Name one argument for and one against mandatory auditor rotation? What is your opinion: should firms be required to rotate their auditors? If so, how often?
Do you agree that the “relevance of accounting information is decreasing”? Are the new financial metrics to measure firm performance an indicator of market participants’ impatience with the FASB addressing lack of relevance? Will the FASB lose its own relevance?
Do you think it is a good idea for the EU to go from requiring quarterly reporting to semi-annual reporting? Why or why not? Who benefits from this change? Who is hurt by this change?
Zynga announced a restructuring plan for the current quarter and filed an 8K with the SEC. Was Zynga required to file the 8K? What is the purpose of the restructuring? What is the journal entry to record the restructuring, if any? Will Zynga make any journal entry to accrue cost savings under the restructuring plan?
Do you think a computer program that analyzes word patterns in the MD&A can be a good predictor of fraud in the financial statements? Will firms learn to alter their wordings, knowing that the SEC is using word patterns as a detection device?
The Effective Tax Rate is measured as Tax Expense / Pre-tax Income. Is it more informative to measure this ratio using “Cash Taxes Paid” in the numerator? Why or why not? Where do firms report the amount of cash taxes paid?
Whirlpool closed a plant in the U.S. in 8 months, but it takes years to close a plant in Italy, under its restructuring plan. How should the restructuring liability be classified: current or noncurrent?
So it appears Blackrock is beginning to exercise its clout more in corporate governance of firms in which it holds equity positions. Why do you think they are becoming more influential now? Is this a good development? For whom?
If the proposed lease accounting standard is unpopular, why do you think the FASB and the IASB are proceeding with it anyway? What are the possible ramifications, if any, of such a split vote (4-3) at the FASB on the new proposed standard?
U.S. banks don’t like the proposed accounting standard that would require provisioning for loan losses at the loan origination date, with an horizon for estimating bad loans that conceivably extends to maturity of the loan. If you were a bank CEO, what are your thoughts? How far into the future should you reasonably be expected to “see”.
Why are new IPOs happening now? What types of firms are going public? What is the journal entry for an IPO?
If you were the CEO or CFO of a publicly traded firm, would you make your quarterly earnings announcement on Facebook? Why or why not? What do you think will be the outcome of the Netflix case?
JC Penney’s sales declined dramatically and may decline further. Are firms required to let investors know about such trends? If so, where do they disclose the information? What are auditors’ responsibilities with respect to such disclosures, if any?
If you were a retiree of Kodak, what would be your reaction to the news that Kodak had settled its pension obligation to you with a transfer of its film business to your pension plan?
Leslie Seidman is stepping down as chair of the FASB. What do you think are the attributes of her replacement that awarded him the job? Is this a job that would appeal to you? Why or why not?
Do you believe it was necessary for governmental intervention into the private market for audits? Why or why not? Why do you believe 14 years was chosen as a time by which firms must terminate their audit firm and hire a new one?
So, does this mean, when you retire, you’ll get a bottle of scotch instead of a paycheck? How will the substitution of inventory for cash funding possibly affect the funding status?
Will the proposed disclosures about sustainability affect your decision to invest in a firm? To work for a firm? Why or why not?
Pfizer is highlighted as a firm that allegedly “dodges” tax by shifting profits overseas. How does it do this? Would not lowering the tax rate in the U.S. reduce the tendency toward this sort of practice? What other policy changes would you recommend? Given the human capital that is provided at these firms by employees and the financial capital that is provided by savers/investors/pension plans/etc., why is the statement made that corporations “aren’t human”?
