Bankruptcy for Bed Bath & Beyond

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According to the New York Times, Bed Bath & Beyond (BB&B) failed to fully reckon with the rise of online shopping, leading to its bankruptcy filing.

Questions

  1. If you have a Bed Bath & Beyond gift card, what is your deadline to use it?
  2. After this deadline, what is the journal entry that BB&B accountants should make for the unused card amounts?
  3. Explain what you think the term “the Darwinism of retail” means as mentioned by Michael Lasser.
  4. When did the company actually start?
  5. What was its first name?
  6. When did it go public?
  7. What happened to the company during the 2008 crisis?

Source:

Holman, J. and M. Hirsch (2023). Bed Bath & Beyond Files for Bankruptcy. The New York Times, April 23 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/23/business/bed-bath-beyond-bankruptcy.html)

All the Small Things Add Up!

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According to the New York Times, while government aid and organizations can ease the burden of major losses, disaster victims are burdened by small expenses to rebuild their lives.

Questions:

  1. What were the costs that surprised you most?
  2. Why didn’t homeowners mentioned in Kentucky have flood insurance? List multiple reasons.
  3. Why can’t flood victims depend totally on FEMA assistance?

Source:

Hagerty, C. (2023). When Floods Destroy Homes, Hidden Costs Can Devastate Survivors. The New York Times, April 22 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/22/business/flood-damage-home-costs.html)

A Housing Abundance or Dearth? Many available houses in Japan.

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According to the New York Times, as Japan’s population shrinks, more than 10 million abandoned properties are available for as little as $25,000.

Questions:

  1. What is the Japanese word for “empty house”?
  2. What is the quantitative forecast of “empty houses” in Japan by 2033?
  3. Explain why the empty housing situation has not impacted urban markets.
  4. What are the problems with renovating Japanese houses?
  5. What are the tax problems associated with the empty houses?

Source:

Hornyak, T. (2023). Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000? The New York Times, April 19 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/realestate/japan-empty-houses.html?)

JP Morgan Duped

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According to Compliance Week, JPMorgan Chase Bank was fooled into wildly overpaying for a student loan assistance company after the bank dropped its guard on how carefully to vet the startup’s customer database.

Questions:

  1. According to the Nicodemus article, what was the basic fraud of the case orchestrated by Ms. Javice?
  2. How much did JP Morgan pay to acquire Frank?
  3. What is the internal control procedure that the article is promoting to prevent this type of fraud?
  4. What was Ms. Javice’s cover in the dispute?

Source:

Nicodemus, A. (2023). Alleged fraudster cited privacy in duping JPMorgan into $175M merger. Compliance Week, April 5 (Retrievable online at https://www.complianceweek.com/opinion/alleged-fraudster-cited-privacy-in-duping-jpmorgan-into-175m-merger/32925.article)

Reuters Staff (2023). JPMorgan shuts down financial planning website Frank after suing founder. Reuters, Jan. 12 (Retrievable online at https://www.reuters.com/legal/jpmorgan-shuts-down-financial-planning-website-frank-after-suing-founder-2023-01-12/)

Bizarre Development Surfacing Related to Embezzlement and Wire Fraud

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.

After a 21-day manhunt, Roy C. McGrath, a fugitive who had been a top aide to Larry Hogan when he was Maryland’s governor, died Monday as the result of a confrontation with the FBI in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. 

Questions:

  1. What triggered the manhunt?
  2. What was the indictment related to?
  3. How long did McGrath serve as chief of staff?
  4. Why were a number of officials caught off guard by the charges?

Source:

Thompson, S., O. Wiggins, P. Stein, and M. Wells. (2023). Former Hogan chief of staff Roy McGrath dies after confrontation with FBI. April 3 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/04/03/roy-mcgrath-hogan-manhunt-fugitive-tennessee/)

Racist Treatment Costs Tesla $3.2 million

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According to the New York Times, a former Tesla factory worker, who is Black, challenged a judge’s earlier award of $15 million, but came away with less in a new trial.

