CHAPTER LINKS
Introductory note
These links are not intended to supplant your learning from the text,
but rather to support it by introducing you to relevant sources of information.
It is important to remember that, while Internet-based information can
be very up-to-date, fast, and easy to retrieve, it may also suffer from
incoherence, incompleteness, and inaccuracy.
Some of the links given here are to permanent pages; the contents of
other sites, notably to publications and to corporate and professional
sites, change more rapidly, often on a daily basis.
Where appropriate, chapter references for links are given. The chapter
references are to the first chapter where the links are thought to be
relevant. However, links to firms such as Enbridge and C.P. Rail, used
as examples for several chapters, are obviously relevant to a range of
chapters.
Chapter 1: Linking Financial Accounting's Production
and Uses
General Accounting Information
Rutgers Accounting Web
A large site with links to many accounting organizations, run by Rutgers
University in the US
Canada Business
Corporations Act: the Federal legal framework for business corporations
in Canada
Note: this is the Web version (see disclaimer on the Web page). It is
also a large file (almost 600KB).
Corporations and Organizations Used as Examples in the Text
Enbridge Inc.
Canadian Pacific Railway
Air Canada
Greyhound Bus Lines
WestJet
Professional Organizations of Accountants
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
Certified General Accountants of
Canada
The Society of Management Accountants
of Canada
Ordre des comptables
agréés du Québec
Foreign and Overseas Professional Accounting Organizations
American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants
American Society
of Women Accountants
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
National Institute of Accountants (Australia)
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK)
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK)
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Finnish Institute of Authorised Public Accountants
Ordre des Experts-Comptables (France)
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, the oldest professional
body of accountants in the world
Chartered Institute
of Public Finance and Accountancy (UK)
Ethics, Ethical Problems, and Financial Scandals
Classic
Financial Scandals, a UK-based site
UBC Centre for Applied Ethics:
A comprehensive list of business ethics sites from the University of British
Columbia (note that accounting is not specifically dealt with)
Ray Carroll’s 1996 essay on accounting ethics from the University
of Tennessee, Knoxville
Mother Jones article: financial scandals and the Bush family
SEC speech "Towards Higher Values in Financial Reporting"
One of a number of speeches made by SEC members reflecting worries about
the ethical practices of US companies in presenting accounting information
US Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation bibliography of the largest financial scandal
to date:
The collapse of many savings and loans institutions in the
US (titles of publications for further reference)
Waste Management Press Release commenting on the SEC‘s settlement
with Arthur Andersen,
The company‘s auditors, regarding a $1.4
billion misstatement in the accounts of a wholly owned Waste Management
subsidiary; note the careful wording of the document
Waste Management Proxy Form;
Pages 20 and 21 of this 31-page .pdf
format document are interesting—the directors request that shareholders
vote against a proposal to reform the company‘s corporate governance
(pages 17 and 18 of the report)
SEC press
release:
Note the title of the Web page from the URL below and also the statement
that “SEC Finds That Andersen’s Audit Reports on Financial
Statements for Waste Management, Inc. Were Materially False and Misleading
and That Andersen Engaged in Improper Professional Conduct”. Compare
this with the Waste Management Proxy Form statement.
Public Accounting Firms and Partnerships relevant to Chapter 1 and Subsequent
Chapters
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Canada
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
BDO Dunwoody
KPMG
Ernst & Young
Specific Accounting Issues
Electronic
Auditor, a paper appearing in the Journal of Accountancy
Gateway's
Big Bath:
an old (1998) article but a good example of a "Big Bath " issue;
check the Gateway
Web site for news of the company's progress since this report
Discussion
paper on revenue recognition:
a press release from the Accounting Standards Board on revenue recognition
in the UK
Revenue and Expense Recognition Issues in Long-term Construction Contracts:
a paper by Professor David Albrecht (rather technical for students of
an introductory course)
Auditing
Auditnet:
A comprehensive US-based
site dealing with auditing
Auditor General of Canada
The Institute
of Internal Auditors
A US-based professional organization for internal
auditors
Taxation
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
(formerly Revenue Canada)
Canadian Tax Foundation
The Canadian Tax Foundation is an independent tax research organization
whose purpose is to provide the public and the governments of Canada with
the benefit of expert impartial tax research into current problems of
taxation and government finance.
