Posts Tagged: business strategies

When will paper records be a thing of the past at Iron Mountain?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, All Articles, Cost Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

There are 600 employees of the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management processing retirement papers of the government’s own workers deep down in a limestone mine in Boyer, PA. No, this is not a joke or prank. The operative word here is “paper.” The old mine’s tunnels have room for more than 28,000 file cabinets… Read more »

Oh, to get a hole-in-one!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

Matt Ramsey’s joy of winning the $10,000 prize for sinking a hole in one was not dashed by his own skills, but the scamming of Kevin Kolenda. Like other hole-in-one winners around the country, Matt learned that he was the victim of a scam whereby Kolenda sold insurance without a license in several states to… Read more »

Can you beat Nate Silver?

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ESPN’s Nate Silver went on Sportscenter this morning and revealed his favorites for the Final Four. The prediction: • Louisville (#4 seed, Midwest region) • Florida (#1 seed, South region) • Arizona (#1 seed, West region) • Michigan State (#4 seed, East region) These are the favorites in each region according to Silver’s statistical model…. Read more »

Chiquita’s Big Deal

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Video Updates.

Chiquita Brands International that it had agreed to acquire Fyffes, an Irish fruit and produce distributor, in an all-stock deal that valued Fyffes at about $526 million. The new firm will be called ChiquitaFyffes and will be the world’s largest producer and distributor of bananas. It is expected that the firm will have about $4.6… Read more »

Warning about Emails

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Four former leaders of the law firm, Dewey & LeBoeuf, were charged by New York prosecutors with orchestrating a nearly four-year scheme to manipulate the firm’s books during the financial crisis. In emails they talked openly about “fake income,” “accounting tricks” and their ability to fool the firm’s “clueless auditor.” Questions: 1. Explain the role… Read more »

Humans are Bad at Understanding Compound Interest

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Maybe you haven’t even thought about your retirement, but according to Matthew O’Brien, you should. This is particularly true if you are contributing to a 401 (k). Questions: 1. What should you look at rather than the returns when picking your 401(k) funds? 2. According to O’Brien, what do 1.25 % annual fees for retirement… Read more »

Chapter 11 for Quiznos

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting, Video Updates.

Quiznos, the Denver-based sandwich chain, is preparing to file for bankruptcy in the next few weeks, due to debt and declining sales. Questions: 1. This is not the first time that Quiznos has negotiated with creditors. Explain its out-of-court restructuring deal that occurred two years ago. 2. Assuming that the past debt load was similar… Read more »

Easy Come, Easy Go… It’s only Money (and Stock)

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Facebook’s largest acquisition ever was announced this week. The company said it would pay at least $16 billion for WhatsApp, a text messaging application with 450 million users around the world who pay little or no money for it. The purchase price dwarfs the $1 billion Facebook paid for Instagram, the photo-sharing service. Questions: 1…. Read more »

Federal Financial Aid Fraud

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A federal lawsuit was filed by seven former employees against Harris School of Business and its for-profit parent education company, Premier Education Group, which owns more than two dozen trade schools and community colleges operating under several names in 10 states. The suit alleges that school officials routinely misled students about their career prospects and… Read more »

Think before you Speak

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

AOL recently altered its 401(k) program, by switching matching payments to one lump sum at year-end instead of throughout the year. The change was implemented, according to CEO, Tim Armstrong, because of soaring medical costs that arose in part from two families with “distressed babies.” Questions: 1. What is a 401(k)? 2. What was Armstrong’s… Read more »