Question 8

1. Explain non-controlling interest.
2. Calculate the non-controlling interest to be presented in the consolidated financial statement

The topic last week was non-GAAP earnings. Find a company that has referenced non-GAAP earnings in its annual report or quarterly report. Please include the report as an attachment. Also, please identify your company, Name the company and briefly explain the company’s justification for using them.

What measures (for example, EBIT) and what adjustments were made to GAAP earnings to get to non-GAAP earnings.

Are the adjustments income increasing?

Do you think the non-GAAP adjusted earnings were more transparent and useful to investors? Why or why not – use specifics

What are some advantages of using non-financial performance measures? What are some reasons that non financial performance measures at an operational level may not lead to improved profitability ?

Summarize this:

Biological, Chemical, & Other Non-Nuclear Threats

Biological, chemical and other non-nuclear threats, such as cyber and drone attacks, constitute a class of weapons that may not cause as much mass physical destruction as nuclear weapons can, but can result in significant mass effects on, and/or mass disruptions to, a targeted populace. Weapons experts still debate whether these non-nuclear weapons can truly be considered weapons of mass destruction; however, certain types of biological weapons, such as weaponized smallpox or anthrax, could in principle harm millions of people depending on the scenario and the extent of the population’s exposure to the biological weapons. Chemical weapons under almost all circumstances would not result in massive harm to millions of people. Nonetheless, from a cost perspective, chemical weapons and even biological weapons are considerably less expensive than nuclear weapons. Still, chemical and biological weapons could have similar deterrent effects as nuclear weapons. Thus, from the viewpoint of many nation-states, chemical and biological weapons are so-called poor man’s nuclear weapons.

The Challenges of Reducing and Detecting These Threats

Addressing these threats is difficult because the weapons can be manufactured in ways that use civilian technology and materials. Furthermore, manufacturing them does not typically require large observable infrastructures to be established, thus making it hard to detect their production. While chemical and biological weapons are banned internationally via the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention with the vast majority of nations as adherents, the world has witnessed that certain states, for example, Syria still have chemical weapons as well as suspected biological weapons. As of late 2013 through early 2014, the Syrian government has promised to dismantle its chemical weapons program.

FAS has had a long history in bringing leading chemical and biological experts to analyze these threats, educate policymakers and the public, and make recommendations to reduce the risks. For instance, FAS in recent years has created the Virtual Biosecurity Center (VBC) to provide a platform for education. FAS has also convened legal, scientific, and political experts in workshops such as a January 2014 workshop on bio-forensics to examine state-level options for response to biological threats or attacks. FAS seeks to further this work in chemical weapons assessments, as well. In particular, FAS has had expert analysis during the early phases of the chemical weapons crisis in Syria.

Other Non-Nuclear Threats

Weapons technologies other than nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons will most likely increasingly pose challenges for international security. For example, the increasing use of drones for both surveillance and armed attacks by the United States and a growing number of additional countries might lead to global and regional arms races in drone use or might result in asymmetric means of targeted opponents striking back. In addition, cyber-attacks as demonstrated by the use of Stuxnet to destroy and disable about 1,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges in Iran have raised concern about counter-cyber-attacks against the United States and its allies. Also in this threat area, we at FAS will investigate the use of prompt global strike advanced conventional weapons to achieve strategic purposes or to target terrorists and other non-state actors. FAS is expanding its network of experts to assess these and other non-nuclear threats can are present or could emerge in the future.

(a) Describe two non-forfeiture options.

(b) For each one of the non-forfeiture options you described in part (a), give a family situation for which you would recommend that option and explain why.

Choose one (1) and only one of the following four 4 assignment options. Investigate and document your response. Provide your response back in this document, and SUBMIT it back using Google Classroom once completed.

Alternative Options list:

1. Information Systems roles and jobs

2. Personal Use of Technology

3. Internet Security

4. Database creation

Details are provided below:

1. Information Systems roles and jobs

Prepare a report on purchasing a computer for yourself.

