Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Corporate Strategy, Cost Accounting.

Description:

Twitter was once known for fighting with outside developers to ensure that it controlled the experience on its micro-blog. But now, Twitter has opened up a variety of tools to software developers, even if they aren’t Twitter users. The market does not appear to have embraced Twitter’s new strategy to diversify its business.

Source: Globe and Mail.com

Date: October 23, 2014;

Link http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/twitter-unveils-slate-of-new-development-products/article21226919/

Questions for Discussion:

1) Do you think Twitter will be successful in developing its new role as middleman between software developers and users?

2) What kind of costing information could cost accountants provide Twitter to help them determine whether this strategy is successful?

3) Would you be interested in an accounting career with a firm like Twitter? Why or why not?

Posted by & filed under Auditing, Canadian Government.

 

Description:
One  thing that emerged from reflection following the tragedy on Parliament Hill was an observation that the Auditor General of Canada had recommended changes to Parliamentary security in a 2012 report. The Auditor General had recommended one united security force for Parliament, but this, and other, recommendations had not been implemented yet. In addition to its recommendations for improvement, the AG’s report also praised aspects of the Parliamentary security arrangements.

Source: Globe and Mail.com

Date: October 23, 2014; updated October 24

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/potential-flaws-in-parliamentary-security-pointed-out-in-2012-report/article21225945/

Questions for Discussion:

1) What reasons might there have been for not implementing the Auditor General’s recommendations?

2) What security changes do you think will occur on Parliament Hill?

3) What percentage of auditor recommendations do you think organizations implement?

 

Posted by & filed under Advanced Accounting, Cost Accounting, Ethics.

Description:
When a garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh in April 2013, calls rang out for change. Yet recent inspections of 1,100 Bangladeshi garment factories found safety hazards in them all. In approximately 20 factories, the inspections revealed conditions severe enough to provoke immediate closure.

Source: Industry Week.com

Date: October 14, 2014

Link: http://www.industryweek.com/safety/retailers-find-80000-safety-hazards-bangladesh-factories

Questions for Discussion:

1) What do you think are some of the reasons why the progress is slower than consumers may have expected?

2) The article raises the question of ‘who should pay?’ for the upgrades noting the manufacturers have requested low interest loans from retailers. How can accountants contribute in answering this question? What accounting issues might arise?

3) When you get dressed in the morning, do you reflect upon the point of origin of the garments you are wearing? Where were they made? What are the conditions like in the factory they were made in?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Canadian governments.

Description:
In August, 2014, the Ontario government signed goal-setting agreements with the province’s 44 post-secondary institutions. This process was supposed to be step number one in changing the way the institutions are funded. Concerns are being expressed on how demographics and changes to funding may impact individual universities.

Source: Globe and Mail.com

Date: October 11, 2014

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/university-budget-reform-under-pressure/article21074892/

Questions for Discussion:

1) As a university student, have you felt any impacts on your studies or activities from tightening university budgets?

2) As the government of Ontario develops additional agreements or involvement in the university funding process, what might this mean for how the government accounts for these institutions on its financial statements?

3) If you were a senior accounting or finance official at an Ontario university, what strategies might you propose for dealing with some of the challenges mentioned in this article?

Posted by & filed under Corporate Strategy, Cost Accounting, e-Commerce, Financiall Statement Analysis.

Description: It’s big. Real big;  Big like  $16.52 billion. And it’s up 20% from last year. But Google’s third quarter advertising revenue failed to meet analysts expectations, while its key metric of cost-per-click continued a downward trend.

Source: Globe and Mail.com

Date: October 16, 2014

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/googles-profit-slips-misses-estimates/article21131630/

Questions for Discussion:

1) So what exactly are the numbers telling us? Is Google doing better, or worse?

2) As the internet advertising business matures, does the industry need another performance measure to accompany its cost-per-click metric?

3) What role would the  accountant play in helping calculate the cost-per-click?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Advanced Accounting, Canadian Economy, e-Commerce.

Description:  A couple of Canada’s oldest print media chains joined forces in a major merger this past week. Quebecor divested itself of the Sun media chain in a sale to  Postmedia. Some observers believe this type of consolidation in the industry is essential in the face of a changing media landscape.

