Thursday, November 28, 2019
Figure of Speech free essay sample
He was not unfamiliar with the work of Shakespeare. Einstein is not a bad mathematician. 6. Understatement is the representation of something as significantly less than it ctually is; where a polite phrase is used in place of a harsher or more offensive expression. That was some sprinkle. (in reference to the heavy rain which fell an hour before) l have to have this operation. It isnt very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain. 7. Euphemism is the substitution of a cultured or less offensive term for a harsh one. A euphemism is the use of neutral language to remark something that may be offensive to the receiver. Euphemism is often used by people who are diplomatic, and who wish to be politically correct. We have to let you go. Read: Youre fired. Youre well fed. Read: Youre fat. 8. Antithesis is a direct contrast in which two sets if fgures are set in opposition to one another; defined as an opposition or contradiction between two concepts in a statement. We will write a custom essay sample on Figure of Speech or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry, The sun so hot, I froze to death Youre easy on the eyes, hard on the heart 9. Paradox is a contradictory statement which may appear false, but is in fact true. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. 10. Oxymoron uses a contradictory adjective to define an object, situation or event. Loners club. A strippers dressing room. 1 1 . Anaphora is repetition of the same word or words at the beginning or successive clauses, verses, or sentences, He came as conqueror. He came as ally. He came as a stranger. He came as brother. Water, water, every where, Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink. 12. Alliteration refers to the repetition of a consonant sound, at least three times in a sentence. It is often used as a figure of speech in poetry, and even advertisements use alliteration in their tag lines to make the ads more memorable. Dont delay dawns disarming display. Dusk demands daylight. Saras seven sisters slept soundly in sand. 13. Assonance is repetition of vowel sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse. Known narcissists, sipping on arsenic, Carved carcasses in the garage, dont park in it, Hard as finding retarded kids at Harvard, Its Wolf Gang barking keep you up like car alarms. The silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain. 14. Onomatopoeia is used to imitate the sounds made by certain objects or actions. The clatter of utensils. The flutter of birds. 15. Puns refer to the deliberate substitution of similar sounding words to create a humorous effect. I bet the butcher the other day that he couldnt reach the meat that was on the top shelf. He refused to take the bet, saying that the steaks were too high. Santas helpers are subordinate Clauses. 16. Metonymy refers to the use of a phrase regarding an associated concept, in order to describe the actual concept. The editorial page has always believed This refers to the belief of the editors who write the editorial page. He writes a fine hand. It means he has good handwriting. 17. Personification refers to the art of bringing to life an inanimate object, trait, or The picture in that magazine screamed for attention. The carved pumpkin smiled at me. 18. Allusion is casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event. .. a turn of phrase even Shakespeare would appreciate. 19. Apostrophe is a direct address of an absent or dead person or personified thing. God help me! Ambition, youre a cruel master! 20. Synecdoche is using a part for the whole or the whole for a part The pen is mightier than the sword They live together in one roof.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
A Short Quiz About Emphasis
A Short Quiz About Emphasis A Short Quiz About Emphasis A Short Quiz About Emphasis By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, there is a deviation from one of the conventions about how to convey emphasis in writing. Identify the error, and then check below for corrected versions followed by explanations. 1. ââ¬Å"So-called ââ¬Ënotification lawsââ¬â¢ require businesses to notify customers when certain unencrypted customer data is improperly accessed.â⬠2. ââ¬Å"Thus the question is not one of quality, but of quantity.â⬠3. ââ¬Å"I suppose this was the moment when I was supposed to experience a sensation of ââ¬Ëbeing one with the universe,ââ¬â¢ but I just wasnââ¬â¢t feeling it.â⬠4. ââ¬Å"With a strident vigor that arrested the attention of all present, she shouted, ââ¬ËYOU JUST DONââ¬â¢T GET IT, DO YOU?ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ 5. ââ¬Å"After seeing this movie, I just have one thing to say: ââ¬ËI want those two hours of my life back!!!ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ Answers 1. ââ¬Å"So-called notification laws require businesses to notify customers when certain unencrypted customer data is improperly accessed.â⬠Explanation: Quotation marks employed to highlight a word or phrase, known as scare quotes, are almost invariably unnecessary, and are redundant to the phrase so-called. (Note that in the previous sentence, I didnââ¬â¢t enclose the introduced slang term ââ¬Å"scare quotesâ⬠as I explained, these quotation marks are superfluous. However, I did use quotation marks around the phrase in this parenthesis, just as I italicized so-called above and here because thatââ¬â¢s how open phrases and words or hyphenated phrases, respectively, are styled when used as names of concepts rather than as the concepts themselves.) 2. ââ¬Å"Thus the question is not one of quality, but of quantity.â⬠Explanation: Italicization of key words can be appropriate but is often overused. Use your judgment to determine whether your point needs such emphasis or whether you can rely on readers to get it without special treatment of words. Usually, they will, and if you doubt it, perhaps your point needs to be expressed more clearly. 3. ââ¬Å"I suppose this was the moment when I was supposed to experience a sensation of Being One with the Universe, but I just wasnââ¬â¢t feeling it.â⬠Explanation: Using quotation marks in this case isnââ¬â¢t necessarily the wrong approach, and itââ¬â¢s appropriate if someone a guru, for instance previously used these words, but if the intent is mockery, sarcasm, or irony, it may not be effective. Using headline-style initial capital letters is the conventional approach for conveying such a tone. 4. ââ¬Å"With a strident vigor that arrested the attention of all present, she shouted, ââ¬ËYou just donââ¬â¢t get it, do you!ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ Explanation: Except in display copy (headlines, headings, and the like), using all capital letters is an awkward distraction. Let the narrative carry the emphasis; note that in the sample sentence, thanks to the expressive description in the introductory phrase, the quotation could even get by with a question mark alone (though, because itââ¬â¢s a rhetorical question, the exclamation point is suitable). 5. ââ¬Å"After seeing this movie, I just have one thing to say: ââ¬ËI want those two hours of my life back.ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ Explanation: Again, let the narrative do the work. Multiple exclamation points have no place in writing, except to mimic a hormone-addled adolescent. And avoid even single exclamation points; usually, theyââ¬â¢re extraneous, and if theyââ¬â¢re not, theyââ¬â¢re probably a crutch for inexpressive writing. Isnââ¬â¢t the deadpan tone implied by the lack of an exclamation point in the sample sentence above more effective than the impotent peevishness that an exclamation point would suggest? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a UK Business LetterWhat's a Male Mistress?The "Pied" in The Pied Piper
