Each of the following situations involves a possible violation by a member in industry of the AICPA’s Code of Professional Conduct. For each situation, indicate whether it violates the Code. If it violates the Code, indicate which rule is violated and explain why.
a. Jack Jackson is a CPA and controller of Acme Trucking Company. Acme’s external auditors have asked Jackson to sign the management representation letter. Jackson has signed the management representation letter, even though he knows that full disclosures have not been made to Acme’s external auditors.
b. Mary McDermott, CPA, is employed in the internal audit department of the United Fund of America. The United Fund raises money from individuals and distributes it to other organizations. McDermott has audited Children’s Charities, an organization that receives funds from United Fund.
c. Janet Jett, CPA, formerly worked for Delta Disk Drive, Inc. She is currently interviewing for a new position with Maxiscribe, Inc., another manufacturer of disk drives. Jett has agreed to provide confidential information about Delta’s trade secrets if she is hired by Maxiscribe.
d. Brian Thorough, CPA, is currently employed as controller of TransLouisiana Oil Company. He has discovered that TransLouisiana has been illegally paying state environmental employees so that they will not charge TransLouisiana with dumping highly toxic chemicals into the bayous. Thorough discloses this information to the state attorney general.
e. Jill Burnett, CPA, was hired by Cooper Corporation to supervise its accounting department in preparing financial statements and presenting them to senior management. Due to considerable time incurred on other financial activities, Burnett was unable to supervise the accounting staff adequately. It is later discovered that Cooper’s financial statements contain false and misleading information.