Read Fraudulent Tax Refunds: The Notorious Career of Harriette Walters and be prepared to discuss the following questions during class.
- Nature/elements of the fraud (Relate the elements to the 3 components of the Fraud Triangle)
- Weaknesses in internal controls
- Relationship of weaknesses to COSO framework
- What Washington DC could have done to prevent the fraud – aligned with the five components of the COSO framework
Sample Sections of the paper
Fraudulent Tax Refunds
- Nature/elements of the fraud (Relate the elements to the three components of the Fraud Triangle)
The Walters Fraud can be associated with a number of elements related to crime. The first element is the weak control environment element, which is an important component of the internal control system. This emanates from the incompetence of the DC with a corrupt system of management that provided the Walters an environment to promote her fraud activities. The fraud can be associated with a weak internal control environment in the DC government, which enabled Walters to continue embezzling the organization’s money, and the critical disconnect between the admirable one at the top and an organizational culture that is highly dysfunctional. The disregard and poor monitoring of internal control procedures largely contributed to the occurrence of fraud. The case notes of poor recruitment that led to unqualified personnel to work in The D.C government. The auditors too failed to put focus
- Weaknesses in internal controls
The weaknesses of the internal controls can be associated with the five interrelated components of the internal control system. These components must be able to operate effectively to ensure an efficient internal control system. The first weakness is the ineffective control environment, which is a major component of the internal control system. Lack of effective internal environment to guide values such as ethics and integrity of employees and dysfunctional organizational culture were the major weaknesses of the system. This largely motivated Walters to continue with her fraud activities. The other weakness is the lack of an effective risk assessment procedure, which is a critical component of an effective control system. Risk assessment enables clear investigation, quick
procedures to prevent fraud from occurring.
- Relationship of weaknesses to COSO framework
The weaknesses are largely related to the COSO framework since the deficiencies that allowed the fraud case to thrive were as a result of the failure to comply with the basic internal control principles and practices outlined in the COSO
spelt out in the COSO framework and which raises eyebrows in this case.
- What Washington DC could have done to prevent the fraud – aligned with the five components of the COSO framework
To prevent the fraud, Washington DC would have been committed to emphasizing the key components of the COSO framework. These could include having an effective control environment to manage the employers’ activities and behaviors through revising the code of