Trademarks Gone Wild

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

A bitter legal battle is raging between a best-selling author and a management guru against America’s largest Greek yogurt manufacturer. For Chobani, it is a fight about an ambitious brand campaign and its straining process that is built around the phrase “How Matters.” For Dov Seidman, “How Matters” revolves around his business of helping companies… Read more »

Why Won’t My Car Start?

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

Before many subprime borrowers drive their car off the lot, their car is equipped with a starter interrupt device, which allows lenders to remotely disable the ignition. This article and video highlight the problematic issues related to “electronic repossession.” Questions: 1. What percentage of car loans are estimated to be lending for subprime borrowers? 2…. Read more »

Ouch! Sometimes Consent Forms Hurt!

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

According to the New York Times, an increasingly common practice used by hospitals is that some medical experts call drive-by doctoring assistants, consultants, and other hospital employees into cases and these incidents are charging patients or their insurers hefty fees. Most times patients do not realize these individuals have been involved or are charging until… Read more »

Alienating Customers?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

Microsoft confirmed it will acquire the studio that created the hit “sandbox” game Minecraft for $2.5 billion, a move that could help bolster the company’s Xbox and mobile ambitions. Questions: 1. According to the article, how does this acquisition strengthen Microsoft’s battle with other technology driven companies? 2. Why does the video hypothesize that Microsoft… Read more »

Payroll Accounting Fraud

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

A former accountant for the University of Sioux Falls has been indicted for wire fraud for reportedly collecting more than $25,200 in unearned paychecks. Brent Alan Fowler, 52, faces 20 counts of wire fraud for individual payroll deposits. Questions: 1. What is the potential jail time for Mr. Fowler, if he receives the maximum punishment?… Read more »

Watch Out! They Know Where You Live!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Statement Analysis, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

Eric Merklein, 67, didn’t know he had outstanding student debt until he received his first Social Security check. He thought that his grandmother had paid it off. Unfortunately, Merklein is among the more than 2 million Americans age 60 and older carrying student debt, which is up from about 700,000 in 2005. Questions: 1. What… Read more »

The Justice System and The Costs of Being Poor

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

According to Mr. Edsall, the new growth industry, on the backs of the poor, seems to be private probation, correctional, and detention companies. In fact, Corrections Corporation of America, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and reported revenues of $1.69 billion in 2013. Questions: 1. This collection of private probation companies and the… Read more »

Rip Off: We Work Hard for the Money!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Although Guadalupe Rangel worked nearly 70 hours per week, he never saw any overtime pay at the Schneider warehouse in Mira Loma, California. As a result he joined a lawsuit involving hundreds of warehouse workers where he will likely receive more than $20,000 in back pay as part of the recent $21 million legal settlement… Read more »

An expensive proposition

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Currently, it is estimated that an average middle-income family in the United States can expect to spend about $245,000 over 18 years to raise a child. This is from the Department of Agriculture’s annual “Cost of Raising a Child” report. Questions: 1. If you adjust for inflation, how much more will an average middle-income family… Read more »

Scamming scammers: The underbelly of debt collection

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

From 2006 to 2009, the nation’s top nine debt buyers purchased almost 90 million consumer accounts with more than $140 billion in “face value.” This article details the saga of debt accounts that continue to be stolen, double-sold or otherwise exchanged without accurate supporting information by “debt collectors, including statements or copies of original signed… Read more »