Thursday, November 21, 2019
DISCUSSION QUESTION RESPONSE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 21
DISCUSSION QUESTION RESPONSE - Essay Example You went ahead and talked about the importance of gestures in effective communication. I have to admit gestures are sometimes confusing but one has to judge every gesture according to the subject being discussed. These will surely enhance effective communication. You stated that you are most uncomfortable with listening and giving feedback. This is not a personal problem but a universal problem as well. Many people interrupt the speaker before they are done with the communication. If the speaker does not understand enough, he may end up having the wrong interpretation of the response (Caputo, Palosaari, and Pickering 122-125). I wholly agree with the initiative you have taken to eradicate this problem. Perhaps I may ask have you made any meaningful progress. Is your approach universally adaptable? I have adapted a habit of asking a question in case I want to put a point across in the middle of a given conversation. Alternatively, I just wait for the speaker to finish what they were saying before I make my
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Forrensic computing - securing evidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Forrensic computing - securing evidence - Essay Example Archie Rival, who got the job, says he is very happy with Axtaââ¬â¢s work and doesnââ¬â¢t feel there is any conflict. However, at a recent annual review meeting the shipping clerk Asif Iwud told his reviewer in confidence that he believed Axta had not ââ¬Ëforgotten and forgiven but had other fish to fryââ¬â¢. He believes she will be resigning soon and is hoping to get her job. Evidence is the means and materials that enable a case to be proven. The evidence shows the actual events that took place in any situation, and evidence can either be Digital, Electronic or physical. Digital Evidence is the information that is transmitted or stored in computers in binary form, and which is admissible in a court of law. Electronic Evidence is evidence or data of investigative value which can be stored and transmitted by electronic devices. Various jurisdictions allow for various principles concerning electronic evidence, but these principles are quite similar to the principles defined by the ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers). 4 principles of digital and electronic evidence are defined in the third version of the Good Practice Guide for Computer Based Evidence, and these will be described here. Whenever there is cause for computers to be confiscated for forensic examination, there are some pointers as regards the ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) Guide for Good Practice concerning digital and electronic evidence. The guidelines are basically for Police Officers in the United Kingdom, but it is good practice to follow these guidelines especially when there is need to seize and examine electronic data. It is also good practice to treat electronic data in the same manner as physical or traditional forensic evidence, and the ACPO guidelines are aimed at achieving the required standards. Also following these principles will ensure the integrity of the case and, ensure that the steps taken are in compliance with the
Monday, November 18, 2019
Impulse buying behaviour and self-regulation Article
Impulse buying behaviour and self-regulation - Article Example These are just some of the factors that affect consumer behaviour. Consumers can be either subjective or objective, testing the persuasiveness of brand names. Retail stores selling the products also play an important role in swaying the decisions of consumers. The whole package or visual appeal of the retail outlet can determine sales, or the service of the sales women or the clerks. Furthermore, consumers may choose particular products/brands not only because these products provide the functional or performance benefits expected, but also because products can be used to express consumers' personality, social status or affiliation (symbolic purposes) or to fulfill their internal psychological needs, such as the need for change or newness (emotional purposes) (Kim et al, 2002). These are just some of the factors that affect impulse buying behavior. ... enomenological approach of survey with succeeding thematic analysis of the texts from which the researcher could gather facts and empirical data from the academe. Aims and Objectives The main objectives of this study are to examine the aspects that influence impulse buying behaviour of consumers and their self-control. Hypotheses The impulse buying behaviour of consumers is influence by beliefs, culture, learning and values. That is regulated by self-control Method Research Design Although the study is primarily interested in examining qualitative concepts and constructs such as beliefs, attitudes and perceptions, the quantitative research approach was likewise utilized to achieve the exploratory and the descriptive objectives of the study, which highlighted the consumers' perspective about the issue of impulsive buying behavior. According to Mays and Pope (2000), the quantitative research approach is most appropriate when conducting descriptive and exploratory study in order to quantify data that seem immeasurable, such as feelings, beliefs, and thoughts. This permits a flexible and iterative approach of analyzing and statistically manipulating the collected information. As such, these variables were presented, explained and correlated with each other and with the qualitative results of the second phase of the research project. Moreover, the study also examined the conditions and the nature that surrounds the quantitative data to achieve the descriptive objec tives of the study. Participants For this particular research activity, the survey method was planned to accomplish a desired sample size of 100 consumers as respondents. To ensure that the survey will produce 100 valid and reliable survey outputs, 40 more respondents were asked to participate, adding 10
Friday, November 15, 2019
The Implication of creative accounting on the firms
