An Introduction to Corporate Governance and the Sec

Recent traumatic events in the financial markets, such as the fall of Enron, World Com, and Arthur Andersen, have led to an increased emphasis on corporate governance and on the regulatory bodies overseeing the capital markets and the financial professions. This emphasis is reflected in accounting and business curricula across the nation. Educational materials that appropriately highlight the importance of the SEC, as well as the new laws that apply to corporate reporting, ethics, and guidelines for corporate governance, are scarce, despite their increasingly important role. Few titles that can serve as either a supplement or as a primary text exist that focus on the SEC as the body for overseeing financial reporting and corporate responsibilities.

K. Fred Skousen is Advanced Vice President at Brigham Young University. Previously, he was the Dean of the Marriott School of Management and Director of the School of Accountancy at BYU. He earned a bachelor's degree from BYU and master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois. Dr. Skousen taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Minnesota prior to joining the faculty at Brigham Young University. In 1983 Dr. Skousen was awarded the Peat Marwick Professorship at BYU. In 1984 Dr. Skousen was elected to the AICPA Council, and in 1985 he received the UACPA Outstanding Faculty Award.

Prior to returning to the University of Washington to earn a Ph.D., Steve worked as a senior accountant for KPMG in Seattle. Since arriving at BYU in 1994 Steve has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in the School of Accountancy and Information Systems (SOAIS) and the Executive M.B.A. program. He currently serves as the Professional Group Leader in the SOAIS. Steve has co-authored books including Auditing: A Systematic Approach, An Introduction to the Corporate Governance and the SEC, E-Business: Principles and Strategies for Accountants and Auditing Cases: An Interactive Learning Approach and he has had articles published in The Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, The Journal of Accountancy, Internal Auditor, and the CPA Journal. Steve¿s primary research interests involve the application of behavioral decision theory to professional judgments and decisions of financial analysts and public accountants. He was recently a member of a research team selected and funded by the American Institute of CPAs to study the effectiveness of SAS No. 82, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit. From 2000 to 2002 Steve took a leave of absence from BYU to work full-time in the U.S. national office of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), in New York. Steve was awarded BYU Marriott School¿s ¿Outstanding Research¿ award in 2004.

Professor Prawitt is a Professor of Accountancy at Brigham Young University. He received his BS and MAcc degrees at BYU and his Ph.D. at the University of Arizona. He teaches financial statement auditing and assurance services courses in the graduate accounting program at BYU, and accounting and effective managerial decision-making courses in BYU¿s Executive MBA program. Professor Prawitt¿s research, which focuses on the judgment and decision making of accounting professionals, has been published in The Accounting Review, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Pacific Accounting Review, Journal of the American Taxation Association, and Behavioral Research in Accounting. He currently serves on the editorial board of Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory and Accounting Horizons. In addition to his academic research, he has written several award-winning articles for professional journals, including Journal of Accountancy, Internal Auditor, and CPA Journal. He was recently a member of a research team selected and funded by the American Institute of CPAs to study the effectiveness of SAS No. 82, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit. Professor Prawitt has also coauthored several books and monographs, including the recently published Auditing: A Systematic Approach, An Introduction to Corporate Governance and the SEC, Independence & Objectivity: A Framework for Internal Auditors, eBusiness: Principles and Strategies for Accountants, and the Institute of Internal Auditors¿ monograph, Research Opportunities in Internal Auditing. Professor Prawitt was awarded the BYU Marriott School¿s ¿Outstanding Research¿ award in 1998, the Marriott School¿s ¿Teaching Excellence¿ award in 2000, the BYU ¿Young Scholar¿ Fellowship in 2001, and the BYU Management Society¿s ¿Merrill J. Bateman Student Choice Teaching Award¿ in 2002.