Question

Colleen Matthews had just turned 22 when her hard work finally started to pay off. Six months earlier Colleen graduated from a state university with a master’s degree in accounting. Colleen graduated with honors and was one of the youngest in her class. Unlike most of the intellectuals she had studied with throughout her career, Colleen was extremely social and had great communication skills. After graduation she took a job with a welI-known regional accounting firm. The firm specialized in assisting companies with their technology problems. Colleen knew that the connections and knowledge she would gain working for the firm would be beneficial throughout her career. Now, six months after graduation, she has a full-time job offer with one of the firm’s strongest clients.Within a few days on her new job, Colleen adapted to her new environment. Colleen and two other recent graduates were running the entire accounting department. However, it wasn’t long until Colleen began to notice that something wasn’t right. After a few weeks, Colleen realized that the firm’s executives were participating in illegal transactions. The company executives were importing expensive technological products from China and selling them under the table to contacts unknown to Colleen. Once the firm received the products at the shipping dock, the executives’ "personal employees" marked the products and took them to a separate location. The entire operation was done with little paperwork. The money received from the special products received special attention. Colleen was told to report this inflow of cash in an account called "Personal Executive Consulting Services." This categorization allowed the executives to personally use the money at their convenience.Earlier in the textbook we discussed the net worth method. How do you think the net worth method can help prosecutors determine the extent of these executives illegal income?

Answer 1

Answer:

Prosecutors of this case can use the net worth method to determine the extent these executives have been receiving  illegal incomes by computing their wealth at the beginning  and at the end of the period under investigation.

There will be an increase in the executives wealth, and since this increase cannot be traced to any legal income source, it will become taxable income, with the calculated penalties and fines.

Explanation:

The net worth method specifies that any increase in wealth, which is not traced to non-taxable sources, should be determined as a taxable income for the period under review.  Ordinarily, the net worth is the difference between assets and liabilities.  Since the executives use the money personally at their convenience, this will increase their personal wealth.