The Implication of creative accounting on the firms This project will explore several definitions of creative accounting and the range of reasons for a companys directors to engage in creative accounting. It explores the nature and occurrence of creative accounting practices within the context of ethical considerations. In addition, it considers the various ways in which creative accounting can be found and summarizes some empirical research on the nature and incidence of creative accounting. The role of the auditors in detection creative accounting is discussed, drawing evidence from several empirical studies. Then, it will illustrate the source of data, the sampling method and the data analysis technique that had been chosen for this research. Finally, the paper concludes with the analysis of possible solutions for the creative accounting problems. Chapter 1 Introduction Manipulation of financial information is known by several terms. In USA the preferred term and widely used is Earnings management whereas in Europe the favored term is Creative Accounting and also this term will be used in this study. The term can be defined in different ways. However, primarily it is a process whereby accountants use their knowledge of accounting rules to manipulate the figures reported in the accounts of a business. Further definition will be explored later in this paper. Creative accounting occurs when managers involve in changing the accounting figures to alter financial reporting. The motive behind the alteration is either to mislead stakeholders about the poor performance of a company or attract new contract and investment that depend on figures in statements. This research will apply the previous study in some scandal cases, such as Enron to find out whether it has same motive as mentioned by other authors. In addition, it will show the way in which managers have used creative accounting to committed fraud. The rest of study is organized as follows. In chapter 2 the literature is reviewed to pinpoint certain definition of creative accounting and explore the motives behind creative accounting. In chapter 3 the research method is employed to identify the relevance of creative accounting to Enron annual reports. In chapter 4 the paper will discuss major finding, recommendation and conclusion of the study. In chapter 5 different sources of the study will be listed including articles, journals and so on. Rationale of study: Many fraudulent cases had been found in the past few years. These scandals had been made by directors and managers of the organizations. There are numerous victims who suffered from misuse of the position starting from shareholders, going towards employees and end up with societies. Although most of these organizations have been audited by external auditors, the fraud has been occurred within the firms. This is because the auditors give only a reasonable assurance of their view on the financial statements and even some of them involved in fraud like Arthur Andersen. There are many people who are still not aware of how the company may use creative accounting in manipulate the accounting figure and hence committed fraud. This paper will explore the ethic and the way of using creative accounting providing with practical example. Aims and Objectives: To understand the meaning and explore definitions of creative accounting. To explore several reasons or motives of the using CA by companys managers. To list and explain the techniques of creative accounting. To understand the role of auditors and responsibilities in deduction of CA. To identify whether the auditors (both external and internal) play role in minimizing the CA in corporation. To find out the implication of CA on the countrys economy. Limitations of Study The research had successfully obtained the financial statements of Enron Corporation for four years started from 1997 till 2000. However, there was failure in collection the adjustment reports figure except for income and long term debts. These missing figures might be important to use in methodology for accurate judgment. Furthermore, the time to accomplish this study was slightly short to collect some important data for this research. Chapter 2 Literature Review There are various scholars who defined creative accounting (CA) in different views. These are as follows. Involves the repetitive selection of accounting measurement or reporting rules in a particular pattern, the effect of which is to report a stream of income with a smaller variation from trend than would otherwise have appeared. (Copeland, 1968) Is any action on the part of management which affects reported income and which provides no true economic advantage to the organization and may in fact, in the long-term, be detrimental. (Merchant and Rockness, 1994) Whereby the true financial performance of a company is distorted by managers for private gains (Klein, 2002) It has noticed that although scholars from different decades had defined the CA, they agree the basic concept of CA which is use knowledge of accounting rules to manipulate accounting figure to show the faulty result of the organization performance. The reasons and motivations of creative accounting Various authors have studied about the issue of management motivation towards creative accounting. There are many reasons. One of these was mentioned by: Shafren (2009) concluded based on his analysis of Satyam Company that the stakeholders are interesting on companys financial statements because there are mean to show how the firm is performed and its position in market. Therefore, managers try depicting these figures in such way to send positive indicator to the investors. The investors always attracted if annual statement is superb. Thus, to express this view mangers aim to modify the statement by means of tricks of CA. In other hand, the directors also have their own reasons as their bonuses may decide in proportion with the profit they made or reported. Lttner et al (1997) have also agreed that when the manger bonuses and stock options are depend on the company performance there is likely that the manager modify the figures upward to get the desired result. other motivation was mentioned by Dharan and Lev (1993) who Showed in their study of The valuation consequence of accounting charges that an organization used CA when its share price started to fall following the increase in share price which it reported previously. This reason arises when company face great pressure from a variety of obligations and constraints based on amounts reported in statements. For example: based on survey of US bank managers, they found that when a new bank manager hold responsible for an entity there is inspiration to adjust loan provision so he makes sure that any losses occurred by previous manager can be covered from this provision. Whereas Beatty and Harris (2001) said that mangers may manipulate the accounting figures in such way to reduce the burden of tax levies or to allow them to pay lowest possible income taxes by providing that the cost involved is less than the income tax benefit. Niskanen and Keloharju (2000) agreed in