Madoff: Freedom in Prison?

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

In an extended expose, the New York Magazine reported that Bernard Madoff described his scheme as a real nightmare to him, as if he were the real victim, and complained about little old ladies bugging him for money. The article goes on to describe his celebrity in prison among the other inmates and his “freedom”… Read more »

Research and Development (R & D): Does This Indicate a Crack in the Foundation of IFRS Convergence?

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

When the IASB and FASB began the convergence process in 2002, they considered R & D as a high-priority project, where differences between US GAAP and IFRS were seen as particularly straightforward. However, as this article notes, still no consensus has been reached because IASB’s R&D treatment  appears to defeat comparability in the eyes of… Read more »

Donated Inventory

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

Over the next five years, Wal-Mart plans to donate about 1.1 billion pounds of food to food banks and provide $250 million to help them buy refrigerated trucks, improve storage and develop better logistics. The plan to contribute $2 billion in cash and food to the nation’s food banks is considered to be one of… Read more »

Financial Instrument Accounting

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

On Wednesday, May 26, 2010, the FASB released an exposure draft for the purposes of improving accounting for financial instruments. The new rules, projected to take effect in 2013, incorporate both amortized cost and fair value information about financial instruments held for collection or payment of cash flows. Questions: 1. According to the article, how… Read more »

The Costs and Benefits of Simultaneous Audits for Multinational Companies

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

Simultaneous audits mean two separate exams, conducted by different governments, in which those governments share with each other some of the taxpayer’s information.  Even though you may not have heard of them, they have existed since the 1970s, but are becoming more common today as government tax agencies race to match the level of global… Read more »

Accounting for Security Deposits

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

A security deposit is money paid by the tenant to the landlord. This deposit protects the landlord if the tenant vacates without making required payments or damages the rental property. If the tenant gives proper notice and vacates without owing any rent or damages, the landlord must return the security deposit to the tenant in… Read more »

Recessionary Cost-Cutting Revisited

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

In an effort to keep their heads above water in recessionary times, many companies ignored their traditional strategic plans. They grabbed at any transactions that were above variable costs in efforts to cover fixed costs. Moving away from value-based pricing, they relied on cost-plus pricing. Unfortunately, as this article mentions, cost-cutting can only go so… Read more »

Raising funds with Stock Warrants

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

The biotechnology firm, Dendreon Corporation, is a company which is developing the prostate cancer drug Provenge. On Friday, November 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted its application to market the vaccine to treat men with advanced prostrate cancer. If the FDA approves it, the drug would be the first in a new… Read more »