Attention Zelle Users

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.

According to the New York Times, when customers say their money was stolen on Zelle, banks often refuse to pay.

Questions:

  1. What is Zelle?
  2. What Federal Rule protects consumers in fraudulent electronic transfers of money?
  3. How much money was sent through Zelle and Venmo last year?
  4. What is Sim Swapping?
  5. What progress has been made to ensure that banks reimburse customers for fraudulent transfers?

Source:

Cowley, S. and L. Nguyen. (2022). When Customers Say Their Money was Stolen on Zelle, Banks Often Refuse to Pay. June 20 (Retrievable at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/20/business/zelle-money-stolen-banks.html)

Two Sets of Books

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According to the New York Times, a congressional committee looking into wrongdoing within the Washington Commanders N.F.L. franchise referred the case to the Federal Trade Commission.

Questions:

  1. What did the 20-page letter to the FTC allege?
  2. What is the basis of the team’s categorical denial of financial impropriety?
  3. If true, what would the allegations mean regarding serious concerns inside the N.F.L.? 
  4. What does the term “juicing” mean, with respect to this story?

Source:

Belson, K. and J. Vrentas. (2022). Congress Refers Commanders’ Alleged Financial Malfeasance to F.T.C., April 12 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/12/sports/football/washington-commanders-dan-snyder-congress.html)

Fraud and Money Laundering at the Lourve

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, Fraud Accounting, International Accounting, Uncategorized.

Former president and director of the Lourve from 2013 to 2021, Jean Luc Martinez, has been charged with fraud and money laundering in connection with Egyptian artifacts that were trafficked over the past decade.

Questions:

  1. Under the French legal system, what is ahead for Mr. Martinez?
  2. What is Mr. Martinez’s current role?
  3. According to Le Monde, a colleague of two French Egyptologists became suspicious of the trafficking of the provenance of a Tutankhamen stele that ended up at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. What is a stele in art history?

Source:

Breeden, A. (2022). Former Head of Louvre Is Charged in Artifact Trafficking Case. The New York Times, May 26 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/26/arts/design/louvre-jean-luc-martinez-trafficking.html).

IRS destroys 30 M Paper returns due to Backlog

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

According to Accounting Today, the IRS destroyed about 30 M paper-filed information returns in March 2021 due to its inability to process them.

Questions:

  1. What does the IRS typically use the information returns for?
  2. Since 2014, what has been the overall percentage increase of business tax returns that are e-filed?
  3. In 2018, what was the difference in the amount reported by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) for processing spent for paper filings versus electronic filings?

Source:

Cohn, M. (2022). IRS destroyed 30M paper information returns due to backlog. Accounting Today, May 9 (Retrievable online at https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs-destroyed-30m-paper-information-returns-due-to-backlog)

Who’s on the FORBES AI 50 List this year?

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.

On Sunday, May 9, Forbes released its fourth annual artificial intelligence (AI) list of the top companies that will shape the future.

Questions:

  1. As you can see from the list, there is significant breadth and depth of artificial intelligence. Which area do you see as most promising and why?
  2. How was the list compiled?
  3. How much does PwC predict that AI firms will contribute to the global economy by 2030?

Source:

Popkin, H. (2022). AI 50 2022: North America’s Top AI Companies Shaping The Future. Forbes, May 9 (Retrievable online at https://www.forbes.com/sites/helenpopkin/2022/05/06/ai-50-2022-north-americas-top-ai-companies-shaping-the-future/?sh=2dc517d834b5)

Who Can You Trust in the World of Money Laundering?

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, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

Augustine Osemwegie, the owner of a used car dealership in Fall River, Massachusetts, has pleaded guilty to money laundering.

Questions:

  1. How was Osemwegie caught?
  2. What was the method he used to launder money?
  3. Was this his own money? Explain.

Source:

Media Team of RegXSA. (2022). US-based owner of used car dealership pleads guilty to international money laundering. RegXSA, April 26 (Retrievable at https://www.regxsa.com/ml-tf-updates/us-based-owner-of-used-car-dealership-pleads-guilty-to-international-money-laundering/)

Audacious 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.

Dermatologist, Farhaad Riyaz, peer-voted as one of the top doctors in the Washington DC area in 2019 committed one of the most bizarre frauds in recent times, according to The Washingtonian.  

Questions:

  1. How did Dr. Riyaz perpetrate the crime?
  2. What was the scheme?
  3. What is and/or was his potential punishment?
  4. Who did Dr. Riyaz defraud?

Source: Beaujon, A. (2022). Virginia Doctor Pleads Guilty to Audacious Amazon Return Fraud. The Washingtonian, Jan. 18 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonian.com/2022/01/18/virginia-doctor-pleads-guilty-to-audacious-amazon-return-fraud/)

The Future is EV Energy

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

According to The Verge, the Biden administration invoked the Defense Production Act for EV batteries and clean energy last week.

Questions:

  1. What does this mean in the near term for certain types of mines in the U.S.?
  2. Are lithium batteries sustainable in the long-term? Discuss.
  3. What is the Defense Production Act?
  4. How do you see the rise in EV energy affecting accounting?
  5. What was the most interesting thing you learned about the EV Energy Industry in the video?

Source

Calma, J. (2022). Joe Biden invokes Defense Production Act for EV batteries and clean energy. The Verge, March 31 (Retrievable online at https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/31/22996690/joe-biden-defense-production-act-ev-batteries)

The New World of Autonomous Trucking

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

According to Axios, autonomous trucks could one day replace more than 90% of all highway trucking, which could have a profound impact on as many as 500,000 long-haul truckers, a new study found.

Questions:

  1. According to the study by researchers at the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University, if automation is restricted to Sun Belt states due to rough weather, how will operator hours will be affected?
  2. If automated trucks were deployed across the U.S., in all types of weather, how will operator hours be affected?
  3. What are the logistics on how automated trucking will work?

Source:

Muller, J. (2022). Automation could send long-haul truckers driving into the sunset. Axios, April 3 (Retrievable online at https://www.axios.com/automation-long-haul-truckers-jobs-c7a390ef-dd4c-4ad8-93d0-64272833a6f9.html)

Smart Thinking about Cryptocurrency

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

According to Axios, cryto is no fad and it will change how, where and what people buy and sell. 

Questions:

  1. According to the article, what is the unique investing relationship between millenials and cryptocurrency?
  2. According to the article, what is the relationship between crypto and blockchain?
  3. How is the value of crypto determined?
  4. If you invest in crypto, why should you pay close attention?

Source:

Pandey, E. (2022) How to Think Smartly about Crypto. Axios.com, April 3 (Retrievable online at https://www.axios.com/how-to-think-smartly-about-crypto-37fa16ac-047c-44a6-9f06-2e94a20d9e13.html)