C254 WGU Practice Review Questions
And Answers
______________oinotheoacidotestoratioo(QAo÷oCL)oandoCurrentoRatioo(CAo÷oCL)owitho_____
_______oinotheoratiosoAccountsoPayable/CostoofoGoodsoSoldo(APo÷oCOGS)oandoAccountso
Payable/Inventoryoareomostoindicativeoofofraud.
Decreases;oDecreases
Increases;oIncreases
Increases;odecreases
Decreases;oIncreaseso-oCORRECTooANSWER-Increases;odecreases
_________________omeanso"reasonotoobelieveothatofraudomayobeooccurring.oWheno____
______________oexistsoandoconditionsowarrant,oanoinvestigationoshouldotakeoplace.
IllegaloActivity
Fraud
Dishonesty
Predicationo-oCORRECTooANSWER-Predication
"Reportedocostoofogoodsosoldobalancesothatoappearotooolowooroareonotoincreasingofastoenou
gh"oisowhatotypeoofosymptom?
Accountingoandodocumentary
Behavioral
Analytical
Controlo-oCORRECTooANSWER-Analytical
"Unusualoorosuspicious-
lookingopurchaseoorders,oinvoices,oshippingodocs,oand/ororeceivingodocs"oisowhatotypeoofos
ymptom?
Behavioral
Accountingoandodocumentary
Tipsoandocomplaints
,Analyticalo-oCORRECTooANSWER-Accountingoandodocumentary
AoCompanyowillonotousuallyobeofoundoguiltyoofofraudoforomisleadingostatementsoaboutotheoC
ompanyoifotheostatementsowereomadeobyoaonewsooutletobutoareobasedoonoinformationoobtai
nedofromotheoCompany.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-False
False.oTheoMedicaloFraudoexamplesomentionedoareocasesowhereothisoformoofodisclosureofr
audoexisted.
AoCompanyowillonotousuallyobeofoundoguiltyoofofraudoforomisleadingostatementsoaboutotheoC
ompanyoifotheostatementsowereomadeobyoaonewsooutletobutoareobasedoonoinformationoobtai
nedofromotheoCompany.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-
False.oTheoMedicaloFraudoexamplesomentionedoareocasesowhereothisoformoofodisclosureofr
audoexisted.
Aogoodoendingoquestionotooanointerviewowouldobeoanoopen-ended,onon-
threateningoandogeneraloquestionoaboutopotentialoissuesoofowhichotheyomightobeoaware.o-
oCORRECTooANSWER-True
AoPonzioschemeoisobestodescribedoas
BernieoMadoffodescribedohisoactionsoasothatoofoaoPonzioinvestmentobecauseoCharlesoPonzi
oisobelievedotoobeotheogreatestoinvestoroofoallotimes.
CharlesoPonziowasoaofictitiousocharacterocreatedoforotheomovieoMatchstickoMenothatodepict
edocraftyoinvestmentoschemes.
AoPonzioschemeoisoaofraudulentoinvestmentooperationowhereotheooperator,oanoindividualooro
organization,opaysoreturnsotooitsooldoinvestorsofromocapitaloprovidedobyonewoinvestors,orath
erothanofromoprofitoearnedobyotheoorganization.
AnyofraudoorocorruptionoactobecauseoCharlesoPonziowasotheofirstofraudsteroeverodocument
edobyotheoSecuritiesoandoExchangeoCommission.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-
AoPonzioschemeoisoaofraudulentoinvestmentooperationowhereotheooperator,oanoindividualooro
organization,opaysoreturnsotooitsooldoinvestorsofromocapitaloprovidedobyonewoinvestors,orath
erothanofromoprofitoearnedobyotheoorganization.
AoVariableoInterestoEntityo(VIE)ocanobe
-Equityoinvestments
-Leases
-Forwardocontracts
-Alloofotheoaboveo-oCORRECTooANSWER-Alloofotheoabove
AccordingotooFASBoASCo450:oContingencies,owhenodoocontingentoliabilitiesoneedotoobeorec
ordedo(versusosimplyodisclosedooronotoevenomentioned)oonotheofinancialostatements?
