Why does GM need more cash, given that it currently holds $33 billion in cash already? What is GM’s pension “story”?
So, Apple “won” a billion dollar damage award against Samsung. Should Apple accrue this “receivable”? Should Samsung accrue the payable (contingency)? Why or why not?
If you were the CEO of Hyundai, what would you do re: worker demands? How would you determine the optimal “days sales in inventory” (DSI)? How is DSI measured?
How does Cisco’s increase of its dividend track the life cycle of a firm (intro, growth, maturity, decline)? What does the dividend increase reflect about the firm’s set of investment opportunities?
If you were CFO of a firm that did not need extra cash, why would you sell bonds to raise cash in the current environment? What are some of the potential consequences, both positive and negative, of increasing the liquidity on your firm’s balance sheet?
If interest rates are negative, then future values of deposits or investments are lower than present values. If this is a result, why not just hold cash?
IKEA has estimated its brand value to be about $11 billion. Should the company debit “intangible asset” and credit “APIC”? Or, credit “gain”? Or, do nothing? What do you recommend and why?
HP’s “marriage” to EDS did not work out as planned. Why not? The firm also increased its estimate of a restructuring charge? Why? What is the difference between an impairment and a restructuring?
Why does the government tend to “go after” companies, rather than individual executives, in alleged fraud cases? What are the consequences of this strategy for mitigating future fraud attempts?
Maryland’s public pension plan expected returns of 7.75% but realized actual returns of only 0.36% for the most recent fiscal year. What are the consequences of the variance between expected and actual returns? Is this a “one-off” year, or a longer trend? If the latter, what would you propose to do about the situation? What are the consequences of your proposal?
Best Buy has become, according to some, a showroom for cybershoppers. How would taking the company private help the company implement the necessary changes?
Does the IFRS approach in measuring impairment put BP at a “disadvantage” relative to Exxon? If so, how? Would BP be able to reverse the impairment? If Exxon had an impairment, would it be able to reverse it? Exactly what is the “time value” component of the analysis these days?
Why do some analysts want the current lease accounting rules to remain unchanged? Should the FASB and IASB listen to these user groups and abandon the effort to bring leases on-balance-sheet?
Why do you suppose that analysts ignore Facebook’s GAAP-based earnings (which most recently was a net loss) and instead focus on pro forma earnings, or earnings before stock based compensation expense?
In your opinion, who will ultimately be proved right in the current debate: French President Hollande or the CEO of Peugeot? How would you decide among a dividend, share repurchase, or keeping workers on the line? What are the multiple factors to consider?
Why do you suppose that firms in Spain and Italy have significantly “worse” working capital management compared to firms in Germany and Scandinavia? Or, do you think that the working capital practices are not necessarily “worse,” but rather just “different”? Do the differences matter? How?
If Apple repatriates the foreign earnings, who are the “winners” and who are the “losers”? If you were the CEO or CFO of Apple, to whom would you have the fiduciary responsibility? Would you repatriate the profit and pay the tax, or leave it overseas?
