Posts Categorized: Student life

Job Cuts at Google

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Managerial Accounting, Student life.

Description: Google might be a cash generator, but that doesn’t stop the tech giant from cutting hundreds of staff loose in an effort to satisfy shareholders or some other objectives. Google framed the move as “responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead.” The employee union used different language, characterizing the… Read more »

“That should not be the consumer’s responsibility”

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Student life.

Description: “That should not be the consumer’s responsibility.” That’s how Keldon Bester, from Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project, responded to government advice for consumers to switch carriers for cheaper cellphone rates. The controversy comes in the face of rate hikes from Rogers Communications and word from some consumers that Bell is also raising rates. Bester had previously… Read more »

Books Bounce Back

Posted by & filed under eCommerce, Student life.

Description: A few years ago, the emergence of e-readers was seen as one more disruptive technology; one that seemed poised to kill the book. Well, take another look folks as the analog book is back. Sales of print books have risen somewhere between 10 % and 14 % in English speaking markets over the last… Read more »

A Pricey Dram!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Student life.

Description: A few years back, when Adrian Ma visited his uncle in Hong Kong, he was gifted with a bottle of Glenlivet, Special Jubilee Reserve, a 25 year old whisky bottled in 1977 to honour Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee. At the time of the gift, Adrian’s uncle told him “I don’t have a reason to… Read more »

Not Our Fault; Blame Maple Leaf

Posted by & filed under Ethics, Managerial Accounting, Student life.

Description: Canada Bread has responded to a class action lawsuit centred on alleged price-fixing in the bakery business by essentially saying, “blame it on our former parent company, Maple Leaf Foods.” Michael McCain, a former Maple Leaf CEO, was having no part of this in his statement, saying, “We continue to believe that the pricing… Read more »

The Lipstick Index

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Student life.

Description: The Lipstick Index is perhaps one of the most unusual measures of economic performance you may have encountered. Essentially, this measure says that when times are tough, consumers will still avail themselves of smaller luxuries like skin care and perfumes in the face of cut backs on larger purchases. Leonard Lauder, the former CEO… Read more »

Is Self-checkout in Trouble?

Posted by & filed under Fraud, Internal control, Student life.

Description: The self-checkout may be in a bit of trouble as some retailers are reconsidering the future of this mode. Increased losses due to shoplifting is certainly a factor for retailers to consider. Adrian Beck of the University of Leicester has studied self-checkouts for over ten years, and he notes they may account for one… Read more »

New Limits on RESPs

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Student life.

Description: If you are post-secondary education student benefiting from of a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), you may have some good news for your finances. The federal government has upped the amount full-time students can withdraw from the education assistance payments (EAP) portion for their first 13 weeks of study from $5,000 to $8,000. The… Read more »