Super Sleuthing at Apple

Court papers filed by the federal government and Apple against a former manager detail a scheme that allegedly saw confidential Apple data supplied to Asian electronics companies over more than three years in return for kickbacks of more than $1 million. 

Apple says that over the course of more than three years, two individuals colluded by passing sales forecasts for unreleased iPod and iPhone models, as well as product roadmaps, sales reports and details of problems being encountered by competitors.

Questions:

1. How did Apple find out about the kickbacks?

2. Explain how data like sales forecasts, pricing information and specifications for unreleased products could contribute to this fraud.

3. Why do you think the two fraudsters intentionally kept the wired amounts at less than $10,000?  At there any laws or regulations that are tied to this amount and if so, what are they?

Source:

Williams, M. (2010). Laptop e-mail tipped Apple to kickbacks plot, Computer World, August 17 (Retrievable online at http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9180820/Laptop_e_mails_tipped_Apple_to_kickbacks_plot?taxonomyId=152&pageNumber=1)

Best Selling Candy

Candy is big business.  While international giants such as Mars Inc., Nestlé, and Kraft dominate the industry, there is still room for smaller, regional players like South Africa’s Tiger Brands and China’s Hsu Fu Chi International, with each country having a No. 1 candymaker. Even though chocolate remains the most popular candy in the world, chewing gum is growing rapidly. As this article speculates, the reason behind gum’s growth is due to tougher anti-smoking campaigns and aggressive pushes by manufacturers into new markets.

Questions:

1.  What is the number one best-selling candy and how much were its annual U.S. sales in 2007?   Which country eats the most chocolate per capita?  How much is it and how does it compare with the U.S.?

 2.  Why can’t you find a 10-K for Mars Inc. on the Web?

3.  Based on the article, what percentage of the total candy market is accounted for by M & M’s?

 

Source:

Deprez, E. (2009) What are the World’s Most Popular Candies? BusinessWeek, June 24 (Retrievable online at http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2009/gb20090624_590587.htm#readerComments)

Deprez, E. (2009). The World’s Best Selling Candies (slide show), BusinessWeek, June 24 (Retrievable online at http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/06/0624_worlds_best_selling_candy/1.htm)

Power to the Shareholders

According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, shareholders have won a victory in obtaining greater clout to place directors on corporate boards.  This is part of the the ”shareholder rights” movement that has been chipping away the power from top executives in U.S. run corporations. However, the Journal also predicts skirmishes ahead by public companies that hope to strike down the SEC rule, which they say will be used to distract management and advance special-interest agendas.

Questions:

1. What was the SEC vote in favor of the “proxy access” rule?

2. What does the “proxy access” rule require?

3. What are the costs and benefits of this new rule?

4.  How could this new rule impact you as an accountant?

Source:

Holzer, Jessica and D. Berman. (2010). Investors Gain New Clout, The Wall Street Journal, August 26. (Retrievable online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451572616571774.html?mod=ITP_pageone_0)

HP CEO Resigns

Hewlett-Packard Co.’s Mark Hurd resigned as chief executive officer after an investigation found he had a personal relationship with a contractor who received numerous inappropriate payments from the company. Hurd submitted receipts for expenses ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 over two years, including meals and travel, that should have been labeled as personal and not related to business, said a person familiar with the situation.

While an investigation didn’t find a violation of the company’s sexual-harassment policy, Hurd “demonstrated a profound lack of judgment that seriously undermined his credibility and damaged his effectiveness in leading HP,” General Counsel Michael Holston said. The shares plunged 9.3 percent in late trading after the announcement.

Hurd will get a severance payment of $12.2 million, plus other benefits that include a prorated vesting settlement of 330,177 restricted HP shares. He received $30.3 million in compensation in 2009 and $42.4 million the year before.

Questions:

1.  Who was the CEO of Hewlett Packard before Hurd?  Why did she leave the company and what is she doing now?

2. What has been one of HP’s recent acquisitions and who are their competitors?

3. The company’s stock-market value increased $44.6 billion, rising to $108.1 billion, since Hurd took the helm on April 1, 2005.  What percentage increase is this since April 1, 2005?

Source:

Guglielmo, Connie, Ian King and Aaron Ricadela. (2010). HP Chief Executive Hurd Resigns After Sexual-Harassment Probe, Bloomberg Business Week , August 7 (Retrievable online at http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-07/hp-chief-executive-hurd-resigns-after-sexual-harassment-probe.html)

Multi-Million Dollar Swindle of Four Universities

In one of the most recently uncovered Ponzi cases, a former hedge-fund manager has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in an investment scam in which he bilked as much as $900-million from investors, including four university endowments. According to investigators, the Paul R. Greenwood and his partner Stephen Walsh spent at least $160-million on mansions, horses, rare books, and an $80,000 collectible teddy bear. Mr. Walsh has pleaded not guilty, and Mr. Greenwood will testify against him at trial.

Questions:

1. What did the investors find out about their assets?  Explain why this was a bad sign.

2.  What do the articles say could have prevented the university investments in this scheme?

3.  What potential penalties does Mr. Greenwood face?

Sources:

Fain, Paul. (2010). Hedge-Fund Manager Pleads Guilty to Multimillion-Dollar Swindle of Four Universities. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 29 (Retrievable online at http://chronicle.com/article/Hedge-Fund-Manager-Pleads/123713/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en)

Fain, Paul. (2009). Two Universities Seek Answers After $114-Million Vanishes in an Alleged Swindle. The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 5 (Retrievable online at http://onnidan1.com/forum/index.php?topic=24965.0)

New Revenue Recognition Standards on the Way for Contractors

Contractors should be educating themselves on the impact of the new proposed revenue recognition standards and the recently published (June 24, 2010) exposure draft pertaining to revenue from contracts with customers. Public comments are due October 22, 2010, and it is expected the standards will be finalized in 2011.

