Accounting

Compare and contrast the views of management and accountants regarding the changes required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on internal controls and how these changes have affected corporations, accounting firms, and investors. Your paper must be formatted according to APA 6th edition guidelines, and you need to use at least one external reference.

You must answer all the questions in the proposed business case.Formalities:Submission file format: Excel document with all the answers, clearly identifying all steps, results, journals and including comments besides each answer. Submission date: The assignment must be submitted on Turnittin no later than 20th January at 23:59 CEST.It assesses the following learning outcomes:• Critically understand the different unusual events that affect the retained earnings. • Knowing how to elaborate an income statement • Knowing how to properly elaborate a statement of cash flow.Part 1: changes in retained earningsChester is a company dedicated to the transports.On 1st of March 2019, Chester sells its unprofitable segment, a restaurant activity.This segment generated in 2019 a net loss of $92,000 and its assets sold at a loss of $80,000.On 1st of May 2019, an earthquake destroyed one of Chester’s offices. The company suffered a loss of $230,000.On 31st of December 2019, the board of managers decides to change the depreciation method from straight line to 200% declining balance method for the fleet of trucks acquired the 1st of January 2016.The effect of the change is an additional expense of $96.000For the while year 2019 Chester reported an income from continuing operations of $1,950,000.Applicable tax rate is 30%.Chester had 200,000 shares of capital stock outstanding throughout the yearQuestion 1: Prepare a condensed income statement including proper presentation of the discontinued restaurant operations and the extraordinary loss. Include all appropriate earnings per share figures. (50 points)Part 2: Statement of cash flowsShown below is information from the financial statements for 2019 of Robbe’s Inc:Accounts Beginning of the year End of the year Accounts receivable $139.000 $100.000 Inventory $160.000 $150.000 Prepaid expenses $12.000 $21.000 Accounts payable $101.000 $97.000 Accrued liabilities $32.000 $30.000 Net sales $1.272.000 Cost of the goods sold $637.000 Expenses (inlcuding depreciation of € 68,000) $302.000

FASB CodificationThe Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a domestic, not-for-profit organization based in Connecticut. For more than 40 years, the FASB has helped set reporting standards within the accounting trade. Visit the FASB website and read About the FASB to learn more about its history.One of the FASB’s major contributions to the accounting profession is the FASB Codification. Codification content is organized by subject matter in a hierarchy. Think of it as an outline structure that you can drill into to get information regarding your specific topic of interest.The codification’s hierarchy begins with the following four highest levels:Area.Topic.Subtopic.Section.As you research, you will drill down in the hierarchy, beginning with the Area of interest, then picking the Topic within the area, then the Subtopic, then the Section. Areas, Topics, and Subtopics are simply landing pages that contain tables of contents. Sections are the only pages that have codification content.For example, if you wanted to research costing inventory, you would drill down by clicking on the following: Assets > 330 Inventory > 10 Overall > 30 Initial Measurement > General > 30-1 Cost Basis.You would then see the detailed codification specific to costing inventory.Although there are literally thousands of sections within the hundreds of subtopics, once you practice and get used to moving around in the codification, it is easy to research your accounting topics. You may find yourself utilizing it not only for class research, but also for topics you are working on in your professional life and topics that you may simply find interesting.Note: Once you have drilled down to your subtopic, you may find it useful to click Combine Subsections. This will show the different subsections and their content on one page, allowing you to quickly scan and review areas of interest to you.The codification is organized within the following nine areas:General Principles.Presentation.Assets.Liabilities.Equity.Revenue.Expenses.Broad Transactions.Industry.The Industry area identifies 32 industries that have specific items unique to them. These industries range from five different areas of Entertainment to Mining, Financial Services, Airlines, Agriculture, Franchisors, Software, Health Care Entities, and many more.To complete this assignment, you will need to access the FASB Codification. (Note: A login and password are required to access this site and are available from your professor.)For this assignment, write a 2–4 page paper in which you:Select one of the industries that interests you, and briefly explain why.Identify how many subtopics are in the industry you selected.Pick two subtopics within your selected industry that are applicable to a balance sheet (something to do with assets, liabilities, or equity).Identify your chosen subsections by number and title. Explain what they mean in your own words.Identify what accountants in your selected industry might be focused on as an area or areas of concern.This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:Examine industry research as it relates to a balance sheet.

