Posts Tagged: qualitative issues in cost decision making

Here we go again!

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.

In a release on July 30, 2013, JP Morgan has agreed to pay a $410 penalty over allegations it manipulated U.S. electricity markets. According to the official release, JP Morgan Ventures Energy Corporation is alleged to have manipulated the electricity market through the company’s bidding activities in California and the Midwest during the period from… Read more »

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall – Who is the Most Expensive of Them All?

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It is hard to fathom but the newest British royal boy who was born in fanciest hospital ward in Britain cost $15,000. However, that is nothing compared to the average U.S. birth, where new parents are billed $30,000 and eventually pay $18,000. Questions: 1. What drives the high pregnancy health costs in the U.S. as… Read more »

The Goldilocks Number

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.

Why does Wall Street like a “Goldilocks number” when it comes to job growth? Job growth in May kept up with the year’s monthly average, with 175,000 new jobs added. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increased slightly to 7.6 percent. Questions: 1. What is the role of the Federal Reserve regarding the risk Wall Street sees?… Read more »

Welcome to the GMO free zone of the future

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As we head into the hot summer, what sounds great? Well, ice cream, of course! And who is in the news? Ben and Jerry’s. According to the Huffington Post, Ben and Jerry’s is removing a controversial ingredient from its ice cream: Genetically-modified organisms (or GMOs). The back story is that only 80% of Ben &… Read more »

The Value of Newsjacking

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

Newsjacking refers to the practice of capitalizing on the popularity of a news story to amplify your sales and marketing success. The term was popularized in David Meerman Scott’s book Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage. In this video, Christine Romans and PR expert… Read more »

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

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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 »

The Tragedy of “Fast Fashion”

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A garment factory, manufacturing products for international clothing companies, collapsed outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, last month. The collapse killed more than 400 workers and injured many others. This tragedy came on the heels of a factory fire in November 2012, which killed 112 workers. Questions: 1. Who are some of the chains that supply “cheap… Read more »

Money Melting a Hole in Your Pocket?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Financial Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Video Updates.

Canada started rolling out new, polymer-based $100 bills two years ago, followed by 50s and then, last November, 20s. The money, which isslick like a sheet of plastic, hard to fold and partly transparent, is more difficult to counterfeit than Canada’s old paper-and-cotton bills. Australia and New Zealand have used similar, plasticized notes for years…. Read more »

Survey Shows that Out-of-Network Providers Are Billing Consumers up to Several Thousand Percent more than the Government would pay for similar Medicare Services

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According to a new study from the Center for Policy and Research, the nation must address the soaring cost of medical care that continues to rise at an unsustainable rate. For consumers who choose to seek care out-of-network, their survey shows that the charges billed by some out-of-network providers can exceed several hundred or several… Read more »

Read this if you are thinking about Law School

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

According to Ethan Bronner at the New York Times, law school applications are headed for a 30-year low, reflecting increased concern over soaring tuition, crushing student debt and diminishing prospects of lucrative employment upon graduation. Questions: 1. Summarize the recent trend in the number of applications to law schools. 2. What are your views on… Read more »