College a Commodity?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Unfortunately, most everyone now evaluates college in purely economic terms, thus reducing it to a commodity like a car or a house. There is now a cottage industry built around such data. Questions: 1. According to the author, what does the value of a degree depend upon and why should it be set apart from… Read more »

Good News for the Class of 2015!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

According to the Washington Post, the New York Federal Reserve found that the demand for college-educated workers has picked up over the past year after flatlining in 2013. Additionally, it has risen more than 10 percent in the first few months of this year. Questions: 1. How many people were unemployed at the peak of… Read more »

How would you like a Big Raise?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Dan Price, the founder of Gravity Systems—a credit card processing company based in Washington—shocked his employees by raising the minimum wage to $70,000 over the next three years. Questions: 1. What percentage raise will that be based on the average wage now? 2. Where did Dan get the idea? 3. Do you think that his… Read more »

The World of Drones

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

At a farm in Dublin, Ireland, Paul Brennan took a video that has gone viral for its creativity in using drones – rounding up sheep. Questions: 1. Put on your thinking cap. Is there any task that a drone could do in the future to assist the accountant or auditor? 2. Besides Amazon, what other… Read more »

No longer Big Brother watching – Now its Big Teacher!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

At Rutgers University, online student must download Proctortrack, a new anti-cheating technology, prior to taking exams. Questions: 1. Did you agree or disagree that the software was intrusive? Discuss the pros and cons of it. 2. Do you agree or disagree that human behavior in test taking can be reduced to an algorithm? Discuss. 3…. Read more »

A First!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting.

Cathy Engelbert has been named CEO of Deloitte, becoming the first woman CEO of a major U.S. accounting and consulting firm. Questions: 1. What are the names of the Big 4 accounting firms? 2. How long has Ms. Engelbert been with Deloitte? 3. What distinctions does Deloitte hold with respect to hiring? Source: Frizell, S…. Read more »

Attack of the SuperCookies!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

What is your privacy worth? Most people would say A LOT! According to Craig Timberg, Verizon and AT&T have been quietly tracking the Internet activity of more than 100 million cellular customers with what critics have dubbed “supercookies.” These supercookies cannot be erased and can even get around the “private” or “incognito” settings on your… Read more »

The new trend in non-compete clauses

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

If you are a chief executive of a large company, you very likely have a non-compete clause in your contract and also understand the importance of this clause in preventing you from jumping ship to a competitor until some period has elapsed. However, according to the New York Times, non-compete clauses are popping up in… Read more »

How much do you have to make to get a checking account?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Zikomo Fields makes more than $100,000 a year in his job as a software engineer in Kansas City. However, he cannot get a bank account because of a little-known database that tracks financial transgressions, known as ChexSystems. Financial institutions who subscribe to this service view it as fraud prevention. However, New York Attorney General Eric… Read more »

To compete or not compete – Upside or Downside?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized.

Noncompete clauses are now appearing in far-ranging fields beyond the worlds of technology, sales and corporations with tightly held secrets, where the curbs have traditionally been used. Questions: 1. What industries have recently seen more noncompete clauses? 2. What clause were you most surprised at? 3. What are the costs and benefits of noncompete clauses?… Read more »