their research of earning cosmetics in a tax-driven accounting environment: evidence from Finnish public firms which is based on European companies that the corporate tax could be the reason for CA used by managers of the company. These are some of common motives for CA. However, the most noticeable motives are modifying the accounting figures to show positive indicator to investors and downward the firm income for tax purpose. Therefore, stakeholders should at least to be aware of these two areas. If there were more independent directors in the board then there will be less motivation or even it can be eliminated. Therefore, the best way in elimination this practice is not to know the ways that can be occurred but to appoint more independent directors. Techniques of creative accounting Largay (2002) wrote in his article of Lessons from Enron regardless of the high regulation exist in some countries like USA, the accounting environment afford great flexibility. The potential way for CA and the techniques can be found in certain areas. One of the techniques which can be used in CA as mentioned by Schipper (1989) is flexibility in regulation. He added in the article of Commentary on creative accounting that accounting regulation provides a great flexibility in choosing any policies that are set by International Accounting Standard Board, for example it allows the non-current assets to be valued either at historical cost or at revalued amount. Thus, if management decide to change policies of the company it may easy to deduct in the year of change but it is much difficult to be identified after sometimes probably after few years. Another point is the lake of regulation in some area existing in almost every country. AS it can be seen in Romania and Spain where there are few mandatory requirements for stock option and recognition of pension liabilities. CA can also be finding as the discretionary position of the management that may used in some items to obtain stability in financial position. This had explained by McNichols and Wilson (1988) that manager may decide to increase or decrease the provision of bad debts to adjust the desire result. The timing of some transactions also offers mangers the opportunity to increase the revenue and give an impression result when net profit is not adequate. For instance, company has an investment in historical cost which can be sold at current value (i.e. at higher value) where operating profit is showing an adverse figure. The third technique mentioned by the author is the artificial transactions that are usually use to manipulate balance sheet amount or to move the profit figure between accounting periods. This can be achieved by entering the related transactions with third party like a bank. Suppose an arrangement had made with bank to sell the asset to bank and lease back the same asset for the entire of its useful life. The arrangement consists of selling the asset at lower or higher value than i n an uncontrolled transaction and the compensation is from the difference of rental price. The another technique had explained by Gramlich et al (2001) in which they said that firms may attempt to manipulate balance sheet in order to change the liabilities classification to improve liquidity ratio. Most of time this manipulation is occurred to improve the investors perception. Although there is not much difference between 298 million and 301 million, investors perceived the latest amount more than the earlier one. The International Accounting Standard had been created to reduce or even eliminate the accounting fraud that is occurred by the management of the organization. However, sometimes IAS unintentionally play role in committing fraud by providing different ways of treatment of an item in financial statements. All of the techniques have one motive which is to makes FS more attractive on the view of stakeholders. The role of auditors and their responsibilities After many alleged scandal cases occurred in last decade, many individuals, such as shareholders have lost confidence on the audit firms. They are wondering the responsibility of the auditors in deduction the fraud and whether they played key role in committing fraud. According to Audit Committee Institute (2007) auditors should be aware of all circumstances that lead the firm to face a pressure from both within and outside the organization and thus, encouragement firm to involve in inappropriate earnings management (creative accounting). The independent audit should be often alert of the possibility occurrence of CA and should deeply understanding the companys processes in modifying accounting policies, estimates and judgments in order to assess these processes. Donaldson and Palmer (2003) were mentioned in conference the role that auditors played in accounting scandals of Enron and WorldCom. The auditors failed to resist pressure faced by the manager and therefore, accept the misleading financial statements i.e. they involved in fraud. Auditing may depend on external sources to verifying data. However, if the employees of the company have an intention to defeat the auditing function, they can cooperate with individuals outside the company, so even the best auditors will be unable to protect investors from such conduct at all cases. The role of auditors in minimizing the CA in the firm It had mentioned above how the auditors were involved in corporate scandal. However, internal and external auditors are also play role in at least to minimize these scandals when the audit standards, accounting standards and ethical code of conduct have been properly used. Ebrahim (2001) had mentioned in his study of Auditing Quality, Auditor Tenure, Client Importance, and Earnings Management: An Additional Evidence how the quality of auditors can be effective on earnings management or CA behavior. He used sample that listed in NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. The data was collected for 9 to 11 years. The sample included only the firms with fiscal year ended i.e. December 31. He found that the quality of auditor and the firm size had no relation with creative accounting. Amat et al (2008) argued in their empirical study of Earnings management and audit adjustments: An empirical study of IBEX 35 constituents the view of Ebrahim (2001). The sample of the study was collected from IBEX 35 index (Spain). It had collected a sample size of 42 companies for period between 1997 and 2004. The study attempted to explore the role of auditors in prevention of the creative accounting practice. As the result, this study had supported the significant role of auditors in financial market particularly in the prevention of CA practice. Clikeman (2003) mentioned in his journal of Auditors on Alert for Earnings Management that the external auditors are not only the staff who detect the CA practice but the internal auditors also have a duty and role in prevention such a practice and to comply with various requirements of the standards and Acts, such as Auditing standards and Sarbanes-Oxley Acts. The