How BIG is Facebook? We knew Facebook was big : you don’t get to 800 million users without making a few bucks — but until today, we didn’t know just how big. Facebook filed papers for an initial public offering on Wednesday, pulling back the curtains on the inner workings of the world’s largest social networking… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Financial Ratios
Small Discrepancies Grow Into a Giant Fraud
Satyam Computer Services, a leading Indian outsourcing company that served more than a third of the Fortune 500 companies, was at the heart of a huge 2009 fraud perpetrated through the significant inflation of earnings and falsification of accounts and assets for a number of years. Chairman, Ramalinga Raju, resigned in January 2009 after revealing that… Read more »
Madoff: Freedom in Prison?
In an extended expose, the New York Magazine reported that Bernard Madoff described his scheme as a real nightmare to him, as if he were the real victim, and complained about little old ladies bugging him for money. The article goes on to describe his celebrity in prison among the other inmates and his “freedom”… Read more »
Bond Rating Under Fire
E-mails and other documents were presented as evidence at a hearing examining the causes of the financial crisis on Capitol Hill on April 23, 2010. This hearing is part of an 18-month investigation by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Senator Carl Levin. Subcommittee assertions are that the rating agencies were well aware… Read more »
Corporate Sustainability Can Mean Financial Reward, Despite Extra Costs
Tracking efforts in companies like Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard and Clorox, authors Ram Nidumulo, C.K. Prahalad, and M.R. Rangaswami, identified a five-stage process that will benefit companies as they navigate through the adoption of green business models. In the article, the authors contend that early adopters of this process will develop competencies that will be difficult for… Read more »
Getting to the Bottom of Repurchase Agreements (or Repos)
The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking public-company CFOs for better disclosures and additional information about repurchase agreements, or repos, which are the same transactions that Lehman Brothers used to make its balance sheet look healthy before the investment bank collapsed into bankruptcy. Based on company responses, the SEC could ask issuers to amend their filings… Read more »
Fraud at Koss Corporation
Sujata “Sue” Sachdeva, the former vice president of finance and secretary at Koss Corporation, was arrested on December 21, 2009, for allegedly using interstate wire communications to defraud the company. The largest employee theft of 2009 was not detected by the auditors, but in fact resulted when American Express contacted Koss Corp. CEO, Michael J…. Read more »
Timeshare Worries in a Recession
Marriott International, the well-known hotelier, saw operating losses in its third quarter of 2009, as a result of its venture to move into financing time-shares during a slowing real estate market. In addition, the sluggish economy has not helped its primary business segment that caters to cash-based lodging for business and leisure travelers. As a… Read more »