When Will Apple Hit the Trillion Dollar Mark?

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

When will Apple become the first company ever to be valued at $1 trillion? This new guessing game is the focus of the article by Nick Bilton. Questions: 1. Explain the $1 trillion in accounting terms (or the accounting equation). What is/are the product(s) that got the company to this point? Research these products and… Read more »

Aporkalypse? Not So.

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

A bacon shortage was part of the headlines this week as a result of a September 20 press release from Britain’s National Pig Association, a trade group that describes itself as “Fighting for the growth and prosperity of the British pig industry.” While the pork industry is currently under serious stress, the reality is that… Read more »

Feds Catch Bid-Rigging Bankers

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Federal authorities are pursuing legal action against bankers accused of systematically defrauding states, local governments and non-profits. The ongoing probe is focusing on bankers who have colluded about the offers they’ve made as they bid on contracts to invest municipal bond proceeds. Questions: 1. What is bid-rigging? Summarize the way in which the suspect bankers… Read more »

The End to Red Ink?

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The struggling online company, Groupon, has just announced promotion that will allow them to stay afloat. It is a combination of hardware and software that will allow businesses to accept credit cards at rate far lower than what most merchants are currently paying. Instead of the usual credit card processing fee of between 2% and… Read more »

How to Earn $46,000 for Each Day Spent in Prison

Posted by & filed under 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, Video Updates.

Bradley Birkenfeld, the whistleblower in a tax fraud case against Swiss bank UBS AG, was awarded a record-setting $104 million reward from the IRS. Birkenfeld learned about the inner workings of UBS as an employee of the company and supplied many secrets about his former employer’s dealings with U.S. clients. Despite this, he was jailed… Read more »

Movie with a Happy Ending?

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When the Treasury Department bailed out AIG and said two years ago that it was likely to lose only about $5 billion on the bailout, Neil Barofsky, a former official of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) declared that the number was “manipulated” as part of a “publicity campaign” to boost the positive aspects ahead… Read more »

The Unbanked

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According to a new Federal report, more Americans are limiting or have no interaction with banks. Instead they rely on check cashers and payday lenders to manage their finances. Questions: 1. What are the costs and benefit of avoiding banks? 2. What percentage of U.S. households are “unbanked”? What are the demographics of this group?… Read more »

Do I have to take the course? Will I go to jail?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Financial Accounting, Fraud Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

More than 300 district attorneys’ offices allow debt collectors to use their letterhead to send letters to people across the country who have written bad checks. These letters threaten them with jail if they do not pay up. In return, the companies try to collect not only the unpaid check, but also high fees from… Read more »

Debt for Life?

Posted by & filed under 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.

Here are the facts. Four-year college graduates’ pay advantage over high school grads has doubled over the past 30 years. However, in 2010, student debt exceeded credit-card debt for the first time and in 2011, it surpassed auto loans. In March 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that student debt had passed $1 trillion… Read more »

Money Market Funds: A Safe Bet?

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

Should we risk another 2008 financial meltdown? The answer is no. However, late last month the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) abandoned efforts to impose new regulations on money market funds intended to prevent another panic like the one that occurred then. Because money market funds are typically invested in short-term, low-risk assets (like United… Read more »