Friday, November 29, 2019

Campaign Finance Essays - Campaign Finance In The United States

Campaign Finance Campaign finance reform has already become an issue for debate in this election year's primaries. This matter does not hold a large amount of interest for the average American, it is not an issue that is going to sway a large amount of voters. The book examines all facets of campaign finance including sources of contributions and finance reform. The book then takes a close, hard look at the 1980 presidential election and the 1982 congressional races. The author approaches the subject matter in a very thorough and systematic method. He makes very insightful comments on the state of campaign finance in the early 1980's which are still relevant in this election year because this issue has been an important facet of the primary debates. The book discusses the history of campaign reform from its beginnings in the early 20th century. The book touches on the theoretical aspects of election campaign finance, but is more a study of hard data and facts, the history of campaign spending in a few different periods and the actual evolution and cash explosion that now creates a truly national spectacle. Alexander begins the book describing why such large amounts of political campaign money is needed. "Since the Republic's founding, printing has been the most basic campaign expense." (Alexander, 5). Alexander explains that printed reading materials including pamphlets, flyers, mailings and placards represent a huge chunk of the cost of running for office. The evolution of campaigning has drastically changed the landscape. Extensive and intense media coverage has increased the need for a politician to be always prepared for a direct examination by a journalist. Alexander notes that the largest increase in campaign spending began in the 1950's, with the introduction of television and the advent of the commercial. Between the 1948 and the 1952 elections, enough Americans had bought television sets that the candidates in the 1952 election began to invest in TV air time. Radio had become important in the 1924 election, but this medium did not require the same large amounts of cash that television did (Alexander, 10). Campaign finance reform has been an issue that has been mumbled about and tossed around for almost a century, however the movement did not have any significant backers until the 1960's. The first mention for reform was made by Theodore Roosevelt. His idea was to simply disclose where and how candidates got there cash to run an election, and in 1907, corporations were banned from contributing, and full disclosure of funds was enacted. Between his administration, all the way until 1961, and John F. Kennedy, presidents had only gone on record advocating reform, while little else changed. In that year, Kennedy established the bi-partisan Commission on Campaign Costs. No reform came from this group, but in 1971 Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), this act would later be important in the Watergate affair. The bill set limits on individual contributions and required fuller disclosure of campaign finances. After Watergate, new pressures emerged to clean up the practices of candidates running for political offices. In 1974, Amendments to FECA introduced public financing for presidential elections which would give matching funds to whatever total candidates could raise. It gave a flat grant to parties and created further limitations on other expenditures. These amendments also established the Federal Elections Committee (FEC), which was formerly organized the next year. There were many questions surrounding these new laws which were later answered by the Supreme Court which declared some of the measures unconstitutional. The rule which has allowed George Bush Jr. to go above spending limits in his primary campaign stems from this Supreme Court opinion. The Court found that if a candidate accepted the matching public funds they were to be offered, then they must abide by the new rules. The Court came to this controversial conclusion after deciding that the giving of political money was a form of free speech and should be protected under the First Amendment. Further reforms in 1979 changed the content of some of these laws, including limits and disclosure, but the spirit is similar to the original set of statutes. After understanding and detailing the huge need for cash to run an election, and the plethora of rules that go along with a campaign, one is now ready to begin fund raising. There are two major groups of sources which the author deals with; Individuals and groups. Both groups and individuals are limited in what they are allowed to give. This is an issue which has become very important in