,Firmsomustoalwaysorecordoorodiscloseoanyocontingentoliability
Whenotheolikelihoodoofolossoororepaymentoisoremote
Whenotheolikelihoodoofolossoororepaymentoisoprobable
Whenotheolikelihoodoofolossoororepaymentoreasonablyoprobableo-oCORRECTooANSWER-
Whenotheolikelihoodoofolossoororepaymentoisoprobable
AccordingotooPincus,oAsene,oandoWright,ochecklistsoduringoauditsoconstrainoauditorsofromo
reasoningostrategically.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-True
AccordingotooSASo99,onotorelyingoonoaocompany'sointernalocontrolsowhenoevaluatingoaohigh
ofraud-riskoareaoincreasesoauditor'sopossibilityoofomissingofraud.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-
False
Byonotorelyingoonointernalocontrolso(pretendingotheyodon'toexist),oweodigofurtherothanoweonor
mallyowouldoandothusoincreaseotheopossibilityoofodetectingofraud
AccordingotooSASo99,owhyoisobrainstormingoimportantotooauditors?
oToocomprehendotheoregistrationoprocessoofopublicoaccountingofirms
oToocloseotheoexpectationogapoofofinancialostatementsoreporting
oTooavoidooverreactingotootheoredoflagsothatooccuroinotheoaudit
oToodocumentofindingsoamongoauditorsotooincreaseotheolikelihoodoofodetectingofraudo-
oCORRECTooANSWER-Tooavoidooverreactingotootheoredoflagsothatooccuroinotheoaudit
Accordingotootheofinancialostatementofraudodetectionoframework,ofraudoisorarelyodetectedob
yowhichoofotheofollowing:
-Breakingodownoandoanalyzingointernalocontrols
Learningomanagement'somotivations
-Analyzingotheofinancialostatements
-Understandingotheoinherentorisksoofoaospecificoindustryo-oCORRECTooANSWER-
Analyzingotheofinancialostatements
Afteroanoauditorofindsosymptomsoofofraud,otheoauditoroshouldonotoalterotheoauditoapproachos
ooasotoomakeosureoproperodocumentationoisorecorded.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-False
Properodocumentationotechniquesoshouldoalreadyobeoaohabit,oregardlessoofotheomethodoofo
testingoandoinvestigating.oAlso,oalteringotheoauditoapproachoaddsotheoelementoofosurpriseor
equiredobyoSASo99
AICPAoandotheoCohenoCommissiono(theocommissionoonoauditor'soresponsibility)ofoughtoov
erosomethingospecificoconcerningotheofalloofoEquityoFundingoinotheo1970's.oThisoconflictohig
hlightedoaomajorocommunicationoissueobetweenoauditorsoandofinancialostatementousersodu
ringomuchoofotheo20thocentury.oWhatowasothisoconflictoabout?
Howomuchoresponsibilityoshouldotheoauditorotakeowhenoendeavoringotoodetecto(orofailsotood
etect)ofraud
, Theoseverityoofopunishmentotopomanagementoofotheocompanyowithofraudoshouldobeosubject
edotoowhenotheyoperpetrateofraud
Theoauditorsoconsistentlyoweren'todetectingofraudodueotooimproperotraining
Theopublicofeltothatoauditorsoneededotoobeomoreoofoaoconsultantothanoanythingoelse,obutotheo
AICPAodisagreedowithothiso-oCORRECTooANSWER-
Howomuchoresponsibilityoshouldotheoauditorotakeowhenoendeavoringotoodetecto(orofailsotood
etect)ofraud
Alertingovendorsoandocontractorsotoocompanyopoliciesooftenoresultsoin:
Lossoofointerestoinotheoorganizationobyovendors
Heightenedoincidenceooforecurrentoreverse-vendorofraud.
Discoveryoofocurrentofraudsoandotheopreventionoofofutureofrauds
Strainedovendor/purchaserorelationshipso-oCORRECTooANSWER-
Discoveryoofocurrentofraudsoandotheopreventionoofofutureofrauds.
Everyoneowantsotoodealoinoanoenvironmentoofohighoethicsoandointegrity.oWhenovendorsoand
ocontractorsoclearlyounderstandoyouroexpectations,otheyoareofarolessolikelyotooengageoinopay
ingobribesoorootherotypesoofofraudulentobehavior.
Alloofotheofollowingoareocommonomethodsotoocommitounderstatementoofoliabilityofraud,oexce
pt:
Understateoaccruedoliabilities.
Recognizingounearnedorevenueoasoearnedorevenue.
Understateoaccountsopayable.
Over-recordingofutureoobligations.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-Over-
recordingofutureoobligations.
Inoorderotoocommitounderstatementoofoliabilityofraud,oaoperpetratorowouldoneedotoounder-
recordofutureoobligations,onotoover-recordothemo(seeotopico6oforomoreoinformation).
America'socapitalomarketsoareotheoenvyoofotheoworldobecauseoofotheiroefficiency,oliquidity,oa
ndoresiliency.oWhatoroleodoofinancialostatementsoplayoinoAmericanocapitalomarkets?
Financialostatementsodon'toreallyoplayoaoroleoinoAmericanofinancialomarkets;otheyoareotooou
nreliableoandofraudoisoaoguarantee.
Theyoareodesignedotooshowotheobestosideoofocompany,oandothereforeoareomoreousedoforom
arketingotactics
Theyopreventomonopoliesobyopubliclyodisclosingotradeosecretsoandocompetitiveoprocedure
s.
