...Diamond Foods Accounting Scandal BACKGROUND: Founded in 1912 as a walnut grower cooperative, Diamond Food’s primary business involved buying walnuts from local California growers, processing the product, and reselling it. The San Francisco-based company converted from a cooperative to a public corporation in July of 2005, issuing its initial shares for $17. By 2010, Diamond Foods (DMND) had expanded and acquired a number of snack food companies including Kettle Brand® Chips and Pop Secret® popcorn and was negotiating the acquisition of the Pringles brand from the Procter & Gamble Company (Diamond Foods, 2014). The addition of the Pringles brand would make Diamond the second-largest global snack foods company behind PepsiCo, Inc., owner of the Frito-Lay brand (Byron & Ziobro, 2011). Although the new ventures took precedence, Diamond’s walnut business remained the highest commodity cost to the company. In order to maintain relations with the growers, Diamond had to assure they offered a competitive price for the product; however any recorded increase in walnut price would decrease both the company’s reported earnings and their reported earnings per share (EPS). Despite rising walnut prices, the company consistently posted EPS that defied analyst projections. Between the 2010 SEC Form 10-Q second quarter filing and the SEC Form 10-K of FY 2011, the price of Diamond stock jumped from $39 dollars per share to $90 per share (SEC, 2014). On January 9, 2014, the Securities and...
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...Blue Diamond Walnuts Kahlfanie Carabon Keller School of Management April 19, 2015 Executive Summary Today’s walnut market is growing increasingly. It is projected to increase by over 25 percent in the next 3 years, (USDA, 2014). There is a grand opportunity provided by the rise in walnut demand that come s in the form of a brand extension for Blue Diamond to extend its reach into the walnut market. This extension would be two fold. The first would be opening up production to support our walnut products. The second would be securing that production in China’s rich walnut market. There is a high demand for walnuts in China, represented by their high import of the nut. The opportunity is prime for brand extension. The market has evolved in such a way that it will be strong enough to secure this move. The strengths come from several factors which are, demographics, history and awareness. The demographics factors are strong and numerous. The infrastructure is there, the people or future workers are there and the consumers are already supporting the product, just without the Blue Diamond stamp on it. History tells us of China’s linage with nuts in general that has proclaimed them as the number one exporter of nuts. An article by William Neuman in the NY times reads, “Last year, China was the top foreign buyer of American walnuts, and in 2007, it became the leading export market for pecans. Altogether, China bought $737 million in tree nuts from the United States last year...
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...nuts: Almonds $7500/6000 = $1.25 Brazil $7125/7500 = $.95 Filberts $6750/7500 = $.90 Pecans $7200/6000 = $1.20 Walnuts $7875/7500 = $1.05 Cost of nuts per mix: Regular mix: .15($1.25) + .25($.95) + .25($.90) + .10($1.20) + .25($1.05) = $1.0325 Deluxe mix: .20($1.25) + .20($.95) + .25($.90) + .20($1.20) + .20($1.05) = $1.07 Holiday mix: .25($1.25) + .15($.95) + .15($.90) + .25($1.20) + .20($1.05) = $1.10 2.) Let R = number of regular mix produced D = number of deluxe mix produced H = number of holiday mix produced The following linear programming model can be solved to maximize profit contribution for the nuts already purchased. Max = 1.65R + 2D + 2.25H .15R + .20D + .25H < = 6000 Almonds .25R + .20D + .15H < = 7500 Brazil .25R + .20D + .15H < = 7500 Filbert .10R + .20D + .25H < = 6000 Pecans .25R + .20D + .20H < = 7500 Walnuts R > = 10,000 Regular D > = 3000 Deluxe H > = 5000 Holiday The optimal solution-using Lingo is $61,375. This would be your maximum profit using the objective function above. The profit from the Regular mix would be $17,500; the profit from the Deluxe mix would be $10,625; and the profit from the Holiday mix would be $5,000. 3.) Looking at the dual prices one can see that additional almonds are worth $8.50 per pound for TJ and additional walnuts are worth $1.50 per pound. Looking at the slack variables one can see that additional Brazil nuts, Filberts nuts, and...
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...INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS The 3 commodities chosen are 1) Tobacco leaf 2) Walnuts 3) Buffalo meat 1) Tobacco leaf: Tobacco, one of the most widely-used addictive substances in the world, is a plant native to the Americas and historically one of the half-dozen most important crops grown by American farmers. From 1617 to 1793 tobacco was the most valuable staple export from the English American mainland colonies and the United States. Until the 1960s, the United States not only grew but also manufactured and exported more tobacco than any other country. The largest tobacco company in the world by volume is China National Tobacco Co... World tobacco leaf exports from 2010-2011 averaged 1.98 million tonnes per year which the FAO expects to grow by 1% to 2.2 million by 2012. Today developing nations are responsible for almost 65% of global tobacco exports, while developed countries account for the remainder. Of the countries below, the domestic economies of Zimbabwe and Malawi depend most heavily on tobacco exports to the rest of the world. Production by country: Country or region Production in thousands of tons China 2,298.8 India 595.4 Brazil 520.7 United States 408.2 European Union 314.5 Zimbabwe ...
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...Walnut is the common people food. It is nutritious, has a brain, kidney, beauty, lipid-lowering effect of four. Walnuts and walnut or China's traditional export commodities. However, due to the hard walnut shells, hand stripping nuclear extremely inconvenient and time-consuming. Therefore, raising the level of mechanization take walnut kernel, the production process is an urgent problem. Walnut Huller is mainly used for rigid walnut sheller, a complete different rates, and the yield of different varieties of walnut nuts, one is the structure by regulating the motor speed, the rotational speed of the wind speed and the size of the internal fit. The other is by adjusting the internal clearance, to achieve the best effect shelling. Walnut huller main features Walnut huller from the rack, the fan rotor, single-phase motor, screen (the size of two kinds), into the hopper, vibrating screen, belt wheel and drive belt and other components. After the normal operation of equipment, walnut quantitative evenly and continuously into the hopper, walnut repeatedly hit in the rotor, Friction, collision broken down, and crushed walnut shells in the rotation of the rotor and the wind pressure blow, through certain pore size screen (the first threshing with a large hole mesh, small fruit skin after cleaning the mesh apertures replaced second peel) filtration, separation. Walnut hull, tablets in rotating fan blowing force, to make lightweight body shell is blown, the heavier the fruit through...
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...The allelopathic effects of juglone containing nuts Catherine Qin, Manavi Nagai, Whitney Hagins, and Reginald Hobbs* Department of Science AP Biology Lexington High School, 251 Waltham Street, Lexington, MA 02421 *Correspondence: rhobbs@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us Abstract Allelopathy is the inhibition of the growth of a plant by the allelochemicals, produced by a nearby plant, into their shared environment. It is a form of chemical warfare used by plants to defend their territory and resources, thus reducing interspecific competition1. Although some allelopathic plants produce agents that may benefit rather than harm surrounding species, the majority release chemicals that are toxic to others. To explore this biological phenomenon, the effects of allelopathic nuts of the family Juglandaceae, containing the novel allelopathic agent juglone, were tested on the germination of plants sensitive to allelopathy and those shown to be resistant. Based on previous studies examining allelopathy, it is expected that sensitive plants treated with this agent would cause negative affects on germination, while the seeds that are known to be resistant, would undergo relatively normal germination. The results of these experiments are generally consistent with this model of allelopathic toxicity and resistance. Allelopathy is a unique phenomenon in nature that is relatively new to the scientific community, and the results of this experiment are not only relevant to basic botanical research, but also...
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...STDY 80: Studying & Learning Final Projects: Research Paper SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER (A) “An Overview of the Hospitality and Restaurant Management Profession” December 12, 2006 By: John Doe STDY 80: Studying & Learning Prof: Kathleen E. High, M.Ed. Mt San Antonio College Hospitality & Restaurant Management Doe: i Thesis Statement: A person who wants to become a professional in the Hospitality and Restaurant Management field should consider gaining both experience and an educational degree in order to enjoy a successful career. Purpose: To help the author understand what it will take to become a professional in the HRM field. Audience: Professor Outline: I. Introduction: The HRM profession is multi-faceted a. An Educational Degree is advantageous; Experience is also key b. Responsible for operations of a functioning food establishment c. The field is diverse and covers all demographics and populations II. Body: The HRM profession is multi-faceted because of the nature of the hospitality and restaurant industry. a. Education - A degree from an accredited university or training from a certified program can be advantageous. i. AS in Hospitality & Restaurant Management ii. BS in Culinary Arts Management iii. Business & Marketing iv. Recreation Management b. Experience – with dedication and hard work, a person may be able to work his or her way from bottom up. i. Getting a foot in the door ii. Learning from observation and practice iii. It takes time ...
