Low Pay in the News

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

Thousands of fast-food workers in the went on strike in cities across the U.S. this summer. Why? They were demanding a living wage of $15 per hour and the right to unionize, but their efforts failed. Several industry groups purport that low- and minimum-wage workers are now growing faster than any other group of earners… Read more »

Abusing the System or a Genuine Life Line?

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The classification of animals as emotional support has been permitted by antidiscrimination laws for some time, allowing owners to take their pets to shops, restaurants, or residential buildings that have no-pet policies. However, a recently increasing trend in uncaged animals on airplanes has become a source of complaints by flight attendants, passengers with allergies, and… Read more »

What Do Rodney Dangerfield and Some U.S. Companies Have in Common?

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CoreBrand, a consultancy firm investigating brand reputation, recently released a report on 1,000 U.S. Companies. The results are presented in this article. Interestingly the most respected brands are in the same industry and they are Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, Inc. While Coke has enjoyed this status for six years straight, Pepsi moved up from being the… Read more »

Conflict of Interest?

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The commercials may sound wonderful, but unfortunately, patients are being victimized by medical credit cards. The cards, issued by specialty finance companies and commercial banks, carry huge interest rates after an initial zero interest period expires. There are also heavy penalties for late payments. Questions: 1. What types of services can be paid for with… Read more »

Limiting Public Exposés: China’s Crackdown on Information about Officials and Social Elite

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There is a chilling crackdown on due diligence companies in China. In an effort to tighten access to company records at local industry and commerce bureaus, the Chinese government arrested Peter Humphreys and his wife, who run a due diligence company that works for many multinational companies in China. Access to these bureau records is… Read more »

Amazon’s profit strategy?

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Almost daily, Amazon announces that it is entering another new venture. How do they do it, since they have yet to show profit that supports their share price? Questions: 1. After reading the article, do you think that Amazon with stay with a discounter form of commerce? 2. How do you think Amazon accounts for… Read more »

Numbers tell the story

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Unless you have been vacationing on another planet, you have probably heard about the government shutdown this week. This video by the New York Times provides some quantification of the situation. Questions: 1. Which number in the video surprised you the most? 2. Explain why not reaching an agreement by Oct 17 on the debt… Read more »

Do you have to be Good at Accounting to Embezzle $16.6 M from a Small Business?

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A fruitcake company, the Collin Street Bakery, in Texas just found out the answer to this question! The company’s controller, Sandy Jenkins, 64, of Corsicana, Texas, was arrested by special agents of the FBI on a federal criminal complaint charging 10 counts mail fraud and allegations that he wrote 888 checks totaling $16.65 million to… Read more »

A Dragnet for Astroturfing

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As a result of a year-long investigation, New York regulators will announced on September 23, 2013 that they would crackdown on deceptive and fake Internet reviews on products and services. Agreements have been reached with 19 companies to cease their misleading practices and pay a total of $350,000 in penalties. Questions: 1. Where were some… Read more »

Biotechnology Firm, Amgen, Acquires Anti-cancer Drugs

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Although Amgen is the world’s largest biotechnology company, they have not been in the anti-cancer drug market until now. Amgen, like other drug makers, is trying to refresh aging product lines through the acquisition. Questions: 1. What is the ranking of this takeover of biotechnology firms, in terms of historic purchases? What are examples of… Read more »