Internet Exercises

2-1. As of January 1, 1997, all publicly-traded companies are required to file most of their financial documents with SEDAR (the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval) electronically. The electronic database of corporate information is available at www.sedar.com/. SEDAR includes quarterly and annual filings of financial information. Users of the SEDAR database have prompt on-line access to these financial statements.

The chapter contains financial information on Planet Hollywood (a restaurant chain), and a clothing company (Benneton). Use the SEDAR data base to select restaurant chains and a clothing company, and compare and contrast these companies with Planet Hollywood, and Benneton in terms of the cost of sales as a percentage of sales, and the other cost categories mentioned in the textbook. Be alert to differences in the business structure of the companies you select compared to the two in the text.

Each member of the group should select one restaurant company and one clothing company, and be prepared to discuss his or her findings.

Instructions - after selecting the SEDAR web site, search the SEDAR database or company profiles, then choose a company and select the documents and financial information you desire to review.

2-2. Rutgers University has a web site- RAW (Rutgers Accounting Web) which is a repository of voluminous accounting data. The address is www.rutgers.edu/Accounting/raw/ima/imafap.htm. Four case studies – Cases from Management Accounting Practice – should appear. Your group should select the first case – Centerior Energy A. Review the case, discuss it among your group, and answer the first two questions at the end of the case.