Menlo Park, Calif. (Sept. 29, 2003) -- Accountants aren’t alone in their battle to ensure sound corporate governance. A new survey found they are working more with other internal departments to get the job done.
In a Robert Half Management Resources survey, 77 percent of respondents said their companies’ accountants are collaborating to some degree with departments throughout the organization to uncover financial irregularities.
The survey was developed by Robert Half and conducted by International Communications Research. It includes responses from a random sample of 150 executives from the nation’s 1,000 largest companies, of which 134 were public companies and 16 were privately held.
Executives were asked: “How have recent corporate accounting scandals impacted how closely your accounting department works with other departments in your organization on issues relating to corporate governance?”
The majority (47 percent) said they are working with them somewhat more closely, while 30 percent said much more closely, 21 percent had no change whatsoever, and only 2 percent did not answer.
“Sound financial reporting is dependent on receiving accurate information from every operating unit of a business, whether the company is public or private,” said Paul McDonald, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources. “All managers should play a role in ensuring their departments’ financial activities and reports are accurate and support the firm’s ability to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related legislation.”
McDonald also noted that firms where there is little or no collaboration at all are at greater risk.
-- WebCPA staff
