Wiley Accounting Updates

Posted January 23rd, 2023 by Brent White & filed under Canadian governments, Ethics, Taxation.

Description: Development organization Oxfam has reported that the “1%” – the richest people in the world – have acquired 2/3 of the new wealth created since the pandemic. While the upper echelon is adding $2.7 billion to its wealth total each day – yes that does say billion with a “b” – people in less elevated spheres must deal with the economic uncertainty of inflation. Oxfam timed what it calls “shocking” findings to be released on the same day that the World Economic Forum opens in Davos, Switzerland. Oxfam proposes a 5% tax on the wealthiest to generate $1.7 trillion a year, helping to lift many out of poverty through spending in education and health.

Date: January 16, 2023

Source: alzazeera.com

Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/1/16/richest-1-percent-bag-two-thirds-of-42-trillion-in-new-wealth-oxfam

Discussion points:

1) How do you and your classmates react to this story?

2) What do you think various government of Canada might do to address this issue?

3) Page 1-10 of Wiley’s Managerial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making discusses the concept of corporate social responsibility. How might this concept tie in with concerns over concentration of wealth?

Posted January 16th, 2023 by Brent White & filed under Accounting Careers, Student life.

Description: With a new year underway, here is an opportunity to take steps to improve your personal finances. Sandra Fry of the Credit Counseling Society offers six tips to help guide your financial behaviours, starting with the need to understand where you are spending your money right now. In other words, where does your money go? If implementing all six steps seems a bit overwhelming, Fry recommends starting with just one.

Date: January 13, 2023

Source: financialpost.com

Link: https://financialpost.com/personal-finance/debt/top-6-ways-improve-finances

Discussion points:

1) Do you have a good handle on where your money is going?

2) Of six steps mentioned in the article, which one do you feel would be the most difficult to implement? Why?

3) Pages 7-25 to 7-27 of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making lay out six principles businesses can use to manager their cash. How do these six match up with those offered by Sandra Fry for individuals?

Posted January 16th, 2023 by Brent White & filed under Accounting Careers, Advanced Accounting, Canadian governments.

Description: After over two years out of politics, former Finance Minister Bill Morneau has spoken out on a number of public-policy matters in his book Where To From Here. One of the big take-aways is that the health care crisis cannot be fixed simply by dumping in more cash. Mr. Morneau’s credibility is enhanced by noting his own part in past failures to fix the system, stating “We continued the pattern where the federal government gives the money while accepting a fiction: that the provinces will apply the funds to the system for which they are responsible, which is something that often fails to happen.”

Date: January 11, 2023

Source: theglobeandmail.com

Link: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-bill-morneau-health-care/

Discussion points:

1) Have you or your classmates had any difficult experiences with the health care system in the last year?

2) If you were a senior financial official in the government of Canada what type of measures could you recommend to enhance the results achieved by any additional funding?

3) Exercise E10.11 of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making deals with Government of Canada bonds. Do a bit of research to determine what amount of Government of Canada bonds are represented on the Government of Canada Public Accounts, as the government’s financial statements are called.

Posted January 16th, 2023 by Brent White & filed under Risk management, Student life.

Description: After all the horror stories about airline travel delays and cancellations over the holidays, maybe it’s a bit too much to stop and realize the trains had similar issues. Via Canada’s CEO, Martin R. Landry, released a statement of apology this week for leaving passengers in Quebec and Ontario in the lurch in the Christmas travel period, noting that VIa did not meet its own performance standards. The disappointed customers will be receiving full refunds and travel credits Via stated, and, as well, consultants will be examining the process to see what changes need to happen.

Date: January 10, 2023

Source: cbc.ca

Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/via-rail-holiday-travel-review-compensation-1.6709083

Discussion points:

1) Did you get caught in any of the crazy travel delays of this Christmas travel period? What about your friends and classmates?

2) If you were an executive at a travel carrier, how would you respond to these cases of delay and cancellations that airlines and railways faced recently?

3) Page 12-4 of Wiley’s Managerial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making has a business insight inset box discussing standardized performance measures. What might be some standardized performance measures for rail travel?

Posted January 9th, 2023 by Brent White & filed under Accounting Careers, Student life.

Description: Well, how are you doing with those New Year’s resolutions you made a few days ago at the start of 2023? In the featured New Yorker article, originally published in 2013, we read of the somewhat depressing work of John Norcross, a psychologist who found that within six months only 40% had stuck with their resolutions, with the number dropping to 19% after two years. Behavioral economist Katherine Milkman offers us some hope, however, with her notion of “nudges,” little signals that can prompt us toward change. One key factor seems to be setting realistic goals.

Date: January 1, 2023 (originally published December 20, 2013)

Source: newyorker.com

Link: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/why-we-make-resolutions-and-why-they-fail?utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Classics_Sunday_HEU_010123&bxid=5bd6743724c17c104800c5b3&cndid=33552549&hasha=760be779956395955cfbba5c497d22a3&hashb=af69b9c980e3f500b8bc4bf515a4150e6f9abf39&hashc=1c3c9c6937dd5b7cd72c3bdb6663aa0c6823d1897d0b506717f3610833325c8b&esrc=&mbid=mbid%3DCRMNYR012019

Discussion points:

1) How many of your classmates have set resolutions for 2023?