Chartered Institute of Taxation
(UK)
Financial Press and Publications: Canada
The National
Post
The Globe and Mail
The
Bottom Line, a specialist accounting monthly
Financial Press and Publications: Foreign
The Economist
An excellent, if opinionated, weekly, reporting and commenting on business
and other issues across the world
The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
(Note: this publication
normally requires paid subscriptions)
Accountancy Age, a UK-based weekly
The Financial Times (UK)
The Financial
Times Annual Reports Service:
Annual reports for a wide range of companies
(but relatively few are in downloadable format)
Financial Statement Filings in Canada
SEDAR
SEDAR (the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval) is the
system used for electronically filing most securities related information
with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities.
Financial Statement Filings in the US
EDGAR
Note that this is a very extensive system and many documents may be returned
on a single search. The most relevant documents for financial accountants
are the Forms 10-K and 10-Q.
Securities Regulators: Canadian and Foreign
Ontario Securities Commission
Note: there is no nationwide securities regulator for Canada. Regulation
is by province. The OSC is the most prominent of the provincial securities
regulators.
Securities and Exchange Commission (US)
The site of the regulator of the US securities industry
Accounting History
Accounting:
A Virtual History
A Comparative Chronology of Money
Financing
Civilization:
Chapter 1 of an electronic book by William Goetzmann (Yale University)
with references for further reading
Chapter 2: Measuring and Evaluating Financial Position
Specific Accounting Issues
Electronic Auditor,
a paper appearing in the Journal of Accountancy
Gateway's Big Bath:
an old (1998) article but a good example of a "Big Bath " issue;
check the Gateway
Web site for news of the company's progress since this report
Discussion
paper on revenue recognition: a press release from the Accounting
Standards Board on revenue recognition in the UK
Revenue
and Expense Recognition Issues in Long-term Construction Contracts:
A paper by Professor David Albrecht (rather technical for students of
an introductory course)
Accounting History
Accounting: A Virtual History
A Comparative
Chronology of Money
Financing
Civilization:
Chapter 1 of an electronic book by William Goetzmann (Yale University)
with references for further reading
Chapter 3: Measuring and Evaluating Financial Performance
Historical
financial statements for Amazon.com
(Note the string of negative accrual profits)
Financial
reports for United Airlines (which recently declared bankruptcy);
Compare these reports with those of Air Canada (below)
Financial reports for Air Canada
Compare the financial performance of these two companies, both operating
in the same industry and both started at around the same time.
Dell
Computer
Gateway
Computer
(This report is in .pdf format )
1
2
Financial reports for AOL TimeWarner, which on January 31st 2003 reported
the largest corporate loss in history: US$98.7 billion
The
quarterly report of January 29, 2003, reporting the $98.7 billion loss:
Note the positioning of the full loss within the report
Chapter 4: Measuring and Evaluating Cash Flow
Historical
financial statements for Amazon.com;
The statistics relating to cash flows are especially interesting, given
the company’s huge and long-standing reliance on financing rather
than net income as a source of cash.
Financial
reports for United Airlines (which recently declared bankruptcy);
Compare these reports with those of Air Canada (below)
Financial
reports for Air Canada
Now compare the information for Air Canada and United Airlines (both “conventional”
carriers) with that for the “discount”
carrier WestJet (page 10 et seq. of this .pdf file from Canada's SEDAR
database). Compare the cash flow performance of these two companies, both
operating in the same industry and both started at around the same time:
Dell
Computer
Gateway Computer (this report is in .pdf format)
1
2
Compare the cash flow statements of AOL TimeWarner with the income statements
and balance sheets.
Chapter 5: Standards and Principles Surrounding the
Financial Statements
Professional Organizations of Accountants
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
Certified General Accountants of
Canada
The Society of Management Accountants
of Canada
Ordre des comptables
agréés du Québec
Foreign and Overseas Professional Accounting Organizations
American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants
American Society of Women Accountants
Institute of Chartered Accountants in
Australia
National Institute of Accountants (Australia)
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
(UK)
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK)
Institute of Chartered Accountants in
England and Wales
Finnish Institute of Authorised Public Accountants
Ordre des Experts-Comptables (France)
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
The oldest professional
body of accountants in the world.
Chartered Institute of Public Finance
and Accountancy (UK)
Auditing
Auditnet
A comprehensive US-based site dealing with auditing.
Auditor
General of Canada
The Institute of Internal Auditors
A US-based professional organization for internal auditors.
