Gift Scandal in Virginia

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Maureen McDonnell through the years: Virginia’s first lady has taken the field as a cheerleader for both the Redskins and husband, Gov. Robert. F. McDonnell.

There has been a growing investigation into gifts that Virginia’s governor and wife have secured from businessman, Jonnie R. Williams Sr. One of the key issues that the FBI is investigating is Governor Bob McDonnell’s ties to a company known as Star Scientific and gifts from its chief executive is Mr. Williams.

Questions:
1. Based on the article and in your opinion, which incident shows the greatest lack of independence between William’s Star Scientific and Governor McDonnell? Discuss why you picked this.
2. Why is independence important for CPAs to maintain, as well as government officials?
3. Find an article where a CPA violated independence by accepting gifts and compare it to the alleged violations of the Virginia governor. Is the perception of a lack of independence just as serious as an actual lack of independence? Why or why not?

Sources:
Vozzella, L., Fredrick Kunkle, and Rosalind S. Helderman (2013). Virginia’s first lady plays central role in gift scandal. The Washington Post, July 13 (Retrievable online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/va-first-lady-plays-central-role-in-gift-scandal/2013/07/13/f1f94456-de75-11e2-948c-d644453cf169_story.html)

Vozzella, L. (2013). Del. Scott Surovell says Virginia Gov. McDonnell should resign, or be forced out. The Washington Post, July 14.