Introduction
The following essay is on information accounting and discusses the role of the internet in investigative accounting. Forensic audit in accounting requires the availability of information. The Internet has proved to be a valuable source of information needed in accounting investigations. There has been rise in the number of online directories, dictionaries and user guides as well as classified pages intended to show the internet users where they can locate a particular service, product, or information. Company websites, blogs, online financial reports as well as e-zines are some of the major sources of information. This essay displays information about some of the companies that are available online. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of internet sources of information as an analysis of information received from the internet.
Main Body
Black Sheep Management Company in Nevada has one major director Katie Price who is the chief executive officer, the owner of the company and in charge of the administration. The other director is Mark Newman who manages the company’s accounts and business transactions. The company now operates million dollars businesses by focusing on entertainment industry through branding and marketing beauty models. It organizes modeling events and sponsorships of the events with one of the major sponsors being Nike Company.
Smarter Fuel Company is registered as Smarter Fuel Inc and is located in Pennsylvania. The state of incorporation for this company is in Pennsylvania. Its main products are biofuels with its popular product being cooking oil. The chief executive who is also the founder of the company is David Dunham. He is registered as one of the directors of the company.
The net revenues of Arch Coal Inc Company increased from $151, 000,000 to $315,000,000 in the year 2012. The net revenues doubled in the year 2009.
The founder and the owner of Buzzbomb.com are the Buzz Bomb Zzinger Lures Inc, which is the leading company in the design of fishing products. The owner of the 5555 Walnut Hill Lane is Thomas O Hicks; the home is located in the suburb of Preston, Dallas, Texas.
The other property searched for is the 9525 Alva Court property In Dallas Texas with a lien attached to it. The property has a principal amount of $1, 100,500 paid out from the total price of the home, which is $5,600,000. The outstanding balance is paid in form of monthly mortgage of $15,000 for thirty years or $30,000 for five years.
The property on 301 building Oldsmar Florida has been cited for environmental regulation violation. The facility hosts factory and manufacturing products that have been polluting the environment due to sewage leaks, which the company took too long to respond thereby affecting the neighborhood as well as the environment negatively. The company took a period of thirty days to correct the problem after demonstrations from the residents. The facility was fined $100,000 for overlooking and violating the environmental regulations regarding residential areas.
Glenn A. Bierman is a financial consultant who has a business where he addresses the different financial issues of clients. Currently, Bierman has seven cases in his file. Mr. Bierman is currently registered as an investment advice although he was previously registered as a property broker. The first case on his file involves a client who is seeking to buy property in California and engaging consultancy services to assess the value as well as future housing prices in California. The second client is seeking financial advice on how to receive insurance claims after an accident. The other client is seeking financial advice on the cost of divorce. He is also supposed to advise the client on how they are going to use $5,000,000 home assets as part of an out-of-court settlement in a divorce case. This is the information available about Glenn Biermann.
John Wiley Price has been accused of impropriety in funds management by embezzling public funds. He is a politician in Dallas County and one of the longest-serving county commissioners in the Dallas County Court. Members of Federal Bureau of Investigation seized 100-dollar bill notes stacked in a bag from his home. Jewelry, and watches worth more than five million dollars were also retrieved from his home in Dallas. The seizure in home also found out that the commissioner has a very extravagant lifestyle and he is accused of using money laundering activities and bribery to sustain his extravagant lifestyle. They argue that it is impossible for a public servant who is paid less than $15, 000 a month to sustain such an extravagant lifestyle. He is also accused of conspiring with others to defraud a property worth over 4,000,000 million dollars in Dallas through forgery. Price is also accused of lying under oath when presenting evidence about his property taxes. His attorney is also accused of tax evasion. The Federal Bureau of investigation seized over $400, 000 cash from Wiley’s home. The politician is accused of committing more than fifteen crimes. FBI considers John Wiley to be a member of illegal money racket where Wiley has also lodged complaint. In an affidavit to the court, Wiley is accusing the prosecution of politicizing the court process and using the court cases to sabotage him politically.
Rosewood property Inc is one of the successful property development companies in Texas. One of the landmark properties owned by the company is the Rosewood Hotel and Restaurants located in Dallas. The property is estimated to be worth $250, 000,000. The company has other properties such as flats located in Dallas and Collin County in Texas. Rosewood court along Cedar springs road in Dallas is another major property owned by the company. The property is for commercial purpose-designed for office environments and operations. It has over one thousand suites and annual rent income estimates are over $30,000, 000.
Conclusion
The above information obtained from the internet shows the role of the internet in providing critical information to accountants. Financial reports, investment analysis and consultancy are nowadays available through the internet. Financial accounting as well as investigative activities can confidently rely on the internet to access information that would have been difficult to obtain using conventional methods. The internet is, therefore, an important tool in fraud investigations. However, it is imperative to note that not all information available on the internet is authentic. Internet sources should only provide a lead on areas where auditors and forensic accountants should investigate. Otherwise, use of internet sources in forensic accounting will be misleading. The other issue with internet sources is inconsistency of the information where one website or source indicates one thing and the second source indicates the other, for instance, in the case of John Wiley Price. The Internet has enhanced accounting, especially the field of cost accounting where one can receive information about particular products from the internet rather than through bureaucratic processes.