The Dangerous Morality of Managing Earnings

Assignment Choice #1
After reading case 2-2 in your text, “The Dangerous Morality of Managing Earnings,” write an essay that includes the following elements:
A formal introduction.
Discussion of the five generalizations from the findings in this study relating to managing earnings. Note: Do not simply restate the generalizations. You are being asked to discuss each in the context of professional experiences or examples given in the case itself.
Discussion of management’s ability to manage earnings in the long term given the operational manipulations discussed in the case.
Your submitted paper should be at least 2-3 pages long and written according to CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA Requirements, following APA style, and properly referenced.
Note that the textbook author is citing a source in this case, which must be considered when forming your references and citations.

SAMPLE SOLUTION

Managing Earnings
Introduction
Ethical standards and values are critical in the accounting profession. Unfortunately, the moral values applied by accountants and other business executives in financial reporting are wanting. Business managers frequently alter the timing of business occurrences to reach the desired goal. In other cases, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are completely ignored during financial reporting. This paper explores various issues regarding the ethical frameworks to be followed in business reporting (Oldfield et al., 2014).
Management Earnings’ Generalizations
Accounting as a profession promises to depict true and accurate financial dealings for a given entity. In our case, the findings indicated that manipulating short-term operating decisions was more acceptable than changing…