Research Paper

To demonstrate your understanding of the content and to practice your research and your writing skills, you will be writing a report following APA - choosing from a list of 3 topics.

Using what you have learned in our class, you will be writing a paper that is about one of the following topics:

TOPIC 1:

You are a staff accountant at Outrageous Corporation. The controller of the company, Howard Eino, is concerned that profits reported in the annual report will not meet those forecast at the beginning of the year. He has asked you to decrease the amount of annual depreciation charged on certain equipment by revising the estimated life. When you tell Mr. Eino that revision of useful life solely to "manage" profit is not appropriate, he responds by saying, "Oh, everybody does it." You realize that if you fail to do what your boss wants, you may receive an unfavorable annual performance evaluation. How will you resolve this dilemma?

TOPIC 2:

Some people would argue that historical costs should no longer be used in accounting because they are not relevant. Others argue that departing from historical cost introduces too much subjectivity into accounting. Write out a detailed outline for a presentation to your class providing a defense of both points of view and then explain why the FASB has chosen to depart from historical cost in many of its accounting standards. Thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of the use of historical cost and present a convincing argument as to whether it should or should not be used in accounting.

TOPIC 3:

Some have suggested eliminating the provision of Rule 203 of the AICPA's professional ethics that permits non-conformance with GAAP if, in the opinion of the CPA, following GAAP would result in misleading financial statements. Thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of eliminating this provision of Rule 203 and present a convincing argument as to whether it should or should not be eliminated.

Please be sure to include scholarly research and support for your findings as you address the questions outlined above in your paper.