Ergonomic Nightmares and Its Not Even Halloween!

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According to the Washington Post, state labor regulators in Washington state allege that working at Amazon exposes staff to increased risk of ergonomic injury and musculoskeletal disorders as they awkwardly bend and twist to move goods through the warehouse. 

Questions:

  1. How many times has the state charged the company with willfully violating safety standards, with no operational changes occurring?
  2. How many citations did OSHA issue with respect to a national investigation into ergonomic injuries last year?
  3. When did workplace safety issues first come to light at Amazon?
  4. How much has Amazon been fined for violations as compared to its second quarter profits?

Source:

O’Donovan, C. (2023). Regulators struggle to rein in Amazon on safety for warehouse workers. The Washington Post, Sep. 18 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/09/18/amazon-working-conditions-safety-osha-doj)

Forced Labor for the Sake of EV?

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According to the Washington Post, Tesla has been conspicuously silent when it comes to China, despite evidence that materials that go into its vehicles come from the Xinjiang region, where forced labor has been rampant.

Questions:

  1. Is Tesla the only EV car maker using parts from that area of China?
  2. Why aren’t companies doing more to combat the use of forced labor?
  3. Automakers say they take pains to ensure that their suppliers are not sourcing from Xinjiang. So how is this happening?

Source:

Halper, E. (2023). EV makers’ Use of Chinese Suppliers Raises Concerns About Forced Labor. The Washington Post, Sep. 18 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2023/electric-vehicles-forced-labor-china)

Beware Evil-Doers!

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IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel said Monday in a letter to leaders of the Senate Finance Committee that the agency would renew its effort to crack down on predatory (or bad) preparers.

Questions:

  1. Who does the IRS plan to focus its fire power on?
  2. The Washington Post, last month, reported that although more than 112,000 people have reported fraud or misconduct by their tax preparers over the past decade, how many have the IRS disbarred?
  3. How many preparers have faced criminal charges?

Source:

Weil, J. (2023). IRS vows to crack down on predatory preparers, change audit strategy. The Washington Post, Sep. 18 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/18/irs-earned-income-audits-predatory-tax-preparers)

Crackdown on COVID frauds

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In the last week, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has cracked down on 3,195 individuals that have fraudulently obtained pandemic relief funds.

Questions:

  1. How much money are the arrests and pending investigations associated with?
  2. How many defendants are in organized crime?
  3. What was the most porous source of funds that were put into the economy?
  4. Why wasn’t there more accountability?

Source:

Fowle, D. (2023). Justice Department arrests nearly 3,200 for COVID relief-related fraud. Fox News, August 30 (Retrievable online at https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/justice-dept-arrests-nearly-3200-people-for-covid-related-fraud-murder-for-hire-plot-interrupted)

Would you Take a Chance on Fyre Festival 2?

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According to the New York Times, Billy McFarland is out of jail and selling tickets to Fyre Festival 2.

Questions:

  1. How long did McFarland serve for his role in organizing the Fyre Festival?
  2. Why was organizing a crime?
  3. What company did McFarland found and what did the company do?

Bernstein, J. (2022). Billy McFarland Is Out of Jail and Ready for His Next Move. The New York Times, September 14 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/10/fashion/billy-mcfarland-release.html)

Zahn, M. and L. Barr. (2023). Fyre Festival 2 tickets on sale and customers are buying, disgraced founder says. ABC News, August 23 (Retrievable online at https://abcnews.go.com/Business/fyre-festival-2-tickets-sale-customers-buying-disgraced/story)

Judge Vacates Conviction for Bribery Fraud Regarding Lucrative Rights To View Soccer Tournaments

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According to the New York Times, Hernán López, a former Fox employee, and an Argentine sports marketing company had been convicted of participating in a bribery scheme to secure rights to widely viewed soccer tournaments. Now an acquittal.

Questions:

  1. Why were López and the Argentine sports marketing company acquitted?
  2. How many years was López facing?
  3. How many counts of money laundering was the marketing firm Full Play Group facing?
  4. Are others in related cases seeking acquittal?

Meko, H. and K. Bensinger. (2023). Judge Vacates Convictions in Bribery Case Over Soccer Broadcast Deals. The New York Times, Sep. 2 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/02/nyregion/fox-employee-soccer-deal-bribes.html)

Rite Aid – A Rocky Road Ahead

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According to CNN, Rite Aid shares slid lower as the pharmacy chain prepared bankruptcy filings this week while dealing with lawsuits over the sale of opioids.

Questions:

  1. What was the new all-time low stock price?
  2. How many stores does Rite Aid have?
  3. Under what Act is the Department of Justice going after the chain?
  4. What is the chain’s current debt due to these legal issues?

Source:

Goodkind, R. (2023) Rite Aid stock is experiencing extreme turbulence: Here’s why. CNN, August 28 (Retrievable online at https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/28/investing/rite-aid-stock-bankruptcy/index.html)

The Highest Paid Medical Doctors are in the Dakotas. Why?

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According to the Washington Post, there is an interesting phenomenon about the location of the highest paid medical doctors.

Questions:

  1. What is the average income of medical doctors in their prime earning years?
  2. In comparison, what is the average income of attorneys in their prime earning years?
  3. What is the one word that helps explain the unusual geographic trend explained in this article?
  4. What do Medicaid and Medicare have to do with this trend?
  5. What do the distribution of residencies have to do with this trend?
  6. What did you find to be the most interesting about this article and the trends explained?

Source:

Van Dam, A. (2023). The real reason the highest-paid doctors are in the Dakotas. The Washington Post, Aug. 11 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/11/doctor-pay-geography/)

It’s Called the “Urban Doom-Loop”

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With more people working remotely, companies are rethinking their plans to sign leases on business buildings in downtown areas all over the U.S.

Questions:

  1. What does this void of businesses cause?
  2. What cities are behind schedule on the highest percentage of loan payments on office buildings?
  3. What large cities depend on property tax revenue and what large cities depend on commuter wage taxes?
  4. Is the doom loop inevitable? Discuss.

Source:

Siegel, R. (2023). How the ‘urban doom loop’ could pose the next economic threat. The Washington Post, Aug. 28 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/28/commercial-real-estate-economy-urban-doom-loop/)

Great News for Accounting Students and Graduates!

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According to Accounting Today, less than one percent of firms can find enough accounting staff.

Questions:

  1. What are the kinds of changes they are making to find staff?
  2. According to the survey, what changes are happening with CPA firm leaders?
  3. What are the trends with starting salaries at CPA firms?

Source:

Cohn, M. (2023) Less than 1% of firms can find enough staff. Accounting Today, Aug. 2 (Retrievable online at https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/less-than-1-of-accounting-firms-can-find-enough-staff?)