This study examines topics currently addressed in the introductory Accounting Information Systems (AIS) course and makes comparisons to past studies. The study includes an examination of 12 current AIS textbooks, syllabi from current AIS instructors, and the results of a survey of AIS faculty and professionals. The divisions of topics in the books and on the syllabi suggest that introduction to systems, internal control, and transaction processing are the most important topics to be covered. After these topics, the rankings diverge. The results of this study suggest that the emphasis historically placed on system analysis and design, while still important, is somewhat less than in the past. This was also apparent from the results of the authors' surveys of AIS faculty and professionals who use technology in their jobs. Both faculty and professionals agree that greater importance should be placed on teaching internal control and transactions processing, while moderate importance should be placed on software and hardware issues. Professionals ranked ethics and Internet education of greater importance than did faculty, while faculty rated computer fraud (which may tie in with ethics) and database management systems of greater importance than did the professionals. Professionals also placed higher importance on teaching software applications (particularly spreadsheet applications) than did faculty.

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In November 1990, the Texas Attorney General filed a lawsuit against The Methodist Hospital System, alleging that it had failed in its duty to provide enough charity care to poor people. The state claimed that the hospital provided significantly less charity care than the hospital reported; it then filed the suit in an effort to require specific performance—that is, to compel the hospital to provide greater amounts of charity care in the future. The case focuses on the amount of charity care provided before the suit, the economic value of the tax exemption provided to the hospital because it is a not-for-profit (NFP) hospital, and the responsibilities of the hospital given the expectations of society. The case also brings into sharp relief the value of having tax-exempt status and the social and political expectations that accompany the exemption. In addition, the case raises ethical questions concerning these issues, as well as issues involving the financial reporting of the entity and management perquisites.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">People nearing retirement face a well-known decision: When should to begin taking social security benefits? The answer may not seem obvious since there are key trade-offs involved. The retiree can choose low benefits for a longer period of time, or high benefits for a shorter period of time, or something in between.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The optimal initiation date that maximizes social security wealth is a quantitative question and it depends on the life expectancy of the person and on the real rate of return they expect to earn on their investments, among other things. We attempt to provide some answers to this practical and important question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Our focus throughout is on relatively high-wealth individuals who will receive the maximum social security benefits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We show how the government&rsquo;s social security benefit calculator can be very misleading. We also include how the decision may be different for a married couple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>We conclude with the following rough guideline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>If you expect to make a good return on your investments, you should take the benefits early (i.e. at age 62).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>If you expect to make modest investment returns and you expect to live a long time, you should take the benefits later, (i.e. at age 70).</span></span></p>