1A. There are three accounting techniques for an asset's cost recovery; depreciation, amortization, and depletion. Identify when the technique would be employed and detail the various attributes of each.

1B. Describe research and development costs. What is the rational for GAAP mandating R&D costs to be expensed immediately rather than capitalized? Select one of the following companies for analysis of their research and development costs. Assume you own considerable shares of the selected company. What is your position on GAAP's mandatory expensing of R&D costs? Should it be changed to allow companies to capitalize R&D costs rather than expensing them immediately?

Amazon, Alphabet, Intel, Microsoft, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Ford, Facebook, IBM, Oracle, Pfizer, General Motors, Celgene, Qualcomm, Cisco

1C. What is the purpose of Note Disclosures (notes to the financial statements)? Describe what information is included in the note disclosures.