Essay Topic Choices (Choose One)

Essay must be submitted by the due date (see Calendar) into the Essay Submission drop box. Do not email essays. Late assignments are not accepted.

200 points

·         Essay topic answered completely and all aspects of the topic addressed thoroughly.

·         8 – 10 pages, excluding title page and references page.

·         Essay is written in your own words (no more than 20% matching quotes) for this course. UTPB scholastic dishonesty http://ss.utpb.edu/dean-of-students/scholastic-dishonesty/.

·         In-text citations for 6 or more current (2006-2016) references.

150 points

Scholarly references less than 10 years old:

·         4 sociological journal references (from approved journals listed)

·         2 sources of your choice (still must be scholarly) such as book or website.

10 points

Title page has all required elements and formatting:

·         Your Name

·         My Name

·         Course Name & Number (Political Sociology: SOCI4324.793)

·         Term (Fall 2016)

·         Institution: UTPB

·         Essay topic: example – Module 2: Institutional Power

40 points

Follows ASA format in all aspects, including:

·         1” margins, 12’ Times New Roman font. double spaced (and “0” before/after spacing), proper in-text citations and reference formatting.

Choose one topic from the list below. Review the essay topic carefully and answer the topic as presented.

Review the Essay Grade Rubric and Instructions in your syllabus.

Please be aware the “Essay Submission” contains a plagiarism tool that will scan your document.

The essay submission is due on the date posted in your Course Calendar. You are highly encouraged to submit your essay 1-2 days prior to the due date to allow for any unforeseen or technical complications.

Only submit ONE essay document. Make sure you upload your final and complete essay. Do not submit a draft or only a cover page.

Late essays are not accepted. Emailed essays will only be considered if they are submitted to the INBOX before the deadline AND include a Help desk message that is also date stamped before the due date.

Essay Topics (Choose one)

Essay Topic Lesson 1 – Politics, Business and Society

Choose one of the following topics and discuss the intersectionality of politics, business and society.

• Prisoners
• Poverty and human rights
• Refugee and Migrant rights
• Corporate Accountability

Essay Topic Lesson 2 – Institutional Power

Power is concentrated in the institutions of the state, corporate economy, and the military. Choose one institution and research changing power structures (i.e. women in the military).

Essay Topic Lesson 3 – Social Media

Social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs) have changed the tight control of media by elites. Research one social or political issue and write an essay on what influences social media has had on the situation, event, place, issue or elite person or organization.

Essay Topic Lesson 4 – Political participation

Identify two public figures and compare and contrast their involvement in political participation and voting on either a local, state or national level.

Essay Topic Lesson 5 – Social Inequality and Social Change

Social inequality and conflict can be caused by the inability of the majority to band together for political action. In The Immoral Minority,  http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2010/03/law-willow-and-wicked-witch-of-wasilla.html  a blogger claims the citizens of Wasilla AK are unable to counter the political influence of famous Wasillian, Sarah Palin.

Outline an example of a social inequality that was suffered through the inability of a group to affect political action; or an example of a group that was able to band together and affect social change. Your example can from an international, national, regional, state or local group.

Essay Topic Lesson 6 – Context of a Social Movement

Create your own social movement. Describe the following elements in your organization: ideology, strategy, tactics, social base, geographic scope, exclusiveness, structure, process and leadership.

Please reply of at least 200 words to the discussion below.

Support your assertions with at least 2 scholarly citations in APA format.any sources cited must have been published within the last five years.

1. Does it matter that Groupon reported its weakness in internal controls as a disclosure control under SOX Section 302 rather than pointing it out in its report on internal controls under Section 404? Explain.

It makes a difference for Groupon to report its weakness in internal controls as a disclosure under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) §302 instead of §304. The first of these sections covers management’s responsibility for financial reporting (SOX §302). This encompasses the chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer’s (CFO) duty to design, implement, and monitor internal control as well as affirm the fair presentation of financial statements free from material misstatements to their knowledge (SOX §302). The latter section addresses the requirement for management to give their assessment of internal control; additionally, an organization’s external auditors are to report on the reality of this statement (SOX §404). Significantly, the inappropriate disclosure of the material weakness under §302 financial statement users may miss the disclosure.

1. Describe the risks of material misstatements in the financial statements that should have raised red flags for EY.

The risk of material misstatement (RMM) consists of inherent risks and control risks (Popova, 2018). Ernst & Young (EY), when assessing RMM, should consider Groupon’s involvement in e-commerce, material weakness of internal control over financial reporting, overstatement of revenues, and indicators of fraud. Up until the year, Groupon recognized a material weakness in its internal control EY issued clean opinions on financial statements and internal control. Consequently, this suggests that EY experienced an ethical lapse by valuing its duty to the client over that to the public (Verwey & Asare, 2022). The Bible reveals that there is a hierarchy of authority originating with God, who is ultimately overall (English Standard Version [ESV], 2014, Romans 13:1-2; Hebrews 13:17). The actions of all people should be informed by this knowledge, submitting to the will of the Lord. Significantly, 1 Peter 2:13-14 (ESV, 2014) expands on this concept with the instruction to “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution.” The institution that auditors owe the most loyalty to is the public, as the consistent issuance of quality audit reports provide stability for the economy.

1. According to a 2012 survey of 192 U.S. executives conducted by Deloitte & Touché LLP and Forbes Insights, social media was identified as the fourth-largest risk, on par with financial risk. This ranking derives from social media’s capacity to accelerate to other risks, such as financial risk associated with disclosures in violation of SEC rules, for example. Other risks inherent to social media include information leaks, reputational damage to brand, noncompliance with regulatory requirements, and third-party and governance risks.

a. Why is it important for a firm such as EY, in a case such as Groupon, to fully understand the nature of risk when a company conducts its business online?

Part of the planning process of an audit engagement is for the auditor to obtain a proper understanding of its client’s industry, business, and internal control (AU §150.02). This enables a firm like EY to assess RMM. With a proper understanding of Groupon’s participation in e-commerce, EY will increase its inherent risk while simultaneously decreasing the detection risk. Consequently, it would be prudent for EY to conduct more effective substantive procedures. If an external auditor fails to fully grasp the RMM of a client that conducts its business online, then there is a greater likelihood that material misstatements will go undetected.

b. What role can internal auditors play in dealing with such risks?

An effective internal control operates to prevent and detect fraud and errors in a timely manner (Chang et al., 2019).  Internal auditors participate in this function by helping management evaluate areas for improvement (Chang et al., 2019). To help reduce the risk surrounding e-commerce, internal auditors can develop controls addressing this concern. Academics suggest the implementation of the following controls matching e-documents to verify existence, “evaluate the system user and operator authority,” and look at system maintenance and storage (Shi, 2021; Tkachenko et al., 2019).

c. How should external auditors adapt their risk assessment procedures for social media/networking clients?

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) states that risk assessment procedures exist to supply a sufficient and reasonable basis for determining RMM (AS 2110.04). Given the knowledge that online businesses are at higher risk for RMM, an external auditor should perform more effective risk assessment procedures to base their audit upon.