Monthly Archives: June 2014

The worth of an employee?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

CEOs talk about what valuable assets employees are, but these assets do not show up on the company’s balance sheet. Why? Because the company does not and cannot own its employees, even though it may seem so at times. However, employers can put a value on your life through company-owned life insurance (COLI). Questions: 1…. Read more »

Barclay’s Dark Pool

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Despite Barclay’s private and public assurances to investors in its pool that they were continually shielded from high-speed trading, the bank is being sued for actively attracting high-speed traders to its venue, as well as bolstering high-speed trader strategies with privileged information about the pool. Questions: 1. Summarize why the article essentially called this a… Read more »

The Untouchable Alaska Bypass

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

Under a federal program exclusive to Alaska, the Postal Service is responsible for shipping more than 100 million pounds a year of apples, frozen meat, dog food, diapers and countless other consumer items to off-road villages in the sparsely populated outposts known as the bush. Over three decades acting as freight forwarder, the agency has… Read more »

How much do you have to make to get a checking account?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Zikomo Fields makes more than $100,000 a year in his job as a software engineer in Kansas City. However, he cannot get a bank account because of a little-known database that tracks financial transgressions, known as ChexSystems. Financial institutions who subscribe to this service view it as fraud prevention. However, New York Attorney General Eric… Read more »

Mmmmmmmmm! But watch out for the Mac & Cheese!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

Some are calling this the new “Cheeseapocalypse” as Kraft Foods Group recalls 260 cases of Velveeta sold to Walmart because the batches lack enough preservatives and could “spoil prematurely and/or lead to food borne illness.” Questions: 1. What states are affected by the recall? 2. What ingredient is causing the recall? 3. What types of… Read more »

When is a Raise Too Small?

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Deeb Salem, a former Goldman Sachs trader, says that after making the company in excess of $7 billion in 2010, his $8.25 million raise was not enough compensation. Questions: 1. What percentage drop was Salem’s 2010 raise as compared to his 2009 raise? What percentage drop was Salem’s 2011 raise as compared to his 2010… Read more »

Separation of Power

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Netflix shareholders will vote on at the company’s annual meeting on Monday is a proposal by two public pension funds to separate the roles of chairman and chief executive. Both are held by Reed Hastings, Netflix’s co-founder. Questions: 1. Who are the backers of this corporate governance issue and why do you think they are… Read more »

To compete or not compete – Upside or Downside?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

Noncompete clauses are now appearing in far-ranging fields beyond the worlds of technology, sales and corporations with tightly held secrets, where the curbs have traditionally been used. Questions: 1. What industries have recently seen more noncompete clauses? 2. What clause were you most surprised at? 3. What are the costs and benefits of noncompete clauses?… Read more »

Something doesn’t add up

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Financial Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

As more companies become aware of the tax opportunity that Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands offer, more are taking advantage of it. According to the I.R.S. in 2004, companies with foreign income said 8 percent of that income came from those remarkable islands. But in 2010, the figure was 11 percent…. Read more »

Is a Tattoo a Forever Thing?

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According to a 2012 Harris survey, one in five U.S. adults has a tattoo, Interestingly, removing tattoos has also become a growing trade, as one in seven of these tattooed individuals express misgivings with their body art choices. In fact, some spend thousands of dollars for several searing laser sessions. Questions: 1. How many removals… Read more »