Monday Sept 8 2014
I ws not aware of who invented e mail until today, now we know.
And now the bride wears red,
and the groom wears red with flip flops, great for the beach I guess.
Professor Elam
Accounting & Investing Info for San Antonio A & M
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Professor Elam
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Professor Elam
Monday Sept 8, 2014
I have frequently used LULU as an example in class. After quite a run as a Wall Street darling, the company is suffering from as this article states, self inflicted wounds.
The company should be riding the athletic apparel wave but has had its problems 'delivering the goods.
This is what happens when companies lose their way. Dennis Wilson founder recently sould shares for over $ 800 Million.
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Professor Elam
Monday Sept 8, 2014
The British Pound slumped in value on the results of a new poll showing increased support for Scottish INdependence. I have been urging student to read current events for better contextual understanding of accounting. Here are the logical questions about this event.
How is it that Scottish Independence is stirring now, see the link to socionomics in the sidebar.
Why did the Pound slump on the suggestion Scotland may break away? (Yes there was an article in the WSJ explaining this a couple of days ago)
WHat does this have to do with accounting? The answer is that companies doing business overseas have to account for currency translations in Other Comprehensive Income, a segment of Shareholder Equity. If your company was bringing profits back that were denominated in Pounds, how would this slump affect your bottom line?
Could or should you have hedged for this possibility? How do hedges work for or against the firm? How doesone enter such a transaction? You will recall that I gave you a link in the syllabus to the CME book that explains such transactions. Have you examined it yet? Have you printed it out?
Accounting is a great deal more than just book keeping of yore. Today's accountant must be well versed in internatonal currency trading and hedging.
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Professor Elam
Weekend Sept 7 2014
Pro photographer Thom Hogan writes a great column on 'magic camera settings' Thom shoots with Nikon camera. He notes at the start of vacation season he always gets requests for the settings he uses on his Nikon, people assume that if they use the same setting they will get the same result.
In short if Thom shot his photo with a Nikon XXX camera and used a Nikon 85 MM lens, well if I shooot as you did at F 3.5 and 1/125 of a second, I will get the same shot right?
Uh wrong. There is no magic camera setting.
TAke a look at these gorgeous shots by Robin Wong.. AS he notes, he cannot provide a 'cheat sheet' for the same results.
I have spent a good deal of time visitng with our past tutors.Different tutors relate the same story. A student wants help with come conceptual problem. They offer to explain the concept, theory and how to analyze the problem.The retort however is,
no no I just want you to show me how to get the answer! The student is always in a hurry and always wants yes a magic 'cheat sheet.'
Well there is not magic accounting setting either, no instant cheat sheet, and no easy way to get there.
AS Hogan notes at the conclusion of his column the best universal manual for anything is on the back of every shampoo botttle.
Apply, later, rinse, repeat
Until you get your hair clean
Or your accounting problem correct
See you in class.
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Professor Elam
Weekend Sept 7 2014
I recently posted on Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House in Lynchburg, TN. I noted this business model overcame amny of the traditional problems with restuarants. Eliminating supper meant no one had to work at night.
I noted that the San Francisco Steak House has adopted a meeting only format, no more traditional come as you are restaurant meals.
IN Sunday's Express News on page H4 there is a werite up on Sylvia's Mexican Grill. We all are aware there is an untold number of Mexican or Tex Mex joints in San Antonio. A couple of things caught my eye in the write up and examinging the website.
It is located in the Medical District. THe hours Mon thru Fri are 6 Am to 3 PM, Sat 8 AM - 2 PM, closed Sunday.
Sylvia's offers a delivery service. I am assuming they cater to breakfast lunch to the thousands who work in the medical district. And they deliver to close by locations. Like my example of the The Permian Basin Hamburger Company this is a breakfast thru lunch keep it simple operation, with no franchise fees. Notice the Hamburger Company has been operating since 1978, quite an accomplishment for a mom and pop start up.
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Professor Elam
Thursday Sept 4 2014
TAMUSA Accounting Students
I received this announcement from SA CPA Society today. Their career night is on Friday Sept 26, see below. It is at Chapter Headquarters at 901 North Loop 410 between Broadway and Nacogdoches.
Send my your name if you plan to attend. Do not treat this casually. They invite all the acct students in town and I suspect the Fire Marshall would faint dead away at the 100 students they squeeze into the two rooms there. So do not submit your name and then fail to show, this will create a really bad impression.
See Below
Dennis Elam
Good afternoon,
Please share the attached information with your accounting majors and encourage them to attend. This is the only opportunity this academic year for accounting majors who have never been TSCPA/SACPAS members to take advantage of our free one-year membership (a $35 value and a priceless experience, if put to good use).
