Showing papers on "Audit published in 1971"

A Survey of Ethical Behavior in the Accounting Profession

Abstract: Certified public accounting is a profession whose members are independent practitioners or members of firms rendering services in three broad areas: auditing, taxes, and management services.' In order to perform effectively selected tasks, professions rely on a certain amount of autonomy given by society. Along with the privilege of autonomy goes the responsibility of self-regulation. Any profession which fails to regulate effectively the professional behavior of its members risks the loss of its autonomy.2 As a profession, certified public accounting has the task of regulating the professional behavior of its members. The objective of this paper is to report findings on the ethical behavior of Certified Public Accountants.

Problems with medical records.

Abstract: While physicians acknowledge the importance of the medical record to both patient care and medical education, there is increasing awareness that the record along with our current system of processing medical information is seriously deficient. This paper attempts to document the type and extent of deficiencies in our current system of handling medical data. The extent of these deficiencies has serious implications for the usefulness of current practices of medical record audit. Audit of the record to determine clerical deficiencies is relatively simple and as discussed in this paper can be useful. The audit may also be useful in discovering gross and easily discernible medical errors where the standards are relatively simple and well defined. However, deficiencies in current methods of handling medical data associated with a lack of standards for either the organization of the medical record or the logic and criteria that should govern the collection and use of medical data seriously impair the effectiveness of the audit as a tool for assessing the quality of care. There is a critical need to develop a standardized and systematic approach to record keeping and to begin to define the logic and medical criteria that should govern the collection and use of medical data.

The Role of the Auditor in Modern Society: An Exploratory Essay

Abstract: (1971). The Role of the Auditor in Modern Society: An Exploratory Essay. Accounting and Business Research: Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 287-293.

The Purchase-Pooling Choice: Some Empirical Evidence

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present some empirical evidence in; favor of a model which can predict the purchase-pooling choice without reference to the guidelines issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The model is based on assumed businessmen's preferences for certain reporting methods. We wish to predict businessmen's choice since the existence of strong preferences has important implications for the type of informal regulation we now have in accounting. The argument may be stated as follows. Managers seek to maximize reported income. Therefore, in many of the cases specified below, they prefer the pooling of interests to the purchase method of accounting for a merger. But their auditors are members of a cartel (the AICPA), which attempts to informally regulate the accounting profession. Rightly or wrongly, the cartel believes that the pooling treatment should be reserved to specified merger transactions described in its guidelines1 and that the members of the profession should express qualified opinions on their clients' financial state

Internal chart audits in a neighborhood health program: a problem-oriented approach.

Abstract: Chart review for quality of care and quality of record-keeping in an ambulatory setting has been generally unsatisfactory because of the episodic nature of ambulatory practice and the brevity of notes usually written. In the program described, the staff physicians choose a well-defined topic for review, establish standards, review the appropriate charts for a selected period of time and discuss the findings in regular staff meetings. The method of review is simple to perform and has been quite acceptable to the staff. The involvement of the staff at all stages appears to be contributing significantly to group cohesiveness and to the program of continuing education. Our follow-up study has demonstrated marked improvement both in practice and in charting. CHART AUDITS CAN DO three things: 1. assess the completeness and quality of the documentation of medical care, 2. lead to inferences about the completeness and quality of the care, and 3. serve as a tool in the continuing education of the physicans involved. In our experience, chart auditing programs in hospitals have been performed by special committees of physicians because of certain requirements of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH) and Medicare and are carried on in a somewhat defensive spirit. Small numbers of randomly selected charts are re