A New Trend?

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

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 »

How much do you think the largest U.S. Corporations pay in taxes?

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

In a year of presidential politics, many of America’s biggest corporations complain that they pay too much in taxes. But, how much is that? A recent analysis shows that many are actually getting off pretty easy. It turns out that the 10 most profitable U.S. companies only paid an average federal tax rate of 9… Read more »

Whistleblower Identifies Unnecessary Heart Procedures

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In the summer of 2010, a troubling letter reached the chief ethics officer of the hospital giant HCA, written by a former nurse at one of the company’s hospitals in Florida. In less than two months, an internal investigation by HCA concluded the nurse was right. Unnecessary cardiac procedures were being performed to boost HCA’s… Read more »

LIBOR Scandal Widens

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Bank of America, the second largest U.S. bank, has received subpoenas from the U.S.Justice Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and U.K. Financial Services Authority requesting information about the company’s possible role in the rigging of a key international lending benchmark, LIBOR. Regulators have queried at least a dozen banks worldwide about their roles in… Read more »

Reported to be the largest antitrust settlement in history

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Visa, MasterCard and major banks agreed Friday, July 13, to pay at least $6 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by retailers. A banking industry trade group said the settlement would allow stores to charge customers more to pay with a credit card. Questions: 1. According to the article, what is the average credit card… Read more »

The Weather Channel Buys Weather Underground

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This week, Weather Underground, a unique website with a cult following was acquired by The Weather Channel for an undisclosed sum of money. As a strong competitor to The Weather Channel, the website has a devoted readership, with approximately 10 million unique visitors per month. Fans of Weather Underground have expressed outrage and disappointment in… Read more »

Jail is not for Big Pharma

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In the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history, A federal judge on approved an agreement to fine British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline for criminal and civil violations involving 10 drugs. Questions: 1. Do you think fines can deter unlawful behavior at Big Pharma? In your opinion, why didn’t anyone go to jail for these violations?… Read more »

The Barclays Scandal (AKA LIBOR LIAR)

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Questions about the close links between banking regulators and the financial institutions they oversee will come into focus on Monday, when a top official at Britain’s central bank appears before a parliamentary committee here looking into the manipulation of global interest rates. Questions: 1. Explain the Libor rate. 2. As a result of this scandal,… Read more »

Medical Tourism

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Tourism is sometimes more than just for pleasure. In fact, thousands of U.S. citizens are crossing the border to Mexico or as the video shows, they are going to even more exotic places in search of more affordable medical care. Questions: 1. What types of procedures are people going to Mexicali to receive? 2. According… Read more »

Japanese Whistleblower Wins in the End

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

Masaharu Hamada, a good salesman with experience in the U.S., was demoted by Olympus Corp. as reprisal for relaying supplier complaints to management regarding corrupt business practices. But he fought back and Japan’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of the whistleblower for the first time. This case highlights the harsh treatment that outspoken employees have… Read more »