Wiley Accounting Updates

Posted January 30th, 2023 by Brent White & filed under Advanced Accounting, Student life.

Description: Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador (MUN), is drawing some heat for spending close to $60,000 of its funds on a conference at the luxury hotel on Fogo Island. MUN defends the move, noting that it booked the rooms at $350 a night, versus the $2,875 cheapest listed rate the hotel normally offers. MUN’s faculty association, currently in negotiations for a new collective agreement with the university administration, did not appreciate the optics. And a PC Member of the House of Assembly, Barry Petten, stated the university adminstration was “out of touch.”

Date: January 29, 2023

Source: cbc.ca

Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/arctic-forum-mun-costs-1.6730039

Discussion points:

1) Are you a Memorial student or do you know any students at MUN? What is the reaction to this type of spending by the administration?

2) In addition to the negotiations at MUN, a number of other Canadian universities are facing labour issues, including strikes, at Cape Breton University for example. How does a strike impact student life?

3) Chapter 4 of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making opens with a vignette about accounting at Western University in London Ontario. Do the financial statements for your university contain any disclosures around unusual or controversial expenditures like the one at MUN?

Posted January 23rd, 2023 by Brent White & filed under Financial Reporting and Analysis, Student life.

Description: We’ve heard some good news and some bad news on inflation in Canada in recent days. While the Bank of Canada’s strategy of raising interest rates to help check inflation appears to be working overall, food inflation continues to soar with an annual increase measured at 11 percent in December. The price on every individual food item in Statistics Canada’s food basket went up in 2022. And while you might delay the purchase of some consumer goods, it’s a bit tougher to avoid the food markets for long.

Date: January 17, 2023

Source: thestar.com

Link: https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/01/17/food-inflation-remains-stubbornly-high-despite-efforts-to-quell-inflation.html?source=newsletter&utm_email=760BE779956395955CFBBA5C497D22A3

Discussion points:

1) Have you and your classmates been noticing this food price inflation in your university town?

2) What are some practical strategies you and fellow students can use to control your food costs?

3) Appendix B of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making contains specimen financial statements for Sobeys Inc. Locate the most recent financial statements for Sobeys. How much different are the earnings for the most recent year from those in Appendix B?

Posted January 23rd, 2023 by Brent White & filed under Accounting Careers, Accounting Principles.

Description: The bot is ready to see you now. Or maybe not. That is, you may not even get in the door of a company you are interested in joining because the resume-reading bot has already declared you ineligible for the position. It’s hard to get to the short-list when you can’t even make it onto the interview list because the AI bot did not like your resume. The bots are a money-saving move by companies to cut the costs of recruiting, but they can miss qualified candidates. There is also a concern that bots may be unfair to candidates who have certain disabilities.

Date: January 19, 2023

Source: cbc.ca

Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/recruitment-ai-tools-risk-bias-hidden-workers-keywords-1.6718151

Discussion points:

1) How does this prospect of a bot examining your resume impact you?

2) Do you know if any of the large employers of accounting graduates are using this technology?

3) On page 3-8 of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision-Making we read about transaction analysis for hiring of new employees. Does this type of activity represent an accounting transaction?

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 ?