Hierarchy Of GAAP vs. IFRS The Case Of Bankruptcy Accounting

With increased movement toward convergence of major accounting principles between U.S. GAAP and IFRS, the issue of which authoritative source should be referenced becomes increasingly important. An important question is: what is the hierarchy of authority for pronouncements and documents under U.S. GAAP and IFRS? FASB Accounting Standards Codification is the single official source ofauthoritative U.S. GAAP. The hierarchy under international standards is less clear. The IASB promulgated a hierarchy in IAS 8, but interpretation concerning many issues is required. There are several issues not addressed at all by IFRS and one of these is bankruptcy accounting. ASC 852 is the guidance for bankruptcy accounting under U.S. GAAP. This study will investigate whether companies in countries which use IFRS are influenced by the guidance of ASC 852 when confronted with bankruptcy. A review of the financial statements of bankrupt companies in countries using or converting to IFRS was conducted into the reporting of reorganization-type bankruptcies

Evaluating Service Departments As Value Streams

Evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of service departments in a lean accounting environment is a subject that has received little attention. The cost of service departments is usually a substantial portion of the total costs of operating a business or other entity. This paper proposes a unique method of evaluating service departments in a lean accounting environment by recasting them as value streams. The Internal Auditing department is used as an example, although these techniques are applicable to all service departments of entities that use the lean accounting model

Oxygen and iron production by electrolytic smelting of lunar soil

Work during the past year involved two aspects: (1) electrolysis experiments on a larger scale than done before, and (2) collaboration with Carbotek Inc. on design for a lunar magma electrolysis cell. It was demonstrated previously that oxygen can be produced by direct electrolysis of silicate melts. Previous experiments using 50-100 mg of melt have succeeded in measuring melt resistivities, oxygen production efficiencies, and have identified the character of metal products. A series of experiments using 1-8 grams of silicate melt, done in alumina and spinel containers sufficiently large that surface tension effects between the melt and the wall are expected to have minor effect on the behavior of the melt in the region of the electrodes were completed. The purpose of these experiments was to demonstrate the durability of the electrode and container materials, demonstrate the energy efficiency of the electrolysis process, further characterize the nature of the expected metal and spinel products, measure the efficiency of oxygen production and compare to that predicted on the basis of the smaller-scale experiments, and identify any unexpected benefits or problems of the process. Four experimental designs were employed. Detailed results of these experiments are given in the appendix ('Summary of scaling-up experiments'); a general report of the results is given in terms of implications of the experiments on container materials, cathode materials, anode materials, bubble formation and frothing of the melt, cell potential, anode-cathode distance, oxygen efficiency, and energy efficiency

Oxygen and iron production by electrolytic smelting of lunar soil

Oxygen, present in abundance in nearly all lunar materials, can theoretically be extracted by molten silicate electrolysis from any known lunar rock. Derivation of oxygen by this method has been amply demonstrated experimentally in silicate melts of a variety of compositions. This work can be divided into three categories: (1) measurement of solubilities of metals (atomic) in silicate melts; (2) electrolysis experiments under various conditions of temperature, container material, electrode configuration, current density, melt composition, and sample mass (100 to 2000 mg) measuring energy required and character of resulting products; and (3) theoretical assessment of compositional requirements for steady state operations of an electrolysis cell

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) - A Case Study

Numerous scandals have occurred in not-for-profit organizations in recent years which could have been prevented by the application of sound business practices such as the use of effective internal control practices and the installation of an audit committee. This study discusses a scandal that occurred in the Oklahoma CASA organization and discusses how the situation could have been prevented. The lessons of this case study are a practical example for practitioners and accounting students

Air Force cryocooler development for spacecraft

An overview is given of Air Force sponsored cryocooler development for long duration spacecraft missions. Alternate approaches are being pursued to insure eventual success. The types of closed cycle cryocoolers that are now in advanced development include Vuilleumier, turbo-Brayton, and rotary-reciprocating refrigerators. Linear Stirling coolers with magnetic bearings have also been jointly sponsored by NASA and the Air Force. Technology is also being explored for future coolers using magnetic materials at low temperatures and for refrigerators with sorption compresssors. All of these cryocoolers are presently configured primarily for use with infrared sensor systems, but the designs could be adapted for use with cryogenic fluid storage systems or other applications

Electrolysis of simulated lunar melts

Electrolysis of molten lunar soil or rock is examined as an attractive means of wresting useful raw materials from lunar rocks. It requires only hat to melt the soil or rock and electricity to electrolyze it, and both can be developed from solar power. The conductivities of the simple silicate diopside, Mg CaSi2O6 were measured. Iron oxide was added to determine the effect on conductivity. The iron brought about substantial electronic conduction. The conductivities of simulated lunar lavas were measured. The simulated basalt had an AC conductivity nearly a fctor of two higher than that of diopside, reflecting the basalt's slightly higher total concentration of the 2+ ions Ca, Mg, and Fe that are the dominant charge carriers. Electrolysis was shown to be about 30% efficient for the basalt composition

Possible petrogenetic associations among igneous components in North Massif soils: Evidence in 2-4 mm soil particles from 76503

Studies of Apollo 17 highland igneous rocks and clasts in breccias from the North and South Massifs have described magnesian troctolite, norite, anorthositic gabbro, dunite, spinel cataclasites, and granulitic lithologies that may have noritic anothosite or anorthositic norite/gabbro as igneous precursors, and have speculated on possible petrogenetic relationships among these rock types. Mineral compositions and relative proportions of plagioclase and plagioclase-olivine particles in samples 76503 indicate that the precursor lithology of those particles were troctolitic anorthosite, not troctolite. Mineral and chemical compositions of more pyroxene-rich, magnesian breccias and granulites in 76503 indicate that their precursor lithology was anorthositic norite/gabbro. The combination of mineral compositions and whole-rock trace-element compositional trends supports a genetic relationship among these two groups as would result from differentiation of a single pluton. Although highland igneous lithologies in Apollo 17 materials have been described previously, the proportions of different igneous lithologies present in the massifs, their frequency of association, and how they are related are not well known. We consider the proportions of, and associations among, the igneous lithologies found in a North Massif soil, which may represent those of the North Massif or a major part of it

North Massif lithologies and chemical compositions viewed from 2-4 mm particles of soil sample 76503

We identify the lithologic and compositional components of soil 76503 based on INAA of 243 2-4-mm particles and 72 thin sections from these and associated 1-2-mm particles (76502). We present a statistical distribution of the major compositional types as the first step of a detailed comparative study of the North and South Massifs. The soil sample was collected well away from any boulder and is more representative of typical North Massif material than any single large rock or boulder sample. So far, our examination of the 76503 particles has provided a better definition of precursor igneous lithologies and their petrogenetic relationships. It has enabled us to refine the nature of mixing components for the North Massif less than 1-mm fines. It has confirmed the differences in lithologies and their proportions between materials of the North and South Massifs; e.g., the North Massif is distinguished by the absence of a 72275-type KREEP component, the abundance of a highly magnesian igneous component, and the absence of certain types of melt compositions found in the South Massif samples

Incorporating Sustainability Issues Into The Financial Accounting Curriculum

Changes in the views that society holds of capital allocation suggest that sustainability reporting needs to be incorporated into the financial accounting curriculum. This paper reviews the background and history of corporate social responsibility and sustainability reporting and discusses formation of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). The development of the SASB provides us with a framework to enhance the credibility and provide assurance for corporate social responsibility and sustainability reporting. A suggested outline for including sustainability reporting in a financial accounting course is presented