Analysis of Yahoo's Accounting Policies

1. The first step to evaluating the cash flows is to conduct the depreciation tax flow analysis. Depreciation is not a cash flow, but the depreciation expense lows the taxes payable for the company. As a result, the tax effect of deprecation needs to be calculated as a cash flow. There are two depreciable items on the company's balance sheet the building and the equipment. The equipment is known to have a seven year depreciable life, which will be assumed to be straight line. The building is also assumed to be subject to straight line depreciation, this time of forty years. The tax saving reflects the depreciation expense multiplied by the tax rate, which in this case is assumed to be 28%. The following table illustrates the tax effect in future dollars of the depreciation expense:

c. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the asset’s estimated useful life, which is determined by asset category as follows: Buildings and improvements (5 – 40 years); Store fixtures and equipment (3 – 15years), Leasehold improvements (Shorter of initial lease term or asset life); Capitalized software (3 – 7 years).

Depreciation is the loss in value of an asset / building over time due to wear and tear, physical deterioration and age. Depreciation is treated as an expense and is a line item on your income statement but must be applied only to the building and not the land (since land does not wear out over time). You will be able to depreciate the building over a period of 39 years using the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS). IRS Publication 946 contains the rules and guidelines governing depreciation of non-residential or commercial property.

There were two accounting policies used by AOL that were considered aggressive, as well as controversial. The first was to amortize its software development costs and the second was to capitalize subscriber acquisition costs.

Through the Abbreviated Operational Organization Chart, Exhibit 8, Universal Circuit’s Operations are divided in two: the United States and Ireland. Due to the fact that the Irish operations are directly linked to the US parent company, it would make sense that the Irish subsidiary has the US dollar as their functional currency. Furthermore, if we suppose that all expenses were indeed in punts, the Irish subsidiary would then be exposed to a higher degree of both economic and translation risk. This being said, the Irish subsidiary’s profits would be

Exchange rate gains or losses are brought to account in determining the net profit or loss in the period in which they arise, as are exchange gains or losses relating to cross currency swap transactions on monetary items. Exchange differences relating to hedges of specific transactions in respect of the cost of inventories or other assets, to the extent that they occur before the date of receipt, are deferred and included in the measurement of the transaction. Exchange differences relating to other hedge transactions are brought to account in determining the net profit or loss in the period in which they arise. Foreign controlled entities are considered self-sustaining. Assets and liabilities are translated by applying the rate ruling at balance date and revenue and expense items are translated at the average rate calculated for the period. Exchange rate differences are taken to the foreign currency translation reserve.

At the lease commencement, finance leases are capitalised at the fair value of the leased property, otherwise the present value of the minimum lease payments if lower (MHI, 2014). Other short term and long term payables include the relevant rental obligations and net of finance charges (MHI, 2014). Every lease payment is apportioned between the liability and finance charges (MHI, 2014). The finance cost is indicated in the comprehensive income statement for the lease period as well as to generate a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability for each period (MHI, 2014). During the lease term, the depreciation is considered for the useful life of the asset such as the property, plant and equipment assigned under finance leases (MHI, 2014). The portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are persevered by the lessor are categorized as operating leases for leases (MHI, 2014). For the period of the lease, all payments made under operating leases less any incentives from lessor are indicated in the comprehensive income statement on a straight-line basis (MHI,

Accounts receivable are amounts owed by customers on account. They result from the sale of goods and services on credit. These receivables are generally expected to be collected within 30 to 60 days. They are typically the most significant type of claim held by a company. Accounts receivable and notes receivable resulting from sales are also known as trade receivables. Accounts receivable resulting from sales are referred to as trade receivables in Alcatel's financial statements.

In the dynamic global market, companies of all sizes, whether small, medium or transnationals interact with foreign companies and in most cases operate with currencies that are different from those that they commonly use. Foreign companies use foreign currencies for their expenditures, hedging strategies, and investing and financing activities. As a result these business activities must be reflected on the financial statements in the corporation’s reporting currency. FASB 52 and IAS 21 provide the appropriate guidance on the consideration of which functional currency should be implemented by the foreign subsidiaries. This case focuses in Sparkle a Nigerian subsidiary of a

The interview with Colin Smith, from Office Products Depot, meant I was able to identify the accounts receivable subsystem they used and their accounts receivable management. I focussed on their policies for the offering and checking of credit, managing credit levels, charging the credit customers, receiving payment from credit customers and the general management of credit customers. I will be using the information from the interview with Colin as well as information from fictitious accounts receivable to explain their policies.

When an account receivable is determined to be uncollectable it is no longer qualified as an asset and should be written off. A write off reduced the balance of the customers

Account receivables accounts for purchases which consumers have not yet aid for. This takes cares of any losses that the firm might incur due to allowing credit to certain clients. Bad debts are recorded in the income statement and they represent the des which the company doesn’t expect to be paid back. The account

Property, Plant & Equipment (PPE) (AASB 116): “Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment. Cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the item including borrowing costs that are related to the

Yahoo was an early success due to a combination of factors such as timing, hard work, and a good understanding of Web surfer’s tastes and needs.. In early 1995, Net mania was just flowering. It was a great time to be a young entrepreneur with an Internet idea. Dave Faldo and Jerry Yang saw a consumer need for classifying and differentiating web sights. Resting the urge to automate this process, Yahoo’s founders instead chose to manually perform this search, reviewing and classifying roughly 1000 sights a day. This approach combined with their decision to offer a free service lead to early success.

Yahoo! Inc. is one of the oldest and most well-known Internet content providers. Yahoo! Inc. offers one of the most diverse Internet websites. It is believed that by expanding Yahoo!'s services and expanding broadband access, Yahoo! customers will stay on the website and spend increasing amounts of time and money. Yahoo! Inc's biggest obstacle lies in its competition in the form of