Successful Alignment of IT with Business/Project Prioritization Refer to the readings for this week on aligning IT to the business strategy, and either do some research or draw from your own experience to tell us about an organization that has successfully aligned its IT to the business. Choose one of the following questions and discuss the importance of its answer to the CIO, integrating the information on the organization into your response: 1. How are IT projects currently determined and prioritized by the organization

Each of the following scenarios is based on facts in anactual fraud. categorize each scenario as primarily indicating (1) anincentive to commit fraud, (2) an opportunity to commit fraud, or(3) a rationalization for committing fraud. also state your reasoningfor each scenario. a. there was intense pressure to keep the corporation ' stock from declining further. this pressure came from investors, analysts, and the ceo, whose financial well-being was significantly dependent on the corporation ' s stock price. b. a group of top-level management was compensated (mostly in the form of stock-options) well in excess of what would be considered normal for their positions in this industry. c. top management of the company closely guards internal financial information, to the extent that even some employees on a “need-to-know basis” are denied full access. d. managing specific financial ratios is very important to the company, and both management and analysts are keenly observant of variability in key ratios. key ratios for the company changed very little even though the ratios for the overall industry were quite volatile during the time period. e. in an effort to reduce certain accrued expenses to meet budget targets, the cfo directs the general accounting department to reallocate a division’s expenses by a significant amount. the general accounting department refuses to acquiesce to the request, but the journal entry is made trough the corporate office. an accountant in the general accounting department is uncomfortable with the journal entries required to reallocate divisional expenses. he brings his concerns to the cfo, who assures him that everything will be fine and that the entries are necessary. the accountant considers resigning, but he does not have another job lined up and is worried about supporting his family. therefore, he never voices his concerns to either the internal or external auditors. f. accounting records were either nonexistent or in a state of such disorganization that significant effort was required to locate or compile them.

You are chairman of the board of a successful technology firm. there is a nominal federal corporate tax rate of 35 percent, yet the effective tax rate of the typical corporation is about 12.6%. your firm has been clever with use of transfer pricing and keeping money abroad and has barely paid any taxes over the last 5 years; during this same time period, profits were $28 billion. one member of the board feels that it is un-american to use various accounting strategies in order to avoid paying taxes. others feel that these are legal loopholes and corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to minimize taxes. one board member quoted what the ceo of exxon once said: “i’m not a u. s. company and i don’t make decisions based on what’s good for the u. s.” what are the alternatives? what are your recommendations? why do you recommend this course of action?

The brs corporation makes collections on sales according to the following schedule: 30% in month of sale 66% in month following sale 4% in second month following sale the following sales have been budgeted: sales april $ 130,000 may $ 150,000 june $ 140,000 budgeted cash collections in june would be: