I have updated the LibGuide for Accounting 4100 Summer. There are two sections being taught by Prof. Jian Xiao. This is a communications intensive course. The students are doing research on one of 12 companies that are listed in the guide. All of the companies, except Facebook, are non-U.S.-based public companies that trade their shares on U.S. exchanges as ADRs. The company websites, Edgar Online I-Metrix, Mergent Online, Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage, Audit Analytics, Factiva and Value Line, are among the suggested resources to help the students prepare their presentations. The students need to discuss the impact of International Financial Reporting Standards on the company’s bottom line, and whether to invest in the company. (Facebook, uses the FASB Accounting Standards Codification, rather than IFRS, and being newly publicly traded hasn’t filed a 10-K.)
The course runs through July. I made a presentation to the two sections yesterday but I also said that they could get help at the reference desk if I were not available.
If students ask what other resources have information about this company’s failure, ABI Inform Global, Business Source Complete, Lexis-Nexis, Factiva, and SSRN can be recommended for news stories as well as coverage in professional and academic publications. It received a great deal of coverage.
If a student needs more assistance, he/she can contact me for a research consultation. However, I think the above information should be enough for the students. They need not contact me directly to learn that the Harvard Business School case needs to be purchased.
I have updated the LibGuide on CPA exam review resources to show 2012 resources. The 4-volume sets from Bisk and Wiley are available in Reserves. Books 24×7 also has some resources, including access to older material.
Because there were many changes made to the exam in 2011 the older volumes of review books, found in reference and in the stacks, have been removed from the collection. Please encourage students to use the most recent materials. The LibGuide has other information about the exam.
Baruch’s accountancy department is sponsoring a session on the CPA exam Feb. 4th. They also offer assistance throughout the year in explaining what needs to be done to register for the exam and prepare for it.
I’ve learned that there have been several inquiries at the reference desk relating to a revenue recognition assignment (2 pages) for an accounting class. Apparently they need to locate three companies in the same industry and make some comparisons.
Based on this limited information, and a student’s comment that he had an hour to locate the information, I would make the following suggestions:
Revenue recognition is a very broad topic.
The SEC has a topical index of revenue recognition issues at:
http://www.sec.gov/interps/account/sabcodet13.htm
To quickly identify three companies in the same industry with some revenue recognition problems (which would likely provide something to write about), I would suggest:
Go to the Audit Analytics Database
Select restatements in the right column and a text search.
Then, select an industry from choices available in the Industry box.
(If a company has had to restate their earnings, it’s usually a news making event.)
Restatements can occur for many reasons. All four of these options in Audit Analytics
include revenue recognition as a choice, so the student can select the choice(s) the student wants. The results can be downloaded and the three companies selected.
Databases such as Factiva, Business Source Complete, ABI Inform Global may have specific articles about the companies identified. Edgar Online I-Metrix, Metrix, and other resources can be selected for keyword searching of SEC filings relating to revenue recognition by the companies.
Another possible search is on Factiva, limiting the search to specific industries, geographically to the the U.S. and the subject Commodities, Financial Market news, and a specific time period and doing a keyword search like (revenue recognition) and (FASB or SEC), and news articles for companies in the same industry will be retrieved.
The “gift card” assignment that some students have had in the past would be an example of a revenue recognition issue. Searching ABI Inform Global for “gift cards” and “revenue recognition” brings up 14 articles, some which mention specific companies.
Since most retail companies have some form of gift cards, or customer loyalty programs, it would be easy to identify three retail companies and search their SEC filings as to how they account for them.
Accounting students of Prof. Carmichael need the Missal Final Report regarding the New Century Financial Bankruptcy Investigation. The report, more than 500 pages, is posted on the website of the law firm in which Missal is a partner. I located it with a Google search, missal final report new century. There are articles on ABI/Inform, Business Source Complete and Factiva relating to the report and its impact.
New Century Financial restated some financial statements, filed for bankruptcy and emerged from it. Audit Analytics has some information and the SEC filings may be located on the SEC website. (Some databases remove filings of bankrupt companies and also remove the original filing after a restatement.)
