Video"Any action by any person involved in the preparation of the financial statement or in the production of information for the auditor to use in the audit to influence, coerce, manipulate, or mislead the auditor will have an adverse impact on the ability of the auditor to do his or her job," the AICPA wrote in its letter. "Therefore, to further protect the public interest, we would propose that the Commission's recommendation be broad enough to cover any person, whether internal or external to the issuer, who acts improperly in this regard."
The letter, signed by AICPA chairman William F. Ezzell and president and CEO Barry C. Melancon, further stated, "Implementing such a broad prohibition on misleading auditors is a necessary component of restoring investor confidence in the accuracy and integrity of financial statements."
Hewitt Sees No Boost in Bonuses
'Tis the season to give bonuses...or is it?
It seems most companies these days play Scrooge when it comes to handing out extra goodies to their rank and file.
According to consulting firm Hewitt Associates, most companies do not offer a holiday bonus.
However, those in the generous minority don't figure to change their plans from last year, said Hewitt.
It turns out that 67 percent of 432 companies surveyed in its "2002 Holiday Bonus and Gift Study" will not offer any type of holiday bonus—for example cash, gift, or food—this year. But this is consistent with recent trends, said Hewitt, which added that studies have shown that the percentage of companies not giving a holiday bonus has ranged between 64 percent and 69 percent since 1999.
In fact, 51 percent of the companies that participated in the study have never had a holiday bonus, while 16 percent had a program that was discontinued.
Of those companies that canceled their holiday bonus initiatives, 7 percent did so before 1980, 9 percent did in the 1980s, 47 percent did so in the 1990s, and 37 percent discontinued their programs between 2000 and 2002, according to Hewitt.
Why did companies cut back on these programs? A majority (59 percent) cited cost, followed by entitlement issues (34 percent) and the development of pay-for-performance plans (24 percent).
"Companies don't use these awards as performance incentives," said Hewitt's Ken Abosch in a statement. "Those organizations that are seeking alignment between performance and awards have turned their focus to variable pay incentives, which are designed to help employees concentrate on company goals and objectives, while eliminating 'entitlement' issues that often arise with a holiday bonus plan."
Of the 33 percent of companies that have a holiday bonus program, 39 percent provide a cash bonus, 36 percent give a gift certificate to a local retailer, and 28 percent reward employees with a gift of food, like a turkey or a ham.
The monetary value of bonuses and gifts varied greatly by award type.
For example, cash awards tended to have the highest value, with the companies spending a median of $200 per employee. Companies that award gift certificates typically spend $25 on each worker, while a food gift costs a median price of $20 per employee.
"For some companies, a holiday bonus is part of their culture and helps define the organization," said Abosch. "Meanwhile, other organizations use a holiday bonus as a way to build morale and thank employees for their efforts during the past year."
Other findings from the Hewitt survey:
- 80 percent of companies have at least one type of variable pay or pay-for-performance plan in place, up from 70 percent in 1999 and 51 percent in 1991.
- Of the companies that never offered a holiday bonus program, 47 percent said it was because of cost, 40 percent simply never considered such a program, and 38 percent said that a holiday bonus was not consistent with their reward philosophies.
- 62 percent of the companies providing holiday bonuses budgeted less than 1 percent of payroll expenses for these awards, while 19 percent budgeted between 1 percent and 2 percent of payroll.
- 64 percent of the 432 companies surveyed host a holiday party.
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