Consider Your Use of Electronic Communications, Including Social Media and the Internet

question 9

Essay

Consider your use of electronic communications, including social media and the Internet. When you shop for consumer products or seek out entertainment, do you tend to use this "virtual" infrastructure more, less, or about the same as you use the physical infrastructure (streets, highways, etc.)? In what ways might the former have partially displaced the latter? In what ways might our need for the physical infrastructure have actually increased as Internet use has spread?

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Definitions:

Aging of Accounts Receivable

An accounting process that categorizes outstanding receivables based on the length of time they have been unpaid.

Expense Recognition Principle

An accounting principle that states expenses should be recognized and recorded when they contribute to generating revenue, regardless of when cash is paid.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

An accounting entry known as a contra-asset account that predicts the amount of accounts receivable that might be uncollectible.

Realizable Value

The estimated amount for which an asset can be sold, minus any selling costs, at a given point in time.