Legal Risks of Inappropriate Accounting

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2012 im Fachbereich BWL - Allgemeines, Note: 1,3, FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management gemeinnützige GmbH, München früher Fachhochschule, Veranstaltung: Investment und Controlling, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Acting as a merchant in the context of a private or capital company is related to duties summarized in the Principles of Orderly Accounting. These principles comprise aspects of accounting like accuracy, transparency, completeness, traceability, timeliness, documentation and retention. Even if these principles should be understood as undefined legal concepts they can be used to interpret existing law or even become more binding if there are no clear legal regulations. The consequences of violations of bookkeeping duties are mainly regulated in the Strafgesetzbuch (StGB) and AO (Abgabenordnung). Gross negligent acting and violations can result in coercive measures, harsh fines or even imprisonment of up to two years. It is strongly recommended for a merchant running a business at a certain size to professionally care about his or her duties regarding the Principles of Orderly Accounting.