David M. Willis

Management Reports on Internal Controls. Willis , David M. ; Lightle , Susan S. October , p. 57
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BY DAVID M. WILLIS AND SUSAN S. LIGHTLE
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David M. Willis , CPA , Ph.D , is an assistant professor of business administration at Illinois Wesleyan University , Bloomington.His e-mail address is dwillis@titan.iwu.edu.

"Many of the business and accounting decisions that look so bad now grew out of the bold optimism of a booming economy when almost any line tossed out on the water led to a big catch," says David Willis, associate professor of accounting and chair of the business administration department at Illinois Wesleyan University."In that environment, bad decisions and judgment calls were often hidden by the general growth in profits for the company and the economy as a whole.In the current lean times, such bad decisions show up more readily.The scandals and debacles will help the public appreciate the underlying softness of accounting numbers," says Willis, who believes that WorldCom makes it inevitable that significant tightening of the accounting and financial markets will be passed.