Monday, November 25, 2019

5 Types of Punctuation Problems

5 Types of Punctuation Problems 5 Types of Punctuation Problems 5 Types of Punctuation Problems By Mark Nichol Each of the following sentences omits or misuses punctuation, resulting in possible confusion when a word or phrase is attached to a main clause or a transition occurs. Discussion and revision explain and resolve each error. 1. He has no clue period. What is a clue period? There is no such thing. The person in question has no clue, and the speaker or writer emphasizes the point by appending the word period to the sentence to suggest finality; this tag word must be separated from the main clause by a comma to clarify its nonessential nature: â€Å"He has no clue, period.† 2. It was the kind of dialogue sitcom writers aspire to create, only it was a real conversation. Only is an interjection, so it must be set off from the independent clause that follows. However, a stronger form of punctuation must precede it so that only does not appear to be parenthetical because it is bracketed by a pair of commas: â€Å"It was the kind of dialogue sitcom writers aspire to create- only, it was a real conversation.† 3. The reality is no industry is exempt from at least assessing the implications of the new standard. A phrase like â€Å"the reality is† sets up the main clause of the sentence, so it must be set off from the statement: â€Å"The reality is, no industry is exempt from at least assessing the implications of the new standard.† (Alternatively, that can replace the punctuation: â€Å"The reality is that no industry is exempt from at least assessing the implications of the new standard.†) 4. She was one of just a handful of delegates who were willing to speak to the media as many fear for the safety of family still living in North Korea. As could be misunderstood to mean â€Å"while,† so a comma must be inserted between the main clause and the dependent clause to clarify that it is standing in for because: â€Å"She was one of just a handful of delegates who were willing to speak to the media, as many fear for the safety of family still living in North Korea.† 5. The adoption of the technology hasn’t moved more quickly because there remains a general lack of understanding about it. This sentence presents a miscue- the potential for reader misunderstanding because the uninterrupted nature of the sentence implies that an explanation of why the technology adoption has moved more quickly will follow. To clarify that no such information is forthcoming, break the sentence before the conjunction: â€Å"The adoption of the technology hasn’t moved more quickly, because there remains a general lack of understanding about it.† (Better yet, invert the sentence and adjust the wording of the main clause as needed: â€Å"Because there remains a general lack of understanding about the technology, its adoption has been slow.†) 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 Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Arrive To vs. Arrive At"Confused With" and "Confused About"75 Synonyms for â€Å"Hard†

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Sexual Harassment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sexual Harassment - Essay Example The aim of this study is to present scenario of the sexual harassment that occurs in the school environment. This stirs great concern because approximately 81 percent of students experience any form of sexual harassment during their stay in school and 27 percent repeatedly encounters such situations. These students may encounter harassment from other students, which comprise 85% of the student while 40 percent from the teachers and other personnel of the school ("Sexual Harassment Information for Teens" 2006). Sexual harassment is one issue that has a subjective definition. Its meaning varies on the context of different groups, organizations or bodies that implement sanction against harassment. To this effect, teens and adults encounters confusion on the grounds of sexual harassment, thus, they may not voice out such experiences ("Every Teen Counts" 1997). As quoted on the study conducted by Susan Strauss, according to the National Advisory Council on Women's Educational Programs sexual harassment is any action that attacks the sexuality and the sexual aspect or a person acquired with the emphasis on the authority over students that can hindrance the development of full potential and capabilities (1993). Some forms of sexual harassment that female students encounter may include having physical contact, making sexual comments, receiving unwanted communications and indecent propositions. Physical contact can occur in different ways like grabbing or holding sensitive areas of the body and kissing against the will. Giving offensive names, starting rumors or sexual jokes about a person along with bad gestures are forms of sexual harassment. Also, any form of communication that is not welcomed, which may be hostile or distressing to the recipient, is considered as sexual harassment. This may include calls, letters and any form of stalking. Another action that is considered as harassment is indecent proposals. For students, this usually comes in the form of higher grade or academic standing in exchange for sexual favors ("Sexual Harassment Information for Teens" 2006). A survey of the American Association of University Women on 1993, whose results were quoted by Kathryn Wells Murdock and D avid Kysilko in their research, other forms of sexual harassment in school includes any actions that assault the sexuality of a student. Oftentimes, being called gay or lesbian, and other acts of gender-related public humiliation toward same or opposite sexes are included in the grounds for sexual harassment. More than half of the respondent students, 66% were victims of sexually-offensive jokes or actions, which are frequently considered as harmless stunts. This is a misconception because it leaves marks on the victim's personality (1998). Effects of Sexual Harassment Being the object of sexual harassment causes changes in a person's physical and emotional well-being. Effects can be observed in the significant changes in the behavior of a victim of sexual harassment. Some of the indications include self-consciousness, lost of self-esteem, depression and anger towards the attacker. With regards to emotional aspect, female students have more observable indications of sexual harassment experiences compared to male students, although the percentage of the female and the male students that experiences harassment is almost the same. Physical indications

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Examining the Evolution of Archeological Methodology Used Regarding Essay

