Media Coverage: October 2005

BusinessWeek , 10/31/2005— Marvin Goldberg , chair of the department of marketing, comments on the in-store marketing efforts of cigarette companies. "The ballgame's in the store," Goldberg says. ( Leader Of The Packs ).

SmartPros.com , 10/31/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, is mentioned in an article on accounting education. "According to Professor J. Edward Ketz, a frequent SmartPros contributor through 'The Accounting Cycle' column, accounting students are graduating without the necessary tools to fight fraud. He makes seven recommendations to remedy this problem." ( What Fraud Training? ).

BusinessWeek Online , 10/30/2005— Judy Olian , dean, comments on the enrollment of women in business schools. "Schools must have representation of both sexes, so it's clear that each can have success in business," Olian says. "There's a much bigger picture than what goes on in B-school." ( What Women MBAs Want: Role Models ).

The Boston Globe , 10/30/2005—Article detailing the author's experience with Olson Zaltman Associates, a consulting firm cofounded by Jerry Olson , professor emeritus of marketing. ( Office Of My Dreams ).

Youngstown Daily Business Journal , 10/25/2005—Story on the grand opening of Smeal 's Supply Chain Laboratory. "The Smeal College of Business at Penn State University will team with IBM on Oct. 28 to open the new Supply Chain Laboratory, which is being relocated to Smeal's new Business Building on the University Park campus." ( Penn State Supply Chain Lab Opens Oct. 28 ).

BusinessWeek , 10/24/2005— Penn State Executive Programs is ranked as the eighth custom executive education program in the world. ( Head Of The Class ).

Journal of Commerce Online , 10/24/2005—Story on the grand opening of Smeal 's Supply Chain Laboratory. "The Smeal College of Business at Penn State University will team with IBM on Oct. 28 to open the new Supply Chain Laboratory, which is being relocated to Smeal's new Business Building on the University Park campus." ( Penn State, IBM Partner In Research Lab ).

Reuters , 10/21/2005— Tim Pollock , associate professor of management, discusses the how successful IPO affect private companies. "Any time firms in a particular industry see a big success, that opens the door for more," says Pollock. "Firms that weren't thinking about it might start thinking about it and firms that are thinking about it might be more likely to do it." ( CBOT May Pave Way For More Exchange IPOs ). This article also appeared on the Wachovia Securities Web site.

Investor's Business Daily , 10/19/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses accounting regulation in an op-ed. "The Refco scandal proves Sarbanes-Oxley and its silly, incapable features to be a useless piece of legislation. Congress should get rid of the law and enact some real reforms for financial reporting." ( Refco Case Proves How Impotent Sarbanes-Oxley's Been From Start ). A version of this article also appeared on SmartPros.com .

The Wall Street Journal , 10/17/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses the Refco scandal. "The auditors' responsibility is catching material fraud," says Ketz. "When you start talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, we expect the auditor to catch the fraud." ( Grant Thornton Expects To Weather Fallout From Refco ). This article also appeared in The Wall Street Journal Europe .

Centre Daily Times , 10/16/2005—News brief on the NASDAQ award presented to The Farrell Center . "The Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Penn State's Smeal College of Business has received the NASDAQ 2005 Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence award through a unanimous vote of its peers." ( PSU Entrepreneurship Center Receives Honor ).

Centre Daily Times , 10/16/2005—News brief on the opening of Smeal 's Supply Chain Laboratory. "Penn State's Smeal College of Business will open the new Supply Chain Laboratory in the Business Building on Oct. 28. The lab was made possible by a Shared University Research award from IBM, which provided Smeal with software, server and storage technology to create the initial laboratory in the fall of 2003." ( Smeal To Open Supply Chain Facility ).

The Washington Post , 10/15/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses the Refco scandal. "The fact that the circular transactions with Liberty regularly occurred at the end of fiscal quarters and were then unwound after the quarters ended should have raised alarms at Refco's audit and underwriting firms. 'That will probably be a major point of contention as the lawsuits unfold,' he said." ( Crisis At Refco Raises Questions About Accounting ).

Reuters , 10/13/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses the Refco scandal. "It seems to me that the board of directors was not really investigating what Bennett was doing in this situation," says Ketz. ( Disgraced Refco CEO Confined To Ritzy Park Ave ). This article also appeared on the Web site of The San Diego Union-Tribune .

Reuters , 10/13/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses the Refco scandal. "It's just another volley in the continual battle over trying to delineate who's legally responsible for any problems," says Ketz. "Everybody here is trying to cover their butts by attempting to say the other guy is responsible for this or that." ( Audit Rule Squabble Flares Amid Refco Woe ).

Chicago Tribune , 10/13/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, talks about accounting regulations in light of the Refco scandal. "The board of directors should also be responsible, and we have to re-examine a corporation paying those who audit them," Ketz says. ( Ex-CEO Charged In Refco Scandal ).

Supply & Demand Chain Executive , 10/13/2005—Story on the grand opening of Smeal 's Supply Chain Laboratory. "The Smeal College of Business at Penn State University will team with IBM on October 28 to open the new Supply Chain Laboratory, which is being relocated to Smeal's new Business Building on the University Park campus." ( Smeal, IBM Partner On New Supply Chain Research Lab ).

Cargo Security International , 10/13/2005—Story on the grand opening of Smeal 's Supply Chain Laboratory. "The Smeal College of Business at Penn State University is teaming up with IBM to open its new Supply Chain Laboratory." ( Smeal And IBM To Open New Supply Chain Laboratory ).

