Assignment Instructions
- You are to assume the role of an internal auditor who has been asked to identify a minimum of three high quality propositions that management can implement to establish a tone at the top that conveys a commitment to integrity and ethical values.
- You are to write a memo that is no more than three single spaced pages addressed to the CEO and head of the audit committee of the Board of Directors with recommendations on establishing the appropriate tone. THE TONE OF THE MEMO NEEDS TO BE FORMAL.
- Provide a detailed description of each of the items and a persuasive argument as to why the item is useful for conveying the appropriate tone. Cogently make a case for why these propositions are important.
- General memo format: Memo heading (person addressed, writer, date, subject), initial by name, introductory paragraph (context, purpose, and preview), headed segments, and conclusion. (See specific instructions and grading rubric)
- Properly identify any sources you have used to help you in your research. Citations and references should comply with APA requirements. (See specific instructions and grading rubric)
- You should consider any relevant guidance (e.g. COSO, SOX) and provide a minimum of three (3) citations. It may take well over three sources to complete this assignment and do a good job.
Note that simply finding three citations is not enough. Your citations need to be relevant. You need to do a thorough job finding what tone at the top means and how it is communicated. Be careful in citing non-authoritative information.
Memo Criteria
Format and Adherence to the Assignment
- The appropriate title appears at the top (Memorandum).
- The appropriate headings appear (Date, To, From, and Subject) with 2-3 blank lines after.
- To: From: Job titles follow names and department names follow titles. (names, job titles, departments)
- Date: correct and current
- Subject: brief and precise
- Memo is left justified with no paragraph indents and one blank line in between paragraphs.
- Memo text is single-spaced.
- No formal salutation or closing lines appear.
- Appropriate end notations appear if necessary.
- Memo follows the assignment criteria in terms of form and content (i.e. outlines your reasons, background and implications/benefits)
Style & Tone
- Purpose of memo clear
- Tone appropriate for primary audience.
- An appropriate amount of detail provided; memo is complete while being brief and concise.
- Information is well organized; writing is cohesive and flows well.
- Logical, cogent & coherent
- Visual cues (bullets, numbers, indenting, headings) used to aid readability and understanding
- Follows APA style guidelines.
- Memo efficiently conveys clearly the intent and information of the memo.
- Text is broken into logical paragraphs with good paragraph structure.
- Vocabulary accurate and effectively conveys meaning.
- Culturally sensitive, free from regional terminology and unfamiliar jargon.
Grammar, Mechanics, and Punctuation
- Rules of American English grammar and usage are appropriately applied.
- Sentence structure and word order follow American English grammar and usage conventions.
- Spelling is correct and the essay has been carefully proofread.
- Subjects and verbs agree.
- Verb tense is consistent and appropriate.
- Passive voice is used only when needed and effective.
- Commas, semi-colons, periods, and dashes are used correctly.
- Run-on sentences, comma splices, and sentences fragments are eliminated.
- Conventions of capitalization are followed correctly.
- Punctuation rules and conventions are adhered to (apostrophes, parentheses, etc.).
- Expletives (it, there) and unclear demonstratives (this, that, these, those without a noun) are avoided.