When employees at Wells Fargo opened accounts in their members' names, not always with their consent, the employees blamed it on management, stating that the bank executives had set goals, or goals that seemed unattainable.

Insurance companies have internal controls in place to protect assets, monitor the accuracy of accounting records and encourage operational efficiencies and adherence to policies. these internal controls are generally of two types: administrative controls and accounting controls. administrative controls are the policies and procedures that guide the daily actions of employees. accounting controls are the policies and procedures that delineate authorizations of financial transactions that are done, safeguard assets, and provide reports on the company’s financial status in a reliable and timely manner. internal controls should include both preventative and detective controls. the purpose of preventative controls is to stop problems and errors before they occur. detective controls identify problems after they have occurred. preventative controls are usually more effective at reducing problems, but they also tend to be more expensive. internal controls must be flexible to adjust for changes in laws and regulations in addition to adding new products or modifying current ones. companies must also do regular analyses to ensure that the benefits of implementing the controls are worth their costs. when concerned about paying unwarranted insurance claims which type of control would be useful?

Suppose you win a small lottery and have the choice of two ways to be paid: you can accept the money in a lump sum or in a series of payments over time. if you pick the lump sum, you get $2,950 today. if you pick payments over time, you get three payments: $1,000 today, $1,000 1 year from today, and $1,000 2 years from today. 1) at an interest rate of 6% per year, the winner would be better off accepting the (lump sum / payments over time), since it has the greater present value. 2) at an interest rate of 9% per year, the winner would be better off accepting the (lump sum / payments over time), since it has the greater present value. 3) years after you win the lottery, a friend in another country calls to ask your advice. by wild coincidence, she has just won another lottery with the same payout schemes. she must make a quick decision about whether to collect her money under the lump sum or the payments over time. what is the best advice to give your friend? a) the lump sum is always better. b) the payments over time are always better. c) it will depend on the interest rate; advise her to get a calculator. d) none of these answers is good advice.

When used-car dealers signal the quality of a used car with a warranty, a. buyers believe the signal because the cost of a false signal is high b. it is not rational to believe the signal because some used-car dealers are crooked c. the demand for lemons is eliminated d. the price of a lemon rises above the price of a good used car because warranty costs on lemons are greater than warranty costs on good used cars