Speakers from government, public accounting (the tax side), a nonprofit and education will expound on their experiences and suggestions for students considering pursuing the CPA license. There will also be representatives from various accounting firms and employers on hand to speak with students about internships and entry-level positions.
We would also like to visit your campus in advance of the September 26 workshop to explain how TSCPA and the San Antonio CPA Society can assist accounting majors with their career goals. Please let me know a couple of dates that might work with your schedule, as well as the best time(s) to visit, and I will find a volunteer to speak.
If you would, please collect the names of those students who are committed to attending, and forward them to me by Tuesday, September 23. Thank you in advance for your assistance, and please let me know if you have any questions.
Amanda Talaat
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Professor Elam
Thursday Sept 4 2014
Beth Hair is the successful founder of Aventine Hill Partners, see sidebar for link. Today Aventine released a bio on their newest partner for the Dallas Office. it is an interesting read on how one'climbs' the financial ladder of success. So I am posting this as a look ahead to understand what it takes to become an in demand financial professional. Notice he has extensive SEC experience and is a CPA. This is why all of you are maintaining a blog on a pulbic company, no time like th epresent to get familiar with the way the SEC requires things be done.
Dallas, Texas – September 4, 2014
Aventine Hill CFOs is pleased to announce that Jens Mielke has joined the firm as Partner in Dallas. Beth Hair, President of Aventine Hill Partners, stated “Jens’ passion for client service, combined with his broad financial experience, make him an ideal fit for our organization. He is a strategic thinker that can quickly adapt to our clients’ changing needs. His “roll up his sleeves” attitude creates an environment for project success.”
Jens has over 25 years of experience as a financial executive. Most recently as Chief Financial Officer and previously as auditor, Jens has led teams on diverse projects such as ERP systems implementations, internal controls implementation, remediation and rationalization, forensic investigations, secondary securities offerings, multi-year financial restatements, franchise offerings, closing process improvement, and budgeting and forecasting model creation. Jens has also directed over 50 merger, acquisition, spin-off, and divestiture-related projects including due diligence, data room set-up, and the coordination of legal and operational due diligence.
In addition, Jens has participated in the initial public offerings of NYSE and NASDAQ listed companies. He has an in-depth knowledge of Securities and Exchange Commission and Sarbanes-Oxley regulations and has prepared numerous annual, quarterly, and transaction-related SEC filings.
Prior to joining Aventine Hill CFOs, Jens served as CFO of a high-growth, small cap public retailer where he was responsible for all finance and accounting functions including internal and external reporting, investor relations, lender relationships, and lease negotiations.
Jens began his career in public accounting as a staff auditor for a Big Four Accounting Firm in Dallas, Texas. He was ultimately promoted to Audit Partner and served many valuable clients including large Fortune 500 global, private equity, and small, closely-held private companies in a variety of industries including manufacturing, consumer products, distribution, food service, retail, lodging, restaurants, and energy.
Jens received both his Master of Business Administration and his Bachelor of Business Administration degrees from Southern Methodist University. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas and is a member of the American Institute of Public Accountants, Texas Society of Public Accountants, and Financial Executives International. He has served on various boards and in several volunteer capacities with not-for-profit organizations in North Texas.
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Professor Elam
Thursday Sept 4 2014
Provitie assembled this list of12 ways to improve your value as an Internal Auditor.
Being well read on current issues is part and parcel of being able to do any of these 12 things.
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Professor Elam
Thursday Sept 4 2014
CVS will cease selling cigarettes. Why would a company forgo $2 Billion in annual sales? As this article says, there is more money in health care than in retail. CVS is transitioning to become a health care company rather than a pharmacy convenience store.
Thsi as Professor Love would say, is a change in strategy, the big picutre of where you want to go. The tactic is to drop cigarettes, how can one claim to be promoting health and sell tobacco at the same time? So far Walgreens has simply remarked that customers can buy the same at the Dollar Stores, so it is still in the tobacco business. Years ago I recall the President of WAG saying 35% of its customers bought tobacco. I doubt the number is anywhere near that today.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out between the two compnaies.
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Professor Elam
Thursday Sept 4, 2014
Apple got the ball rolling when they began lavishing juice drinks on the team working on the original MAC copmputer. Today corporate campuses like Google provide upscale 'organic' meals for employees at no charge.
TheIRS which cannot keep track of its own e mails has these employees in its sights. The IRS wants to tax the value of trhe meals as employee compensation. Some firms have provided this sort of perk for a nominal charge in the past. There is no way the government will ever be content with the money it has, it always wants more.
Professor Elam 