Research Case: On September $11,2023,$ the J$.$M$.$ Smucker$$s $($Smucker$$s$)$ Company announced that it would acquire Hostess Brands $($Hostess$)$ for a purchase price of approximately $$5\mathrm{.}6$ billion. On November $7,2023,$ Smucker$$s announced the closing of the purchase of Hostess by paying a combination of cash and issuing stock for each share of outstanding Hostess stock. On November $8,2023$ Hostess$$s stock was delisted. Accounting Issues to Research: Identify the Codification references that guided Smucker$$s accountants to correctly apply GAAP for this acquisition and preparation of consolidated financial statements.

$1.$ How should Smucker$$s account for legal, underwriting, and other fees associated with this acquisition?

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$2.$ How did Smucker$$s determine the acquisition date $($the date when the company acquired control$)$ of Hostess?

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$3.$ Smucker$$s has a December $31$st fiscal year end. The acquisition closed on November $7,2023.$ Should Smucker$$s include Hostess$$s revenue and expenses from January $1,2023$ November $7,2023$ in the fiscal $2023$ financial statements?

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$4.$ The acquisition closed on November $7,2023.$ Should Smucker$$s include Hostess$$s November $7,2023$ Retained Earnings$/$Deficit balance in the consolidated company$$s financial statements? Codification Reference