Questions:

  1. Two years ago, a jury awarded Owen Diaz how much for the discrimination?
  2. What was Diaz’s role at the Fremont Tesla factory?
  3. What type of racial discrimination did Diaz experience?
  4. Did you agree or disagree with any views regarding the award in the article? Explain.

Source:

Chokshi, N. (2023) Jury Says Tesla Must Pay Worker $3.2 Million Over Racist Treatment. The New York Times, April 3 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/03/business/tesla-racist-treatment-jury-award.html)

Virgin Orbit Files for Bankruptcy

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, Income Taxes, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the New York Times, the satellite launch company, founded by Richard Branson, announced sweeping cuts last week as it struggled to recover from a high-profile rocket failure in January.

Questions:

  1. What was the unusual way that the company was going to get satellites into space?
  2. In the most recent attempt by the company to launch the satellites, how many were lost?
  3. When the company was “unable to secure meaningful funding,” how many employees were laid off and what percentage was that of the total number of employees employed?
  4. In U.S. Bankruptcy Court, what amount of assets did the company list and what amount of debt did the company list?
  5. How does this compare to the net worth of the company when it went public in 2021?

Source:

Granville, K. (2023) Virgin Orbit Files for Bankruptcy After Failed Launch and Lack of Funding. The New York Times, April 4 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/business/virgin-orbit-bankruptcy.html)

Who’s Fault Is It Anyway?

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According to multiple sources, the popularity of Ozempic, (also known as semaglutide) isn’t rising due to increased rates of diabetes, but instead is being used by individuals as the new “weight loss wonder drug”.

Questions:

  1. Why is this a problem?
  2. Besides Ozempic, what other brands are available for the same drug?
  3. What does the term “off-label” mean and how does it usually impact the price a patient pays under his/her insurance plan?
  4. Largent-Phillips of Florida puts the blame of this crisis on the manufacturer and the supply chain. Do you agree?
  5. What is the connection between WeightWatchers and Ozempic-like drugs?

Source:

Lovelace, B., L. Dunn, K. Dahlgren. (2023). People with diabetes struggle to find Ozempic as it soars in popularity as a weight loss aid. NBC News.com, Jan. 12 (Retrievable online at https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/people-diabetes-struggle-find-ozempic-soars-popularity-weight-loss-aid-rcna64916)

Meyersohn, N. (2023). WeightWatchers jumps into the prescription weight loss drug business. CNN.com, March 7 (Retrievable online at https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/07/business/weightwatchers-ozempic/index.html)

Smith, S. (2023). Ozempic’s weight loss side effect can make it harder to find for people with diabetes. NPR News, March 29 (Listen at https://www.wxxinews.org/npr-news).

Croc Addicts

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According to the New York Times, while other brands that thrived with customers in quarantine have dropped off, sales of the easily slipped-on clogs are up nearly 200 percent since 2019.

Questions:

  1. Why do you think that Crocs were a beneficiary of increased sales even after the pandemic?
  2. How much of its sales does Crocs invest in marketing?
  3. By how much has Croc’s stock price increased since January 2020?
  4. How many followers does Croc have on various popular social media platforms?

Source:

Holman, J. (2023). People Started Buying Crocs During the Pandemic. They Can’t Stop. The New York Times, March 27 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/27/business/crocs-sales.html)

Bank Vulnerability

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, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

According to the Washington Post, a new study shows that hundreds of banks in the United States would be in danger of failing if they were hit by runs similar to the one that recently brought down Silicon Valley Bank.

Questions:

  1. How many banks were examined in the study?
  2. How many banks were deemed vulnerable in the study?
  3. Overall, what are some of the important take-aways or issues highlighted by the study?

Source:

Werner, E. (2023). Hundreds of banks would be vulnerable in SVB-style runs, researchers say. Washington Post, March 24 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2023/03/24/svb-bank-study/)