Professor Elam

Accounting & Investing Info for San Antonio A & M

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  • Professor Elam

    IMA Scholarship

    Monday January 23, 2012

    IMA Professional and friend Jimmie Smith passed on this information about the IMA scholarship program.Note one needs to be a member but that is not expensive. Touch base with m on this, why not apply?  Apparently not many Texas students have taken advantage of this opportunity.

    Let me know if you submit an application.

    Dennis Elam

     

    he Institute of Management Accountants (IMA®), the world’s leading organization dedicated to supporting accountants and financial professionals in business, is accepting applications for its national scholarship programs: The Memorial Education Fund (MEF) and the Stuart Cameron and Margaret McLeod Memorial Scholarships, now through February 15, 2012.  Interested students can download an application form at IMA’s website at http://www.imanet.org/PDFs/Public/Scholarships_Rewards/SCMS_Scholarship%202011-2012%20Final.pdf. 

    Any IMA student member who has not previously received an IMA scholarship is encouraged to apply. MEF Scholarships are given at both the undergraduate and graduate student levels, and are based on academic merit and strength of outside recommendations, among other criteria. The scholarships carry awards ranging from $1,000 to $2,500.

    In addition, any student who applies for an MEF Scholarship is automatically considered for the prestigious Stuart Cameron and Margaret McLeod Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship, which carries a $5,000 award, is given to one individual among the entire scholarship application pool who exemplifies excellence in all eligibility criteria. The award also includes lodging, transportation, and registration to IMA’s Annual Conference & Exposition in June and the IMA Student Leadership Conference in November, which will be November 1-3 in San Antonio. 

    The Stuart Cameron and Margaret McLeod Memorial Scholarship is bestowed annually by the Stuart Cameron McLeod Society (SCMS).  Founded in 1934, SCMS is a special membership community within IMA whose members share a long history of service to IMA.

    The deadline to submit scholarship applications is February 15, 2012; winners are announced on or before April 30, 2011.   For complete information and application forms, please visit http://www.imanet.org/PDFs/Public/Scholarships_Rewards/SCMS_Scholarship%202011-2012%20Final.pdf.

     

    Please note that to be eligible to participate in any of these awards, students must be IMA members.  Also, note that IMA is currently offering a limited time $25 (normally $39) new student membership opportunity available through February 29th.  Go tohttp://www.imanet.org/ima_student_programs/student_membership.aspx?hq_e=el&hq_m=1175258&hq_l=4&hq_v=7f92483fb1.  The discount code is  STUMEM2512.  For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org.

     

  • Professor Elam

    Wanna Bet – Iowa Electronic Markets

    Monday Jan 23, 2012

    Those clever profs at the University of Iowa have created their own Futures Market.

    Yep the Tipple College of Business will let you invest up to $500 to wager on real outcomes for real events. 

    Here the current thinking on the various political races is on display. Wagers on Romney have dropped to about 72 cents on the collar while wagers on Gingrich are running about 20 cents.  Each bet would pay $1 if successful. 

    We will be examining the IEM in our discussion of derivatives this semeter. 

  • Professor Elam

    Merit Badges for the Job Market

    Saturday January 21, 2012

    The Graduate Ethics Class is submitting proposals to our own Southwest Teaching and Learning Conference. This is an example of what this article in the Weekend WSJ calls Merit Badges for the Job market.

    Face it, everyone applying for the job you are going to apply for will have a college degree. Granted we offer trhose here but gee, what else will you have to say for yourself?   Plan to start a laddered program of accomplishment to add to your resume. 

    I author not one bu two blogs. 

    I author a weekly newspaper column. 

    Have you taken a photo study of your college life?  

     

    Have you made a digital video to demonstrate a point?

    Videos are the future and they are now. Plan on adding a creative element to your portfolio. 

     

     

  • Professor Elam

    Sony Panasonic Debt Ratings Cut

    Friday Jan 20, 2012

    In the 1970s a new leader emerged in tlelevision production. Sony had its three gun Trinitron television which produced a much more clear picture than the Zenith or RCA. Indeed demand was so great Sony decided to start making the sets in the US. US dealers protested, certain that quality would decrease!