internal auditors have many measurements available to assist them in detection unethical practices. the trend analysis to find out extraordinary variations in revenues and expenses and cutoff testing which enables to monitoring sales and purchases in income statements of the company for the years end. These are some of the tools available for the auditors to detect any suspicious occurred and reported to the board. Director should be the one who should detect fraud at the first place as he is in position that allows him to access to every single part of the business. Thus, the government and the regulatory should have to improve the rules of the board of directors and management teams rather than focusing only on the auditors responsibility. Although there are many regulations for the auditors to conduct their work efficiency, there were many corporate scandals cases recently. This indicates that there are still some weaknesses in these standard and regulations. The implication of CA on the countrys economy Everyone is concerning about CA including analyst, regularities and government due to its impact not only on the firm but also on the countrys economy. The previous studies had found that the CA has a negative effect on the economy as a whole especially when it leads to large corporate scandal. One of the recent articles of these affect was by Hugh (2009). Hugh (2009) explained in his article of Creative Accounting and Italys Growing Unemployment Problem how the CA affected the Italy economy. He mentioned two types of unemployment benefits that are available in Italy. The Ordinary Redundancy Funds which applies in uncertain event, such as market crises and the Extraordinary Redundancy Fund that available in the case of bankruptcy. To benefit from this scheme, Companies cheating different states by sending their employees home under redundancy procedures and then informally re-employment and paying them under the table. The procedure will allow the firm to pay only 30% of the salary and remain will be paid by the state government. This is lead to the Italian underground economy around 15% of the total GDP for the state i.e. à ¢Ã¢â¬Å¡Ã ¬ 300 billion per year. The firms might benefit from the aid but they are distorting the market and discouragement the future of more productive companies. Others like Bernoth and Wolff (2006) had found in their study of Fool the market, Creative Accounting that the CA increases the risk premium. They used the portfolio model of five interest differential and modified it to investigate the implication of CA on bond yield spreads between countries. The modifying process of the model had carried on by assuming that the government might used CA to make the observation of financial position of the country difficult to observe. They found that when the country discloses transparent information, the CA increases the cost of borrowing significantly (if it becomes known) especially in the case when the market is unsure the extent to which the CA exist. On other hand, Sopelsa (2010) warned in his article of US Creative Accounting could repeat Greek Tragedy that US could face the same problem as Greece heavy debt if it does not control its spending and deal with its structural deficit. This is due to the engagement in CA for years by USA similar to those that occurred in Greece. The US government did not secure the Federal Reserve and government sponsored entities, such as Fannie Mae into its financial statements. As the result, the total debt to GDP had reached to 85 percent and may going to be at 100 percent in two years. Thus, the situation would be worsening if it goes to the foreign loans. The government has to impose tight budget control, alteration social security, deal with health care costs and restructure tax system to generate more revenues. The CA would lead to economy bubble in country like US as had mentioned by Sopelsa (2010). Instead of blaming the audit firms or the companies that had been got into hot water (involved in scandal), the government should concern first why it is happening. Unfortunately, some governments are aware of what happening neighborhood or far away country but they do not see the problems in their own countries. They already knew the danger of the CA; therefore they have to find solution to avoid the fraud in the future. Chapter 3 Methodology This paper is restricted to secondary data that had collected from various source including journals (weekly and quarterly), articles, news paper, magazine, financial reports and so on. It had reviewed certain literatures which were collected from different sources (as mentioned above). Later in this chapter, the sampling, data analysis and presentation will be explored. Sampling of companies and Data collection The researcher verified a major accounting scandal that had been occurred last decade, such as Enron, Freddie Mac, Halliburton, Merrill Lynch and the recent case of Bernard L. Madoff hedge funds. These samples were randomly chosen from various cases. Last but not least, among these alleged fraud one sample had been selected which is Enron Corporation. The financial data of Enron was collected from its annual reports from the year of 1997 to 2000 (see appendix). 3.2 Data analysis and presentation The Enron Corporation US Energy Company was commenced in 1932. It became as a group of company in 1979. It employed approximately 22,000 staff in over 40 countries worldwide. It ranked in Fortune 500 as seventh largest company that operated in American, sixth largest energy Company and one of the leading company in communication, paper and pulp in the world with reported revenue more than $ 100 billion. In late 2001, Enron forced to fill up chapter 11 of bankruptcy protection after disclosed fraud and being sued by investors and creditors to claim their privileges. It was one of the largest bankruptcy cases in the US history. According to Holmes (2006) Kenith Lay (CEO of Enron) used creative accounting as a way to modify reports that allowed them to create artificial shortage by increasing prices about ten times. In this paper the financial ratios will be used to illustrate the affection of CA on companys annual reports. The ratio will be analyzed for 4 years from 1997 to 2000. Enron net income should be reduced in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 by $96 million, $113 million, $250 million and $132 million respectively. It was also found that companies long-term debts should further added to the one which had reported previously. By the end of the year 1997, the additional debt should be added to give the total of $14103 million. Similarly, the extra amount of $ 561 million and $685 million should be included in 1998 and 1999 respectively to reflect the actual long-term debts of the company. The company should also add the amount of $628 million in 2000 to adjust its debts figure. These balances can be seen as follows: These were the major items which required adjustments (there were other adjustments which were not taking into account in this study). Next, it will show how the some ratios affected by these adjustments. Although the gap between the reported amounts is not much different from the adjustment balance, it is significantly important after cumulatively adding these differences for the years. Furthermore, these are information where only available at the time. There are additional adjustments required in balances for some other items, thus the gap will further increase between the reporting and adjustment balance. It can be found that the major change was in return on share capital which had reached to 2.6% of the gap between the two balances in 1999 (look to the above table). The gearing level was high especially in 1997. This indicated that company had too much debt. The debt level decreased significantly in 1999 to 65% after the adjustment that might gave to company a little hope to overcome the problem but its gearing level had increased again approximately to 70% in 2000. This explained why Enron had used CA as it wanted to hide what was going in the company. 