More than being a simple business failure, the collapse that occurred with several multinationals such as Enron, Worldcom and other large companies, threatened the growth of financial markets:
The trust.
These events reached global connotations and put into question the credibility of renowned institutions such as auditing firms and prestigious stock market analysts, who had no measure at the time of giving their few reliable opinions.
What is really surprising is the unethical use of administrators and accountants who did not measure the consequences that this would entail, in addition to financial losses, the most important thing to participate in the market has been lost, trust; forcing the entities in charge of creating new norms that regulate both the reports and the profession.
The implementation of new norms such as the International Accounting Standards that globalization brings with it is to a large extent an alternative to generate trust among the stock markets.
Public accounting is a multidisciplinary profession, which enjoys being complemented by law, economics, administration, mathematics and other branches of knowledge, which at no time makes it dependent on any of them, giving the public accountant suitability to perform As a manager, administrator, advisor, auditor, fiscal auditor and other positions since it is the critical and objective being of the company, the balanced person who solves any inconvenience that arises, is the neutral point, it depends on him that the information that is present, be truthful and also that the decisions made by senior management are the most convenient and in accordance with the financial reality of the company, it has the privilege of giving public faith that it commits it to the company, the union, its community and the state.
The Audit consists of verifying that the financial, operational and administrative information presented is reliable, truthful and timely. It is to check that the facts, phenomena and operations are given in the way they were planned; that the policies and guidelines established have been observed and respected; that they comply with fiscal, legal and regulatory obligations in general.
It is evaluating the way in which it is managed and operated, making the most of the resources.
But on the contrary, it would seem that in the accounting information today an environment of doubt arises and not the one that initially generates, Accounting in general is worn out, it has been losing its main characteristic that differentiates it from other sciences and that without a doubt this was the test to make or not decisions, in which an invested value, an expected profit, a decision made, a job is at stake.
Cases such as what happened with the electricity giant Enron, Worldcom, Tyco, etc., bring to light the cases of corruption practiced by these multinationals, without measuring the damage that they would cause to savers who saw in their financial statements a solid company with magnificent profitability a good option to invest without mentioning the number of workers who would be laid off and the great damage done to the credibility of the financial information, putting the realization of business in crisis since they are generated in an environment characterized by doubts, by a growing uncertainty arising from the manipulations of the information based on which investors will make their decisions.
This crisis has an origin or it had it from the beginning and over time it has become a great depression, the flexibility of the rules that each country adopts according to its environment does not create a reliable environment for another country that wants to come to invest, the audits carried out by accountants who in their eagerness to become independent from professional regulations work to their own liking or to their interests, then exemplary sanctions against world-renowned accounting firms should be adopted and why not establish ethical tribunals to sanction an exercise professional of doubtful morality.
Due to the cases presented in the United States and in Europe, there was a consensus on the need for strong and rapid legislative action, leading to the strengthening of norms that control and tighten internal control and that many countries are already doing, such as the law issued by the US Congress Known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, to protect investors, with which they created a new accounting supervisory body, a reform to corporate accounting, investor protection and Criminal and civil penalties were increased for violations of the securities market.
Knowing about a law from another country creates the need to learn from it and that one way or another it will have an impact on us.
Another good alternative to combat corruption is the Forensic Audit, since it is accompanied by an opinion made by an expert before the judges giving opinions of great value which facilitate the action of justice, since many cases of corruption and fraud have been discovered, and this is not limited only to administrative facts but also to professional matters.
Many events have influenced the low accounting confidence and for this reason it is necessary in Colombia and in many countries to reinforce accounting regulations, which are already coming with the so-called “globalization” that brings changes to our economy and regulations for accounting information.
The economic structure of the countries, especially in Latin America, is made up mostly of small and medium-sized companies that are the fundamental axis of economic activity; In Colombia, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MIPYMES) are an important line in the economy, since they are the largest generator of employment and wealth, representing 94% of the country's companies and occupying 65% of jobs.
A dynamic business environment must be created around them, where companies grow and innovate and become the engines that drive the creation of new jobs. the creation of international norms that serve as standards for all companies in the countries, whether large, medium or small.
create a culture in each nation about the need they have to assume and adapt them to the needs of companies, discover their advantages and participate in a market economy, forcing each country to participate in this new structure in an open way, in conditions of transparency that guarantee the free flow of information and wealth.
It is necessary that our country does not remain outside this process and begins a race to promote and facilitate the insertion of companies in the international context so that they can face globalization in an efficient and competitive way.
The international structure of accounting has created world bodies to issue accounting standards, delegating only to them the power of their creation and thus conditioning anyone who wants to participate in foreign markets.
The fact that there are unique norms to be followed, or in other words that they are standardized, creates in the environment a degree of trust that motivates businessmen, producers and everyone who intervenes in the market to participate in it with less suspicion.
Bibliography
Gomez, Luis Alexander. Enron: a case that teaches at a very high cost. In: Gestión y Desarrollo magazine, Universidad de Sanbuenaventura. Vol, 5 No. 2
Rodado Noriega, Carlos. Ethics in the public function. In: Departamentos al Dia magazine, No. 4
Botero Borda, Carlos.Enron or the crisis of Confidence. In: Sinderesis magazine, Nº 7 (March 2003).
Castro V, Rene Mauricio; Cano, Miguel Antonio. The Forensic Audit. In: Legis de Contador & Audit magazine, Nº 13 (January - March 2003)
Castro V, Rene Mauricio. Sarbanes - Oxley Act: An Internal Control Approach. In: Legis de Contador & Audit magazine, Nº 20 (October - December 2004)
Mejia Soto, Eutimio; Arango Medina, Deicy. DCPYMES.