Examining the Evolution of Archeological Methodology Used Regarding the City of Pompeii - Essay Example This second site was the remains of the city Pompeii. Today, efforts to uncover Herculaneum have been all but abandoned - the towns Portici and Resina now reside over the buried remains - while Pompeii has continued to garner global attention for several centuries. Over this length of time a number of archeologists have made significant advances in it's reclamation through an evolution of approaches and methods. This paper will examine four of the archeologists who have had the greatest impact on the findings. Modern findings related to Pompeii itself dates roughly back to around 1860, when Italy became one more settled as a united country. At this point Giuseppe Fiorelli was appointed inspector of the site (later being made superintendent) and took control of renewed excavation efforts. Fiorelli was frustrated by previous haphazard methods of excavation and demanded that proper mapping methods be used to document the area correctly. Most importantly, Fiorelli's discovery that the city's victims interred in the ash had physically decomposed some time ago, leaving impressions in the surrounding ash. These impressions were so exact that plaster, poured into the remaining mold, cast an exact replica of the deceased down to the details of facial features and expressions. This was the first important step in the history of Pompeii's reclamation, as the replicas' immediacy in presence added a dimension of humanity to the entire site. Driven by an intense interest to learn more about the citizen s, Fiorelli began searching for information about individuals. He was able to discover certain resident names by unearthing letter seals at some structures and, while these lucky finds were inscribed with actual names, such obvious finds were few. Instead, Fiorelli's assistant Matteo Della Corte realized that Pompeii's disaster had happened near the city's election time. Using the carefully recovered election signs and graffiti, the archeologists were able to piece together the names of some fifty people. Fiorelli's efforts laid the groundwork for future digs, having mapped out the underlying structure of a large part of the area. Yet his most important contributions were two fold: 1) he preservation through cast molds of the individual citizen remains and 2) his efforts to not only give faces to the victims, but names as well piquing future interests by establishing a direct empathy relating to the victims. The next significant archeologist was Vittorio Spinazzola, who worked the site from 1910 until 1923, when he was withdrawn from the project because of deprecating remarks against Mussolini. Spinazzola's goal was to completely uncover the main thoroughfare known as Porta of Sarno in an attempt to unite the routes leading from the amphitheater to the southern area of the city i.e., clearing one area of the city rather than dividing efforts. Like Fiorelli, Spinazzola viewed the victims as individual people, wanting to pay special attention to preserving the signs and other writings on the walls. However, the process of clearing the roads made the walls unstable; structures had to be excavated from within as well in order to buttress the walls. This process revealed beautiful interior mosaics, individual proclivities, ad operations of such businesses as laundries, bakeries, taverns, et cetera operations that had been suspected but never confirmed. While this

Monday, November 18, 2019

Occupational Therapy Assistant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Occupational Therapy Assistant - Essay Example The decision I made has been coupled by a lot of adjustments I have to make in my life so as to be the perfect person I want to be. Being that my occupation involves interaction with people of different ages, I am learning how to handle the old and young patients who might be put under my care. The old need special treatment as well as the young. Since the work as an occupational therapist assistant may mean working in hospitals, outpatient clinics, schools, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes and even mental health facilities, I am currently adapting to different lives and different people. I know it is not a walk in the park working in a mental health facility, but yet again, I understand how much these patients need someone like me to look after them. For this reason, having understood the difficulty involved in working under these conditions, I have trained myself to be adaptable to any circumstances that might be associated with my

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The History And Role Of External Auditors Accounting Essay