3.3 Data presentation The below bars chart are an illustration of affection of the CA on the companys balance. 3.4 Finding It had been founded that after the adjustments in income and long term debts, there were significant changed in returns on capital and in net profit. However, there were other figures that need to be adjusted, thus the affection will be even much greater. Therefore, it leaded to misguide the public by allowing them to think that the company was in good position and it was a good investment to them but actually it was suffering from heavy debts. This was one of the companies that used the CA practice. There were other companies that exercise the CA, such as Duke Energy. As the result, there was a significant negative impact on that industry which in turn had badly affected on US. The accounting manipulation that had used by Enron affected investors much greater that what had shown above as some bogus figures were not included in this paper. Chapter 4 Conclusion and Recommendation 4.1 Conclusion Many corporate accounting scandal cases had occurred since 1980. One of the earliest scandals was an Australian Nugan Hand Banks and the latest case of Lehman Brothers and Golden Sachs. Yet, the will be many accounting scandals may the world face if nobody try to improve the procedures to prevent the CA. The paper had discussed various issues regarding to creative accounting. It had explained why the companys directors involve in CA to commit fraud. The most common reason is the one that mentioned by Dharan and Lev (1993) and it said; when the company wants to increase its share price. The paper had explained some of the techniques of CA which can be used by the firms including changes in accounting treatment, adjustments in provision of bad debts, movements of the figures between the accounting period and many more. It had also discussed about the responsibility of the auditors, especially external auditors, in corporate scandal and how to detect the potential fraud. In addition, it had also explained the role of the auditors in minimizing the risk of CA by disciplinary following the audit standards and some other regulations. The quality of auditors is also play important role in detection the fraud. Finally, the literature review warned the affection of CA on the economy. It had found that in some cases the CA increased the rate of interest and it would lead to heavy debt burden to country that exercising CA as what happened in US. Moreover, it would affect the GDP as in case of Italy. In methodology, it had talked about the sampling and from where the data was collected. Then, it had analyzed annual report of Enron Corporation form the year 1997 to the year 2000. It had found the earnings of the company that reported were difference from the one after adjustment. As the result, it had given a bogus report to the stockholders. 4.2 Recommendation Many issues had occurred because of the CA, some had already mentioned in this paper and remain were discussed by the others. Some are blaming the auditors whereas others are saying it is the government responsibility. However, there are many people are involved in the CA. To overcome the problems of this practice, the researcher had given various suggestions from different point of view which can be seen below. From the investors point of view, they can follow certain steps to reduce the risk of CA. The investors should not depend only on companys financial statements in deciding of whether it is worthy for their investments. They should also seek for second professional opinion because sometimes the F.S accomplished with material misstatement. The investors should diversify their investments widely and not to keep them in one basket. Although it is difficult to eliminate risk, the investors can reduce such it through spreading their security into wide range of companies or even investing in other countries so if there is any loss in one company resulting from the practice, they will gain in another one. Therefore, the investors can make profit from their average returns regardless of some negative investment that included in portfolio. From the companies point of view, they should appoint more independent directors to take care of public interest, thus avoiding personnel interest. This would lead to the more honest in reporting of the company situation. I case if there is a tragedy event, they will solve it in prudent way rather than using unwelcome practices. They should also appoint qualified audit committee with high level of experience and honesty to detect the material misstatement that could occur in the F.S. Moreover, the audit committee will take all the necessary steps to prevent such fraud. Whereas from the governments point of view, it should select appropriate standards and follow excruciating punishment against those who breach the rules. In addition, although there are some countries not allowing the auditor firm to provide more than one service, there are some governments allow the firm to provide various services to its client. This should be avoided in each country. Chapter 5
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
O Lazer :: ensaios
