The top 10 tax “crooks” for 2022

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, Income Taxes, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

According to Accounting Today, the Criminal Investigation (CI) division of the IRS has released its top 10 cases for 2022. Which of the agency’s most prominent and high-profile investigations have you heard about?

Questions:

  1. Who were the reality TV stars that were guilty of tax evasion through fraudulent bank loans?
  2. In which case did the underreporting of taxes result in the longest prison sentence?
  3. In which case was the greatest amount of restitution imposed?
  4. Of these cases, how many were committed by women?
  5. Which cases used the ill-gotten gains for Ponzi-like payments?
  6. Which case did you think was the most complex and why?

Source:

Stimpson, J. (2023) The top tax crooks of 2022. Accounting Today, January 16 (Retrievable online at https://www.accountingtoday.com/list/the-irs-names-the-top-tax-crooks-of-2022)

If you are part of “Generation Zalpha,” there might be an internship in your future!

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 New York Times, making TikTok content for brands is the hot new gig and job sites are peppering listings with ads for “TikTok content creator interns.”

Questions:

  1. The article talks about a University of Missouri intern. Where was she working when she produced her hit Tik Tok video?
  2. According to marketers, what is Generation Zalpha?
  3. What companies have recently posted jobs for interns that will help them build their presence on TikTok?
  4. Why does the article say that efforts to recruit young people for a TikTok presence is more unique than that for other social media apps?

Source:

Maheshwari, S. (2023). Wanted: Interns Who Can Make TikTok Hits. The New York Times, Feb. 12 (Retrievable at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/12/business/tiktok-interns.html).

Did you know that this was part of the process?

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, Video Updates.

Car companies have built life-size clay models for almost 100 years, for nearly every car you see on the road.

Questions:

  1. Are these models made of solid clay?
  2. Bentley sticks to what time frame for its model?
  3. Why are these clay models better than virtual models?
  4. How much do these clay models typically cost?

Source:

Insider Business Staff. (2023). Why Car Companies Still Use Clay Models That Cost Up To $650K. Insider Business, Feb. 9 (Retrievable online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYHBCZdMlqw)

News from the I.R.S.

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 the New York Times, the I.R.S. is saying to hold off on filing your federal income tax return if you are a person that received a one-time special payment from your state last year. Since there are a variety of state programs that distributed these payments in 2022 with complex rules, there is some confusion about whether the payments are taxable.

Questions:

  1. According to a list compiled by the Tax Foundation, taxpayers in how many states will probably be affected?
  2. If you use Turbo Tax, what is that company saying?
  3. Why is there so much frustration about the taxability of these special payments?
  4. Are disaster relief payments taxable? 

Source:

Bernard, T.S. (2023) I.R.S. Tells Millions Who Received State Rebates: Don’t File Just Yet. The New York Times, Feb. 9 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/09/your-money/irs-state-tax-rebates.html)

How Many All-Cash Buyers Are In Your Neighborhood?

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)

Look at Carvana Stock Surge!

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?)

Monopoly May End Soon!

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)

Gig Workers, Listen Up!

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?)

Reining in Crypto

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?)

How Common is Securities Fraud?

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?)