The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the continued upsurge in highly publicized allegations of accounting irregularities and fraudulent financial reporting have shaken up the corporate community and have been the impetus for closer scrutiny by the SEC. Accounting Irregularities and Financial Fraud: A Corporate Governance Guide provides a step-by-step guide to the crises enveloping a company in the wake of fraudulent financial reporting--and how to prevent it from happening in the first place. It is directed to almost everybody involved: outside directors, audit committee members, senior executives, CFOs, CPAs, in-house lawyers, and outside law firms. It discusses the corporate environment that causes fraudulent financial reporting, how it spreads, the kinds of crises it can create for a company, and the best way to deal with them. All relevant material is covered, including:

-SEC initiatives -Recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee on corporate audit committees

-Due diligence -Real-world instances of financial fraud