Professor Elam

Accounting & Investing Info for San Antonio A & M

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Category: Cost Managerial

  • The Gathering Storm

    Thursday January 20 2011 I mentioned the looming municipal defaults in class. Here Vallejo CA defaults to bond holders. There is much to learn here and that is what I meant about your need to expand your reading.  Please read this article to see why I link to Mish what does Chapter 9 bankruptcy mean why is…

  • Lance Armstrong Again

    Thursday January 20, 2011 Do you care what Lance Armstrong did? I mentioned in a post yesterday  the FDA investigation into Lance Armstrong. This of course takes lots of time and money. As Business Insider asks in the hyperlink, do you really want the FDA spending time and money on this? A big controversy is…

  • US Manufacturing Still Sliding

    Thursday January 20, 2011 Yesterday in the cost class I explained the reason that class exists. The reason is the decline in the US role in manufacturing. During World War II the US gained a world lead in manufacturing. By the 1970s it was gone. Click on the hyper link to see how it has shrunk just…

  • Do You Know Groupon?

    Wed Jan 19 2011 Groupon is a deal making company that just sprang up the last couple of years.  Mish takes a look at their latest fiasco.  Groupon offers deals exclusive to an area that allow one to sample the product of a company at a big discount. Mish asks if Groupon is the new Netscape, hmm, is…

  • Real World Budgeting

    Thursday Dec 8 2010 Kirk Tuck is an Austin based Photographer. Here is a real world example of budgeting We study budgeting in ACCT 3314. I really like this example because it is a service company budget. Only 8% of the business in America is manufacturing and that is what the book addresses, how silly is…

  • Michigan Budget Woes

    Thursday Dec 2 2010 Wayne County Michigan has cut unionized worker pay by either 10 or 20%. Expect to see more, much more, of this as cities and local governments grapple with their promises that cannot be kept.  We are studying budgeting in cost accounting, municipal governments are doing the same thing. 

  • Incremental Costing Last Minute Cruises

    thursday Nov 11 2010 To illustrate the idea of incremental costing and pricing I used the example of the Last Minute Cruise. I mentioned that folks will show up an hour before the boat leaves the dock, hoping to make 'a deal' with the ship bursar on a discounted cabin. Well sure enoough http://cruises.affordabletours.com/search/Last_Minute_Deals/  …

  • 1400 are Coming to Dinner!

    Thursday Nov 11 2010 Here is an interesting article that demonstrates a lot of what we study in managerial accounting. Tao's is located in Vegas and despite the bust there remains a place to see and be seen, and dine at $70 a plate. I found it itneresting that the food preparation including cooking began in…

  • Million Dollar Businesses You Never Heard of

    Thursday Nov 11 2010 Here are some great off the wall ideas! Yept start your own business in an off beat niche. The key here is of course to find a business where there is a real demand the demand is not currently being met the business has some longevity (for example, the fiero business is…

  • Deflationary Toy Pricing

    Tuesday Nov 9 2010   We are studying incremental decision making in ACCT 3314 and the chapter features Mattel. Well WMT and TGT are battling it out.   Yep it is the race to the bottom for the cheaper alternative. This is real deflation no matter what the FED says. Incremental decision making usually involves ignoring…