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...Walnut Venture Associates are a group of angel investors. In 1997 the club had around a dozen individual investors, forming an “angel group”. Their primary targets are investments ranging from $250,000 to $1,000,000. This is due to the gap of capital funds initiated by the VC’s from not considering investments bellow $1 million. Also, angel investors can acquire significant equity at low cost, and help the growth of the company with their knowledge and expertise. By selecting only the most exceptional people and ideas, investments in startups can lead to massive returns on relatively small investments. As unexperienced entrepreneurs, they are a key resource to have in order to achieve quick growth, and secure the company’s early stages. RBS began product development in 1992, and first launched to the software industry in 1994. By the end of 1997, their annual revenue rate was close to $5 million. RBS now seeks a 2 million dollar investment, to be used for sales expansion, global marketing, and product development. So why would Walnut even consider investing if the company is past startup status? Since their primal motive is to maximize earnings, they may allow going over their common investment range if the opportunity seems truly worth it. RBS does seem to have the essentials to a great company with a strong management team, a proven product, and a solid execution of their plans. The market they are in, the software industry, is growing at 5 times the rate of the rest of...
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...Angel investors are wealthy individuals who usually have an entrepreneurial background of their own. These individuals look for an outlet to share, recycle and increase their wealth and expertise by investing in start-ups. The reasons why they invest in start-ups vary. One of these is to put their wealth and experience to use, the other is to fill the void created by VC’s in the investment space of $1million or less. For entrepreneurs Angel investment is an attractive way to raise equity capital. Angels will provide capital up to a couple of million dollars making it an attractive option for a second round financing run where friends and family would probably fall short and the company is not yet attractive for VC’s. For a Walnut investor there are a several issues that raise questions that must be answered. Some of these questions are about RBS’s market penetration and growth projections. Why will the customer choose to switch to RBS, and how easy is it? The answer to this question would reveal the markets resistance to RBS’s penetration. Is RBS adding real value to the customers that switch? Based on the answers to these questions is the 100% annual sales growth realistic? Is opening local field offices really a good strategy? Can new field offices duplicate the success of the California office which had access to a huge software company market? We can also question assumptions about the competition. What is the barrier of entry for the competition? Does...
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...With these developments, it is obvious that conflicts between parties of different nationalities occur and liability to tax on income of foreigners especially among those engaging in trading venture. Whilst the laws affecting domicile and residence may be sufficiently settled, it is paramount for courts to pursue a detailed analysis to ascertain specific preliminary issues so as to avoid controversial rulings. Courts often handle numerous financial cases that involve what can be best described as foreign or international elements. In such cases, court must decide whether it has the jurisdiction under the Family Law Act 1975 to make a decision on such cases. In the event that it is determined that the court is invested with the jurisdiction to determine the case, the court has to consider whether there is a system of law in foreign country that also has the jurisdiction to handle the case. As it was addressed in the case Attorney General of New Zealand v Ortiz [1984] AC 1, these benefits and costs to either party if the case resolution is made in foreign country as compared with the apparent country should also be a subject of concern. [1] Legal systems in most countries around the world adopt community property regime, which takes effect at the inception of marriage or at the time of divorce. For instance, California and Massachusetts in the United States have adopted community property regimes that support equal division of assets upon divorce. However, this provision...
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...Adapted from Bernhardt & Kinnear (1988). Cases in marketing management, pp. 6-16. Plano, TX: Business Publications, Inc. Pay careful attention to the following points. They are often used by instructors to evaluate either a written or oral analysis. 1. Be complete. Each area of the situation analysis must be discussed, problems and opportunities identified, alternative presented and evaluated using the situation analysis and relevant financial analysis, and a decision must be made. An analysis that omits part of the situation analysis or only recognizes one alternative is not a good analysis. Second, each area must be covered in-depth and within insight. 2. Avoid rehashing case facts. Every case has a lot of factual information. A good analysis uses facts that are relevant to the situation at hand to make summary points of analysis. A poor analysis just restates or rehashes theses facts without making relevant summary comments. 3. Make reasonable assumptions. Every case is incomplete in terms of some piece of information that you would like to have. A good case analysis must make realistic assumptions to fill in the gaps of information in the case. For example, the case may not describe the purchase decision process for the product of interest. A poor analysis would either omit mentioning this or just state that no information is available. A good analysis would attempt to present this purchase decision process by classifying the product and drawing upon real life...
