Editor's Letter
By Kathy Williams

Accounting for the Legal Fiction Called Tracking Stock
By Robert L. Maddox, III, Esq.
In recent years, some publicly held companies have issued a special type of stock called tracking stock so they can track the performance of one or more of their subsidiaries. When these companies account for their transactions, they need to be careful because parent-company earnings can become inflated. The author describes the process and offers suggestions for good accounting practices.

Market Makers’ Methods of Stock Manipulation
By A.J. Cataldo, Ph.D., CMA, CPA, and Larry N. Killough, Ph.D., CPA
Several news stories have appeared recently detailing fraudulent stock market trading practices. The authors offer a primer on market maker manipulation (MMM); naked shorting; Internet-based sources for more information, such as stock-chat message boards; and ways to detect problems.

Transforming the Procure-to-Pay Process: How Fortune 500 Corporations Use Purchasing Cards
By Richard J. Palmer, CMA, CFM; Mahendra Gupta; and Antonio Davila
It is estimated that the current purchasing card spending of $10 billion by the Fortune 500 will escalate to $33 billion by 2004. The companies have already saved $69 per transaction by shifting from paper to p-card purchases, which translates to more than $7 million per year per company. The authors present their research findings and make some projections about future spending.

Does the Balanced Scorecard Reduce Information Overload?
By Laurie Burney McWhorter, Ph.D., CMA, CPA
The author surveyed IMA members to find out how many use the balanced scorecard and how many don’t and which group has the most relevant information with which to do their jobs. She also wanted to find out if the theory underlying the balanced scorecard helps structure a corporate information system that reduces the possibility of information overload.

The Balanced Scorecard: A Vision Report Card
By Charles J. Pineno, Ph.D., and Curtis R. Cristini
More and more companies are using the balanced scorecard to gauge their performance, change their culture, and become more competitive. Using the case of Alpine Pressed Metals, a division of Metal Powder Products Co., the authors describe how the balanced scorecard evolved, offer advice on how companies can handle change and set optimal targets, and tell how managers can work toward a successful implementation.

The Past Performance and Future Value of Companies
By Peter Schuster, Ph.D., and Mel Jameson, Ph.D.
There are several ways to measure shareholder value, and the authors compare and contrast the four main ones: Added Value, originated by the London Business School; Economic Value Added, originated by Stern Stewart & Co.; Economic Profit, originated by McKinsey & Co.; and Cash Value Added, originated by the Boston Consulting Group.

Implementing the Business Activity Model for Teaching Intermediate Accounting: A Recipe for Success
By Connie Esmond-Kiger and David P. Kirch
The Business Activity Model (BAM), a problem-based learning approach, was developed several years ago so students could learn how to solve business problems they would encounter in the real world. This is the story of how the authors incorporated BAM in their intermediate accounting courses at the School of Accountancy at Ohio University and have had such huge success that they hope to implement similar changes throughout the whole accounting curriculum.

Partnering for Change: Infusing Enterprise Resource Planning in the Accounting Curriculum
By Donald E. Wygal, Ph.D., and Bart P. Hartman, Ph.D., CPA
To promote the integration of technology across the accounting curriculum and expand students’ knowledge of ERP, a joint industry/academic initiative is developing a series of interactive CDs and hosted websites to supplement traditional introductory coursework.