Fraud is an intentional act to misappropriate (steal) assets or to misstate financial statements. There are many documented high-profile collapses of companies due to fraud. As the Enron and WorldCom scandals unfolded, many people asked, “How can these things happen? If such large companies that we have trusted commit such acts, how can we trust any company to be telling the truth in its financial statements? Where were the auditors?”

These scandals caused the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US (NI52-109 Canadian Equivalent) requiring companies to maintain adequate internal controls and for senior officers to sign-off on the company financial statements, among other things.

Discuss one company which has committed an accounting scandal. Provide details on the fraud committed and preventative measures which could have been taken by the company, tying in textbook knowledge where appropriate

Fraud is an intentional act to misappropriate (steal) assets or to misstate financial statements. There are many documented high-profile collapses of companies due to fraud. As the Enron and WorldCom scandals unfolded, many people asked, “How can these things happen? If such large companies that we have trusted commit such acts, how can we trust any company to be telling the truth in its financial statements? Where were the auditors?”

These scandals caused the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US (NI52-109 Canadian Equivalent) requiring companies to maintain adequate internal controls and for senior officers to sign-off on the company financial statements, among other things.

Discuss one company which has committed an accounting scandal. Provide details on the fraud committed and preventative measures which could have been taken by the company, tying in textbook knowledge where appropriate.

Case study 1: PETRIE’S ELECTRONICS
Jim Watanabe looked around his new office. He couldn’t believe that he was the assistant director of information technology at Petrie’s Electronics, his favorite consumer electronics retail store. He always bought his new DVDs and video games for his Xbox 360 at Petrie’s. And now he worked there too.
The company had made some smart moves and had done well, Jim knew, but he also knew that competition was fierce. Petrie’s competitors included big electronics retail chains like Best Buy. In California, Fry’s was a ferocious competitor. Other major players in the arena included the electronics departments of huge chains like Wal-Mart and Target and online vendors like Amazon.com. Jim knew that part of his job in IT was to help the company grow and prosper and beat the competition—or at least survive.
Just then, as Jim was trying to decide if he needed a bigger TV, Ella Whinston, the chief operations officer at Petrie’s, walked into his office. “How’s it going, Jim? Joe keeping you busy?” Joe was Joe Swanson, Jim’s boss, the director of IT. Joe was away for the week, at a meeting in Pullman, Washington. Jim quickly pulled his feet off his desk. “Hi, Ella. Oh, yeah, Joe keeps me busy. I’ve got to get through the entire corporate strategic IT plan before he gets back—he’s going to quiz me—and then there’s the new help-desk training we are going to start next week.” “I didn’t know we had a strategic IT plan,” Ella teased. “Anyway, what I came in here for is to give you some good news. I have decided to make you the project manager for a project that is crucial to our corporate survival.”
“Me?” Jim said. “But I just got here.” “Who better than you? You have a different perspective, new ideas. You aren’t chained down by the past and by the Petrie’s way of doing things, like the rest of us. Not that it matters, since you don’t have a choice. Joe and I both agree that you are the best person for the job.” “So,” Jim asked, “what’s the project about?” “Well,” Ella began, “the executive team has decided that the number one priority we have right now is to not only survive but to thrive and to prosper, and the way to do that is to develop closer relationships with our customers. The other person on the executive team, who is even more excited about this than me, is John [John Smith, the head of marketing]. We want to attract new customers, like all of our competitors.
But also like our competitors, we want to keep our customers for life, kind of like a frequent flier program, but better. Better for us and for our loyal customers. And we want to reward most, the customers who spend the most. We are calling the project ‘No Customer Escapes.’” “I hope that’s only an internal name,” Jim joked.
“Seriously, I can see how something like this would be good for Petrie’s, and I can see how IT would play an important, no, crucial role in making something like this happen. OK, then, let’s get started.”

Questions:
1. Why would Jim be a good choice to lead an important systems development effort?
2. Help Jim to formulate the main steps and tools required to develop a new Information System.

Joe earned $100,000 in salary and $6,000 in interest income during the year. Joe’s employer withheld $11,000 of federal income taxes from Joe’s paychecks during the year. Joe has one qualifying dependent child who lives with him. Joe qualifies to file as head of household and has $23,000 in itemized deductions.

Assume that in addition to the original facts ($106,000 of ordinary gross income), Joe sold Amazon shares that he bought for $6,000 on 1/1/18 for $10,000 on 12/31/19. You may use the book chapter 4, PowerPoints, or the IRS instructions to form 1040 (2019).

a. What is Joe’s tax refund or tax due including the tax on the capital gain? Please show work.

b. Copy and paste the capital tax gains table that you used to get the capital gains tax rate.

c. Find form 8949 for 2019.   Enter the details of the transaction in Part I or Part II, as appropriate. Assume that the brokerage firm reported both the basis and the sale to the IRS.

d. Find Schedule D for 2019. Please complete Part I and/or Part II. You can skip Part III.

e. Based on your answer to part 1, prepare t Form 1040.

The table to the right shows the results of a survey in which 400 adults from the​ East, 400 adults from the​ South, 400 adults from the​ Midwest, and 400 adults from the West were asked if traffic congestion is a serious problem. Complete parts​ (a) and​ (b). Adults who say that traffic congestion is a serious problem East 34​% South 33​% Midwest 27​% West 56​% ​(a) Construct a​ 99% confidence interval for the proportion of adults from the East who say traffic congestion is a serious problem. The​ 99% confidence interval for the proportion of adults from the East who say traffic congestion is a serious problem is left parenthesis nothing comma nothing right parenthesis . ​(Round to three decimal places as​ needed.)