And Answers
______________oinotheoacidotestoratioo(QAo÷oCL)oandoCurrentoRatioo(CAo÷oCL)owitho_____
_______oinotheoratiosoAccountsoPayable/CostoofoGoodsoSoldo(APo÷oCOGS)oandoAccountso
Payable/Inventoryoareomostoindicativeoofofraud.
Decreases;oDecreases
Increases;oIncreases
Increases;odecreases
Decreases;oIncreaseso-oCORRECTooANSWER-Increases;odecreases
_________________omeanso"reasonotoobelieveothatofraudomayobeooccurring.oWheno____
______________oexistsoandoconditionsowarrant,oanoinvestigationoshouldotakeoplace.
IllegaloActivity
Fraud
Dishonesty
Predicationo-oCORRECTooANSWER-Predication
"Reportedocostoofogoodsosoldobalancesothatoappearotooolowooroareonotoincreasingofastoenou
gh"oisowhatotypeoofosymptom?
Accountingoandodocumentary
Behavioral
Analytical
Controlo-oCORRECTooANSWER-Analytical
"Unusualoorosuspicious-
lookingopurchaseoorders,oinvoices,oshippingodocs,oand/ororeceivingodocs"oisowhatotypeoofos
ymptom?
Behavioral
Accountingoandodocumentary
Tipsoandocomplaints
,Analyticalo-oCORRECTooANSWER-Accountingoandodocumentary
AoCompanyowillonotousuallyobeofoundoguiltyoofofraudoforomisleadingostatementsoaboutotheoC
ompanyoifotheostatementsowereomadeobyoaonewsooutletobutoareobasedoonoinformationoobtai
nedofromotheoCompany.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-False
False.oTheoMedicaloFraudoexamplesomentionedoareocasesowhereothisoformoofodisclosureofr
audoexisted.
AoCompanyowillonotousuallyobeofoundoguiltyoofofraudoforomisleadingostatementsoaboutotheoC
ompanyoifotheostatementsowereomadeobyoaonewsooutletobutoareobasedoonoinformationoobtai
nedofromotheoCompany.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-
False.oTheoMedicaloFraudoexamplesomentionedoareocasesowhereothisoformoofodisclosureofr
audoexisted.
Aogoodoendingoquestionotooanointerviewowouldobeoanoopen-ended,onon-
threateningoandogeneraloquestionoaboutopotentialoissuesoofowhichotheyomightobeoaware.o-
oCORRECTooANSWER-True
AoPonzioschemeoisobestodescribedoas
BernieoMadoffodescribedohisoactionsoasothatoofoaoPonzioinvestmentobecauseoCharlesoPonzi
oisobelievedotoobeotheogreatestoinvestoroofoallotimes.
CharlesoPonziowasoaofictitiousocharacterocreatedoforotheomovieoMatchstickoMenothatodepict
edocraftyoinvestmentoschemes.
AoPonzioschemeoisoaofraudulentoinvestmentooperationowhereotheooperator,oanoindividualooro
organization,opaysoreturnsotooitsooldoinvestorsofromocapitaloprovidedobyonewoinvestors,orath
erothanofromoprofitoearnedobyotheoorganization.
AnyofraudoorocorruptionoactobecauseoCharlesoPonziowasotheofirstofraudsteroeverodocument
edobyotheoSecuritiesoandoExchangeoCommission.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-
AoPonzioschemeoisoaofraudulentoinvestmentooperationowhereotheooperator,oanoindividualooro
organization,opaysoreturnsotooitsooldoinvestorsofromocapitaloprovidedobyonewoinvestors,orath
erothanofromoprofitoearnedobyotheoorganization.
AoVariableoInterestoEntityo(VIE)ocanobe
-Equityoinvestments
-Leases
-Forwardocontracts
-Alloofotheoaboveo-oCORRECTooANSWER-Alloofotheoabove
AccordingotooFASBoASCo450:oContingencies,owhenodoocontingentoliabilitiesoneedotoobeorec
ordedo(versusosimplyodisclosedooronotoevenomentioned)oonotheofinancialostatements?
,Firmsomustoalwaysorecordoorodiscloseoanyocontingentoliability
Whenotheolikelihoodoofolossoororepaymentoisoremote
Whenotheolikelihoodoofolossoororepaymentoisoprobable
Whenotheolikelihoodoofolossoororepaymentoreasonablyoprobableo-oCORRECTooANSWER-
Whenotheolikelihoodoofolossoororepaymentoisoprobable
AccordingotooPincus,oAsene,oandoWright,ochecklistsoduringoauditsoconstrainoauditorsofromo
reasoningostrategically.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-True
AccordingotooSASo99,onotorelyingoonoaocompany'sointernalocontrolsowhenoevaluatingoaohigh
ofraud-riskoareaoincreasesoauditor'sopossibilityoofomissingofraud.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-
False
Byonotorelyingoonointernalocontrolso(pretendingotheyodon'toexist),oweodigofurtherothanoweonor
mallyowouldoandothusoincreaseotheopossibilityoofodetectingofraud
AccordingotooSASo99,owhyoisobrainstormingoimportantotooauditors?