Este ensaio trata dos conceitos de lazer, que à © um dos requisitos que integram a existà ªncia dos seres humanos. Ãâ° por meio dele que os indivà duos encontram o prazer, o bem-estar, a sensaà §Ã £o de liberdade e muitos benefà cios para a saà ºde fà sica e mental. Breve histà ³rico sobre o lazer As civilizaà §Ã µes antigas jà ¡ utilizavam um conceito rudimentar de lazer como atividade de descanso e distraà §Ã £o. Roma, Grà ©cia, Antigo Egito, iniciaram tradià §Ã µes que sobreviveram aos sà ©culos e atà © hoje integram o rol de eventos e mecanismos de lazer. Em Roma, os jogos, no campo e na cidade, alà ©m de serviam a propà ³sitos religiosos, de acordo com a à ©poca do ano e o deus a quem homenageavam, tambà ©m constituà am lazer. Em qualquer dos casos, os dias sequenciais de jogos, exibià §Ã £o de danà §as lascivas, muito vinho, desordem e mà ºsica eram atividades de lazer. As termas e banhos, o teatro, os encontros no Forum ââ¬â local basicamente composto de comà ©rcio, prà ©dios administrativos e praà §a pà ºblica ââ¬â eram outras formas de obtenà §Ã £o de descanso e prazer. Em Roma e na Grà ©cia antigas o teatro tambà ©m surgiu como forma de homenagem aos deuses e lazer, na primeira com as comà ©dias e pantomimas e na segunda com as tragà ©dias. Na Grà ©cia, os jogos apareceram entre os soldados e os jovens com o propà ³sito de manterem a forma e, mais tarde, foram transformados no Festival Olà mpico, que acontecia de quatro em quatro anos, com finalidades religiosas e de agregar as 160 cidades-estados, uma vez que a Grà ©cia nà £o tinha uma unidade polà tica. Os jogos eram realizados na cidade-estado de Olà mpia, que recebia ââ¬Å"turistasâ⬠de toda a Grà ©cia. Os gregos nà £o tinham tempos de lazer, e os festivais religiosos, incluindo o Festival Olà mpico, era visto, tambà ©m, com esse fim. No Antigo Egito, a diversà £o era separada por classes e idade. Para os nobres, principalmente os jovens, a pesca e a caà §a no rio Nilo e a caà §a no deserto eram garantia de diversà £o. Ainda havia a luta e a nataà §Ã £o, esportes populares apreciados pela populaà §Ã £o em geral. Passeios de barco e pesca em famà lia eram muito praticados. A caà §a dos animais do deserto representou uma contribuià §Ã £o modesta à economia egà pcia, e logo se transformou em um esporte de ricos [...] A pesca com arpà £o e vara era realizada normalmente em pequenas balsas de papiro, o que era considerado uma agradà ¡vel diversà £o. A caà §a do hipopà ³tamo era, provavelmente mais que um esporte e sim um trabalho necessà ¡rio.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Commandant Reflection Paper
COMMANDANT REFLECTION PAPER (CRP) ââ¬Å" Reflection, in the context of learning, is a generic term for those intellectual and affective activities which individuals engage to explore their experiences, in order to lead to new understandings and appreciations. It may take place in isolation or in association with othersâ⬠Boud, Keogh & Walker, 1985, p19. INTRODUCTION 1. The 15-week Command and Staff Course (Executive) at Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College exposes officers with myriad of learning opportunities in professional military education and training.Correspondingly, the different modules conducted throughout the course serve as touch points for officers to reflect on their personal learning and development journey. 2. Consequently, officers need to dedicate time to journal their reflections at each juncture of the course not just for record purpose but more so to gauge their progress in professional and personal development and growth. OBJECTIVE 3.The objective o f the Commandant Reflection Paper (CRP) is for the officers to take ownership to reflect, journal and share on their professional and personal learning, development and growth throughout the 15-week Command and Staff course (Executive). REFLECTION TITLE 4. The reflection is titled ââ¬Å"Are you ready to Lead? â⬠5. In your reflection, you should consider the following questions: a. Referring to the CSC(E) Graduate word picture (See Figure 1), how has attending the GKS CSC prepared you to Lead? What aspects of the course have developed and prepared you for your future roles in the SAF? b.How much do you think you have developed in both the professional and personal competence? Figure 1 Organisation Knowledge Comprehend changes and trends in strategic environment Adaptive to organisational challenges that arises Military Technology Adept at applying military technology in developing innovative operational concepts and capabilities and fully appreciate the impact of future techno logy trends and developments Military Operations Comprehend military operations in a Joint environment Decision Making Competently arrive at timely decisions based on systemic analysis of the relevant context, factors and values Life-Long LearningInspire to life-long learning Develop self awareness & personal mastery CSC(E) Graduate Word Picture c. Apart from the course curriculum, what else have you learned and developed in this journey that you feel will better prepare and serve you in the years ahead? d. What would be your leadership and values philosophy? and e. What other aspects do you think are needed to further prepare you to Lead? DELIVERABLES 6. Officers are to journal and share their reflections at the end of the course at syndicate and course level.Insights gleaned from syndicate and course levels sharing will help to further strengthen individual CRP. 7. Details on the paper are listed below : a. Word Count. 2000 ââ¬â 2500 words. b. Presentation and Submission. (i)End of Course. Officers are to share your reflections in relation to the CRP title at the end of the course at Syndicate level on 22 Nov (Thu) from 0830 to 1020 hrs and at Course Level from 1030 to 1220 hrs. (ii)Submission of Paper. Officers are to submit the paper, both in hard and soft copies, by 23 Nov 2012 (Fri) 0830 hrs. c.Officers are strongly encouraged to develop the habit to pen down reflections regularly such as at a daily or weekly basis, or after each lesson, sub-module or module to chart your reflection paper. Mapping your reflections as a frame is a suggested method as you could build on the frame going through the course. CONCLUSION The CRP serves as a self-reflection on how each officer has developed and grown during the CSC(E) journey, in preparation to lead. Officers should also capitalise on this process and internalise it as a culture of reflection in the course of their military career and beyond. Prepared By : LTC Terence Goh
Friday, November 8, 2019
Bodily functions in Lilliput Essay Example
Bodily functions in Lilliput Essay Example Bodily functions in Lilliput Essay Bodily functions in Lilliput Essay Essay Topic: Catching Fire Bodily functions in Lilliput BY GabrtelaGM Bodily Functions in Lilliput Swifts satirical work, Gullivers Travels, tells the story of Lemuel Gulliver, a surgeon that by way of sea travels finds himself in four different, amazing lands. First: a land of six-inch tall human-like beings. Secondly: a land of giants. Thirdly: a floating island. Fourthly: a land ruled by thinking and talking horses. For the purpose of this essay, I will only take into consideration the first of these four voyages. Gulliver finds himself stranded in a beach, tied by hundreds of tiny wires. Surrounding him are tiny creatures holding this wires. One can only imagine the fear the Lilliputians must have felt at the sight of such a giant. However, slowly but surely, they start to take a liking to this enormous man. They sharewith him their culture, their food, and provide him with a house. There are two main instances, during this first Journey, in which we are faced head- on with bodily functions. The first of these is when Gulliver describes how, after rriving to his new house in Lilliput for the first time; he had a major bowel movement: l had been for some hours