The Blog just about constitutes a course in itself.
One of my aims here is to get you the student the chance to read and view the news using critical thinking, and another great accounting phrase, professional skepticism. So let’s look at a few past posts and what has happened since.
9/25/06 I noted that DESIGN is an emerging theme of ads and high profile celebrities. Designers are the new Divas, says Fast Company magazine. Now the Samsung BlackJack ad in the latest B/W features, yep, celebrity fashion designer Derek Lam. Infiniti ads also feature designers.
10/06/06 I spotlighted the Logan, the hot selling French car in Eastern Europe. Now Page 44 of the 2/12/07 B/W reports Renault may sell one million a year by 2010 and is helping push Renault Nissan to Number 3 worldwide taking out Ford’s spot.
10/22/06 I noted that Eastwood had a penchant for staying on budget in his films which resulted in profits and studio enthusiasm. And so Speilberg and he agreed on Eastwood doing his first big budget movie Flags of Our Fathers. While not a huge commercial success, Letters from Iwo Jima has lots of Oscar Buzz-and cost about $20 M to make. As I said then, who thinks of Clint was a managerial accountant?
10/25/06 I pondered the Nicaragua Canal, now Panama is full speed ahead on a $5B re do of the Panama Canal, a ten year project, how will this affect the glowing predictions of an Inland Port here?
10/29/06 I noted that RSH Radio Shack was on sale, 80% off is stock price of five years ago, have you looked at its chart lately?
11/14/06 I speculated as to when FRPT Force Protection would start making money. The stock has since soared from $8 to $20 and partnered with Gen Dynamics. Also, the Pen Again innovative design is now on sale at WMT.
11/16/06 I noted that TGT has outperformed WMT stock. The latest B/W interviews Julie Roehm the Chrysler ad whiz that got sacked ten months into WMT, hey Julie, it’s tough to turn around a super tanker.
2/4/07 I speculated that it would take a lot more than supply value chain cost cuts to jump start DELL ahead of HPQ. Well read the page 33 article 2/12/07 B/W "Dell believes the supply chain and manufacturing can be improved. B/W observes, Dell does not have the innovation of an Apple or an HP, trying to win consumers strays from the direct sales model." Now DELL is a $90 B company not a $3B when Mike left. Gee, haven’t we seen this movie at Ford? The fact is that DELL stills makes oodles of money, the shareholders and execs are just amazed the stock is not going up 20% a year, in fact it is down 50%, gee, it happens in the best of companies. What do we study in managerial accounting that could have prevented this?
At any rate, those are a few past observations that have pretty well turned out to be right on the mark. A college degree is supposed to do that for you but my experience is that working problems in a book won’t get you there. Only reading, writing, speaking, and analyzing will do the job. And that is what the blog is trying to induce you to do. So, read along, sound off, we can have some fun with this, and maybe show some practical application along the way.
DLE
Professor Elam 
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