Questions:

1. What are some of the significant changes in this standard that will affect contractors?

2. How will the proposed standard define the economic unit of measure?

3. Explain what the new cost of capitalization rules will mean for contractors.

 

Source:

Henderson, J. (2010). Proposed Revenue Recognition Rules Would Significantly Affect Contractors, BKD Alerts, June (Retrievable online at http://www.bkd.com/industry/Construction-RealEstate/Insights/2010/2010-06alertsCRE-1.htm)

Bank of America: It Depends On How You Define Materiality

Bank of America incorrectly classified as much as $10.7 billion in short-term lending and repurchase deals for mortgage securities as sales. This claim surfaced in a May 13 letter to the SEC where the banking corporation alleges that the transactions were immaterial and that it would be beefing up its internal accounting controls.  This letter was sent in response to an SEC request of finance chiefs at about two dozen firms in March, asking whether they employed accounting strategies like Repo 105 used at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Questions:

1. In the letter, the bank said its incorrect accounting for the six trades wasn’t intentional. “We do not deliberately structure transactions that are economically disadvantageous simply for the purpose of recording a sale or reducing recorded liabilities.” What must their incorrect journal entries have been?

2. Why did the bank include the phrase that “its incorrect accounting for the six trades wasn’t intentional?”

3. What does “end-of-quarter window dressing” mean in terms of this event? What is Repo 105?

4. Do you agree or disagree that this amount is not material enough to disclose? Explain your answer.

Source:

Rebel Traders (2010). Bank Of America (NYSE: BAC) Admits To Hiding Debt, iStock Analysts, July 12 (Retrievable online at http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle/articleid/4299094)

Video: Lehman Brothers ‘Accounting Gimmick’: Repo 105 Lehman Hid Assets (Retrievable online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb3DLWeHCks)

Staff reporter. (2010). Bank of America Wrongly Classified Transactions, China Daily, July 12 (Retrievable online at http://english.sina.com/business/2010/0711/328707.html)

Scrushy Back in the News

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a new review of the convictions in the government corruption case against former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and ex-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy.

Questions:

1. What is the “honest services” fraud law?

2. What is a “quid pro quo” agreement?

3. A judge issued a $2.9 billion civil judgment against Scrushy. According to the opinion, what did Mr. Scrushy do and why?

 

Sources:

Johnson, B. (2010). Court Orders New Review of Siegelman, Scrushy Case, Associated Press, June 29 (Retrievable online at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gEFj4h2WLTpKm2g7jltY0N0opHMgD9GL1FQO1

Memorandum Opinion in the 2002 Derivative Litigation for Jefferson County Alabama Circuit Court Case of Wade Tucker, et.al. versus Richard M. Scrushy, et. Al., June 18, 2009. (Retrievable online at http://www.hwnn.com/images/stories/files/Scrushy%20Memorandum%20Opinion.pdf)

Supreme Court Rules on Constitutionality of the PCAOB

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 28, 2010, that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) violates the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers principle because board members are not appointed by the president.  In a 5-4 decision, the Court stated that the president must have more power to remove PCAOB members. The five-member board is appointed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after consultation with the Federal Reserve System’s chairman of the board of governors and the Secretary of the Treasury.

Question:

1.  How was the PCAOB originally established and why?

2.  Look at the ruling.  Which justices joined to support the ruling and which justices dissented?

3.  According to the sources listed, how do you think the ruling will affect the Board’s operations and why does Barry Melancon, president and CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), see this as a victory for investors and for the accounting profession?

Source:
Supreme Court Opinion No. 08–861 (2010). Free Enterprise Fund et.al. versus Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, June 28 (Retrievable online at http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-861.pdf)
Accounting WEB staff. (2010). UPDATE: Supreme Court Rules PCAOB Violates Constitution’s Separation of Powers Principle, Accounting WEB, June 28  (Retrievable online at http://www.accountingweb.com/topic/accounting-auditing/supreme-court-rules-pcaob-unconstitutional)

Settlement for FCPA violation

The SEC announced that it had reached a settlement with Technip for multiple violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The SEC allegations focus on  Technip’s role as  a global engineering, construction and services company based in Paris, France in bribing Nigerian government officials over a 10-year period in order to win construction contracts in Nigeria worth more than $6 billion. The SEC also charged that Technip engaged in books and records and internal controls violations related to the bribery.

Questions:

1. Go to the U.S. Department of Justice website (www.justice.gov) and briefly summarize the the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act?

2. Why would the SEC have any jurisdiction over a French firm doing business in Nigeria? Who is one of Technip’s joint venture partners?

3. What did the company do in February 2010 to prepare its shareholders for this potential settlement?

Sources:

Worthington, C. (2010) Technip’s €245 Million FCPA Charge, The FCPA Blog, Feb. 12 (Retrievable online at http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2010/2/12/technips-245-million-fcpa-charge.html)

Black, B. (2010) Technip Settles FCPA Charges with SEC and DOJ, Securities Law Prof Blog, June 28 (Retrievable online at http://www.lawprofessors.typepad.com/securities/)

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