I helped a student in Acc 4100 who is part of a team doing research and a presentation on “push down accounting.” They are to include references to companies using push down accounting. Here are some possible sources:
Books 24×7 -search FinancePro collection for phrase “push down accounting”. There are some books with chapters explaining this phrase.
ABI Inform and Business Source Premier can be searched for articles in accounting journals. These can help explain push down accounting, which results in a new basis (from what I read quickly–I really didn’t study it).
CCH Accounting Research Manager–offers the FASB Codification and interpretations and explanations. The FASB Codification relating to push down accounting is 805-50-15-7 through 15-9. Among the results I looked at were some AICPA issues papers including pushdown accounting in practice with examples from the 1970s and 1980s mentioned.
For current/recent examples, I suggested to the student to try Factiva as we found some earnings releases (from Business Wire and other wire services) and also earnings conference calls in which a specific company’s officers explained how push down accounting affected their earnings.
Doing phrase searches for push down accounting in SEC filings on Mergent and Edgar Online I-Metrix also provided some recent examples.
The student was pleased with these suggestions. I neglected to ask if they were to consider non-US companies. I hope these suggestions are helpful in case the question comes up again.
Baruch accountancy students and faculty have access to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification through two databases: the FASB Accounting Standards Codification and CCH Accounting Research Manager. Access to the Codification on RIA Checkpoint was removed late this summer in a cost saving move.
Here are the details:
The FASB Accounting Standards Codification database is paid for by the accountancy department as access for Academic Users is available only to students and faculty in accountancy programs. Access for academic users requires a password and log in, available only from accountancy faculty members. The Academic User version is the same as the Professional View (but without the cost to accounting students and faculty).
Anyone, including students can access the free Basic View of the Codification. First time users need to register. After registration, access is by Registered User. As a librarian, it might be good to establish your own free access to the basic view as the password and login information for Academic Users is, again only for Baruch accountancy students and faculty.
First time users need to go to New User—First Time Users-Order. Then, select Basic View-Free Access at https://www.fasb.org/store/subscriptions/fasb/new
Once they have established an account, they will log onto the codification as a Registered User. (Further down in the column on the homepage of the database.)
Once order is clicked, scroll down –Users are asked for an email address and to agree to terms. They will then get an email confirmation to access the basic view. (If they go for the professional view it costs about $850. They should not do that.)
Once students or anyone has registered, they access the database as a Registered User.
The Basic View allows browsing the codification by topic and basic printing. The basic view doesn’t allow keyword searches, or emailing of results. These features are available in the Academic View that is available to accountancy students and faculty.
The Codification is also available on CCH Accounting Research Manager by clicking FASB under Standards. CCH Accounting Research Manager offers interpretations and examples, which can be very helpful. Books 24×7 offers full text of books explaining the Codification. CUNY+ can be searched for print versions of the Codification.
Several students in Prof. Lapoolsa’s ACC 3202 class have inquired about the Warren case assignment at the reference desk and sought help. However, they didn’t have the assignment with them. One said it involves journal entries. I know what journal entries are, but having received a C- in financial accounting, I offer no help with journal entries other than to direct students to a number of books that help with journal entries in our collection. (Books 24×7 and accounting textbooks offer suggestions.) As there is nothing on reserve for the assignment, I contacted the professor who said it is for sale in the bookstore, and suggested any other inquiries from students be addressed to him by email.
Starting this week, the Newman Library’s access to the CCH databases CCH Business & Finance, Capital Changes, and CCH Tax Research may be made through their new CCH Intelliconnect. (CCH’s Accounting Research Manager is not yet included in Intelliconnect.)
When you select any of the CCH databases listed on the Newman Library homepage, you will be promoted to sign up for Intelliconnect. I would suggest using your Baruch email address. Your password is your own choice.
Intelliconnect allows you to search everything we subscribe to from CCH. You can narrow your search to start with by going to Practice Areas. To eliminate areas to search, deselect them. For example, if you want only to search CCH Capital Changes, it is listed under CCH at Wall Street. Deselect everything but Capital Changes to run your search.
CCH has put together some quick two minute tutorials on searching that are to be recommended.
Basically, you can run a search and then filter your results through filters that appear in the left column.
I’m going to talk with Mike about how to best describe the new IntelliConnect on the Newman Library homepage and we’ll keep you posted.