    Now, Sony and Panasonic both face debt downgrades  due to, yep, poor television results. This is all the mroe incredible in that both are leading producers of the digital cameras used in televisoin production!

    They have been supplanted by lower cost porducers like LG and Samsung. 

    Our point is that one cannot stand still in today's global marketplace. Anticiapting such changes is as much a part of the accounting job as it is marketing. 

  • Professor Elam

    Kirk Tuck on Intellectual Property

    Thursday Jan 19, 2012

    I made the comment in one class that the intermed book in accounting seems to think that US Steel is still the centerpiece of US Industry. Hardly. Nowadays it's google, apple, amazon, and the rest. And so inventory and fixed assets are about as relevant as buggy whips and spats on men's shoes. 

    Kirk Tuck has an interesting post about SOPA and IP. He also publishes a counterpoint.

    And there are some thoughts on the passingof Kodak EK. I agree with Kirk, if all they have left is an also ran ink jet priniting company as we go paperless, perhaps they can merge with Polaroid. Think Burroughs and Sperry Rand forming Unysis….

  • Professor Elam

    Morgan’s Wonderland

    Wed Jan 18, 2012

    Morgan's Wonderland is the world's first theme parke dedicated to enjoyment by individuals with special needs. Gordon hartman was inspired by an incident involving his own daughter and her difficulty interacting with other children. 

    Screen shot 2012-01-18 at 6.49.47 AM

    Now the organization has been contacted by the Disney folks.Apparently Disney senses the opportunity and or need for simialr theme parks elsewhere. 

    They also built a large soccer complex next door which brings teams from all over to SanAntonio. 

    Here is a great example of an unusual non-profit, and right in our backyard. 

  • Professor Elam

    Big Mac Index

    Wed Jan 18, 2012

    Please read this article on THe Big Mac Index. It is a real world alterantive on valuing currencies in different countries. Introduced in the Economist in 1986, it cmpares the relative values ofa  Big Mac in two countries. 

    We will be sutdying derivatives this semester and this is an excellent way to frame the discussion. 

  • Professor Elam

    Olympus Auditors Cleared of Wrongdoing

    Tuesday Jan 17, 2012

    Olympus Imaging has become one of the biggest ethical frauds in Japanese history. This article sums up the story to date. The article idicates that individual auditors rather than the firms are being blamed. It goes on to note that without an external auditor it will be difficult for Olympus to stay current with its reporting. 

    Hmm, maybe the firms did not do anything wrong but what did they do right?  If an audit firm can miss $1.7 B in losses, It seems to me that something is amiss. 

  • Professor Elam

    WW II Surrender – A Lesson in Staging and Design

    Wed Jan 1, 2012

    General McArthur never lacked for showmanship. This is the newsreel of the Japanese Surrender.  It took place aboard the USS Missouri, one of four Iowa Class Battleships. Here are the things to note about the scene in terms of how McArthur staged it. 

    The Japanese appear in their most formal attire. By contrast McArthur had orered that the uniform of the day for the Allies would be simple and plain khakis. In other words, in he wanted to project the idea that this was simply business as usual, an american victory. 

    About half way thru the flim clip, the camera pans back to give one the full effect of what it looked like about the Missouri. These ships carried triple 16 inch guns. The image of the Japanese surrendering under the looming presence of that kind of potential force is in deed a pwerful image. 

    And ths is takin gplace in Tokyo Harbor. That too symbolizes the War in the Pacific fought across so many islands. 

    The ceremony is short and to the point. The Japanese are signing the documents within ten minutes of boarding the ship. Again, the emphasis is on putting an end to the War. 

    This scene is one of the most powerful photos of the entire WarAs if that were not enough, a the end of the ceremony scores of American planes fly over the ship. Again this is the projection of American Allied power from sea and air for a War fought in an arena many times the size of the European Theater. 

    You probably won't be planning a ceremony of this significance. But studying scenes like this is good instruction on how to make a permanent statement.