This is a yearly ritual. Is the left side of that balance sheet overstated, particularly intangibles? What’s the journal entry, if so?
Try this as an exercise: read this article and then explain what hybrid bonds are, in your own words.
GM has a big restructuring charge. Restructuring is a non-GAAP term, but it usually encompasses 4 general events: exit, severance, litigation, and impairments. Which one(s) does GM have. What’s the journal entry? Is it non-cash?
What are some potential issues with PE buying public accounting firms? Should it be stopped? Why or why not?
The head of the AICPA is stepping down after a long tenure. Do you agree with his assessment of the state of the accounting profession? What changes would you recommend, if any? In your opinion, does the 150 v. 120 requirement affect quality?
Do you agree with the prediction about AI and finance jobs? If you are interested in a finance career, what moves do you make now?
Do you agree with the PCAOB that large audit firms should disclose this information? What are the benefits? Who benefits? What are the costs?
Can you tell a good story? Especially when it is about numbers, charts, graphs, spreadsheets? Storytelling can be learned. Practice, practice.
The market-to-book ratio proxies for a firm’s investment opportunity set. The market is forward-looking; book values are largely backwards looking. What is this saying about Intel?
VW “is like a state-owned company.” Surprising? How do you assess the level of governmental control over the private sector?
There are lots of “I told you so’s” out there about racing ahead with EVs. Maybe they were right. Too early for the times? Range anxiety (especially in the cold weather), charging stations, time-to-charge, cost, externalities (again that word) from mining operations for the materials for the batteries, and then the impact of manufacturing (heavy) batteries, etc. For accounting, Ford will have to write-off some stranded assets. Journal entry, anyone?
We talked some about unintended consequences (aka “externalities”). The PCAOB (the “auditor’s auditor”) has enacted new rules to increase audit quality and increase as a result the trust in financial statements. Buried in the article are a couple of these externalities, both of which point to potentially lower audit quality. Hmmm . . . what are your thoughts?
This is a lot of money ($30 billion). Where is Lina in this one, especially given food inflation? Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Big Pharma, etc. . . . now Big Food?
150 hours of college credits to become a CPA (in other words, an extra year in college) is one reason students choose something other than accounting. Makes sense. Rational. It also is a roadblock because of the out-of-pocket $. Anyway, there are cracks in the system that may change this.
Speaking of AI, which we always are, this one’s about a problem we mentioned in class. How do you set a budget? Most everyone will have an ROI in mind, but how do you measure return on that spend? Is this a time where you re-think this decision criteria?