What is your opinion about getting rid of corporate taxes altogether and just requiring shareholders to pay taxes on dividends and capital gains?
According to the article, accounting as an industry has an average pre-tax profit margin of 19.8%. In your opinion, why do you think accounting firms can command such a relatively high margin?
What do you think are the implications of the NLRB ruling about joint employer relationships for McDonald’s and it franchisees? Would this ruling possibly affect recognition of contingent liabilities? If so, how?
Do you believe that fewer accounting restatements means that the quality of financial reporting has improved? How would you define high quality financial statements?
If you were the CEO or CFO of a public company, how would you make the decision on whether to report potential violations to the SEC?
According to the article, Target’s profitability suffered in part because of the rigid performance metrics that were introduced. Explain how introducing performance metrics can alter employees’ behavior and affect the “creative culture” that Target had. What financial ratios would capture reduced performance?
Can you think of other ways that tax policy drives corporate decisions, in addition to the decision to relocate HQ to overseas, such as Medtronic’s planned acquisition of Covidien?
Good ideas for working capital management are in this article. As you explore career options, does this type of work (CFO, internal accounting) appeal to you?
Should boards of directors diversify? Why or why not? What are the potential benefits of a diverse board of directors? Why do you suppose Skechers and Monster have not followed through with diversification?
Given the length of time on the joint revenue recognition project, what does the new revenue recognition standard suggest about collaboration between the FASB and the IASB? Will the new standard improve accounting? If so, how exactly?
Do you believe that the disclosure about conflict minerals will be useful? How would you define useful?
How would you have voted on Chipotle’s executive compensation pay plan? Is $25 million for the CEO “too much”? How would you decide if pay is excessive?
What is your opinion about Walmart’s use of non-GAAP measures in deciding whether or not bonuses are paid?
In your opinion, is the use of non-GAAP measures in an IPO misleading? Or, is it truly helpful? If the latter, do you think GAAP is deficient? Should, for example, the measure of “free cash flow” be standardized by the FASB if it is deemed relevant for investor decisions?
Why would banks use net debt-to-EBITDA as a constraint on borrowing? What is a common characteristic of those firms that are already highly levered (with a ratio above 5)?
Should the SEC force companies to adopt SASB standards, in addition to FASB standards? If you were a CEO, would you voluntarily use SASB standards? What are the costs and the benefits of using SASB standards?
How would you interpret the data re: revenues and capex? What other data or ratios would help you decide what’s happening? If you were the CEO of a firm, how would you set your capex budget?