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...are given. It is understandable then that we should seek out more opportunities to apply our skills and make more positive impacts within our jurisdictions. It is this general attitude that led us to get involved in investigating cold cases. How We Got Started Mark had, for several years, been consulting with our Coroner’s Division as a forensic anthropologist. During this time he came to learn that there were numerous coroners’ cases in which the identity of the decedent was unknown. These cases were kept in three-ring binders on a shelf in the Sergeant’s office. Over the years, in the course of this forensic work, we would discuss these cases and the progress that was being made on them. The conversation usually ran along the lines of us asking “any luck with that 1980 homicide victim?” and the sergeant answering “well, we’ve gotten so many new cases that I haven’t been able to even look at it yet.” This went on for a few years and through two different sergeants. One day we, as a crime analysis unit, were brainstorming about how we could broaden our “client base”, as it were. We had been successful in integrating ourselves into our Investigations Bureau and had been involved in numerous major cases. And, of course, we had always been active in producing tactical and strategic analyses for our patrol personnel. But we knew that we could be doing more, particularly given the size and responsibilities of our agency. It was during...
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...BUSINESS CASE Presented to the Accountancy Department De La Salle University In partial fulfillment Of the course requirements In ACCTBA2 (C33) March 2, 2015 A stakeholder is typically concerned with an organization delivering intended results and meeting its financial objectives. In general, a stakeholder can be one of two types: internal (from within an organization) or external (outside of an organization). The stakeholders in this situation are Lanie Marquez and Tim Rodriguez who are also partners in the retail distribution business and their capital contributions are as follows P500,000 and P300,000 respectively they are an internal stakeholder since they are also the owners. The total Capital of both stakeholders is P800,000 and with a monthly salary for both partners at P15,000 on the assumption that both of them will contribute to manage the business equally. Assuming that both managed the business equally the total salary for the year for Lanie and Tim are P180,000 each. They share profit and loss equally and no interest will be given on capital contributed. The problem for this situation is that Lanie is starting to get concerned with the behavior of her other partner Tim. He only manages the business 50% of the time, which will mean that his salary of P15,000 will need to decrease by also 50% since he does not manage the business equally with his partner. The business has seen a downturn in the profit outcome and for the current financial...
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...Ralph’s Grocery and United Food and Commercial Workers Union The case that I chose for the week 6 critical thinking assignment concerns Ralph’s Grocery Company, located in California. It applies to this week’s material due to the fact that the case involves unlawful suspension and discharge of an employee, as reviewed by the National Labor Relations Board. Background In May 2011, Vittorio Razi was an employee at Ralph’s Grocery and was suspended and terminated after he refused to take a drug test without first consulting with his UFCW Local 324 representative. The company (Respondent) says that on the day in question, Razi’s behavior was in question, acting nervous, anxious, agitated, and slurred speech. After a couple managers discussed the...
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... Many people wonder why their own teeth stain so easily. The enamel on your teeth and chromogens are what stains your teeth, but what exact beverage stains teeth the most? I chose this topic because I was curious to know what stains teeth the most. It affects us daily because it could rot your teeth or you can’t pick up hot chicks anymore. So what causes teeth to stain? The temperature causes teeth to expand or contract making it easier for stains. So hot and cold drinks affect that. Color in foods and beverages come from chromogens. Chromogens are intensely pigmented compounds that stick to teeth enamel. Chromogens cause a lot of trouble when they mix and react with other stain causing and stain promoting factors. Tannis may be natural or synthetic tannis is another factor that stains teeth. Tooth enamel is porous making it extremely susceptible to stains. The darker the liquid the darker the stain. There are some examples that stain teeth. Not only sodas bad but also Gatorade. Beets are bad for you also. Mostly cause they’re concentrated. Berries dark skins stain teeth. Ketchup is also really bad because of its bright red color and high levels of acid. Dark liquids and sauces you put on your foods also stain teeth. Colored candy and popsicles both contain colorants that will transfer to the teeth and embed in the porous enamel. Fruit juices, especially grape and cranberry, leave a colorful tinge on the teeth and tongue. Colored sodas instantly discolor teeth. The citric acids...
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