The History And Role Of External Auditors Accounting Essay The first part of the assignment will look at the role of the external auditors, and the history of auditing will be briefly discussed. Then the second part will look at fraud, its definition, examples of fraud and the implications of fraud. Then finally before concluding the impact of International Auditing Standards on external auditors will be discussed. According to Arens et al. (2003) the auditor is responsible for planning and performing the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether this is caused by error or fraud. They also state that because of the nature of the audit evidence and the characteristics of fraud, the auditor is able to obtain reasonable but not absolute assurance that material misstatements are detected. The auditor has no responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance that misstatement, whether caused by errors or fraud, that are not material to the financial statements are detected. (Arens et al., 2003) Mclnnes and Stevenson (1997) stated that even though the law doesnt identify the detection of fraud as the primary objective of the external audit, the general public perceive the external auditor as being the main defence against corporate fraud. Due to the nature of auditing and its inherent limitations, fraud is difficult to detect for many reasons. First it can be committed by people who are familiar with accounting procedures and can cover it up. According to the APB (1995) auditors simply do not possess all the necessary skills to detect fraud. Wells (1993) explains that there is a built in conflict since the auditors have to investigate people who indirectly hired them, the upper management. Monroe and Woodliff (1994) describe how the ability of the external auditor to detect fraud has come under increasing scrutiny and auditors are under considerable pressure to accept legal responsibility for detecting material fraud. Glover et al. (2006) propose that the external auditors rely on internal auditors to different extents depending upon task subjectivity. And they go on to suggest that the external auditors are hesitant in some settings to rely on internal auditors work. Gramling et al. (2004) clarify that because reliance on internal audit can affect nature, timing, and extent of the annual audit program, discretion should be utilised when determining if reliance on internal audit work will increase the efficiency of the audit, yet not compromise quality. Carcello et al. (2005) suggest that internal auditors interaction with audit committees has significantly increased since SOX. External auditors, on the other hand, are not able to embed themselves as deeply within their clients daily operations. External auditors also have limited exposure to the client compared to internal auditors because their role is typically performed during only a few months of the year. Smith et al (2005) explain that in the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 99 by AICPA, it is stated that because fraud is usually concealed, material misstatements due to fraud are difficult to detect. This hints that auditors need to consider events that indicate the existence of incentives/pressures to perpetrate fraud, opportunities to carry out the fraud or attitudes/rationalisations to justify a fraudulent action. These are referred to as fraud risk factors and are identified in the fraud triangle. Smith et al (2005) also suggest that because auditing poses potential risk factors for auditors, the assessment of the risks of errors and fraud are vital when planning an audit. In making risk assessments for fraud, auditors should keep in mind that fraud typically includes three characteristics, which are identified as the fraud triangle: The Fraud Triangle (by Ilter, 2010) Montgomery, et al. (2002) explains that three conditions are generally present when fraud occurs, these are: Incentive/Pressure: Pressures or incentives on management to materially misstate the financial statements, Fraud Triangle Opportunity: Circumstances that provide an opportunity to carry out material misstatement in the financial statements, Attitude/Rationalisation: An attitude, character or set of ethical values that allows one or more individuals to knowingly and intentionally commit a dishonest act, or a situation in which individuals are able to rationalise committing a dishonest act. Understanding and considering the likeliness of fraud in the context of these three conditions will enhance the evaluation of information about fraud (Montgomery, et al., 2002). This will provide the auditor with more professional scepticism when assessing fraud risk. Auditors are advised to consider the clients receptiveness to fraud, regardless of the auditors past experience with the client or prior assessments about managements honesty and integrity (Heim, 2002). History The demand for both external and internal auditing is sourced in the need to have some means of independent verification to reduce record-keeping errors, asset misappropriation, and fraud within business and non-business organisations. The origin of auditing goes back to times scarcely less remote than that of accountingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Whenever the advance of civilisation brought about the necessity of one man being intrusted to some extent with the property of another, the advisability of some kind of check upon the fidelity of the former would become apparent. (Mautz Sharaf, 1961) The purpose of an external audit has been viewed as a public service since the 1800s (Langenderfer, 1987). This role was further confirmed during the 1930s when the US Securities and Exchange Commission was formed to monitor the trading process after the crash of 1929. Wallace (1987) and Watts and Zimmerman (1986) have described the auditor as an economic agent who serves as a monitor and a form of insurance for investors and regulators. In other words, according to agency theory, auditors play a key role in the relationship between owners and their representatives both the board of directors and management. Wallace and Parker (1991) point out that by 1948, fraud and error detaction was ranked as a lesser audit objective. They also describe how the audit focus has changed, they state that because auditing has moved away from the audit of persons to the audit of financial statements, it does not seek to detect corruption but to lend credibility to financial statements. (Wallace and Parker, 1991) According to Lee (1986), the main reasons for the change in the audit objectives include the increased awareness of the needs of capital market participants for independently verified reports and the increased acceptance by company management of its responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud and error Fraud(Definition and examples) Definition Fraud can be described as a crime of obtaining money or some other benefit by deliberate deception. In auditing, fraud occurs when a misstatement is made and there is both the knowledge of its falsity and the intent to deceive. Vanasco (1998) explained that fraud includes intentional deception of irregularities and illegal acts. Alleyne and Howard (2005) suggested that fraud included intentional deception, cheating and stealing. There are two types of fraud in auditing, namely misappropriation of assets (defalcation) and management fraud (Arens et al., 2008). Misappropriation of assets, commonly termed as employee fraud, is characterised by assets being stolen from the company (Albrecht and Romney, 1986). Management fraud the second type of fraud is essentially fraudulent financial reporting or misapplication of accounting principles. Palshikar (2002) describes how fraud is amongst the most serious corporate problems and challenges in todays business environment. He also goes on to suggest that fraud is a dominant white collar crime in todays business environment, and that amongst many businesses and government organisations, financial services experience different kinds of fraud. Examples of Fraud There are many examples of fraud across the world, such as WorldCom, Enron, Satyam, Xerox and Waste management. But for the purpose of this assignment I will only focus on WorldCom. One of the largest frauds in corporate history, $11 billion. (Teather, 2005) Trouble began at WorldCom when they failed to meet the revenue expectations communicated earlier to the investment community. In 2004, the CFO pleaded guilty stating that he and the CEO met concerning the problem. The CEO refused to meet with the investment community to announce the shortfall. Rather, the CFO said he was instructed by the CEO to fix the problem. Allegations are that the CEO was keenly aware of the likely impact on share price and was more concerned about $400 million he had personally borrowed from WorldCom secured by WorldCom stock (Padgett, 2002). Over a five-year period, accountants at WorldCom systematically altered records, often after the books were closed, to meet analysts expectations. According to the WorldCom indictment, CEO Ebbers, CFO Sullivan and others created a process called close the gap which identified