Is it fair that some hospitals are charging 400% above their costs to deliver services?

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

According to government data, hospitals charge Medicare wildly differing amounts — sometimes 10 to 20 times what Medicare typically reimburses — for the same procedure. This raises questions about how hospitals determine prices and why they differ so widely. Questions: 1. Discuss the data set and what was included. 2. According to the article, who… Read more »

Martha Stewart- Wildcard, Visionary, but Not a CEO

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

There are very few corporate leaders whose interests are more closely aligned with their shareholders’ than the homemaking icon, Martha Stewart. She owns 26 million shares and controls nearly 90 percent of the voting rights of her company Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. While the company lost $50.7 million dollars in the most recent quarter, this… Read more »

It Beats Earning $20 an Hour?

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.

Flipping houses earned a bad reputation during the housing bubble, when speculators bought and sold millions of homes in search of easy profits. But as the real estate market is showing signs of life, the practice is gaining popularity again. Questions: 1. Which areas of the country have seen the most flipping action and why?… Read more »

Spreading money on your skin

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

What are the most often prescribed drugs written for by dermatologists? They include generic creams and ointments that are used to treat skin rashes, scabies, and athlete’s foot. So aren’t generics suppose to be inexpensive. Unfortunately, not any more’; significant price increases in these generics are stumping doctors and patients. In a world of prescription… Read more »

The Weather Channel Buys Weather Underground

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

This week, Weather Underground, a unique website with a cult following was acquired by The Weather Channel for an undisclosed sum of money. As a strong competitor to The Weather Channel, the website has a devoted readership, with approximately 10 million unique visitors per month. Fans of Weather Underground have expressed outrage and disappointment in… Read more »

Helium Crisis

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

There’s a severe helium shortage brewing in the U.S., thanks to a 1996 law set by Congress to force the government to sell off its helium reserves at bargain-bin prices. As this video explains, the nonrenewable gas is much more important for products other than balloons! 1. What products use helium? 2. What are the… Read more »

Patagonia: A Vision for Sustainability

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

Patagonia started out as a small company that made tools for climbers. The company’s worldwide business still embraces Alpinism remains at its heart, making clothes for climbing – as well as for skiing, snowboarding, surfing, fly fishing, paddling and trail running. True to its love for nature, the company’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, launched the company… Read more »

Tickets, Anyone?

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.

Ticketmaster’s various fees and surcharges, which sometimes add 40 percent or more to the cost of a ticket, have long infuriated its customers. But next year, thanks to a recent class-action settlement, many of those fans will be able to get some money back. Questions: 1. According to the article, what are the two types… Read more »

Rhode Island Nearly Broke?

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

The current general treasurer of Rhode Island, Gina Raimondo, warns that the state will soon be broke due to its debt problems. After decades of drift, denial and inaction, Rhode Island’s $14.8 billion pension system is in crisis. Ten cents of every state tax dollar now goes to retired public workers and that figure will… Read more »

The Cost of Financial Ignorance

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.

In Hernando de Soto’s very interesting commentary, he expands Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s thoughts that the U.S. needed to “re-learn some of the lessons” that have led to success among emerging market economies. The bulk of his commentary focuses on the reliability of accounting records that guarantee or make credit trustworthy, including the deeds,… Read more »