1. “Macro Efficiency Please respond to the following:
- Describe a situation in a work environment where the use of macros would improve efficiency in processing data in Excel. Identify the likely challenge(s) you would face in developing the macros, and suggest a plan for addressing the challenge.
2. “Navigating QuickBooks” Please respond to the following:
- Industry trends indicate that an increasing number of organizations are moving to cloud based accounting software. Explore Intuit Account’s QuickBooks Online Accountant application at http://accountants.intuit.com/accounting/quickbooks/online-accountant/. For additional information and hands on experience, you may sign up for free access to QuickBooks Online Accountant at https://quickbooks.intuit.com/start/qba_signup?sc=PAP-GEN3-QBOA-FIRM. Based on your research and / or experiences, discuss the general benefits and challenges of using the cloud with QuickBooks.
3. “Managing Customers and Vendors in QuickBooks” Please respond to the following:
- Examine the customer and vendor functions in QuickBooks. Use one (1) scenario or example to explain a feature or function that will help you make better management decisions in regard to customers and vendors.
4. “Accounting for Pension Plans” Please respond to the following:
- From the e-Activity, create an argument for the use of the mark-to-market accounting method for pension accounting. Evaluate the impact of earnings volatility on financial reporting using mark-to-market accounting, and indicate whether or not you believe this is a fair representation of pension obligations.
- Defend the current GAAP rules for pension accounting reporting on the balance sheet and the income statement. Recommend a change you would make to the current pension accounting to more accurately reflect the future obligations of a company.
5. “General Motors” Please respond to the following:
- From the case study, assess the benefits and detriments of the U.S. Government-proposed bankruptcy plan that conserved General Motors’ liability to the United Auto Workers (UAW) pension and retiree health care fund. Indicate your agreement or disagreement with this approach. Provide support for your rationale.
- Examine the major advantages of transferring the post-retirement benefits to the UAW by General Motors. Indicate the likely impact to the company and its employees.
6. “Cyberattacks in Public Companies” Please respond to the following:
- From the e-Activity, analyze the effects of the SEC‘s data breach disclosure requirement on financial reporting, based on the current language of the requirement. Recommend a change to the disclosure requirements to strengthen public company disclosures of cyberattacks. Provide support for your rationale.
- Examine the impact of cyberattacks on potential investors in a public company. As an auditor, provide your recommendations for including the potential of a cyberattack in the 10-K, as opposed to an actual attack. Provide support for your recommendation.
7. “Koss Corporation” Please respond to the following:
- From the case study, contrast the responsibilities of the independent auditor and board of directors with the responsibilities of Koss management for the embezzlement. Indicate the party that was ultimately responsible for the embezzlement. Provide support for your rationale.
- Recommend two controls that you would establish at Koss Corporation over electronic fund transfers. Indicate how each of the recommended controls would minimize the exposure to fraud in the future. Provide support for your recommendations.
8. Channel Stuffing” Please respond to the following:
- From the e-Activity, evaluate the requirements under GAAP related to channel stuffing practices on financial statements. Recommend key additional requirements, and justify those requirements.
- From the e-Activity, examine the impact of channel stuffing on financial reports used for internal decision making. Create a scenario involving a faulty internal decision based on channel stuffing.
9. “Carton Medical Devices” Please respond to the following:
- From the case study, determine how the standard cost system in Carton Medical Devices can be used for product costing and inventory valuation. Indicate the efficiencies that can be gained from the system.
- Examine the use of Carton‘s standard cost system in product costing for cost analysis, and indicate the intelligence that management is likely to gain using this approach