Personal assistants are the cash handlers for many celebrities, a job that rarely comes with any sort of Hollywood glamour. Questions: 1. According to the article: “…the longer someone has been famous, the less ________________________. Complete the sentence and discuss the implications. 2. What was the most interesting thing you learned from this article? 3…. Read more »
Posts Categorized: Fraud Accounting
Program at a Standstill!
According to Mother Jones, in 10 months, the Trump administration has yet to approve a single claim to help defrauded students of such for-profit colleges as Corinthian or ITT. Questions: 1. Who is now calling on the Department of Education to resume helping students who borrowed loans from the fraudulent for-profit colleges? 2. Approximately how… Read more »
Avoiding the Taxman in Paradise!
If you have not had a chance to read about the Paradise Papers, you owe it to yourself to read this article about Nike. Nike is avoiding taxes by charging themselves for intellectual property. This is a story involving grey areas and loopholes, tax havens and zero tax rates, and the movement of money and… Read more »
Will Virtual Wally World Rise Above its Current Fashion Stigma?
To make deeper inroads into online fashion, Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it will soon offer Hudson’s Bay Co. owned department store chain Lord & Taylor dedicated space on its website. Questions: 1. When will the new fashions be offered? 2. What are the financial terms of the deal? 3. Despite its large presence, who is… Read more »
A New Service from Amazon
According to Reuters, Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, announced the premier of Amazon Key – a lock and camera system that users control remotely to let delivery associates slip goods into their houses. Questions: 1. What will be the cost? 2. How do you maintain privacy? 3. What is Wal-Mart testing that is a… Read more »
Email Attack!
According to the Guardian, one of the Big Four accounting firms, Deloitte, has been targeted by a sophisticated hack that compromised the confidential emails and plans of some of its blue-chip clients. Questions: 1. What sectors did the hackers attack? 2. How many clients have currently told Deloitte that they have been impacted by the… Read more »
Has your credit information been stolen?
As you probably already have heard, Equifax, one of three major credit reporting agencies, revealed that highly sensitive personal and financial information for around 143 million U.S. consumers was compromised in a cybersecurity breach that began in late spring. Later we learned of a second breach, that included about 100,000 Canadians and up to half… Read more »
Hurricane Harvey cruises
As Hurricane Harvey begans to bear down on Texas, thousands of vacationers aboard cruise ships were left stuck at sea until the storm passed. Questions: 1. Approximately how many vacationers were stuck at sea near Galveston, Texas? 2. If guests wished to terminate their cruise, where were they taken to dock? 3. If you were… Read more »
Is this fraud?
According to Bloomberg, “CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. were sued by California customers who accused the drugstore operators of charging co-payments for certain prescription drugs that exceed the cost of medicines.” Questions: 1. What do Schultz’s and Grabstulz’s lawsuits claim in specific terms? 2. Cases have also been filed against which health… Read more »
How Low Can You Go?
Barbara Barkley lost her house and her savings to a group of California scam artists who stole $11 million from thousands of struggling homeowners looking for help with their mortgages. Questions: 1. Who was the ringleader of the scam and what sentence does he face? 2. How did the scam work? 3. Why wasn’t there… Read more »