Abstract
This paper describes the history of the Enron Corp. and what led to its bankruptcy which the author sees as a product of management's greed, shady, yet legal accounting practices and a web of influence created through large campaign donations.

From the Paper
"Enron created various types of contracts that protected both the buyers and sellers in case of price fluctuation over the length of the contracts. This new marketplace allowed energy users to predict and stabilize costs far into the future. This strategy created by Enron was based on the belief that it could be a big energy player without owning all of the power plants, ships and pipelines that most companies owned. Instead they would use contracts to control facilities in which other had invested. By 2001, Enron had evolved into a market maker for some 1,800 different products, many of them energy- or Internet-related contracts or derivatives the company had created itself.[i]"

Tags:accounting, andersen, arthur, audit, companies, collapse, contract, energy, Chewco, independence, bankruptcy, investor, investigation, Watkins, Kenneth, Lay, pension, benefits, Fastow, market, partnership

Abstract
This paper is on "comparing and contrasting managerial and financial accounting". It also explains the differences in rules and regulations, management information and reporting requirements, and CMA and CPA licenses.

Abstract
This paper outlines a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article about WorldCom's restatement of $7.2 billion in expenses and subsequent financial collapse. The basis of why the editors of the WSJ considered the story leading financial news is explored. Issues related to the study of finance include capital markets and institutions, investments, and financial management. Of particular interest are the financial management issues of accountability, financial statement accuracy, ethics, fraud and corporate responsibility.

From the Paper
"The financial collapse of WorldCom occurs in the wake of the recent Enron financial scandal. The Wall Street Journal editors correctly categorize the WorldCom story as leading the news (Sandberg & Pulliam, 2002, A3). Attesting to the newsworthiness of the WorldCom story is the fact that this event is being covered in all major news outlets: print, radio, television, and on the web."

Tags:annual, corporate, enron, ethics, finance, financial, financials, fraud, management, report, responsitility, risk, worldcom

Abstract
This paper begins with a brief explanation of the theoretic basics of budgeting and then proceeds with an analysis of the budgeting policies of the Atlantico Company. The paper concludes with recommended alterations for Atlantico's financial policy. Included at the beginning of this paper are different tables on Atlantico budgets, an income statement, and a balance sheet.

From the Paper
"Another advantage budgeting is that is confers managers increased control on the business, based on variance analysis. Noticing unfavorable variances may trigger certain responses, which have the capacity to solve the already existing problems and to prevent future ones from appearing. For instance, if costs are too high, waste may be cut out or an expensive supplier might be changed. Should the sales be too low, a supplementary effort in advertising, promotion or sales could prove useful. If there is a problem with low production, the manager could look for bottlenecks in order to remove them or he/ she could try to raise labor efficiency."

Tags:informed, decisions, accurate, reliable, information, performance, budgeted, plans

Abstract
This paper examines the financial condition and performance of the Boeing Company, a publicly held company for the year 2001. Annual reports filed by Boeing in accordance with the General Accepted Accounting Principles and Securities and Exchange Commission regulations serve as primary data sources. Industry average financial ratios, outlook, and data are used to gauge Boeing's financial status. Recommendations are presented based upon analysis, generally accepted management practice and research.

From the Paper
"The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center caused a major negative economic effect throughout the United States and the world. Airlines were severely impacted do to a sudden and huge drop in passengers (Siegel, M., p. 551). Air travel has still not fully recovered from this catastrophic event. The resultant drop in commercial jet orders has hurt Boeing (Friedman, p 13). In the third quarter of 2001, Boeing experienced a 46% decrease in orders compared to 2000 (Friedman, p. 19). The commercial aircraft segment accounted for about 60% of Boeings revenues before September 11 (Standard & Poor s, 2002, p. 2). Deliveries for aircraft are expected to be 380 for 2002 vs.527 in 2001 (Siegel, M., p. 551). As reported in the 2001 Consolidated Statement of Operations, Boeing recorded a $935 million charge for special charges due to events of September 11, 2001 (Boeing, p. 35). "

Tags:accounting, aerospace, aircraft, analysis, boeing, defense, financial, finanical, ratio

Abstract
This paper focuses on two large retailers in the area of retail home improvements, Lowes and Home Depot, and compares and contrasts their financial ratios in a five-year trend table along with the most recent industry averages. The information presented in this report can be used to help determine the over-all financial status of these two companies.

Financial Ratios Used
Home Depot
Lowes
Efficiency Ratio Analysis
Liquidity Ratio Analysis
Leverage Analysis
Profitability Analysis

From the Paper
"The inventory turnover ratio shows how many times per year a business can turn-over its inventory. In other words, this number represents how many times the business sells out of its inventory in a given year. This ratio is calculated by taking the cost of goods sold and dividing it by the average amount of inventory the business carries. Notice that these ratios are determined by the cost of goods sold because the inventory figures are carried on the boots at cost, not the price the merchandise will eventually sell for (Brealey, pg. 142). When comparing Lowe's and Home Depot to the industry average, we see that both companies' ratios were 5.0 for the year 2003 and the industry average was 4.8. This means that for the year 2003, both Lowe's and Home Depot were able to turn over their inventory a bit faster than the industry as a whole. "

Tags:capacity, debts, due, profit, do-it-yourself, warehouse, home, improvement, assets

Abstract
This paper considers the development of the accounting concept of profit. The paper considers the methods of measuring profit under various accounting systems and also analyses how profit is reported under GAAP.