Identify your requirements (what you will need to use it for, how much you would spend, etc.).

Identify at least 3 viable options (actual computers), 2 of them of the same type (e.g. PC) and 1 of them different type (e.g. Apple).

List the specifications for each in a side-by-side table, including:

Hardware specifications (processor, memory, storage, etc.), 1 row for each category item

Software specifications (OS, application software, etc.) 1 row for each category item

Networking specifications

Total cost

Identify which would be the most powerful, which would be the fastest.

Select your best alternative.  

Confirm that it will meet all your requirements, and indicate why you would choose it.

Provide response on table format. Provide final selection and explanation in paragraph format.

1-3 pages max.

2. Personal Use of Technology

Create a list of at least 4 examples of technologies used by you within the last 2 months.  

For each:

Classify them by IT Component types

Research and identify approximately what year each technology was introduced, and when your specific version was introduced.

Indicate how you have used the technology.  

Indicate what your next-best alternate would have been if you did not have the technology. Estimate the associated impact to you if you did not have the technology (additional time, cost to you per day/week etc.)

Indicate 1 example of something you currently do manually (and that there currently is not a technology solution available yet). Investigate if anyone in the world is already innovating and working on it, and if so, provide a reference (name and link) and some details.

Response should be in table form, 1-3 pages max.

3. Internet security –Target as case Study

Retailers have seen major increases in cyber attack. Point of sale systems, vendor and supplier connected portals, even on-site system administrators, pose potential risks. All of these potential weak links in the chain came to light when target got hit, beginning on the biggest US shopping day, Black Friday.

The cyber attack on Target hit all of the wrong numbers, (or right, depending on your point of view):

41 million customers’ credit card information stolen

$200 million estimated cost to banks and credit unions over replaced cards and disputed charges (which Target settled for $39 million)

An estimated 46% dip in profit during the biggest shopping period of the season

An $18.5 million recent multi-state lawsuit settlement with consumers

All told, Target lost an estimated $300 million

What are your general thoughts about internet security and what do you think Target could have done to prevent internet security onboard?

1-3 pages max.

4. Database Creation

Create a database project with the following requirements, use any professional principles and standards.

Use any relational database software application of your choice to develop database implementing the logical design into a physical design.

create the normalized physical database with tables, columns with data types, primary keys, constraints, etc.

Create a minimum of ten rows of test data in each table.

Submit a Zip .sql file with the scripts needed to create your tables with keys and the insert test rows, etc., into the tables and submit the Assignment Files tab as Zip.

The Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) Act was passed in 2002 as a result of corporate scandals and in as attempt to regain public trust in accounting and reporting practices. Two random samples of 1015 executives were surveyed and asked their opinion about accounting practices in both 2000 and in 2006. The table below summarizes all 2030 responses to the question, “Which of the following do you consider most critical to establishing ethical and legal accounting and reporting practices?” Did the distribution of responses differ from 2000 to 2006?

1. Determine and state whether this is a test of Goodness of Fit, a test of homogeneity or a test of association (or independence). Include in your statement a justification for your choice.
2. Write the correct Null and Alternate Hypotheses for the test
3. Perform the test using Minitab (remember to include the output in your Word document)
4. State your decision, and why you made this choice
5. Give a conclusion in the context of the problem. If you make the decision to reject the null hypothesis, be sure to comment on the bar chart.

Group of companies produces a kind of household appliances. The fixed production costs  are 30,000 $annually, the variable production cost of the unit is 0.4, and the general administrative expenses are 8000$ .The company used to sell its production to wholesalers at 2$  per unit and achieve an annual sales figure of 50,000 Sales unit sees the sale to retailers directly as this will increase the sales volume by 10% per year and at the same time increase the selling price by 10% as well.

The general manager has opposed the idea of ​​selling to retailers as it will lead to double costs. I have hired you as the best management accountant for the company because of your vast experience in these matters and asked you to express an opinion on this matter