extremely pressed by the necessities of nature; which was no wonder, it being almost two days since I had last disburdened myself. I was under great difficulties between urgency and shame. The best expedient I could think of, was to creep into my house, which I accordingly did; and shutting the gate after me, I went as far as the length of my chain would suffer, and discharged my body of that uneasy load. He goes on to say that, after this first so uncleanly an action, he would go outside any time he had this basic human need. Of course the excrement, which was of an equally impressive size a Gulliver compared to the Lilliputians, could not be left outside his house to pollute the air around it. Servants would come every day with wheel-barrows to remove this waste. The second time we are faced with a bodily function is the very point in which Gullivers favor with the people of Lilliput really started to go downhill. He had been among these people for while, when one night he was informed that the Queens quarters were on fire. He runs to help and realizes the entire castle is in danger of catching fire. Seeing no manner of assisting, he suddenly remembers that he had a lot of wine to drink that evening and that he hadnt yet discharged any of it. The heat I had contracted by coming very near the flames, and by laboring to quench them, made the wine begin to operate by urine; which I voided in such a quantity, and applied so ell to the proper places, that in three minutes the fire was wholly extinguished, and the rest of that noble pile, which had cost so many ages in erecting, preserved from destruction. In this manner he does save the castle from becoming a pile of ashes, but by doing so he also gets the undying hate of the Queen, who is understandably appalled that a man urinated all over her rooms. We can see, from these two examples of the role Swift gives to bodily functions in reader uncomfortable or even disgusted, all for the purpose of assisting the satire.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
buy custom Student, Law and Public School essay
buy custom Student, Law and Public School essay Why is it important in todays environment? It leds to development of legal defensible code of students conduct by ensuring that the rights of students are protected, Allows students officials to disseminate rules that allow them to exercise a reasonable degree of control over students under supervision. Students are subject to reasonable rules and regulation promulgation by school officials, they do enjoy personal rights that must be recognized and respected by school officials school rules are necessary to ensure proper order and modesty they should not be vague and ambiguous in interpretation. Helps students understand ther rights. Helps governs the way students conduct in an institution also facilitates, maintains order and peaceful school environment.(Essex,Nathan L. 1999.P.g45) Discuss some of the pros and cons of programs created for students with exceptional needs. Pros Inclusion is valuable in integrating students with disabilities into regular school programs benefiting them from these arrangements. Benefits are conferred to students with disability when they attend public schools, interactions and socializing with other minimizes stigmatization and isolation.(Essex,Nathan L.1999.P.g 995) Cons The concept of inclusion in regular classrooms teachers across the country may be challenged to meet the needs of these students with disability teachers may not be prepared to handle them. Teachers my not be willing to provide special education services during the inclusion period. Reasonable standards of care by school districts is required, these means that the district must be properly prepared to meet the diverse needs of students. These calls for systematic and continuous training as well as appropriate developed policy and procedures regarding the teachers role and the students with disability.(Essex, Nathan L.1999.P.g95) Buy custom Student, Law and Public School essay
Monday, November 4, 2019
Agreemnet Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Agreemnet - Personal Statement Example d genuine differences among people to rapidly spiral out of control, further destroying the teamââ¬â¢s interpersonal relationships (Griffith & Goodwin, 2012). As such, it is important to adopt positive approaches towards resolving conflicts, whereby discussions and exchanges are courteous, active listening occurs and the focus is on issues instead of individuals. Significantly, it is important to accord parties in the conflict the benefit of doubt since making assumptions and apportioning blame without hard evidence might further aggravate the conflict. Collaboration is another tactic that may be effective in addressing Manuelââ¬â¢s case of conflict. Since in this case job dissatisfaction and unfair pay seem to be the triggers for conflict, it is important to gather all involved parties to brainstorm for possible solutions solution that are mutually beneficial. However, this will only occur after Manuel is able to come to terms with his personal issues. This is because in order for collaboration to be effective in resolving conflict, compromise must occur whereby individuals relinquish their hard stand to find the middle ground. Consequently, Manuel may not be able to compromise if he has not come to terms with his issues and role in the conflict. The ability to compromise will also be helpful in negotiating for the appropriate solution since Manuel will have understood clearly the position of the company and his colleagues and vice
Friday, November 1, 2019
Apology Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Apology Letter - Essay Example Nothing was wrong until I encountered an unexpected expense that I had not planned for. That unexpected expense put me into great trouble and I was perplexed. I did not know how to accommodate that in my budget. Circumstances had become unbearable for me, and I had to come out of them any way. Lack of money had sabotaged my ability to think rationally, and I ended up charging back almost $1000 on my credit card in five different transactions without taking the items back to the store. I was able to do that since I knew how to operate the computers accordingly. However, I must tell you that till this point, I had full intension of paying the price of those items. I had planned to simply charge my credit card back again upon receipt of my tax return money. It was just before I could get my tax return money back so that I could charge my credit card back that the store manager somehow got to know about my act, but not my intentions! I had no intention of stealing anything from the store ever, though apparently I do sound like that. Through the explanation that I have put forth in the text above, I have tried to convey that all I did was as a result of immense tension and confusion that I was going through few days back, though my conscience is clear for I never intended to steal.
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