision has been made to bring the matter to trial. Nevertheless, judges may be involved in determinations of a plea sentencing; however, the judge participates only in an advisory role, and shall in no way bind the parties. If no plea is entered pursuant to these discussions, the advice of the participating judge shall not be reported to the trial judge (Oregon Laws, 2011). When considering the source of criminal law in the United States, one must realize that the system of defining, classifying, ranking, prohibiting and punishing criminal behavior that criminal law in the United States consists of has several sources, including the U.S. Constitution, State constitutions, the U.S. Criminal Code, State criminal codes, Municipal ordinances, and Judicial decisions interpreting codes and the common law - the most controversial because judges many times will make their decisions based on their political beliefs. The federal criminal code, enacted by the United States Congress, includes all the offenses against the United States government. Municipal or local ordinances include long lists of minor violations, such as traffic offenses, and a wide range of misbehavior in parks, on public transportation, and other public places. Despite a growing federal criminal code, particularly relating to drugs and violence, the bulk of criminal law orginates in the separate criminal codes of the fifty states (Blackwell, 2007). References Blackwell, B. (2007) Sources of Criminal Law. http://www.brian-blackwell.com/2007/11/sources-of-criminal-law.html Last accessed May 3, 2011. Bureau of Labor Statistis (2009) Judges, Magistrates, and Other Judicial Workers. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos272.htm. Last accessed May 3, 2011. Caminsky, J. (2007) Our Criminal Courts - The Role of Defense Counsel. http://ezinearticles.com/?Our-Criminal-Courts---The-Role-of-Defense-Counsel&id=487513. Last accessed May 3, 2011. Oregon Laws (2009) Responsibilities of trial judge. https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/135.432. Last accessed May 3, 2011. Detroit Local News (2011) Prosecutor: Restaurant Owners Go On Rampage With Bat. http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/27748706/detail.html. Last accessed May 3, 2011. Whitman, J. (2005) The Origins of Reasonable Doubt. http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/1/ Last accessed May 3, 2011.
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