...REPORTING ANALYSIS: FINANCIAL EVALUATION OF BOWATER INCORPORTED INTRODUCTION Headquartered in Greenville, SC, Bowater Incorporated is a leading producer of coated and specialty papers and newsprint. Founded in 1881 in England, Bowater has evolved into an international public corporation that is among the largest manufacturer in North America. Bowater common stock (BOW) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It operates in five divisions: Newsprint, Coated Papers, Specialty Papers, Lumber and Market Pulp. There are currently 14 analysts following the stock. On January 29, 2007, Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. and Bowater Incorporated announced a definite agreement to combine in an all-stock merger of equals. On October 29, 2007, the completion of the transaction was announced by the two companies and the combination of Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. and Bowater Incorporated formed a new merger of AbitibiBowater. Bowater originally announced that over the next two years it is expected to realize in excess of $250 million in annualized synergies. The Company also expects to achieve a debt-reduction of $1 billion over the next three years in order to enhance its global competitiveness . AbitibiBowater focus is to provide access to a broad range of forest products and best-in-class customer service, as well as a relentless commitment to the environment. Several significant to rigorously evaluate Bowater financial evaluation. Now that the merger with Abitibi is now complete...
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...BUSN 258 Week 3 Case Study Consolidated Edison company of New York or Con Ed is a utility company that services the five boroughs of New York City and parts of Westchester County. Con Ed supplies electric, gas and steam to over three million customers and prides itself on its reliability. While Con Ed does hold a positive image in their customers’ eyes some incidents recently have left a negative image in many customers’ eyes. Con Ed has been in the news due to two gas explosions in New York City where there have been fatalities as well. These come at a time when Con Ed is trying to persuade customers to covert from oil to gas through incentives. Customers feel oil is safer due to recent events they see on the news. I interviewed Mr. Stampfel a Specialist from the call center to ask him some question s on the importance of customer service and relations. Michael has 9 Customer Service Representatives reporting directly to him, and has been a Customer Service Representative himself before being promoted into management. When Mr. Stampfel was asked about the role and importance of Customer Service to the organization he replied, “ Look around, this whole floor is dedicated to customer service, without customers there would be no Con Edison. We take customer service and satisfaction very seriously. Our CEO even added enhancing the customer experience into our principles.” (Stampfel, personal interview 2015). When asked the three most common issues faced by the organization...
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...6) How does CSX intend to take control of Conrail? Explain how they intend to accumulate 50% of Conrail’s shares. As of October 15, 1996 CSX Corporation (CSX) intended to merge with Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) by offering a two-tier deal, structured in the following manner. CSX would purchase 90.5 million fully diluted Conrail shares by paying $92.50 per share for the first 40% of the shares (the front-end offer) and would enter a share exchange for the remaining 60% of the required shares (the back-end offer). The front-end offer would be executed in two stages. The first stage, which began the day after the merger announcement, would be a cash tender offer to acquire 17.86 million shares at $92.50 per share (accounting for 19.7% of Conrail’s acquisition shares). The second stage, which could only be executed by mid-November once Conrail shareholders decided to void the “fair value” statute under Pennsylvania law, would be to acquire another 18.4 million shares at $92.50 per share (accounting for another 20.3% of Conrail’s acquisition shares) Following shareholder approval, and successful completion of the second cash tender offer, CSX would proceed with the back-end offer through a share swap of 1.85619 CSX shares for every 1 Conrail share in addition to an extra $16 of new convertible preferred stock. This two-tier structure of paying in both cash and stock not only allows CSX to abide by Pennsylvania’s antitakeover laws, but also saves on cash spent in...
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...Executive Summary Conrail has received two acquisition bids from CSX and Norfolk Southern. Introduction Conrail and CSX, the nation’s first and third largest railroads, have decided toparticipate in a merger of equals. CSX has offered to acquire Conrail in a two tiereddeal. The first 40% of tendered Conrail shares will be bought at a price of $92.50while the remaining 60% will be acquired through a stock swap at a ratio of 1.8561921 (CSX:Conrail). In the midst of this offer, a hostile Bid comes in fromNorfolk Southern, a competitor in the Industry. Norfolk Southern offers ____ Analysis Case A, Question 1: Why is CSX interested in Conrail? How much should CSX payfor Conrail? The Stagger’s Rail Act of 1980 has created a deregulated environment in whichacquisitions are used to improve the competitive positioning of existing companieswithin the railroad industry. CSX is interested in Conrail for a couple of reasons.Primarily, CSX would like to acquire Conrail because its routes are complementaryto their own, allowing the combined company to provide “long-haul, contiguous,and therefore low-cost service between the Southern, Eastern, and Mid-Westernparts of the United States.” Additionally, CSX’s acquisition of Conrail would preventthe company’s main competitor Norfolk Southern from gaining access to routes inthe Northeastern United States. This would leave Norfolk Southern at a largestrategic disadvantage. Lastly, the combination would provide cost synergies andreductions, even...
