Posts Categorized: Financial Accounting

No More SkyMall?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

The parent company for SkyMall filed for bankruptcy protection on January 23, 2015. SkyMall was the entertaining catalogue of everything you never thought about buying, but was in the seat pockets of every plane. As Farhi said, “the value added to this grotesque shlock was SkyMall’s enthusiastic descriptive copy. SkyMall’s writers never let on that… Read more »

Military Contracting Failures: A $1.5 Trillion Mistake

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

The F-35 is being produced by 1,200 suppliers. Seen as the fighter jet of the future, it has trouble flying at night, its engines have exploded during takeoff, and early models suffered structural cracks. Questions: 1. Why is the military still pursuing the production of this pink elephant? Why doesn’t technology become less costly for… Read more »

Marriott to pay $600,000 to Resolve WI-FI-Blocking Investigation

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

In March 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received a complaint that the Marriott convention center at the Gaylord Opryland location in Nashville, Tennessee was in violation of Section 333 of the Communications Act. After an FCC investigation substantiated unlawful use of containment features, Marriott agreed to pay $600,000. Questions: 1. What did the FCC’s… Read more »

Financial Worries Spark Divorce Settlement Appeals

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

In late 2014, oil tycoon Harold Hamm called a divorce settlement with his ex-wife, Sue Ann Arnall, equitable and fair, awarding her about $1 billion. Since then his holdings in oil have decreased dramatically and he argues that her award is a substantially larger proportion than he first agreed to. Questions: 1. Who is Harold… Read more »

Don’t Pay that Medical Bill: The Truth about Balance Billing

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

As health-care costs continue to soar, millions of confused consumers are paying medical bills they don’t actually owe. Typically this occurs when an insurance plan covers less than what a doctor, hospital, or lab service wants to be paid. The health-care provider demands the balance from the patient. Questions: 1. Explain why balance billing is… Read more »

Capitalism is Broken?

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Camp Bow Wow, a dog-sitting chain, makes its workers sign non-compete agreements that bar them from plying any of the “trade secrets” they learn walking dogs at any other animal day care centers for up to two years. Questions: 1. Do you think that these quasi-feudal non-compete contracts should be illegal for everyone other than… Read more »

Let’s Have Pizza!

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According to the New York Times, the uptick in pizza sales in Brooklyn at Domino’s Pizza is due to stolen credit card numbers being used to order to see which cards were still active and could be used for bigger purchases. Questions: 1. Explain why the article called this a blend of high-tech fraud and… Read more »

That’s the Walmart Way!

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

An Oklahoma City Walmart is asking employees to donate food to help their coworkers make ends meet during the holiday season. The company drew criticism for similar employee food drives a year ago. Besides incurring a total public assistance cost of $6.2 billion per year, Walmart has been criticized for running a corporate charity called… Read more »

Investment Bankers: Less trustworthy than prison inmates?

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According to The Atlantic, a new paper in Nature takes a scientific approach to the accusations of dishonesty in the banking industry. Participants in the study indicated that they thought bankers would be more dishonest than prison inmates in over-reporting successful coin flips. Questions: 1. According to economist Marie Claire Villeval, what are the implications… Read more »

New Class Action Lawsuit

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Zillow, the number one online real estate website, is facing a $5 million class action lawsuit for intimidating employees to skip meals and work long hours without pay. Questions: 1. Who was Zillow’s top competition and how much did Zillow pay to buy the company? 2. Would this acquisition be reported on the Statement of… Read more »