Canadian
Standards Organization
Relevant to Chapter 5
Links to the Accounting Standards Oversight Council and the Accounting
Standards Board
Foreign and International Accounting Research and Standards Organizations
International Accounting Standards
Board (UK-based)
The American Accounting Association
Australian Accounting Research Foundation
The Accounting Association of Australia and New Zealand
Accounting Standards Board (UK-based)
British Accounting Association
Canadian Academic Accounting Association
European Accounting Association
Financial Accounting Standards Board (US)
Foundation for International Accounting in Russia
Credit and Bankruptcies: Canada
BankruptyCanada.com
Credit and Bankruptcies: Foreign
Credit collection
Bankruptcy information
US Bankruptcy Code
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy — AMF
Bowling
AMF emerges from bankruptcy
United
Airlines' Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Chapter 6: Revenue and Expense Recognition
Electronic
Auditor, a paper appearing in the Journal of Accountancy
Gateway's
Big Bath:
An old (1998) article but a good example of a "Big Bath " issue;
check the Gateway
Web site for news of the company's progress since this report
Discussion
paper on revenue recognition:
A press release from the Accounting Standards Board on revenue recognition
in the UK
Revenue and Expense Recognition Issues in Long-term Construction Contracts:
A paper by Professor David Albrecht (rather technical for students of
an introductory course)
Chapter 7: Recordkeeping and Control
Classification and Coding Systems
Treasury
Board of Canada Secretariat
This very long URL leads to a page on “The mechanics of Coding Systems”
showing just how complex and precise the transaction coding system for
the Government of Canada can get.
The
White House
A specification for financials system from the Office of Management and
Budgets of the White House Again, this shows a high degree of complexity.
Chapter 8: Assets Accounting
IFCI Risk Institute
Chapter 9: Liabilities, Equity, and Corporate Groups
Credit and Bankruptcies: Canada
BankruptyCanada.com
Credit and Bankruptcies: Foreign
Credit collection
Bankruptcy
information
US Bankruptcy Code
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy - AMF Bowling
AMF
emerges from bankruptcy
United
Airlines' Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Chapter 10: Financial Accounting Analysis Wrap-Up
The following links will be of interest to anyone who wishes to explore
or analyze corporate performance.
Canadian and International Non-Profit Organizations
Following are a number of examples of international non-profit organizations
(note that relatively few have their financial numbers available in electronic
format).
Greenpeace International
ICAO: the
International Civil Aviation Organization.
1999 Annual Report in .pdf format (4.6MB) of this Montreal-based organization
Canadian
Committee of the Red Cross 2001–2002 Annual Review
City of Toronto
The United Nations Organization
(Annual
reports appear to be available in paper form only; price US$12 each.)
Financial Publications and News Services (Traditional and Electronic)
The Deal
US-oriented electronic publication specializing in news about corporate
mergers, acquisitions and divestments; relevant to Chapter 9
Yahoo! Financial
information
Stock prices and charts for the NYSE, NASDAQ and TORONTO stock exchanges
Stock Exchanges
The New York Stock Exchange
(Home of most of the largest traditional US companies)
The NASDAQ
(Quotes for many fast-growing, technologically oriented companies including
Microsoft®)
The Toronto Stock Exchange
(The stock exchange where most major Canadian
public companies are listed)
The London
Stock Exchange
The
Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Canadian Banks
Bank
of Montreal’s Annual Report
CIBC
National Bank of Canada
Royal Bank Financial Group
Scotiabank
TD Bank Financial
Group
Foreign Banks
Note that financial statements for foreign organizations are likely to
be created using GAAP that differ from Canadian GAAP.
A comprehensive list
of banks from around the world: around 640 entries
General note: observe that Japanese banks have in recent years reported
losses and low profit levels relative to US and UK banks, a reflection
of 10 years of relative stagnation in the Japanese economy.
Canadian Retailers
The Bay
Foreign Retailers/Franchisers
Starbucks
Coffee Company (US)
McDonald’s
Marks and Spencer (UK)
Sears
Industrial and Commercial Web Sites: Canadian and Foreign
Airlines
Air Canada
British Airways
Finnair
Southwest
Airlines (US)
Automobile
General Motors
Toyota
(Note: full Annual Report is not available on-line).
Computer hardware and software
Dell
IBM
Microsoft
Energy and mining companies
Inco
Petro-Canada
Ferries
B.C.
Ferries
Forestry
companies: Canadian and other
Publishing companies
Hollinger
International
Holding company for Canadian and foreign newspapers.
Canadian technology companies
Bombardier
CAE
Nortel
|