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...CASE A CSX ACQUISITION OF CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION CSX has put up a bid of $8.3 B in order to horizontally integrate with Conrail in order to increase the combined profitability based on perceived improvement in Synergies. A) Lower Cost Structure: Railroad is capital intensive industry with very high fixed cost. CSX-Conrail merger will lower company’s cost-structure by creating increasing economies of scale. Operating ratio of Conrail is 87.63% and CSX’s operating ratio is 81.99% (Exhibit 1). According to American Investment research report (Exhibit 10), proposed merger will bring operating ratio to 65 % (an 18.75% decrease). Both CSX and Conrail have low ROA (2.33% and 4.11%) compared to Norfolk’s ROA of 5.06 % (Table 6). If CSX and Conrail will achieve its projected revenue growth and cost-savings, CSX-Conrail will become more efficient than Norfolk. B) Gain Market Power : Based on revenue data from 1995 (Exhibit 1), CSK control 38.5%, Conrail controls 29.4% and Norfolk controls 32.1% of Northeast rail freight market. The proposed merger will allow CSX to control major share (~70 %) of the lucrative North Eastern rail market and enable them to take advantage of synergies in the space. In addition, CSX – Conrail can further improve on its market position by limiting Norfolk’s access to long-haul routes either from south or Midwest. MECHANICS OF THE CSX – CONRAIL DEAL CSX has offered a two-tiered offer for the stocks of Conrail. For the first 40% of the shares...
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.... Why is CSX interested in acquiring Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail)? Describe thearguments for the offer being motivated by synergies, as well as arguments for the motivationto pre-empt a bid by Norfolk. The 1999 acquisition of Conrail, jointly split with CSX, was perhaps the most important and critical time in the company’s history. If CSX had been allowed to purchase Conrail outright, not only would NS have been entirely surrounded but also it could never againeffectively compete with CSX, even if it was able to run a railroad much more efficientlyand effectively than CSX. NS had been interested in Conrail for some time because itwould add an important addition the railroad needed, direct lines to the markets of NewYork City and Philadelphia which Conrail had been effective in developing and exploitingby becoming a intermodal (i.e., the movement of ship containers which can be movedvia over-the-road trucks as well) juggernaut moving containers between Chicago andthe Northeast.Not only was intermodal the wave of the future but NS also did not contain an effectivebusiness in such and had CSX gained complete control of the Northeast it would onlyhave been a matter of time before NS was gobbled up as well, mostly likely by aWestern road (by rules of competition, CSX would not have been allowed to purchaseNS and control the entire Eastern rail market).So, thus began the battle for Conrail in the mid-1990s when CSX announced itsintentions of purchasing the railroad...
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...Onion Strike During the year 1979 a group of Mexican American farm workers organized a strike to protest poor wages and bad working conditions in Raymondville, Texas. Raymondville was known for its agricultural area and it was also known as the onion capital of the world. Mexican Americans realized they were being treated poorly and that they were Americans as well and had the exact same rights as the whites who were living at Raymondville. Juanita Valdez was one of the leaders in charge of the onion strike. She thinks there was change in the community and that they were successful with the strike because it marked the birth of a political movement. The people from Raymondville knew they needed change in their life’s and had to do something about it so they organized strikes that either helped Raymondville for the better or for the worse. The strikes affected the people from Raymondville in the long run instead of helping them. The leaders who organized the strikes were Tony Andrea and Juanita Valdez and they believe the strike was won in their favor, but many local residents such as Thomas Rains a former Raymondville school board member stated “The strike crippled the onion business that fueled much of the local economy.” Willacy County used to be the main county as far as onions are concerned and it was all lost after the onion strikes protest. Instead of bringing progress towards the community it decreased job opportunities to Mexican Americans. As of result of protesting...
