Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the Washington Post and realty company, Redfin, nearly one-third of homes purchased in 2022 were all-cash deals!

Questions:

  1. How much did all-cash deals increase since 2021?
  2. What has happened to the proportion of first-time buyers?
  3. Briefly describe what the article calls the “suburban renaissance.”

Source:

Martinez, E., K. Schaul, and H. Shaban. (2023). See how many all-cash buyers snagged houses in your neighborhood. The Washington Post, Feb. 9 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2023/all-cash-buyers-housing-market/?itid=hp-top-table-main_p001_f004)

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to theStreet.com, Carvana stock surged as much as 33% today! But why?

Questions:

1. What do some traders speculate that the change is due to? Explain.

2. What happened to Carvana stock in 2022 and why?

3. During the COVID pandemic, how many times did Carvana go into debt?

Source:

Chang, E. (2023). Carvana Stock Soars. TheStreet.com, Jan. 30 (Retrievable online at https://www.thestreet.com/automotive/carvana-stock-ramps-up?)

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, Income Taxes, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the New York Times, the curtain is expected to come down next week on a monopoly for the anti-inflammatory medication, Humira, that has generated $114 billion in revenue for AbbVie just since the end of 2016.

Questions:

  1. Briefly explain AbbVie’s  legal exploitation of the U.S. patent system.
  2. How much more did patients spend from 2016 to 2019 on Humira than they would have if competitors had been allowed to start selling their drugs over this period?
  3. What other companies have deployed tactics similar to AbbVie to maximize profits on drugs for the treatment of cancer, anxiety and heartburn?
  4. Humira is referred to as a biosimilar. What does that classification mean?

Source:

Robbins, R. (2023). How a Drug Company Made $114 Billion by Gaming the U.S. Patent System. The New York Times, Jan. 28 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/28/business/humira-abbvie-monopoly.html)

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Income Taxes, Intermediate Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

According to the New York Times, most gig economy workers lag behind those with traditional jobs in saving for retirement. However, parts of a new federal law can help them catch up.

Questions:

  1. What is the Act called?
  2. When will the direct government contributions to retirement accounts for low- and moderate-income workers start?
  3. How much will the Federal government deposit?
  4. What are the limits required for eligibility?

Sources:

Carnes, A. (2023). For Freelancers, New Federal Help in Saving for Retirement. The New York Times, Jan. 6 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/06/your-money/secure-act-retirement-freelancers-gig-workers.html?)

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the New York Times, the SEC fined cryptocurrency lending firm Nexo for violating federal securities law.

Questions:

  1. What misconduct was committed by Nexo?
  2. How much was the fine?
  3. Where was Nexo formed?

Source:

Yaffe-Bellany, D. (2023) Crypto Lender Nexo Is Fined $45 Million as Crackdown Widens. The New York Times, Jan. 19 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/business/nexo-sec-crypto-fined.html?)

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to a new study, ten percent of public companies commit securities fraud each year.

Questions:

  1. According to the study, what percentage of companies are committing accounting violations?
  2. Why are some reviewers of the study critical of the new study’s definition of fraud?
  3. According to the report, how many of the frauds in public companies actually come to light?

Source:

Livni, E. (2023) Just How Common Is Corporate Fraud? The New York Times, Jan. 14 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/14/business/dealbook/how-common-is-corporate-fraud.html?)

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Income Taxes, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the New York Times, Coinbase, a publicly traded cryptocurrency trading exchange based in the United States, has reached a settlement with financial regulators in New York.

Questions:

  1. What is Coinbase accused of?
  2. When were the problems first detected with Coinbase?
  3. New York was one of the first states to require crypto firms to obtain licenses before seeking business from state customers. How many has the state issued?
  4. What are these licenses called?
  5. How has Coinbase recently sought to distinguish itself from FTX?

Source:

Goldstein, M. and E. Flitter. (2023). Coinbase Reaches $100 Million Settlement With New York Regulators. The New York Times, Jan. 4 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/business/coinbase-settlement-anti-money-laundering.html)

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the New York Times, profitable business owners in Japan cannot find successors. As a result, one model is to give the business away.

Questions:

  1. In a few words explain the underlying problem that business owners are facing.
  2. According to Japan’s trade ministry, how many profitable companies will close by 2025?
  3. How much could the closing companies cost the economy?
  4. How many jobs could be lost if these profitable companies close?
  5. Why don’t the children of the business owners want to take over the businesses?
  6. What is the company Relay’s role in this dilemma?

Source:

Dooley, B. and H. Ueno. (2023). Japan’s Business Owners Can’t Find Successors. This Man Is Giving His Away. The New York Times, Jan. 3 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/business/japan-businesses-succession.html)

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, IFRS, Income Taxes, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

According to the New York Times, Meta’s ad practices have been ruled illegal under E.U. law.

Questions:

  1. In a few words, describe the main problem with E.U. law.
  2. Besides a fine of 390 million euros ( or $414 million), what are the other costs to Meta?
  3. When did this E.U. law take effect?
  4. Why does the Ireland data privacy board serve as the main regulator in this situation?
  5. How long does Meta have to comply with the ruling?

Source:

Satariano, A. (2023). Meta’s Ad Practices Ruled Illegal Under E.U. Law. The New York Times, Jan. 4 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/technology/meta-facebook-eu-gdpr.html)

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Cost Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

According to the Washington Post, the age of free online returns is ending.

Questions:

  1. What is ” bracketing”?
  2. Explain why returns are wasteful from a company’s standpoint.
  3. What are the benefits of adding restocking fees?
  4. What are the costs of adding restocking fees?
  5. Who are companies that help with reverse logistics?
  6. Give an example of a company that uses free returns versus one that does not (in the same industry).

Source:

Peiser, J. (2022) The age of free online returns is ending. The Washington Post, Dec. 9 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/09/free-returns-holiday-shopping/)