In early December of 2020, an investor was considering to whether to invest in Netflix, Inc. (Netflix). Netflix had benefitted from the COVID-19 pandemic - adding 26 million new subscribers in the first half of 2020 - as more consumers looked for home entertainment options. The investor had found wide divergence in analyst opinions about the investment potential of Netflix and wanted to perform their own analysis of the company. In particular, they .....more

Teaching note for product W25898.

Teaching note for product 9B14B014.

This technical note introduces the key concepts and methodologies of accounting for intercorporate investments, which occur when one company acquires the equity or debt of another company. The accounting basics are discussed for three investment categories: (1) passive investments, where little or no influence is present; (2) investments in associates, where significant influence is present and (3) investments in subsidiaries, where control is present. .....more

On January 31, 2014, the chief executive officer (CEO) of General Motors (GM), a major automaker located in Detroit, Michigan, must decide whether to issue a recall based on a defect that had been found through an internal safety committee investigation. The ignition switch of certain GM small car models manufactured between 2005 and 2007 was prone to being nudged out of the run position, causing the driver to lose control as the engine would switch .....more

Say-on-pay votes give shareholders a valuable opportunity to express their views on executive compensation. The goal of say-on-pay is to increase the accountability, transparency and performance linkage of executive pay and improve communication between shareholders and boards of directors. Among major Western nations, Canada is an outlier in not having adopted mandatory say-on-pay. About 60 per cent of Canada’s 100 largest companies have adopted .....more

Intangible assets represent an accounting challenge due to their lack of physical substance. This note discusses the accounting treatment of intangible assets under International Financial Reporting Standards. The note examines the necessary characteristics of intangible assets, specifically, identifiability, control and future economic benefit. Also detailed are the origins of intangible assets through separate acquisition, business combination and .....more

Teaching note for product 9B12B023.

Teaching note for product 9B12B031.

Teaching note for product 9B12B021.