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...different Financial and Accounting applications and their incompatibility is causing many issues in the day to day operations of the company. In order to improve the productivity and efficiency of the business entities, Riordan management is considering outsourcing the Financial and Accounting Application for all the business entities. Outsourcing this application can provide specialized support, can increase the speed for a quick turnaround, and can reduce costs for maximized profits. This document provides the business context, implementation plan, performance measures and review of the costs and benefits of the proposed solution. Business Context Riordan Manufacturing has three operating entities, and a joint venture with their own Finance & Accounting Systems. These F&A systems are not compatible with each other, and they are from different vendors, and on different hardware and software platforms. Consolidated financial reports are generated monthly at the corporate office based on the input received from the business entities. Due to compatibility issues, Riordan is experiencing many operational difficulties when generating the consolidated financial reports. Business entities submit the input in different formats and types. Data input received in the form of hardcopy reports needs to be re-entered, some data needs to be converted or redirected to the proper account codes and because of all of these factors, generating the consolidated F&A reports have become...
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...Financial and Accounting (F & A) Systems Team A Business Systems – BSA/310 May 13, 2013 Current Challenges Riordan Manufacturing is using different business systems throughout their branches. These different systems are causing difficulties, which produces errors in reporting and argument between these branches. San Jose has a license for a fully integrated Windows system without application source code. Michigan has a vendor software application that is no longer supported due to the vendor no longer being in business. To compound the issue, Georgia’s software is from a different vendor than Michigan’s vendor. A company that uses multiple systems will run into numerous difficulties, which can be prevented or resolved by planning and integration of a single business system that was designed and configured for all braches to access and use. Each of the department’s data are collected from different sources, some data is stored on hard copies that need to be reentered into the other system so that it is digitally available, which other branches are currently using. As a result of all the time it takes to transfer all existing data currently on hard copy, a lot of manpower hours are being wasted during this process. With the use of multiple codes on the many business systems that are currently in place, data needs to be converted to the proper code before each system can recognize the data. The above mentioned two issues, data that is hard copied and multiple...
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...ETHICS IN ACCOUNTING: THE WORLDCOM INC. SCANDAL Conf.univ.dr. Lucian Cernuşca “Aurel Vlaicu” University, Arad, str. Piaţa Sporturilor, nr. 10, bl. 25, apt. 7, 310167 Arad, Phone: 0730468534, luciancernusca@gmail.com What is ethics? What does ethics have to do with accounting? How does a scandal affect the business environment and the society? This article will explain just those questions by analyzing a “famous” fraud scandal: WorldCom Inc. The article discusses the chronology of events that lead to the WorldCom Inc. collapse and explains how the figures were manipulated for the owners’ interest and what the accounting scam was. The article ends with the consequences of the scandal and what the effects were on the society and business environment in general. JEL Classification: M4 Accounting and Auditing Key words: ethics, accounting, bankruptcy, WorldCom Inc., expenses. What is ethics? Why ethics in accounting? Ethical values are the foundations on which a civilized society is based on. Without them, the civilization collapses. In business, the purpose of ethics is to direct business men and women to abide by a code of conduct that facilitates public confidence in their product and services. In the accounting field, professional accounting organizations recognize the accounting profession’s responsibility to provide ethical guidelines to its members. Ethics must and should be taught. People are not born with the desire to be ethical or be concerned with...
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...mission statement is "achieving and maintaining reasonable profitability to assure that the financial and human capital is available for sustained growth. By assuring that our employees are well informed and properly supported, we will provide a climate focused on the long term viability of our company. And we will strive to be a solution provider for our customers and not be a part of our customer's challenges." There is room for improvement in all successful companies, including Riordan Manufacturing. To reach its full potential of generating profit, and to grow as an organization, there is a need for improvements to all business systems in all departments. Description Finance and Accounting All financial transactions for the company are the responsibility of the Financial and Accounting Department of Riordan Manufacturing. The components included for each manufacturing plant is the General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Order Entry, Procurement, Invoicing and Shipping, Sales and Purchasing History, Payroll, and Financial Reporting. The Corporate Headquarters at San Jose also includes EDI, Barcode Reading, and EDSS (Executive Decision Support System). There are three Manufacturing plants of...
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...different Financial and Accounting applications and their incompatibility is causing many issues in the day to day operations of the company. In order to improve the productivity and efficiency of the business entities, Riordan management is considering outsourcing the Financial and Accounting Application for all the business entities. Outsourcing this application can provide specialized support, can increase the speed for a quick turnaround, and can reduce costs for maximized profits. This document provides the business context, implementation plan, performance measures and review of the costs and benefits of the proposed solution. Business Context Riordan Manufacturing has three operating entities, and a joint venture with their own Finance & Accounting Systems. These F&A systems are not compatible with each other, and they are from different vendors, and on different hardware and software platforms. Consolidated financial reports are generated monthly at the corporate office based on the input received from the business entities. Due to compatibility issues, Riordan is experiencing many operational difficulties when generating the consolidated financial reports. Business entities submit the input in different formats and types. Data input received in the form of hardcopy reports needs to be re-entered, some data needs to be converted or redirected to the proper account codes and because of all of these factors, generating the consolidated F&A reports have...
