ACCT 573 – Course Project – LDC Cloud Systems

With a plot centered on a bribery allegation and questionable accounting oversight within the company, LDC Cloud Systems provides the reader a better appreciation of how fraud situations can unfold and then addressed, including the importance of strong board oversight. The case study explores actions of management and the board, along with the timeline of decisions after they uncover potential problems within the company. It also illustrates how complex accounting practices common in today’s fast-changing business environment can make a company susceptible to fraud.

Resources:

https://www.thecaq.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LDC_Cloud_Systems_case_study_2017-10.pdf (Links to an external site.)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ldc+cloud+systems+case+study

Assignment

Review the written case study from the link (also located in the class files) and review the following scenes that re enact conversations among LDC key players.

SCENE 3. LDC EXECUTIVE TEAM MEETING – PAGE 7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqpNmOytLV8&list=PLA3kzgLG3GmVFJWHhhyxcatMwir4glqxR&index=3

In an executive team meeting, CEO Shep LeDuc offers insight into the culture he has set at LDC. He has high expectations for himself and the staff, and is not concerned that everyone is working long hours.

Respond to the following questions ensuring you provide examples and concepts from our lessons.

1) What role has the CEO played in setting the “tone at the top?” What pressures has this put on the following departments: legal, accounting, sales, and internal audit?

2) Looking at the fraud triangle from deliverable #1, what additional components should be added or modified?

SCENE 4: CONVERSATION BETWEEN ROSS TRELA AND BEVERLY SHEEL – PAGE 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U48OrAEWOo&list=PLA3kzgLG3GmVFJWHhhyxcatMwir4glqxR&index=4

In this conversation, Beverly Sheel is updating Ross Trela on her investigation. She has uncovered a payment of $20,000 to a consulting firm that is controlled by the family of a government official, and as such, the payment may be perceived as a bribe for building permits in LDC’s Asian operations.

Respond to the following questions ensuring you provide examples and concepts from our lessons.

1) Comment on the components of the fraud triangle that led to these events: (a) The operations manager in Asia was delayed in opening on time, so he opted to make a facilitation payment (a bribe). (b) The information in the email and the email attachment uncovered during the bribery investigation suggests that some of the accounting estimates were questionable and could result in a restatement of the financial statements filed with the SEC.

2) Why did Sheel wait three months to bring the email to the attention of her boss?

3) Why didn’t the internal controls catch the bribery payment? What procedures could LDC put in place to detect this kind of payment?

4) What is the significance of the information in the emailthat Sheel is now bringing to Trela’s attention? What about the information contained in the attachment marked “For Accounting Eyes Only”?