improper accounting adjustments and then instructed staff to carry out the manipulations. Initially reserves were used to absorb expenses. When the reserves ran out a variety of accounting frauds were used to enhance revenues and decrease expenses. Unlike Enron, this did not involve manipulation of complex accounting rules, but rather a straight-forward capitalisation of expenses. Accounting managers were given promotions, raises, and made to feel responsible for the likely collapse of the stock price if they did not manipulate the books (Pulliam, 2003). The WorldCom corporate culture encouraged unethical behaviour both by appealing to individuals sense of promoting the greatest common good for the workers, shareholders, and community and by raising fears of losing their jobs if they did not comply with requests to falsify records. WorldCom staff knew it was wrong and went along with the schemes anyway (Pulliam, 2003). Again, an individual, Cynthia Cooper, blew the whistle to the audit committee and started the resulting disclosure of the fraudulent financial practices (Ripley, 2002). Following WorldComs failure and scandals, studies have demonstrated that Bernard Ebbers and Scott Sullivan, the CEO and CFO of the organisation at that time, had created an organisational ideology, or culture, in which leaders and managers were not to be doubted or questioned (Scharff 2005). Rezaee (2002) determines how CRIME can be used to explain financial statement fraud. Below is a model of CRIME: Source: Rezaee (2002) Cooks, in most of the cases, are the people who participate in financial statement fraud, these can be senior management such as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Recipes are fraudulent schemes, which the management of the companies have used for their cooking. These can be Improper Related-Party Sales Transactions, Illegitimate Sales Transactions or Side Agreements. (Rezaee, 2002) Incentives are the typical reasons and motivations why companies and their cooks have engaged in financial statement fraud. These can range from the company facing economic pressure to achieve targets, show steady growth and improve performance to keep investors happy, the auditors trying to retain their top clients and executives bonuses tied to company performance. (Rezaee, 2002). Monitoring- responsible corporate governance and the presence of adequate and effective internal control systems are the most important factors in preventing and detecting financial statement fraud. This can include friendly relations between the CEO and the owner of the company or the board. (Rezaee, 2002). Rezaee (2002) also stated that external auditors have a significant role in monitoring the company. But the external auditors ability to detect fraud is somewhat limited to the extent of internal control system of the company. End Results- financial statement fraud always has consequences, even if it is not detected. (Rezaee, 2002). Implications of Fraud Since the collapse of some large firms, including WorldCom, Enron and others, many considerations were brought up, including: The regulation of auditors- self-regulation and peer reviews simply not enough. (Enron, 2002) Elimination conflicts of interests in accounting firms (Enron, 2002) Compulsory rotation of auditors- most companies had been using the same auditors since their establishment, for example Enron was audited by Andersen since its establishment in 1983. (Enron, 2002) Taking these considerations into account in 2002, Sarbanes-Oxley Act was established in the US to introduce major changes to the regulation of corporate governance and financial practice. This legislation impacts corporate governance of public companies, affecting their officers and directors, their Audit Committees, their relationships with their accountants and the audit function itself. The act states that the lead audit or coordinating partner and the reviewing partner must rotate off the audit every five years. Brody et al (2005) clarified that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was put in place by the US to help regain public confidence and to prevent future scandal. The ultimate goal was to improve the quality of external audits. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has redefined the role of both auditors and corporate executives. As a result of fraudulent activities occurring in Enron, WorldCom and other companies, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has required that internal controls be reviewed and that adequate fraud detection and prevention systems be implemented (Albrecht et al., 2009). This suggests that fraud detection must be high on the auditors agenda. In 1988, SAS No. 53, The Auditors Responsibility to Detect and Report Errors and Irregularities, was introduced and held the auditor responsible for detecting errors and irregularities that materially impacted on the financial statements. However, Moyes and Hasan (1996) argued that negligible attention was given to the auditors qualifications, particular organisational factors and audit procedures that could be very important in the detection of fraudulent financial reporting. Then SAS No. 82 Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit was implemented in 1997, and stated that the auditor is .to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraud (ASB, 1997). SAS No. 82 provided guidance on how the auditor should achieve this by looking at areas and categories of heightened risk of fraud, how the auditor should respond, the evaluation of audit test results as they relate to the risk of fraud, and the communication about fraud to management, the audit committee and others. Gramling et al. (2004) suggest that reliance on internal audit has taken on increased importance in todays auditing environment, since internal and external auditors have become more aligned and developed deeper relationships since the passage of SOX. Moyes and Hasan (1996) concluded that the degree of fraud detection was not dependent on the type of auditor, since both internal and external auditors have equal abilities to detect fraud. Moyes and Hasan (1996) also found that organisational success in detecting fraud was significantly enhanced in auditing firms with previous experience in fraud detection than auditing firms with no such history. It was also found that auditors who were certified as certified public accountants (CPAs) were more likely to detect fraud than auditors who were non-CPAs. Moyes and Hasan (1996) argued that this certification may imply a greater level of professional competence in fraud detection. Impact of International Auditing Standards on external auditors There are different International Auditing Standards, these are issued by the IFAC- International Federation of Accountants and the IAASB- International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. (Vanstraelen et al, 2009) The main role of International Auditing Standards is to provide a common ground and guidelines for good practice. These international standards on auditing aim to achieve uniformity and aim to generate a level of confidence in the audit. There are many benefits of developing and enforcing international standards on auditing, the major one is the that there will be no difference in the purpose of an audit, sources of auditing standards, legal liability, ethical standards or the responsibility for the detection of fraud. A standardised audit will make give the reader of audit reports more confidence in the auditors opinion, it will make the comparison of audited international financial statements easier. The standardised audit can also promote incentives to develop and broaden the set of international auditing standards. On the other hand there are some issues with international standards on auditing, main ones include the need to consider local laws, this can be controversial because the local standards will move away from the common standard setting. This can lead to some countries having higher standards of regulation than others. Conclusion The Sarbanes-Oxley Act broadens and deepens sanctions and penalties for unethical management behaviour. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act also calls for much greater focus on internal controls by senior management. Internal control systems, including IT controls, can help reduce the opportunity for fraudulent or unethical behaviour but cannot eliminate it in a world where nearly 50 percent of large corporations still use spreadsheets in some aspect of financial reporting (Hackett Group, 2004). I think that the international standards on auditing did not have much impact on auditing in the beginning. But now in recent times it has been found that it has had a great impact on auditing, especially external auditors and can be proved in the way in which it has shifted its standards to more up-to-date versions due to major frauds across the world. This now helps improve the way auditing is performed, it helps auditors perform their audit in a professional manner and gives them stricter guidelines.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Affirmative Action In The United States :: essays research papers