oToocomprehendotheoregistrationoprocessoofopublicoaccountingofirms
oToocloseotheoexpectationogapoofofinancialostatementsoreporting
oTooavoidooverreactingotootheoredoflagsothatooccuroinotheoaudit
oToodocumentofindingsoamongoauditorsotooincreaseotheolikelihoodoofodetectingofraudo-
oCORRECTooANSWER-Tooavoidooverreactingotootheoredoflagsothatooccuroinotheoaudit
Accordingotootheofinancialostatementofraudodetectionoframework,ofraudoisorarelyodetectedob
yowhichoofotheofollowing:
-Breakingodownoandoanalyzingointernalocontrols
Learningomanagement'somotivations
-Analyzingotheofinancialostatements
-Understandingotheoinherentorisksoofoaospecificoindustryo-oCORRECTooANSWER-
Analyzingotheofinancialostatements
Afteroanoauditorofindsosymptomsoofofraud,otheoauditoroshouldonotoalterotheoauditoapproachos
ooasotoomakeosureoproperodocumentationoisorecorded.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-False
Properodocumentationotechniquesoshouldoalreadyobeoaohabit,oregardlessoofotheomethodoofo
testingoandoinvestigating.oAlso,oalteringotheoauditoapproachoaddsotheoelementoofosurpriseor
equiredobyoSASo99
AICPAoandotheoCohenoCommissiono(theocommissionoonoauditor'soresponsibility)ofoughtoov
erosomethingospecificoconcerningotheofalloofoEquityoFundingoinotheo1970's.oThisoconflictohig
hlightedoaomajorocommunicationoissueobetweenoauditorsoandofinancialostatementousersodu
ringomuchoofotheo20thocentury.oWhatowasothisoconflictoabout?
Howomuchoresponsibilityoshouldotheoauditorotakeowhenoendeavoringotoodetecto(orofailsotood
etect)ofraud
, Theoseverityoofopunishmentotopomanagementoofotheocompanyowithofraudoshouldobeosubject
edotoowhenotheyoperpetrateofraud
Theoauditorsoconsistentlyoweren'todetectingofraudodueotooimproperotraining
Theopublicofeltothatoauditorsoneededotoobeomoreoofoaoconsultantothanoanythingoelse,obutotheo
AICPAodisagreedowithothiso-oCORRECTooANSWER-
Howomuchoresponsibilityoshouldotheoauditorotakeowhenoendeavoringotoodetecto(orofailsotood
etect)ofraud
Alertingovendorsoandocontractorsotoocompanyopoliciesooftenoresultsoin:
Lossoofointerestoinotheoorganizationobyovendors
Heightenedoincidenceooforecurrentoreverse-vendorofraud.
Discoveryoofocurrentofraudsoandotheopreventionoofofutureofrauds
Strainedovendor/purchaserorelationshipso-oCORRECTooANSWER-
Discoveryoofocurrentofraudsoandotheopreventionoofofutureofrauds.
Everyoneowantsotoodealoinoanoenvironmentoofohighoethicsoandointegrity.oWhenovendorsoand
ocontractorsoclearlyounderstandoyouroexpectations,otheyoareofarolessolikelyotooengageoinopay
ingobribesoorootherotypesoofofraudulentobehavior.
Alloofotheofollowingoareocommonomethodsotoocommitounderstatementoofoliabilityofraud,oexce
pt:
Understateoaccruedoliabilities.
Recognizingounearnedorevenueoasoearnedorevenue.
Understateoaccountsopayable.
Over-recordingofutureoobligations.o-oCORRECTooANSWER-Over-
recordingofutureoobligations.
Inoorderotoocommitounderstatementoofoliabilityofraud,oaoperpetratorowouldoneedotoounder-
recordofutureoobligations,onotoover-recordothemo(seeotopico6oforomoreoinformation).
America'socapitalomarketsoareotheoenvyoofotheoworldobecauseoofotheiroefficiency,oliquidity,oa
ndoresiliency.oWhatoroleodoofinancialostatementsoplayoinoAmericanocapitalomarkets?
Financialostatementsodon'toreallyoplayoaoroleoinoAmericanofinancialomarkets;otheyoareotooou
nreliableoandofraudoisoaoguarantee.
Theyoareodesignedotooshowotheobestosideoofocompany,oandothereforeoareomoreousedoforom
arketingotactics
Theyopreventomonopoliesobyopubliclyodisclosingotradeosecretsoandocompetitiveoprocedure
s.