2) What do you think you could do to improve your academic results this term? Have you planned any study habit resolutions?

3) Page 10-1 of Wiley’s Managerial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making contains the chapter preview for this chapter. What type of business tool is budgeting?

Posted January 9th, 2023 by Brent White & filed under Accounting Careers, Canadian Government.

Description: McKinsey and Company, one of the world’s best known consulting firms, has been doing well in terms of its billings to the federal government in Ottawa. During Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s time as prime minister, McKinsey earned roughly $66 million in revenue from the Canadian taxpayer, with close to half of that amount in fiscal year 2021-22. Radio-Canada has reported that a number of the contracts with McKinsey are sole-sourced. Professor Isabelle Fortier, of the École nationale d’administration publique in Quebec, would like to see greater accountability for the use of consultants by the government, including a public inquiry of the issue.

Date: January 4, 2023

Source: cbc.ca

Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mckinsey-immigration-consulting-contracts-trudeau-1.6703626

Discussion points:

1) Have you considered a career in consulting after you conclude your university studies?

2) What do you think may have prompted the Trudeau administration to draw on Mckinsey for so much consulting advice?

3) Page 3-10 of Wiley’s Managerial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making mentions the concept of accountability. When you hear this term “Accountability” used, how do you define it?

Posted January 9th, 2023 by Brent White & filed under Accounting Principles.

Description: After a couple of “off years” during the pandemic, the giant Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was back in full force in Las Vegas during the first week of January. CES offered lots of previews of what’s coming in electronic gadgets, including an improved touchless kitchen faucet from Moen, a dual-screen laptop by Lenovo, and budget laptops with lots of promised performance. Those looking to improve their sleep hygiene may be impressed by the Hatch Restore 2, a system with simulated sunset and sunrise routines to wind you down at night and wake you up in the morning. For those of us looking for a bit of help with our cleaning, the Noesis Florio 2-in-1 Robotic Floor Cleaner holds promise.

Date: January 6, 2023

Source: nytimes.com

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/best-ces-2023-products/

Discussion points:

1) Do you typically consult product reviews (like Wirecutter or other similar services) prior to purchasing new electronics? If so, what has been your best experience so far?

2) If you could choose any one of these items Wirecutter reviewed at the CES, which would it be? Why?

3) Page 9-26 of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making discusses research and development costs. What criteria must a company meet before it can start recording development costs for a new product as an asset ?

Posted December 19th, 2022 by Brent White & filed under Personal Tax.

Description: Ten to twelve percent of Canadians are not filing their annual T-1 tax returns. And perhaps even more surprising comes the news that the government actually owes money to many of them. Prosper Canada is seeking to build financial literacy among lower-income Canadians, encouraging them to file their returns to claim cash for various programs administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Carleton University academics Jennifer Robson and Saul Schwartz estimate that Canadians left $1.7 billion “on the table” by failing to file in 2015.

Date: December 16, 2022

Source: cbc.ca

Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadians-taxes-filing-money-owed-1.6688986

Discussion points:

1) Do you know anyone who hasn’t filed a tax return? (Note the article says the many who fail to file are “male, young and single.”)

2) What do you think could be done to encourage these taxpayers to claim the benefits they deserve?

3) Page 9-15 of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making mentions the CRA in another context. What important point does this page tell us about the CRA?

Posted December 19th, 2022 by Brent White & filed under Financial Reporting and Analysis, Marketing & Strategy, Student life.

Description: Elon Musk unloaded another large chunk of his Tesla stock this past week, driving the share price down 16% in a week. Of course, this does not leave investors in a very good mood, and one major investor is calling for Musk to step down as CEO of Tesla. Musk has sold close to $40 billion in Tesla shares in little over a year, largely it would seem to fund his purchase of Twitter.

Date: December 16, 2022

Source: msn.com

Link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/savingandinvesting/tesla-stock-suffers-worst-week-since-2020-as-elon-musk-sells-large-shareholder-asks-for-new-ceo/ar-AA15nc1U

Discussion points:

1) Do you see any Tesla’s on your university campus? Are you interested in owning one?

2) What impact do you think that Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter has had on the Tesla brand?

3) The story tells us that “Tesla ended the week with a market capitalization of less than $500 billion for the first time since November 2020.” Consult Page 11-7 of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making to determine how market capitalization is calculated.

Posted December 19th, 2022 by Brent White & filed under Accounting Careers, Canadian Economy.

Description: According to a recent Leger survey, younger Canadians are more pessimistic about the Canadian economy than they were last year at this time. This seems to be reflected in a willingness to hang tight in their current employment versus pursuing a new job. In looking at their personal finances, 22 percent of the respondents felt they were in good shape financially, with another 47 per cent in the middle – or normal – category. Twenty-eight percent regarded their situation as poor.

Date: December 4, 2022

Source: ctv.ca

Link: https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/most-young-people-don-t-see-canada-s-economic-situation-improving-next-year-more-likely-to-stay-in-current-jobs-leger-1.6197243

Discussion points:

1) What do you you and your friends at university think about the next year, economically speaking?

2) How do you rate your personal financial situation: good, normal, or poor?

3) Page 1-2 of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making discusses a number of prominent Canadian accountants and their career directions. Do you think accountancy offers positive career choices in today’s economy?