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 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 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 reviews an article on the WorldCom scandal, and discusses how this article relates to 7-Eleven Inc. Also, based on the article, the paper discusses recommendations for improving accounting procedures at 7-Eleven, and explains the importance of ethics in accounting.

From the Paper
"An article written by William Thomas and Thomas Morris discusses the Enron and WorlCom accounting scandals. In April of 2002, internal auditors discovered a $9 billion fraud. Unlike Enron, WorlCom has improperly reported capitalized expenses (Thomas and Morris). This was the largest amount of accounting fraud in U.S. history. Former CFO Scott Sullivan, who was the "chief architect of the fraud", pleads innocent to the original charges. Arthur Andersen was the accounting firm that was involved in both of these accounting scandals. This indiscretion caused the stock market to plummet, and many people lost thousands of dollars. Executives profited from this accounting fraud. The revelation of accounting fraud sent shockwaves through the investment community. Thousands of people lost much of their lives' savings in these accounting scandals. The devastation of this fraud caused President Bush to take a tough stance on corporate fraud."

Tags:corporate, fraud, loan, savings, scandals

Abstract
This paper explores the accounting malpractices within the Andersen Firm. The paper discusses the functions and duties of the firm and the history of the company. The writer describes recent events including the Enron case and a myriad of other cases, accusing Andersen of misleading investors. The paper also examines whether or not the Author Andersen auditing firm is a trustworthy firm to do business with.

From the Paper
"Anderson contracted with the Enron Corporation to perform its audits and provide the audit opinion. The firm performed this task for over ten years and charged Enron almost $48 million in fees in the year 2000 alone. It is believed that Andersen hid the fact the Enron used questionable accounting practices to hide huge losses that Enron had incurred. Andersen has admitted that employees destroyed evidence that exposed the shotty accounting practices."

Tags:auditing, malpractice, enron, consulting, negligence, investors, financial

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 discusses how the accountant in a modern organization must be able to perform many more functions than in the past. Managerial accountants are important in assuring that the organization is on target for meeting strategic goals. It looks at how it is no longer enough to have a basic understanding of receivables, payables and cash flow and how accountants now play an active role in management and decision making. They are responsible for goal setting, forecasting and many other activities that were previously in the realm of management and must consider corporate culture and be able to adapt their techniques to meet specific company needs.

From the Paper
"Corporate culture and accounting used to be two terms that should never occur in the same sentence. Accounting was a separate entity from other systems in the organization. Now accounting is an integral part of every phase of the business including legal, political and social systems within an organization (Shraddha and Sidney, 1997). As the needs of an organization change, so do the accounting system change to meet these changing needs. A modern accountant must be more flexible in practice than in the past. Modern accounting practices must be able to adapt a trait that was not synonymous with accounting in the past. Accounting used to adhere to a rigid set of rules and procedures, but now they must remain flexible and willing to change on short notice. "

Tags:goal, setting, forecasting, management

Abstract
In recent decades, mass-marketed tax schemes have been the subject of great attention by the Taxation Office, Federal Parliament, as well as investors, advisors and promoters of such schemes. The papers lists the several reasons for such attention, which include the negative effect such schemes are having on the Australian tax base, the method of financing involved, as well as increasing costs for administering such schemes. Further, in terms of the individual investors in these schemes, unexpected exposure to interest and penalties on any resulting unpaid tax has also been under the spotlight.

From the Paper
"Before we begin, it is important to define mass-marketed tax schemes. Unlike some other schemes that can be ascribed as "boutique"/ "one-off" arrangements tailored for high income or high wealth individuals and large corporate entities, mass-marketed tax schemes are more generic arrangements and products marketed widely to taxpayers from different economic backgrounds . Mass-marketed tax schemes include employee benefit trusts, agricultural schemes with round robin and limited recourse funding, and certain film schemes with guaranteed returns that are, in effect, a return of part of the invested funds."

Tags:anti, ato, avoidance, iva, marketed, mass, office, part, scheme

Abstract
This paper answers questions provided by client in relation to Camelback Communications Inc. The task of the paper, is to figure a cost-based pricing system that is in line with profitability and competitive requirements. The paper considers several and reports the results. The paper also supplies brief comments concerning the methodology and standards.

From the Paper
"In the case study of Camelback Communications, Inc., the question is what costs ought to be used in order to set prices that are competitive while allowing for CCI's profit requirements. Given the questions that are asked on the assigned case study, the following responses address the issues involved in making this determination. Response to Question 1 Once the allocation rate is set at $10.36 per hour, the price CCI will have to charge to reach a 40% mark-on are as follows: Product B $28.51 Product C $78.51 Product D $50.01. This would allow only Product B to be sold at its industry standard price ($38.50). However, adding mark-ons of 25% yields the following prices: Product B $25.45 Product C $70.10 Product D $44.65."

Tags:accounting, costing, pricing

Abstract
This paper provides some research into "Positive Accounting Theory" and how it impacts on the economy. The paper begins with an explanation of the theory itself and then offers some statistics and findings regarding the consequences of its use by management.

Contents:
Introduction
Explaining the Theory
Economic Consequences
The Development of Positive Accounting Theory
How Positive Accounting Theory Operates
Management Decisions
Watts and Zimmerman
Research and Findings
An Example of a PAT study
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Positive Accounting Theory and the doctrine of economic consequences helps us to understand why different firms choose different accounting policies, why some managers may object to changes in these policies and why investors may react to the potential impact of an accounting policy change. Accounting policy choices have economic consequences for the various constituencies of financial statement users and though complicating the setting of accounting standards, the source of the pressures driving the process can be explained by the development of a positive theory of the determination of accounting standards."

Tags:choice, policy, management, business