Sunday, December 23, 2012

The federal bankruptcy act contains several important terms. One such term is "insider." The term is used in connection with preferences and preferential transfers. Which among the following is not an "insider"?

The federal bankruptcy act contains several important terms. One such term is "insider." The term is used in connection with preferences and preferential transfers. Which among the following is not an "insider"?

A secured creditor is not an "insider" for the purposes of a preferential transfer. 

One of the elements necessary to establish that a preferential transfer has been made under the bankruptcy code by the debtor to a creditor is that the

One of the elements necessary to establish that a preferential transfer has been made under the bankruptcy code by the debtor to a creditor is that the

Under the bankruptcy ac, one of the elements which must be established in proving that a preferential transfer was made is that the debtor was insolvent at the time of the transfer. The bankruptcy act, presumes that the debtor is insolvent  during the 90 days prior to the date the petition was filed. 

In a bankruptcy proceeding, the trustee

In a bankruptcy proceeding, the trustee

A trustee is the representative of the estate and has the capacity to sue and be sued. 

The trustee in bankruptcy of a landlord-debtor under chapter 7 liquidation.

The trustee in bankruptcy of a landlord-debtor under chapter 7 liquidation.

The trustee may assign the leases of the landlord-debtor if such action is considered to be in the best interest of the debtor's estate. The trustee's duty is to acquire as many assets as possible for distribution to the creditors who filed claims in the bankruptcy proceeding. 

Haplow engaged Turnbow as his attorney when threatened by several creditors with a bankruptcy proceeding. Haplow's assets consisted of $85,000 and his debts were $125,000. A petition was subsequently was filed and uncontested. Several of the creditors are concerned the the suspected large legal fees charged by Turnhow will diminish the size of the distributable estateh. What are the rules of limitation which apply to such fees?

Haplow engaged Turnbow as his attorney when threatened by several creditors with a bankruptcy proceeding. Haplow's assets consisted of $85,000 and his debts were $125,000. A petition was subsequently was filed and uncontested. Several of the creditors are concerned the the suspected large legal fees charged by Turnhow will diminish the size of the distributable estate. What are the rules of limitation which apply to such fees?

According to the rules of bankruptcy procedure, it is necessary to file a proof of claims against the debtor's estate. The filling must be timely (within a 6-month period) or the claim will be barred. A claim that is filled on time is given prima facie validity and is approved unless there is an objection by one of the creditors. The filling would include a statement of compensation paid or agreed. 

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 lists several sanctions for offering bribes, kickbacks, etc.


The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 lists several sanctions for offering bribes, kickbacks, etc.  While this is the rule for accounting in the United States, other countries have no such laws.  How does the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) compensate for this inconsistency in accounting rules, if at all?  How would you compensate for this difference in accounting standards?  Do you believe that allowing bribes, kickbacks, etc. is necessarily unethical?

The Foreign Corrup Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 was establish to deter bribes to political officials outside of the United State and to make it a requirement for all public companies to fairly reflect financial activity and maintain reasonable records and properly recording of transactions (p.568). Other than the ISBA issuing ISA No. 1 "Presentation of Financial Statements" and IAS No. 34, "Interim Financial Reporting", the IASB does not have any ruling or regulations for bribery or kickbacks. If it were up to me, to avoid such kickbacks or briberies of foreign officials I would have the ISBA adopt a law similar to FCPA. I doubt that it would go through, since they allow the individual nations to enforce IAS No. 34 or the frequency of reporting to be decided by the each countries national law. 
If bribes or kickbacks were not view as unethical, then there would not be any need for the FCPA. I think that both the company and the individual(s) involved in the bribes are unethical, they are the only ones benefiting from these acts. Let's take a major shoe company going into a third world nation, they offer the governent official a large quantity of cash and incentives for the ability to establish a plant in the country, who will benefit? The individual and the shoe company. Either will claim that they have people working, but they are working for pennies a day. Yet the official enjoys perks and lots of money, while they company will sell the cheap shoes for hundreds of dollars. The bribe and kickback is very unethical.