Tag Archives: teaching accounting

Will Uber capitalize or expense the renovations to its headquarters in San Francisco?

Uber, is a startup with a mobile app for connecting passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire. Uber arranges rides in several North American cities (for example, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco) and has recently expanded to include countries outside of North America (for example, United Kingdom and France). Recently, it was reported that […]

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How would Crocs recognize the preferred stock issued to Blackstone Group?

At the end of December 2013, Crocs Inc. announced that Blackstone Group is investing $200 million into the footwear company in the form of a preferred stock purchase. In three years, the preferred stock shares owned by Blackstone Group will convert into common shares if the Crocs common stock market price rises to a certain […]

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What is the balance sheet impact of Crocs’ repurchase of its own shares of stock?

At the end of December 2013, Crocs Inc. announced that Blackstone Group is investing $200 million into the footwear company in the form of a preferred stock purchase. Crocs plans to use the $200 million plus another $150 million of cash it already has on hand to repurchase its own common shares during the first […]

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How is the term “depreciation” used in a news story about the resale value of electric cars?

A recent news story in USA Today was entitled “Depreciation hits electric cars hard.” According to USA Today, a Ford Focus Electric automobile will be worth about 20% of its initial $35,995 list price after five years, while a conventional Ford Focus (gas-engine) will be worth about 36% of its initial value. The 2013 Nissan […]

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Should the original cost of the leftover 10 million pounds of Mighty Wings matter to McDonald’s decision makers?

In the first half of 2013, McDonald’s bought and stockpiled about 50 million frozen chicken wings for a promotion it was planning for fall 2013. In the fall 2013, McDonald’s debuted Mighty Wings, a menu item that would be available only through the end of November 2013. When Mighty Wings came out, McDonald’s did not […]

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What information can be gathered from Barnes & Noble’s statement of cash flows?

Barnes & Noble is a retailer of content, digital media, and educational products.  It has nearly 700 bookstores in 50 states and also has a large e-commerce presence on the Web.  In the past few years, there has been speculation that Barnes & Noble will not survive in the long-term. Among other news stories, the […]

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How much does Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida pay to redeem one share of its preferred stock?

The following is from a press release from Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida, the holding company for Seacoast National Bank, dated November 29, 2013: “…Seacoast National Bank…announced it has issued a notice to redeem, subject to regulatory approval, all of its 2,000 shares of Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A… for an aggregate […]

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How does a stock buyback impact AutoZone’s balance sheet?

In December 2013, the Board of Directors of AutoZone Inc., an auto parts retailer, approved an increase of $750 million in its stock buyback program.  Since 1998, AutoZone’s board of directors has approved $14.2 billion in buybacks. Questions On the date of the announcement that AutoZone has authorized the increase in its share buyback program, […]

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Should the town of Allentown, PA, outsource its pension check-writing?

For years, the City of Allentown, PA, has had its payroll clerk write the pension checks to its retirees every two weeks. The pension check-writing system is based in an older accounting system that was installed in 1983.  The only person who has been trained to use the older accounting system to write the pension […]

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How does Starbucks account for gift card sales?

In December 2013, Starbucks was predicting it would have record gift card sales for the year. Last year (2012), Starbucks sold more than 2 million gift cards on the Thursday before Christmas, which was a rate of more than 1,500 gift cards per minute. In 2013, Starbucks expects to top that figure.  For the entire […]

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