• Professor Elam

    Thursday Nov 29 2012

    This morning's paper has an interesting story bout a couple on their honeymoon no less, crossing America in a unique fashion. Their site, breakfast with strangers invites folks to audition for a breakfast so that the couple and meet and learn more about them. 

    The result is both a blog and a forthcoming book highlighting who they have met. I am beginning a somewhat similar idea in that we will be sitting down with various individuals in San Antonio to relate their experiences in business via You tube interviews. 

    So what are you planning, has anyone started a blog about their college experience at TAMUSA?

  • Professor Elam

    Thursday Nov 29 2012

    On Monday, December 3, 2012 at 12:00 pm EST, Gleim will host a CPA Q&A Live Broadcast on our YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/gleimaccounting. Subscribe and tune in for a chance to ask our expert presenters questions about preparing for and passing the CPA exam. We will discuss the Gleim CPA Review System and how it prepares candidates to pass quickly and efficiently. In addition, there will be a raffle and a chance to win great prizes to help you in your journey of passing the CPA exam. Tell your friends, classmates, and colleagues who may also be interested in becoming a CPA.

    That would be 11 AM here in San Antonio. 

  • Professor Elam

    Wed Nov 28 2012

    Question: Why would anyone want a crocheted fake beard attached to a hat?

    Answer: How could anyone not need this?

    I mean is America a great country or what?  I have always believed that a country capable of creating spray
    Screen Shot 2012-11-28 at 7.25.47 AM on hair knows no limits. Meet fab.com, marketer of novelty items. Fab.com is doing $500,000 a day versus $150,000 a day this time last year. Let your imagination be your guide. 

    They have 12,000 ah er ahem products on line. 

     

  • Professor Elam

    Wednesday Nov 28 2012

    SNE PC and Sharp have had their debt ratings lowered to junk or below junk levels. All are suffering from losses in their tv divisions. Samsung from Korea has become a strong competitor. Panasonic has suspended its dividend and announced its biggest loss ever, $9.28 billion. Sharp may be in danger of going out of business.

    Japan is not into its third lost decade.

  • Professor Elam

    Tuesday Nov 27 2012

    Globalscape GSB announced three and nine month operating results.

    This report is an excellent example of why we study accounting as a business language. GSB took a non cash impairment charge for its investment in notes of an Austin company which took bankruptcy. This regrettable event happened the same week that HP took a write down on Autonomy. Bad news. But cash flow continues to improve for GSB. 

  • Professor Elam

    Tuesday November 27 2012

    Here is a lengthy front  page WSJ article on the evidence that Autonomy was cooking the books well before the HP purchase. How did HP miss all this?

    There is even a parallel with Enron, the CEO of Autonomy claimed to have 500 software engineers working on various projects but the door to that room led to a broom closet. Enron pulled the same stunt claiming all the folks behind  a glass wall were sophisticated commodity traders on the phone doing deals. In reality they were secretaries and such talking to friends on the phone. 

    Auditing requires professional skepticism. Oh, did I mention DeLoitte signed off on this deal?

  • Professor Elam

    Monday November 26 2012

    Warren Buffet thinks it is just peachy keen  to raise taxes even higher on the ten percent who pay 50% of all the income taxes already. He says he would work just as hard. Henrgy Blodgett thinks that is a great idea.

    They are both wrong.

    Most of the students have not had the privilege of paying a serious amount of money in income tax yet. I suspect you attitude towards taxes will change a bit when you do. Consdier that we have

    a commerce dept that produces no commerce

    an education depatment that does not educate anyone

    an energy department that was created in 1979 to bring energy prices down, gasoline is $3.50 today, what do these people do?

    an EPA that continues to spew forth job killing regulations which will keep your gasoline price high by the way

    FHA is broke and in need of more money

    And we should pay more taxes for more of this?

    Consider what the well to do support in this country. Have you been to theMcNay, or the Witte, or the San Antonio Museum of Art?  How about the Tobin Center or the symphony, both of which lack funding as I write. We have a wonderful library system and a famous zoo, both supported by private as well as public funding.

    And if  those awful rich were not sending as much to the government, perhaps they would have more left to donate to scholarships for college students.

    Feeding the crocodile only means that one defers the time at which he turns on you for his next meal.

    How about getting all of us on board to pay something, wtih over 50% paying no income tax, why should they care what the government does, and they don't.

  • Professor Elam

    Sunday Nov 25 2012

    A common feature of dictatorial systems is corruption.  I suspect North Korean 'Officials' live pretty nice lives, not so much for your average North korean though. The link describes the pay up or take what you get Chinese Education system. 

    The lack ofa  free market usually produces a a black market. 

  • Professor Elam

    Friday Nov 23 2012

    Rich Kalaaard looks at Apple.  Pleae read this article as Rich does a fine job of showing how in just five years the profit margins on the iPhone have valuted Apple past the 1999 valuation of MSFT. It won't last he says. Rich holds the title of Publisher of Forbes. 

  • Professor Elam

    Thanksgiving Day    November 22 2012

    Someone asked for more time to post an assignment which involved a report on the balance sheet and equity section of a public company. While the student was working Friday thru Sunday, I asked about today, which elicited a repsonse of 

    what, study on Thanksgiving!

    When Mike Phelps (winner of the most Olympic swim medals ever) coach was asked about Mike's practice routine he replied, he swims every day. The interviewer on Sixty Minutes protested that surely he did not swim on his birthday or Christmas or New Year's when we all watch football?  Yep, he does. 

    As the coach put it, if you want to win at swimming, 

    Get in the water. 

    That is a great metaphor. If you don't love what you are doing enough, if you aren't jazzed enough to be engaged every day of your life, clearly you have not found your siren song in life yet. 

    Here is the overview for this blog

    Screen Shot 2012-11-22 at 12.52.38 PM

    Since beginning in September 2006 I have written 2,869 posts which interestingly is 467 more than the student comments. In that time I have also authored a newspaper column, every week. Oh I began another blog in 2009, here is the box score on that one. 

    Screen Shot 2012-11-22 at 12.56.35 PM

    The pageviews on the investmnet blog shown above have recentlybeen hitting 250 and we have recorded hits from some 92 different countries around the world. And some 56 folks logged on today or perhaps one person who was just trying to run the number up to 56. 

    My point here is that folks interested in investing don't consider reading about investing work or drudgery or something they have to do, they love it. 

    I'm a lucky guy. I am doing what I like to do, reading what I like to read,writing about what interests me. 

    I log on to marketwatch or finance.yahoo or read several market blogs as well as watch the markets every day. 

    If you are going to succeed in accounting or swimming, the same is true. Getin the water. If the water isn't fun for you, you are in the wrong swimming pool, simple as that. 

    Eventually you will take a certified exam if you stay in this field. The exam won't be giving you a pass on when you decided to get engaged. It won't care if you drive a new M series BWM or a clapped out hand me down Toyota Corolla to the test center. it will just expect you to be ready. 

    Repent now, get engaged.