Assume that you are the CFO of a Company contemplating a stock repurchase next quarter.  You know that there are several methods of reducing the current quarterly earnings which may cause the stock price to fall prior to the announcement of the proposed stock repurchase.   What course(s) of action would you recommend to your CEO?   If your CEO came to you first and recommended reducing the current quarter's earnings, what would be your response?    Additionally, you are required to support your position by using at least one recent reference from an academic journal or prominent business publication (e.g., The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Fortune, Investor’s Business Daily, etc.). A recent reference is one that has a publication date that is less than one year old as of the beginning of the semester. Importantly, references from websites do not qualify unless those websites are part of a reputable print publication. For example, Investopedia.com can be used, but it does not count as a reference that satisfies the criteria of a recent reference.