International Marketing Strategies

Pricing Decisions Case Analysis

PolyPrin Clothing Inc. is a manufacturer of women’s fashion clothing out of San Diego, California. The company has been in business for five years operating a plant capable of producing 4 million items per annum. PolyPrin’s fashion lines are a series of casual yet elegant light dresses designed with the tropical spirit in mind. The name of the company is derived from the influence of Pacific culture, and positioned for young to middle aged women seeking an exotic image.

At present PolyPrin produces and sells 3 million dresses a year. It distributes its products through its own retail outlets and to some specialty stores across the US west coast. Details of the company’s 2018financial statement are as follows:

All items expressed in $millions

Revenue - 90

Labour – 12

Materials – 22

Energy – 6

Plant Overhead – 3

Total Operating Costs – 43

SG&A Costs – 14

Profit Before Tax – 33

Tax – 10

NET PROFIT - 23

The total cost of producing one dress was $19/sweater, and the total variable cost (materials, energy) of producing one sweater was $9.33/sweater. After years of success in the west coast of the USA, PolyPrin has decided to export its fashions to Australia in 2013. The company believes the culture of Australia is similar to that of California, and so should be successful. As well, Polyprin also feels its products are well suited across a variety of global cultures. As a result, Australia’s increasingly multicultural society, as well as its similar business practices with the USA, makes the company believe it is an ideal overseas market to enter. It is eventually looking to take its products into neighbouring emerging nations.

Moreover, the company believes Australia as a nation promises good economic prospects, especially in lieu of the growing importance of its commodity exports to nearby emerging Asian nations. The rising demand for commodities has increased the value of its currency, the Australian dollar, from as low as $US0.60 in late 2008 to $US1.03 at present. In the last couple of year, monetary policy has been relatively tight and interest rates are double those in the US at nearly 4%. This is in response to strong economic activity, due to surging commodity exports, that has pushed up the inflation rate in Australia.

Polyprin has been considering setting up a wholly owned retail subsidiary in Australia, and/or distribute its products through other retail stores. The cost of establishing a wholly owned retail subsidiary is $30m. Under the tax agreement between the USA and Australia, the profits of the retail subsidiary are subject to a 10% tax rate. All profits may be repatriated back to the US.

Market research studies have indicated that the market for casual type wear in Australia is around $5bn per year. While there are several competitors in the country, Australia has faced rising competition from apparel producers in Asia. Average retail prices for some imported products are estimated to be around $A30-35. In neighbouring New Zealand and certain Southeast Asian nations, retail pricing for standard clothing is as high as $US45. Many of these dresses are distributed through mid to large retail outlets in the major urban centres. PolyPrin believes its material and quality is superior, and that its in-house custom designs are unique.

PolyPrin is now considering the price it wishes to sell its product to the retailer, and to determine what the final retail price should be. It is believed that the mark-up from manufacturer to the retailer is 10% (mark-up is after manufacturing and shipping costs), and the mark-up from the retailer to the customer is usually 20-25%. The cost of shipping and insurance for delivery from Los Angeles to the port in Sydney is $5 per dress. Import duties of 5% are applied on the price to the retailer on a CIF basis.

Questions: JUST ANSWER QUESTION 3

1)

) Using the domestic price PolyPrin receives and the normal mark-ups, distribution costs and duties, calculate a possible retail price in the Australian market.

b) Determine the cost to produce one dress, and using this plus the normal mark-ups and distribution costs and duties, calculate the potential retail price in the Australian market. :

2) Which pricing scenario is better for the company? Explain your answer, considering key factors beyond costing that influences pricing decisions.

3) Given this information, what price would you ultimately charge, and why?

The Ivanhoe Chemical Corporation announced that, for the period ending March 31, 2017, it had earned income after taxes of $2,768,313.00 on revenues of $13,148,000. The company's costs (excluding depreciation and amortization) amounted to 61 percent of sales, and it had interest expenses of $392,168. What is the firm's depreciation and amortization expense if its average tax rate is 34 percent? (Round answer to 2 decimal places e.g. 15.25.)

You earned a nominal rate of return equal to 10.50% on your investments last year. The annual inflation rate was 2.60%. a. What was your approximate real rate of return? (Round your answer to 2 decimal places.) Approximate real rate of return % b. What was your exact real rate of return? (Round your answer to 2 decimal places.) Real rate of return %

1. One year ago, XYZ deposited $5,400 in an account that has earned and will earn 12.3% per year in compound interest. If PQR deposits $8,700 in an account in 3 years from today that earns simple interest, then how much simple interest per year must PQR earn to have the same amount of money in 7 years from today as XYZ will have in 7 years from today? Answer as an annual rate.

A. A rate less than 6.00% or a rate equal to or greater than 18.00%

B. A rate equal to or greater than 6.00% but less than 9.00%

C. A rate equal to or greater than 9.00% but less than 12.00%

D. A rate equal to or greater than 12.00% but less than 15.00%

E. A rate equal to or greater than 15.00% but less than 18.00%

2. Bob has an investment worth $80,000. The investment will make a special, extra payment of X to Bob in 3 years from today. The investment also will make regular, fixed annual payments of $12,400 to PQR with the first of these payments made to Bob later today and the last of these annual payments made to Bob in 4 years from today. The expected return for the investment is 8.5 percent per year. What is X, the amount of the special payment that will be made to Bob in 3 years?

A. An amount less than $20,000 or an amount equal to or greater than $41,000

B. An amount equal to or greater than $20,000 but less than $25,000

C. An amount equal to or greater than $25,000 but less than $30,000

D. An amount equal to or greater than $30,000 but less than $35,000

E. An amount equal to or greater than $35,000 but less than $41,000