Source: Global News.com

Date: October 6, 2014

Link: http://globalnews.ca/news/1600039/quebecor-sells-off-sun-newspaper-chain-to-postmedia/

Questions for Discussion:

1) What can the traditional media, like newspapers, do to counter the loss in revenue due to internet alternatives?

2) The article from Global News speculates that there could be up to $10 million dollars in cost savings in operating costs through this merger. As an accountant, what type of information could you provide to assist management in identifying cost savings?

3) How would the purchaser account for this $316 million acquisition?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Auditing, Corporate Strategy.

Description:  Divorce can be complicated enough. But throw in major business interests involving  both partners and divorce can expand to include major issues of corporate governance, strategy, and costing. These issues have come to the fore in Ottawa recently, where Brian McGarry wants his ex-wife Sharon McGarry removed from the board of Wakefield Crematorium, alleging she is using her role as president of a prominent Ottawa area funeral business to negatively impact the Crematorium’s operations.

Source: Ottawa Citizen.com

Date: October 11, 2014

Link: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/fight-between-the-mcgarrys-heats-up-over-alleged-treatment-of-wakefield-crematorium

Questions for Discussion:

1) Accountants can be called upon to provide consulting advice in family law disputes. From reading this article, what issues do you think an accountant would be qualified to address in such a situation? Explain.

2) What strategies can a family-owned corporation put in place to help protect against disputes of this type?

3) The article mentions that Mr. McGarry is seeking the appointment of an auditor for the “Wakefield Crematorium’s books”. What might be some of the audit risks that an auditor would have to consider in planning for this engagement?

Posted by & filed under Canadian Government, Cost Accounting.

Description:  I once had a boss who said one of the  problems with a government he worked for was the weakness of its cost accounting systems. I was reminded of that once again this past week when I read about our federal government not disclosing the cost for reorganizing Elections Canada.  The stated reasons for non-disclosure were Cabinet secrecy and “no costs so far”.

Source: CBC.ca

Date: October 8, 2014

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/refusal-to-reveal-cost-of-elections-canada-split-sparks-more-questions-1.2792422

Questions for Discussion:

1) What do you think of the government’s response to this request for costing information?

2) What type of cost information should be available to Canadians and their elected representatives?

3) Would improved costing information improve the value-for-money of public expenditures?

 

 

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Canadian Economy, Canadian governments.

Description:  When I was much younger, futurists dreamed of a day when the work week would be much shorter. What would we do with our high standard of living and all this leisure time? Well, according to Saturday’s Globe and Mail, many have reached the 15 hour work week. But that is a problem – for consumers, their finances and the country’s economy as a whole

Source: Globe and Mail.com

Date: October 4, 2014

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-15-hour-workweek-canadas-part-time-problem/article20926986/

Questions for Discussion:

1) What has been your personal experience  – and that of your friends and family – with this “part-time problem”?

2) How do you think this part-time problem might impact the accounting profession?

3) What policies can our society envision to help address the “part-time problem”?

Posted by & filed under Canadian Economy, Financial Accounting, Marketing & Strategy, Student life.

Description:  They’ve transformed the coffee world, these single-serve brewing units like Kuerig and Tassimo. And now a Toronto company, Club Coffee LP, is suing Kuerig Green Mountain Inc for alleged anti-competitive practices. Club Coffee makes its own pods which are compatible with the Kuerig machines. And the patent on the K-Cup technology has expired. But Club Coffee maintains Kuerig is using its influence with retailers to close the lid to its coffee makers to everything but official K-Cup brands.

Source: Financial Post.com

Date: October 1, 2014

Link: http://business.financialpost.com/2014/10/01/keurig-green-mountain-sued-by-canadas-club-coffee-for-600-million/

Questions for Discussion:

1) Are you a fan of the K-Cup? Why? Has the K-Cup changed your morning coffee routine as you head out for the day’s first class?

2) If you were an executive with Club Coffee, what strategies might you pursue to make your product successful?

3) What accounting issues are raised by a lawsuit like this? How would Club Coffee disclose it in its financial statements? What about Kuerig?