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 »

Outlasting Resources: Unchartered Medicaid Territory

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The presidential election may decide the fate of Medicaid’s future. Faced with rising Medicaid costs and budget deficits, many states are already trying to cut the cost of long-term care by significantly changing Medicaid coverage, through the use of federal waivers. To be eligible for Medicaid, a person must spend down so that they have… Read more »

The Business Model of Overstating Benefits: How Harmful or Ethical?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Video Updates.

It is estimated that between 50,000 to 100,000 patients died or had a heart attack as a result of taking the drug Advandia. For seven years, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) failed to report data that indicated Advandia increases the risk of heart attack by 40%. As we reported back in July, in the biggest health care fraud… Read more »

Are you Suspicious? Maybe you should be!

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A few years ago, Todd Rutherford was part of the marketing department at a company that provided services to self-published writers. These services included persuading traditional media and blogs to review the books. Then he realized that there were not enough reviewers to go around. So he started a website, GettingBookReviews.com, which eventually earned him… Read more »

Private Equity Firms and A Tax Strategy Investigation

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Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, is investigating abusive tax strategies at some of the nation’s largest private equity firms. As part of these efforts, last week, he subpoenaed documents from more than a dozen firms hoping to uncover conversion of certain management fees collected from their investors into fund investments, which are taxed… Read more »

Coming to a store near you: What are the cost and benefits of good health?

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

Hy-Vee is the only grocery chain in the country that posts a registered dietitian in almost every one of its 235 stores. In rural areas, some of its more than 190 dietitians serve a cluster of stores. By doing this it capitalizes on growing consumer awareness of the role food plays in health and wellness… Read more »

Interesting Educational Strategy

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At U.S. colleges, like NYU and Northeastern, some freshmen are beginning their studies abroad during their first and even second semesters. According to Bloomberg, the strategy is one used by universities to enroll larger classes and get more tuition dollars. How? The universities use the students and their tuitions to fill the beds of midyear… Read more »

Hard Rock Expansion Plans

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The franchise, Hard Rock Café, is known for its rock’n’roll memorabilia. Located around the globe, the franchise is expanding its reach into hotels and casinos. Questions: 1. When did the franchise begin? 2. Strategically, why is the move into casinos a good, but difficult one? 3. The franchise rotates more than 70,000 pieces of music… Read more »

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

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Procter and Gamble (P&G) has operations in 41 countries and 126,000 employees, with annual sales of $84 billion. While these revenues are double that of its closest competitors, analysts and shareholders are beginning to wonder if the company might see faster growth if it split up. Questions: 1. What is the current stock price? What… Read more »

A New Trend?

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According to the Associated Press (AP), Chinese companies are withdrawing from the US stock market amid accusations of improper accounting by some companies, as well as complaints that low share prices do not reflect the true value of Chinese companies. On top of this, the AP note that a state bank has provided $1 billion… Read more »