Questions-Natalie Chehrazi

1. Is Belinda being paranoid and imagining things?

I do not believe that Belinda is being paranoid or imagining anything. She is
doing her job to its truest form. She has gotten many warnings that as a certified
CPA should be taken seriously. It seems as though Belinda is witnessing the
Controllers misusing their power, clearly seen through the behavior of the CEO,
the CFO, and the Controller, as well as the appointments of unqualified people to
company positions, and the current collusion between the CEO, the CFO, and the
Controller. These are all huge reasons that Belindas beliefs are not just rooted in
paranoia, but instead in sound reason.
2. Does the possibility exist that she is having difficulty making the transition from
public accounting to industry?
I do not believe so. I think that as a qualified employee, member of AICPA, a
certified CPA, she is not having difficulty making a transition to industry. I think
that the industry is not the issue. Instead the difficulty in her transition is that she
is entering is a corrupt company.
3. Should Belinda follow the Controllers suggestion to change the projections and
to keep quiet about her concerns?
No. As an honest CPA, she should not allow herself to become a part of this
corruption and collusion. She should most definitely utilize the Whistleblower
policy and make sure that she does speak out about this suggestion. This
suggestion is what bolsters the argument above that Belinda is not paranoid and
that something wrong is in fact going on.
4. Is there a possibility that Belinda is being wrong and there is nothing amiss? Why
or why not?
Due to the suggestions of the Controllers and the reluctance to hand over
company data, as well as the appointment of unqualified employees to important
positions I believe these in no possibility that Belinda is wrong. Based on her
actions as qualified CPA and the reluctance to her actions as well as the backfire, I
believe there must be something going on. A huge clue would be the appointments

as well as the fact that the CEO, CFO, and Controller plan to leave the company
after the buyout, which they are constructing with people that they have chosen.
5. What could possibly occur if Belinda does disclose factual information to a third
party if asked to do so by that party? Can she not answer?
Although Belinda cannot disclose factual information if the third party does not
have past correspondence with the FSC, she can go along with the process of due
diligence and request information. In this request Belinda will most likely get
turned away, but this uncooperative behavior from the company will raise
questions and probably help Belinda in bring attention to the corrupt behavior of
the heads of the company. This may actually help Belinda and shed light on the
situation that she is unfortunately trying to deal with.
6. Does the company have a legitimate reason to terminate Belinda if she continues
to insist that something is wrong with the companys financial statements and
projections?
The company does not have a legitimate reason to terminate Belinda if she insists
something is wrong. Dealing with the companys financial statements and
projections is part of her job and if she were to get fired by them, for asking the
questions she is supposed to ask, it would not be legitimate.
7. Is Belinda a whistleblower or an incompetent employee?
Belinda is neither. She is the most competent of any of the accounting employees
she works with and she is not a whistleblower because she has yet to expose the
corruption of this company or report to any of her supervisors.
8. What should Belinda ultimately do?
Due to the collusion within the company it would be rather difficult for Belinda to
successfully be a whistleblower. With this being the case, I believe that it is best if
Belinda were to quit her job, get a lawyer for protection and then go tell
regulatory authorities. I believe this is the best option as it removes Belinda from
the corruption and also provides her with protection from the company
manipulating the situation.