Coinbase Reaches a Settlement with New York Regulators

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)

Giving It All Away?

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)

What Now for Meta?

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)

No More Free Online Returns?

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/)

A Bad Year for Bonds

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, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the New York Times, although it has been a bad year for bonds, the future appears to be brighter.

Questions:

  1. Should you buy bonds as a speculative bet for 2023?
  2. What did the period from January through October 2022 look like for bonds?
  3. What are the long-term prospects for bonds, according to the New York Times article?

Source:

Sommer, J. (2022). After a Terrible Year for Bonds, the Outlook Is Better. The New York Times, Dec. 9 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/09/business/bond-market-economy-investing.html)

More Than Three Years of Legal Battles End in Settlement

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, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the Washington Post, Juul Labs, an e-cigarette manufacturer, announced that it reached a settlement with almost 10,000 plaintiffs for 5,000 cases alleging nicotine addiction and other health problems.

Questions:

  1. Which company partially owns Juul?
  2. What long-term health consequences have e-cigarettes been linked to?
  3. In September, a lawsuit was brought by 33 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, alleging that Juul targeted youths and whitewashed the risks of using its products. How much did the company agree to settle this suit for?

Source:

Ables, K. (2022) E-cigarette firm Juul settles 5,000 lawsuits amid teen vaping concerns. The Washington Post, December 7 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/07/juul-settlement-vaping-lawsuit-ecig/)

Is the Bird Really Freed or Just Flying the Coop?

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.

When Elon Musk took over Twitter on Oct. 27, he declared the “bird” being freed. What a difference less than a month makes!

Questions:

  1. What are some of the important organizational changes that have happened within the Musk takeover of Twitter over the last three weeks?
  2. How much did the acquisition of Twitter cost?
  3. With all the turmoil at Twitter, what has happened to the decentralized, open source social network Mastodon?
  4. According to the article and research project detailed by Professor Fiesler, what are the challenges faced by those who decide to leave Twitter?
  5. What is your opinion right now? Will Twitter fail like some other social networks that have gone before it?

Source:

Fiesler, C. (2022). Mass migration from Twitter is likely to be an uphill battle – just ask ex-Tumblr users. Salon, Nov. 20 (Retrievable online at https://www.salon.com/2022/11/20/mass-migration-from-twitter-is-likely-to-be-an-uphill-battle–just-ask-ex-tumblr-users_partner/)

Interesting New Study on Drone Readiness

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, Video Updates.

According to the Mercatus Center, a nonprofit think tank at George Mason University, a new research study was released on how prepared each state is for commercial drone services. 

Questions

  1. Arkansas is tied for second with what state as the most drone-friendly state?
  2. What were the six drone readiness factors looked at by the study?
  3. Which of these did Arkansas receive top marks in?
  4. Zipline is a partnership commercial delivery systems. Where and when did the company open its first distribution center in Arkansas?

Source:

Talk Business & Politics staff. (2022). Study ranks Arkansas No. 2 for drone readiness. Talk Business & Politics (TB&P), Nov. 20 (Retrievable online at https://talkbusiness.net/2022/11/study-ranks-arkansas-no-2-for-drone-readiness/)

Where’s the World’s First Bikable Six-Story Building?

Posted by & filed under All Articles, Behavioral and Social Issues Related to Accounting, Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

Opening soon, is the world’s first bikable six-story building.

Questions:

  1. Where is it located?
  2. What’s the name of the building and what is its purpose?
  3. Who is the artist that created the mosaics in and around the bike ramps? What is he known for?
  4. What large corporation is housed in the same city?

Source:

Hall, K. (2022). WORLD’S FIRST BIKEABLE, 6-STORY BUILDING OPENING SOON IN BENTONVILLE. Arkansas Money and Politics (AMP), Nov. 18 (Retrievable online at https://www.armoneyandpolitics.com/first-bikeable-building-bentonville/)

401(k) Contribution Limits are Jumping

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 I.R.S. announced one of its largest increases in decades to caps on retirement contributions, allowing workers with access to the plans to save more.

Questions:

  1. How much will employees be able to contribute in 2023 to 401 (k) plans?
  2. How much are the catch-up contributions for 2023 and what are these types of contributions?
  3. Social Security announced the largest COLA adjustment since 1981. What was it?
  4. What is driving all these changes?

Source:

Kelley, L. (2022). 401(k) Contribution Limits Are Taking a Big Jump for 2023. The New York Times, Oct. 21 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/21/business/401k-contribution-limits-2023.html)