Reuters , 10/11/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses the Refco scandal. "The company and Mr. Bennett will be in trouble for not revealing the related-party nature of the receivable," says Ketz. ( Refco Tumbles Again As Scandal Over CEO Widens ). This article also appeared on several Web sites, including ABCNews.com , WashingtonPost.com , MSN Money , and Crain's Chicago Business .

USA Today , 10/11/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, talks about Refco CEO Phillip Bennett's leave of absence in light of his $430 million in debt to the company. "I suspect the SEC will investigate this quite thoroughly," says Ketz. ( Refco's CEO On Leave After $430M Debt Issue Raised ). This article also appeared on AZCentral.com and the Middle East North Africa Financial Network .

India Today , 10/10/2005— Smeal 's MBA program is touted by MBA student Sachin Arora. "'Imagine giving $0 for an education and landing a $100,000 job. Some Smeal students have got such deals,' he says. Arora receives $45,000 a year in the form of tuition waiver, insurance costs and monthly stipend from his university." ( Indian Versus Foreign: Class Apart ).

Centre Daily Times , 10/09/2005— John M. Jordan 's appointment as executive director of the eBRC is announced. "Longtime business and technology consultant John M. Jordan has been named executive director of the eBusiness Research Center at Penn State's Smeal College of Business. ... Jordan has more than 10 years experience in advising companies on using technology to improve their bottom lines." ( Business People: Research ).

MarketingSherpa.com , 10/04/2005— Ralph Oliva , executive director of the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, discusses B-to-B channel marketing. "Conflict exists because many OEMs don't understand how the channel works," Oliva says. "Most don't understand, for example, how a distributor makes money. Distributors have to constantly 'turn' or sell inventory. When a manufacturer tries to bring on new distribution channels to increase sales, it causes distributors to compete against each other and/or lose sales. It's sloppy channel management—and it makes channel partners angry." ( B-to-B Channel Marketing In Crisis—Top Three Pain Points ).

Best's Insurance News , 10/03/2005— Fariborz Ghadar , director of the Center for Global Business Studies, compares the effect on business of the SARS outbreak of 2002 and 2003 to an avian flu outbreak. "'Immediately, it hurt the airline industry, and many companies closed down and sent their people home,' he said." However, "health officials and businesses are in a better position to deal with avian flu than they were with SARS, said Ghadar, because science knows more about this virus at the outset." ( Avian Flu Outbreak Revives Fears of Pandemic ).

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , 10/02/2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, talks about the risk involved with hedging. "When you guess right, it can be wonderful. When you guess wrong, it will cost you in foregone profits," says Ketz. ( Heard Off The Street: Hedges Trim Gas Price Gains For Equitable ).

Centre Daily Times , 10/01/2005— Smeal 's building dedication is covered. "There was much laughter Friday as faculty, alumni and students gathered to dedicate—and reminisce about the building process for the Smeal College's new Business Building on the Penn State campus. 'It's a home that will stimulate education and learning in ways we've yet to imagine,' Smeal Dean Judy Olian said." ( Penn State Dedicates Business Building ).

Web Host Industry Review , October 2005— Nirmal Pal , interim executive director of the eBusiness Research Center, comments on the likelihood of Google and eBay offering Web hosting. "Google already has a lot of expertise in running thousands of its own servers in a hardened environment," says Pal. "It would be a natural and logical extension of their in-house expertise to move into the growing area of Web hosting." ( In The Shadows Of The Big Brands ).

Small Times , October 2005— Fariborz Ghadar , director of the Center for Global Business Studies, comments on start-up companies transitioning from a founder to a new CEO. "It's a very critical time for a new corporation," he says. "The first CEO is more than a CEO; he's a prophet. Everyone believes what he says." ( Parting Company: Startup's Evolution Often Requires Its CEO To Step Aside ).

State College Magazine , October 2005— Patrick Cataldo , associate dean for executive education, is profiled. "Cataldo willingly embraces challenges and understands that the businesses and organizations he and his team serve are looking for real world practicality and knowledge that will solve real business problems." ( The Real World With Patrick Cataldo ).

Town & Gown , October 2005—A brief history of Smeal . "Jumping ahead to 2005, the opening of the new 210,000-square-foot Smeal College of Business Building this fall is a true milestone for business education at Penn State. Occupying the largest academic building on campus, this dynamic college traces its lineage back to C&F and some pioneering professors 80 years ago." ( Penn State Diary: A Look At The History Behind The Smeal College Of Business ).

SmartPros.com , October 2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses principles-based accounting in his column. "In July 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued 'Response to SEC Study on the Adoption of a Principles-Based Accounting System,' essentially agreeing with the SEC staff that principles-based accounting is the way to go. Unfortunately, nobody at the SEC or FASB knows how to get there." ( Earnings Per Share: An Example Of Principles-Based Accounting? ).

SmartPros.com , October 2005— J. Edward Ketz , associate professor of accounting, discusses accounting restatements in his column. "A recent article in an American Accounting Association journal explores the connection between financial expertise and accounting restatements. Apparently, the authors believe that, on a probabilistic basis, deficiencies in financial expertise lead to accounting problems and eventually to accounting restatements. While the logic seems acceptable, at least as far as it goes, the nexus really isn't as close as it seems." ( Financial Expertise And Accounting Restatements ).

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