The Excel file for this assignment contains a database with information about the tax assessment value assigned to medical office buildings in a city. The following is a list of the variables in the database: FloorArea: square feet of floor space Offices: number of offices in the building Entrances: number of customer entrances Age: age of the building (years) AssessedValue: tax assessment value (thousands of dollars) Use the data to construct a model that predicts the tax assessment value assigned to medical office buildings with specific characteristics. Construct a scatter plot in Excel with FloorArea as the independent variable and AssessmentValue as the dependent variable. Insert the bivariate linear regression equation and r^2 in your graph. Do you observe a linear relationship between the 2 variables? Use Excel’s Analysis ToolPak to conduct a regression analysis of FloorArea and AssessmentValue. Is FloorArea a significant predictor of AssessmentValue? Construct a scatter plot in Excel with Age as the independent variable and AssessmentValue as the dependent variable. Insert the bivariate linear regression equation and r^2 in your graph. Do you observe a linear relationship between the 2 variables? Use Excel’s Analysis ToolPak to conduct a regression analysis of Age and Assessment Value. Is Age a significant predictor of AssessmentValue? Construct a multiple regression model. Use Excel’s Analysis ToolPak to conduct a regression analysis with AssessmentValue as the dependent variable and FloorArea, Offices, Entrances, and Age as independent variables. What is the overall fit r^2? What is the adjusted r^2? Which predictors are considered significant if we work with ?=0.05? Which predictors can be eliminated? What is the final model if we only use FloorArea and Offices as predictors? Suppose our final model is: Assessed Value = 115.9 + 0.26 x FloorArea + 78.34 x Offices What wouldbe the assessed value of a medical office building with a floor area of 3500 sq. ft., 2 offices, that was built 15 years ago? Is this assessed value consistent with what appears in the database? For more information on Tax Assessment Value read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_assessment

Effective financial reporting depends on sound ethical behavior. Financial scandals in accounting and the business world have resulted in legislation to ensure adequate disclosures and honesty and integrity in financial reporting. A sound economy is contingent on truthful and reliable financial reporting. Instructions: Read the following scenario. Answer the questions that follow. This will be a 2-3 page submission in a question and answer format (also in paragraph form). An introduction and conclusion are not required. Refer back to your textbook for guidance on how to think through the scenario. You have been recently hired as an assistant controller for XYZ Industries, a large, publically held manufacturing company. Your immediate supervisor is the controller who also reports directly to the VP of Finance. The controller has assigned you the task of preparing the year-end adjusting entries.  In the receivables area, you have prepared an aging accounts receivable and have applied historical percentages to the balances of each of the age categories.  The analysis indicates that an appropriate estimated balance for the allowance for uncollectible accounts is $180,000.  The existing balance in the allowance account prior to any adjusting entry is a $20,000 credit balance. After showing your analysis to the controller, he tells you to change the aging category of a large account from over 120 days to the current status and to prepare a new invoice to the customer with a revised date that agrees with the new category.  This will change the required allowance for uncollectible accounts from $180,000 to $135,000. Tactfully, you ask the controller for an explanation for the change and he tells you “We need the extra income, the bottom line is too low.”Required: In a 2-3 page paper, discuss the following: Consider what you have learned relative to ethics and financial reporting. What is the rationale for the calculations/process used to estimate the $180,000 uncollectible allowance? How do you think the misstatement of funds will impact the income statement and balance sheet? What is the ethical dilemma you face? What are the ethical considerations? Consider your options and responsibilities as an assistant controller. Identify the key internal and external stakeholders. What are the negative impacts that can happen if you do not follow the instructions of your supervisor? What are the potential consequences if you do comply with your supervisor’s instructions? Who will be negatively impacted? All questions must be answered in the paper. Paper 2-3 pages with references. 