Outline
Introduction
Profit Defined
Capital Maintenance
Determining Profit
Historical Cost Accounting
Current Cost Accounting
Reporting Profit
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The second measure of capital maintenance is maintenance of physical capital. This measure was born of the belief that there were inherent shortcomings in historical cost accounting and its objective of maintaining money capital. Instead, maintaining intact a monetary measure of wealth, this measure seeks to maintain the operating capacity of the firm, or the purchasing power of its wealth. Maintenance of physical capital is the objective in accounting systems using current costs (Henderson et al., p. 85-7)."

Tags:accounting, capital, cost, current, financial, maintenance, theory

Abstract
This paper examines activity based costing (ABC) which is an effective business management tool that will enhance and support a total quality management (TQM) environment. ABC analysis provides the information necessary to make business decisions such as determining if investments in efficiency initiatives, such as just in time (JIT), are warranted. When implementing ABC, management should use proven project management methodology to minimize the risk of failure. ABC is an effective total quality management tool, and supports just-in-time manufacturing methods in several companies as detailed in the paper.

From the Paper
"After developing ABC in the 1980's, Robin Cooper and Robert S. Kaplan have written extensively about its benefits (Shih-Jen & Holinda, p. 46). ABC is defined as a "costing system that identifies the various activities performed in a firm and uses multiple cost drivers, to assign overhead (or indirect costs) to products" (Siegel and Shim 2000, p. 15). ABC seeks to accumulate and allocate factory overhead costs to products (or services) by using focused drivers, such as, quality inspecting, moving, assembly, and matching (Warren, 2002, p. 328). Proponents of ABC cite many examples where cost accuracy is superior to traditional costing methods that use cost bases such as units produced, labor, or machine hours used (Warren, p. 421). "

Tags:9000, ABC, accounting, activity, based, costing, customer, ISO, JIT, manufacturing, quality, service, TQM

Abstract
This paper evaluates the financial position of Wendy's International Corporation, a fast food restaurant, by comparing it to the financial position of McDonald's Corporation. This author reports that Wendy's income performance, while strong, is substantially inferior to that of McDonald's; and, in this area more than any other, Wendy's needs to improve if the corporation is to narrow the gap. This paper states that McDonald's has a substantially higher inventory turnover and holds less than half as many days in sales than does Wendy's.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Financial Position
Income Performance
Short-Term Liquidity
Long-Term Solvency
Asset Management
Profitability
Market Value

List of Appendices
Common-Size Balance Sheets McDonald's Corporation
Common-Size Balance Sheets Wendy's International
Combined Common-Size & Base-Year Balance Sheets McDonald's Corporation
Combined Common-Size & Base-Year Balance Sheets Wendy's International
Common-Size Balance Sheet Wendy's International With Baseline Comparison
Common-Size Income Statements McDonald's
Common-Size Income Statements Wendy's
Combined Common-Size & Base-Year Income Statements McDonald's
Combined Common-Size & Base-Year Income Statements Wendy's
Common-Size Income Statement Wendy's With Baseline Comparison
Short-Term Liquidity Ratios Wendy's With Baseline Comparison
Long-Term Solvency Ratios Wendy's With Baseline Comparison
Asset Management Ratios Wendy's With Baseline Comparison
Profitability Ratios Wendy's With Baseline Comparison
Market Value Ratios Wendy's With Baseline Comparison
Du Point Analysis Wendy's 1998

From the Paper
"With respect to short-term liquidity, Wendy's compares well in relation to McDonald's (refer to Appendix B-1). The reason for the Wendy's advantage lies in the corporation's decision to keep such a high proportion of assets in a current status. This strategy is not conducive to the most productive use of the corporation's assets.

"In relation to debt ratios, Wendy's is superior to McDonald's (refer to Appendix B-2). In this area, Wendy's also is superior to McDonald's in relation to interest coverage, as the corporation uses borrowing very little in comparison to McDonald's."

Tags:performance, income, turnover, comparison, liquidity, assets

Abstract
This paper starts by presenting the basic components of securitization. It then outlines the common reasons for using securitization. Next, various parties in a securitization transaction are identified, and their roles explained. One important component of securitization - eligible asset, is then examined in detail. The paper also suggests the application of securitization in different industries. Finally, the history and recent development of securitization in Malaysia is studied in detail.

From the Paper
"Securitisation is an innovative technique in raising finances for a company. Its primary objective is twofold convert dull assets into usable cash and clean up balance sheet of a company. By definition, securitisation refers to the parcelling and selling pools of eligible assets by the company owning the assets to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company, which issues debt securities to finance the purchase of such assets. The SPV uses cash flow from the assets to service the debt it created to purchase these assets. The debt securities are usually rated and tradable in the secondary market."

Tags:agency, cagamas, capital, collateral, commission, danaharta, enhancement, flow, income, market, mortgage