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...I DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR INTERNATIONAL MARKET ENTRIES Taking the accounting information system of Milkiland Intermarket as a base of research PROJECT THESIS Faculty of Business Field of Study: International Business Cooperative State University Baden-Wuerttemberg Mannheim Handed in by: Vladyslava Zhurenkova Address: Plumstruk 3, 23617 Obernwohlde Course: WIB-bi 13BI Student ID-Number: 8658655 Academic Tutor: Prof. Dr. Thomas Schuster Supervising Tutor at Milkiland Volodymyr Gontar Intermarket: Corresponding Company: Milkiland Intermarket Kyiv, Ukraine, 10th September 2014 II CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT The Project thesis on hand “Development of an accounting information system for international market entries Taking the Accounting information system of the Milkiland Intermarket as a base of research” Contains internal resp. confidential data of Milkiland Intermarket. It is strictly forbidden, To distribute the content of this paper (including data, figures, tables, charts etc.) as a whole or in extracts, To make copies or transcripts of this paper or of parts of it, To display this paper or make it available in digital, electronic virtual form. Exceptional cases may be considered through permission granted in written form by the author and the Milkiland Intermarket. Kyiv, Ukraine, 10th September 2014 ___________________ Signature III ABSTRACT This paper is focused on...
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...CHAPTER 1 ACCOUNTING: INFORMATION FOR DECISION MAKING OVERVIEW OF BRIEF EXERCISES, EXERCISES AND CRITICAL THINKING CASES Brief Exercises B. Ex. 1.1 B. Ex. 1.2 B. Ex. 1.3 B. Ex. 1.4 B. Ex. 1.5 B. Ex. 1.6 B. Ex. 1.7 B. Ex. 1.8 B. Ex. 1.9 B. Ex. 1.10 Learning Objectives 1, 3, 5 2,5 3,4 5,6 1, 3, 5, 6 5, 6 2, 5, 6 7, 8 5, 7 1 Topic Users of accounting information Components of internal control Inexact or approximate measures Standards for the preparation of accounting information FASB conceptual framework PCAOB COSO Professional certifications in accounting AICPA code of professional conduct Personal benefits of accounting skills Skills Analysis Analysis Analysis, judgment Analysis Analysis Analysis, research Analysis, ethics Analysis Analysis, ethics Analysis Exercises 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Topic You as a user of accounting information Real World: Boeing Company, California Public Employees Retirement System, China Airlines Users of accounting information What is financial reporting? Generally accepted accounting principles Accounting organizations Investment return Accounting terminology Accounting organizations Financial and management accounting Management accounting information Accounting organizations Purpose of an audit Audits of financial statements Ethics and professional judgment Careers in accounting Home Depot, Inc. general information Learning Objectives Skills 1 Analysis, judgment 3, 4 Analysis, research ...
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...CHAPTER 1 ACCOUNTING: INFORMATION FOR DECISION MAKING OVERVIEW OF BRIEF EXERCISES, EXERCISES, AND CRITICAL THINKING CASES Brief Exercises B. Ex. 1.1 B. Ex. 1.2 B. Ex. 1.3 B. Ex. 1.4 B. Ex. 1.5 B. Ex. 1.6 B. Ex. 1.7 B. Ex. 1.8 B. Ex. 1.9 B. Ex. 1.10 Learning Objectives 1, 3, 5 2, 5 3, 4 5, 6 1, 3, 5, 6 5, 6 2, 5, 6 7, 8 5, 7 1 Topic Users of accounting information Components of internal control Inexact or approximate measures Standards for the preparation of accounting information FASB conceptual framework PCAOB COSO Professional certifications in accounting AICPA code of professional conduct Personal benefits of accounting skills Skills Analysis Analysis Analysis, judgment Analysis Analysis Analysis, research Analysis, ethics Analysis Analysis, ethics Analysis Exercises 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Topic You as a user of accounting information Real World: Boeing Company, California Public Employees Retirement System, China Airlines Users of accounting information What is financial reporting? Generally accepted accounting principles Accounting organizations Investment return Accounting terminology Accounting organizations Financial and management accounting Management accounting information Accounting organizations Purpose of an audit Audits of financial statements Ethics and professional judgment Careers in accounting Home Depot, Inc. general information Learning Objectives Skills 1 Analysis, judgment 3, 4 Analysis...
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