You have been assigned to train new consultants on the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on financial reporting. Prepare a 12-15 slide PowerPoint presentation for use in a training session with the new consultants. Include an explanation of what the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is. Include an explanation of the impact it has on the financial reporting of publicly-traded companies. Include at least 2 properly formatted references. Prepare a Word document that includes the notes from the slides that you can use as a handout during the presentation. Use proper APA format for the Word document. Please submit your assignment.

Variance Analysis: Write an analytical summary of your learning outcomes from chapters 9 and 10. In addition to your analytical summary, address the following: As a manager, discuss how you would use or have used the concepts presented in chapters 9 and 10. Why might managers find a flexible-budget analysis more informative than static-budget analysis? How might a manager gain insight into the causes of flexible-budget variances for direct materials, labour, and overhead? Provide at least one numerical example to support your thoughts.

Reviewing the previous quarter’s financial statements will provide you with data to construct pro forma financial statements for Starbucks and make some basic projections. This week, you will be charged with constructing two pro forma financial statements and addressing some questions about your projections. The two financial statements will  include an Income Statement and Balance Sheet. To begin your assignment, download the Financial Forecasting Template. Part 1 Use Yahoo! Finance (Links to an external site.) or the EDGAR | Company Filings  (Links to an external site.)database to download the last 10Q from Starbucks into excel. Use the downloaded data to complete the Income Statement and Balance Sheet on the  appropriate tabs in the Financial Forecasting Template. Assume the  following: Sales will increase for the next quarter by the same percentage  increase from the previous quarter to the last reported quarter. For  example, if sales increased 8% from the last quarter to the current  reported quarter, you will use 8% as the sales increase for your pro  formas. For more information on Pro Forma read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_forma

Read the scenario in the textbook and complete the activity below. Use Excel—showing all work and formulas—to complete the following: Prepare a flexible budget.  Compute the sales volume variance and the variable cost volume variances based on a comparison between the master budget and the flexible budget. Compute flexible budget variances by comparing the flexible budget with the actual results. Create a 6- to 8-slide presentation for the budget committee meeting. Complete the following in your presentation: Summarize the results of the sales volume and variable cost volume variances computations based on the comparison between the master budget and the flexible budget. Summarize the results of the flexible budget variances computations based on the comparison between the flexible budget and the actual results. Justify the favorable or unfavorable budget variances. Since this is a not-for-profit organization, address why anyone should be concerned with meeting the budget. Make recommendations for what can be done differently to stay on budget for future luncheons. Provide specific examples to support your recommendations. Cite references to support your assignment. Format your citations according to APA guidelines. For more information on Budget Variance read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variance_(accounting)

Complete the two financial health activities (The True Cost of a New Car and  The True Cost of Credit Card Use) presented in Unit 7 Topic “Financial Health” related to spending money you do not have. Share your experience with “The True Cost of a New Car” activity with your peers Change the size of the loan, years to pay it back, and the interest rate three (3) to four (4) times. Start with the lowest loan amount you might need for your new care and increase by $5000 to $10000 each turn. Start with a 3% loan (entered as .03) and increase by one (1) or two (2) percent each turn. In each case choose between 5 and 7 years to pay it back. Describe one of the monthly payments you would have to make based on your selections. Loan amount? Interest rate? Years to pay it back? Monthly payment? Does total car cost? Discuss the potential impact a car payment of that size might have on your monthly budget. Describe the other monthly expenses you would have to remove or reduce to make your payments. Why Is or isn’t the car worth the sacrifices you might have to make given the size of the monthly payments? What other options do you have to avoid taking out a car loan? Share your experience with ” The True Cost of Credit Card Use” activity with your peers Consider the following scenario: You spend an extra $50 a month using a credit card for the first year after graduation to make ends meet. The interest rate charged by the credit card company is 18%. The minimum payment you are required to send each month is $20. Now consider the real cost of that $50 dollars a month by the end of that first year provided to you in the exercise. How might the continued use of a credit card to fund an extra $50 of spending per month affect your long-term financial health? Describe two ways you could avoid the long-term consequences of spending more than you have on a regular basis. Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format. For more information on Financial Health read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_health_management