Rise to Fame

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

According to MarketWatch, Wordle, the viral word-game sensation is going corporate after it was scooped up by New York Times Co., for an amount “in the low seven figures.”

Questions:

  1. Who developed Wordle?
  2. What is the basic idea or rule behind Wordle?
  3. How fast has the popularity of Wordle grown over the last few months?
  4. What will the developer’s role be with the New York Times?

Source:

Bary, E. (2022). Wordle is being scooped up by the New York Times. MarketWatch.com, Jan. 31 (Retrievable online at https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wordle-is-getting-scooped-up-by-the-new-york-times-11643667354?)

Walmart’s new venture into financial technology

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, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

Walmart Inc.’s financial-technology venture agreed to buy two small companies and rebrand itself in a step toward providing an app that enables customers to save, borrow and receive money.

Questions:

  1. What are the two small companies the Fin-Tech venture agreed to buy?
  2. What is Walmart’s venture called?
  3. Why is this move going to shake up the banking world?

Source:

Case, B. (2022). Walmart-backed Hazel to acquire fintechs Even and ONE. Benefits Pro.com, Jan. 26 (Retrievable online at https://www.benefitspro.com/2022/01/26/walmart-backed-hazel-to-acquire-fintechs-even-and-one/)

ID.me

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Fraud Accounting, Income Taxes, Uncategorized.

The IRS has implemented a new verification process for taxpayers who want to access their online tax accounts and self-help tools that includes taking a selfie and submitting a photo of their driver’s license or passport to the third-party service, ID.me.

Questions:

  1. Why are they requiring this new authentication procedure?
  2. True or False: Selfies from the IRS will be merged with cold case files in every state.  (Obviously, this statement is not true, but what is the significance of asking this type of question in relationship to the new verification process?)
  3. What happened in 2015 with respect to IRS tax returns?     

Source:

Cohn, M. (2022). IRS begins requiring new ID system for accessing online accounts. Accounting Today, Jan. 21 (Retrievable online at https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs-begins-requiring-new-id-system-for-accessing-online-accounts?)

Just Like The Wild West: Massive Supply Chain Thefts

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.

Waiting for your order in the mail? Your goods may be stolen from rail cargo thefts; in other words, goods at rest are goods at risk.

Questions:

  1. Why is theft so rampant in Los Angeles for rail cargo like that of Union Pacific?
  2. According to the Guardian, what percentage increase in crimial rail theft has Union Pacific experienced in Los Angeles county since December 2020?
  3. On average, how many containers are compromised each day in Los Angeles county?
  4. What types of internal controls has Union Pacific been implementing and what additional internal controls do you recommend? 

Source:

Guardian staff. (2022). Discarded packages, shredded boxes: Photos renew attention on Los Angeles cargo theft. The Guardian, Jan. 15 (Retrievable online at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/14/los-angeles-cargo-theft-union-pacific)

Location-based Salaries and Pay Equity

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.

According to Babak Varjavandi, companies embracing location-based compensation send an unspoken message that people who live in more affluent areas are worth more to the company.

Questions:

  1. What are the positive effects of avoiding location-based pay cuts?
  2. How does Babak recommend that companies set up fair compensation plans in a remote work environments?
  3. What is the role that trust plays in the workplace?
  4. What was your impression of the program that the fintech company Stripe was implementing?

Source:

Varjavandi, B. (2021). Don’t let location-based salaries stall pay equity and diversity goals. BenefitsPro.com, Dec. 1 (Retrievable online at https://www.benefitspro.com/2021/12/01/dont-let-location-based-salaries-stall-pay-equity-and-diversity-goals/?)  

Diversity Disclosures

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.

On this MLK day, we take a look at diversity disclosures and the S&P as detailed by Richard Binder at BenefitsPro.com.

Questions:

  1. According to McKinsey & Company, how long will it take for Black workers to reach talent parity across all levels in the private sector?
  2. However, if promotion, attrition, and external hiring rates were best-in-class at each level across the participating companies, how long will it take for Black workers to reach talent parity accross all levels of the companies participating?
  3. Where did the S&P 500 scorecards assessing companies on racial justice and workplace equity disclosures used in this article originate?
  4. Which company scored highest in detailing diversity disclosures?

Source:

Binder, R. (2022) Diversity disclosure and the S&P: Which companies are doing the best? BenefitsPro.com (Retrievable online at https://www.benefitspro.com/2021/03/10/diversity-disclosure-and-the-sp-which-companies-are-doing-the-best/?)

So Can You Tell Me What The Tax Reg. Is For Deductible Tatoos?

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

According to Accounting Today, the year 2021 saw some pretty outrageous business deductions.

Questions:

  1. Which deduction were you the most surprised about?
  2. Pick one of the deductions mentioned and write a paragraph to justify its legitimacy.
  3. What is the problem with a long-distance call to a client for $0.14?

Source:

Cohn, M. (2021) The craziest expenses of 2021. Accounting Today, Dec. 28 (Retrievable online at https://www.accountingtoday.com/list/craziest-expenses-of-2021?)

Emburse. (2021). For Full Report (See https://www.emburse.com/learn/).

Is your state one of them?

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, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

In a recent article in Accounting Today, Michael Cohn presents the standout states for the highest rate of business fraud.

Questions:

  1. Which state is the highest?
  2. Which state is the lowest?
  3. Which state were you most surprised about and why?
  4. Which state had the highest single amount per fraud?
  5. What was the difference in how SEON calculated business fraud hotspot rate with most fraud per person in the state?
  6. Which of the 3 measures used by SEON do you think makes the most sense and why?

Source:

Cohn, M. (2021). Which states are the worst for fraud? Accounting Today, Dec. 28 (Retrievable online at https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/some-states-found-to-have-highest-fraud-rates?

Varga, G. (2021). UK and US Business Fraud Hotspots in 2021. SEON, Dec. 13 (Retrievable online at https://seon.io/resources/business-fraud-hotspots/)

Jury Still Deliberating

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, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

According to the New York Times, a federal jury in California is struggling to reach a unanimous verdict on three of 11 charges against Elizabeth Holmes, former CEO of Theranos.

Questions:

  1. What is the maximum sentence for each federal fraud count? How many counts of fraud is Ms. Holmes facing?
  2. What is the makeup of the jury?
  3. What could happen if the jury is unable to reach a verdict on all of the counts?

Source:

Woo, E. and E. Griffith (2022). Jurors in the Elizabeth Holmes trial are deadlocked on some charges. The New York Times, Jan. 3 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/business/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-trial.html)

 

CEO with the “Crass”mas Spirit

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.

Last Wednesday, the CEO of Better.com, Vishal Garg, fired 900 employees during a 3-minute holiday Zoom presentation.

Questions:

  1. Where did CEO Garg “bad-mouth” the laid off employees, accusing them of stealing time from the company?
  2. What percent of Better.com’s workforce is this?
  3. What industry is Better.com in?
  4. Explain all the factors that are wrong with the CEO’s delivery of the news.

Sources:

Matthews, J. (2021) Better.com CEO blasts laid off employees, accusing them of ‘stealing’ by working only two hours daily. Fortune, Dec. 3 (Retrievable online at https://fortune.com/2021/12/03/better-com-ceo-attacks-laid-off-employees-blind-message-board/ )

Maruf, R. (2021). Better.com CEO fires 900 employees over Zoom. CNN.com, Dec. 6 (Retrievable online at https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/05/business/better-ceo-fires-employees/index.html