In a recent New York Times article (“Big Companies Pay Later, Squeezing Their Suppliers,” April 6, 2015), it was reported that several large companies are forcing their much-smaller suppliers to extend longer payment terms. Several large companies, such as Procter & Gamble, Heinz, and Anheuser-Busch, have told their suppliers that they want three or four […]
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Tag Archives: accounting in the headlines
How does the use of a robotic shopping assistant impact the breakeven point and operating leverage at Lowe’s?
November 12, 2014 
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Lowe’s, a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement stores, is introducing a robotic shopping assistant into its Orchard Supply Hardware store in San Jose, California. The robot, called OSHbot, will greet customers and assist customers in finding products. In addition, the robot has one large screen on the front and one on the back. The […]
Continue readingWhat internal controls might have prevented a former Smucker employee from stealing $4.1 million over 16 years?
November 4, 2014 2 Comments
In October 2014, a former Smucker employee, Mark Kershey, was charged with defrauding the J.M. Smucker Company of more than $4.1 million over a 16 year period. Kershey was the chief airplane mechanic at the company’s hangar at the Akron-Canton Airport in Ohio from 1990 until he was discharged by Smucker in 2013. From 1997 […]
Continue readingShould the original cost of the planes for Afghanistan’s air force purchased by the U.S. Air Force influence its decision to scrap those planes?
October 31, 2014 0 Comments
The U.S. Air Force recently destroyed 16 transport planes (refurbished G222 planes) that it had purchased for $486 million in 2011. These transport planes were to be used by Afghanistan’s air force but were abandoned due to persistent high maintenance costs. An Afghanistan company paid $0.06 per pound for the scrap, or a total of […]
Continue readingHow should the cost of national advertising by Whole Foods impact the performance report (and segment margin) for each store?
October 24, 2014 0 Comments
Whole Foods Market, Inc., is a supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas, with 381 stores in the US (it also has stores in the UK and Canada.) Whole Foods specializes in natural and organic food and has annual sales of $13 billion. In October 2014, Whole Foods rolled out its first national advertising campaign in […]
Continue readingWhat is the impact on American Apparel’s current ratio of the loan it received from Standard General?
July 10, 2014 0 Comments
American Apparel has been in the news in recent weeks. Its board fired CEO Dov Charney amid several reports of his misdeeds. The company has also lost $270 million over the past three years. Last week, one of American Apparel’s creditors, Lion Capital, called a $10 million loan it had made to American Apparel. (“Calling” […]
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Accounting in the Headlines 