On Friday, the market eagerly awaited the release of Groupon’s (GRPN)10-K, detailing results for the year ended December 31, 2011. Shares were up 3.84% during regular trading hours, but dropped as much as 8% (eventually settling at -5.93%) in after hours trading when the company announced its figures were not as good as reported in … Read more Groupon’s Latest Accounting Problem
Prior to Groupon’s IPO last year, I wrote a few articles that were critical of the company. In one of my articles, I noted problems with loyalty of customers and merchants: It’s expensive to get new customers. Sure, a large email list is nice. But how much does it cost to get people on it, … Read more Groupon: Problems With Customer Loyalty and Marketing Costs
It’s crunch time for Groupon (GRPN). The roadshow for the company’s Initial Public Offering went live last week, and Groupon’s offering will happen this week. Demand for the shares is apparently through the roof. The company was hoping to sell 30 million shares at $16 to $18 each, but word is that Groupon is now looking … Read more Groupon IPO: Investors Beware the Unaudited Financial Statements
In July, critics attacked Groupon (GRPN) and it use of a made-up accounting measure management called Adjusted CSOI. I suggested that the company made up the measure to exclude many of the company’s expenses to make the company look more successful. There was more to the story, however, as the Grumpy Old Accountants revealed Generally … Read more Groupon: Restated Numbers Reveal Failure of Business
In the United States, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are required to be used by public companies so that users of the financial statements can properly interpret results. It makes sense to have a set of rules common to all businesses, such that financial statement users can know what various line items and metrics mean. … Read more Groupon: Pay No Attention to the Bottom Line
What is fraud? A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury. Yesterday in the United … Read more Jennifer McKinney MckMama Bankruptcy: Fraud Alleged by Trustee
Once upon a time, there was a popular mommy blogger named Jennifer McKinney. She called herself MckMama, and had a blog called My Charming Kids. She was not noteworthy in any way – – until her fourth pregnancy took a turn for the worse. Her unborn son Stellan was determined to have a heart condition, … Read more MckMama Fraud: Jennifer McKinney Bankruptcy