Monthly Archives: November 2014

That’s the Walmart Way!

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

An Oklahoma City Walmart is asking employees to donate food to help their coworkers make ends meet during the holiday season. The company drew criticism for similar employee food drives a year ago. Besides incurring a total public assistance cost of $6.2 billion per year, Walmart has been criticized for running a corporate charity called… Read more »

Investment Bankers: Less trustworthy than prison inmates?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Fraud Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

According to The Atlantic, a new paper in Nature takes a scientific approach to the accusations of dishonesty in the banking industry. Participants in the study indicated that they thought bankers would be more dishonest than prison inmates in over-reporting successful coin flips. Questions: 1. According to economist Marie Claire Villeval, what are the implications… Read more »

New Class Action Lawsuit

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Zillow, the number one online real estate website, is facing a $5 million class action lawsuit for intimidating employees to skip meals and work long hours without pay. Questions: 1. Who was Zillow’s top competition and how much did Zillow pay to buy the company? 2. Would this acquisition be reported on the Statement of… Read more »

It’s Not Over Yet!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, All Articles, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Looking at GDP reporting GDP on a quarter-on-quarter basis, it turns out that Greece’s six-year recession is over, but recovery is far from near. The country’s economy grew at a 3.2 percent annual pace in the first quarter, 1.2 percent in the second, and 2.8 percent in the most recent one. However, unemployment is 25.9%…. Read more »

The Never-Ending Foreclosure Crisis: Robo Signer Redux

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

Fannie is trying to recoup the difference between what the borrowers owed on the mortgages when they were foreclosed and the amount Fannie received when it resold the properties. In Florida, these deficiency judgments can be pursued for 20 years, and borrowers must also pay a compounded annual interest rate of 4.5 percent. Several legal… Read more »

Congressional Insider Trading?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Nineteen months ago, with only 20 minutes remaining in the trading day, a Washington-based broker-dealer, Height Securities, blasted out a “flash report” to nearly 200 clients, including hedge funds on Wall Street that predicted a raise in Medicare reimbursement rates. This sent many health insurance companies’ stocks soaring. Regulators are now trying to investigate insider… Read more »

Medical Malpractice Reform: Will it save money?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

According to the New York Times, many people believe that medical malpractice reform is the key to removing waste from the health care system and making the practice of medicine better. But a growing body of evidence shows that belief is most likely mistaken. Questions: 1. What is the rationale for malpractice reform as cost… Read more »

Repatenting for Profits and the High Costs of Breathing

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Unlike other countries, where the government directly or indirectly sets an allowed national wholesale price for each drug, the United States leaves prices to market competition among pharmaceutical companies, including generic drug makers. This has resulted in a vicious cycle of repatenting old drugs that use to cost pennies with new delivery systems and processes… Read more »

Attack of the SuperCookies!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

What is your privacy worth? Most people would say A LOT! According to Craig Timberg, Verizon and AT&T have been quietly tracking the Internet activity of more than 100 million cellular customers with what critics have dubbed “supercookies.” These supercookies cannot be erased and can even get around the “private” or “incognito” settings on your… Read more »