Accounting Irregularities and Financial Fraud (Third Edition)

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the continued upsurge in highly publicized allegations of accounting irregularities and fraudulent financial reporting have shaken up the corporate community and have been the impetus for closer scrutiny by the SEC. Accounting Irregularities and Financial Fraud: A Corporate Governance Guide provides a step-by-step guide to the crises enveloping a company in the wake of fraudulent financial reporting--and how to prevent it from happening in the first place. It is directed to almost everybody involved: outside directors, audit committee members, senior executives, CFOs, CPAs, in-house lawyers, and outside law firms. It discusses the corporate environment that causes fraudulent financial reporting, how it spreads, the kinds of crises it can create for a company, and the best way to deal with them. All relevant material is covered, including:

-SEC initiatives -Recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee on corporate audit committees

-Due diligence -Real-world instances of financial fraud

Michael R. Young is a litigation partner of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where he heads the firm's Accounting Irregularities Practice Group. For more than a decade, Mr. Young has served as counsel to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and he has accordingly assisted in such matters as the formulation of the federal securities tort reform legislation of the mid-1990s, the drafting of generally accepted auditing standards, the enactment of the Uniform Accountancy Act, and the submission to the United States Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal of amicus curiae briefs on matters of importance to financial reporting. Mr. Young also actively investigates and defends companies, officers and directors, accounting firms, and others in matters involving financial reporting and liability, and he has been involved in some of the most significant accounting irregularities matters of the past 20 years. He is a member of the American Bar Association's Committee on Law and Accounting and writes and lectures frequently on financial reporting and liability issues.