Ethics and Compliance

Ethics and Compliance Paper

Ethics and Compliance Paper

Searching for that illusive item that you just cannot find in stores? Trying to locate a product that is no longer produced? Amazon.com can probably help. Amazon has become a well-known online store where someone could find just about anything for sell; from books and movies to automotive parts and groceries. Amazon not only sells products from their own warehouses, but they also provide other companies and individuals the ability to sell their wares to people all over the world. Amazon has policies and procedures set in place to ensure that both the seller and buyer are protected. Amazon takes steps to comply with Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. Amazon is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the U.S. financial markets of today.

Role of Ethics and Compliance

The onset of corporate scandal and unethical behavior demands not only protection from fraudulent financial reporting for stockholders, but also reassurance and confidence in the integrity of market transactions that forge the foundation of the economy. Since the uncovering of corporate scandals within Enron and WorldCom, the enactment of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), requires the retention of all business records for a minimum of five years (Tech Target, 2007). Amazon’s corporate leadership communicates and codifies this standard through its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and enforces ethical compliance through the employment of annual audits. Amazon’s corporate leadership employs the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) to evaluate its internal controls over financial reporting against strict internal controls criteria. In fact, COSO’s studies conclude the two most common fraudulent techniques include improper revenue recognition and asset overstatement (Beasley, Carcello, & Hermanson, 2010). Based on COSO’s...