Are You Paying Hidden Covid Fees?

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

According to the Washington Post, businesses across the country may be charging you undisclosed COVID fees. Questions: Consumers in how many states have filed complaints with state attorneys general offices regarding undisclosed COVID-related surcharges? What are these surcharges typically for? What types of businesses are the worst offenders? What measures are health insurance providers taking… Read more »

Did you really get a good deal on Amazon Prime Day?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

Amazon’s extravaganza sale, Prime Day, is frequented by people who pay  annual or monthly fees to be specially treated with more ways to spend. But is this once a year event about really saving money or just being manipulated via behavioral finance? Questions: According to the article, what is behavioral finance? According to the article,… Read more »

Not all retirement plans are equal!

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

According to the New York Times, millions of Americans — public school teachers, clergy members, employees of religious institutions or nonprofits, and some charities — are not offered 401(k)’s; instead they typically must rely on what are known as 403(b) plans, many of which are more lightly regulated. Questions: 1. Briefly summarize why public school… Read more »

Security Chips and Bearing the Cost of Fraud

Posted by & filed under Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Principles, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Ethical Dilemma, Financial Accounting, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

New payment cards, issued over the last year, come with a small square security chip that can help make in-person transactions more secure. However, retailers complain that they have spent billions of dollars upgrading their payment terminals to accommodate a system that cuts down on the fraud shouldered by banks, but not merchants. Questions: 1…. Read more »

Beware of Convenience Checks!

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he price of tapping credit through a cash advance, which lets people borrow from their credit cards by writing a check or withdrawing money from an ATM, is much steeper than it would be for a traditional credit purchase. It’s also much harder to avoid fees when a cash advance is involved. Questions: 1. What… Read more »

The Dirty Little Secret of “Cramming!”

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On July 1, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused wireless carrier T-Mobile of adding bogus charges to customers’ accounts without their consent, in U.S. District Court. Questions: 1. How long did T-Mobile use the practice of “cramming” on customer mobile phone bills and what is the estimated amount of the total fraudulent charges? 2…. Read more »

Humans are Bad at Understanding Compound Interest

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.

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 »

Saving Money in the Court System Leads to Problems

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According to Lisa Borden, an attorney in Birmingham, Alabama, many towns are so economically strapped, that the pressure is growing on courts to bring in more money rather than mete out justice. In this article, examples highlight aggressive tactics used by for-profit probation companies that promise revenue to the towns, while failing to offer constitutional… Read more »

Wal-Mart Banking

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, Uncategorized.

As Americans become more fed up with banks, who are they turning to to protest against Wall Street and outsized fees? The answer surprisingly is Wal-Mart. Customers cash work and government checks, pay bills, wire money overseas or load money on to a prepaid debit card for generally a low fee like $3, as compared… Read more »

New Banking Fees

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, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

Customers are frustrated by new controversial fees from banks. However, they are finding out that it is not so easy to disentangle your life from your bank. Questions: 1. What does the article list as the main reason(s) that customers will stay with a bank, even though they are unhappy about new fees? 2. Which… Read more »