The writer Mary Anne Warren is focusing on describing the current practices in many organizations today in regards to the implementing a goal vs. a quota system for the purposes of affirmative action. She defines a quota as "Those who use the term "quotas" pejoratively tend to assume that the numerical standards will be set so high or enforced so rigidly that strong reverse discrimination-that is, the deliberate hiring of demonstrably less well qualified candidates-will be necessary to implement them." (Warren, 370). Warren then describes goal as "The term "goal", on the other hand, suggests that this will not be the case, and that good faith efforts to comply with the standards by means short of strong reverse discrimination will be acceptable." (Warren, 370). The critical thing that must be understood when exploring the subject is that the writer is describing how affirmative action is being applied in American organizations today in other words the current reality. However, she fails to speak to us about how the law designs this program to function. This is the critical component that American organizations must be educated to understand. Affirmative action as defined by law is most definitively not based on a quota system. In fact, what is not widely known is that this program can be equally used by all individuals provided that an inequality exists in the group that they belong to as not being reflected in the work force. So what is affirmative action? What is it designed to do? It is not designed to provide an opportunity to an unqualified candidate. It is designed as "a way of compensating individuals or groups for past injustices or for present disadvantages stemming form past injustices" (Warren, 373). It is further designed "as a means about bringing about further future goods-for example, raising the status of downtrodden groups." (Warren, 373). The keyword in these quotes is the word "group". Who are these groups? The law has identified them. Some of the groups identified are: race, religious beliefs, blood trait, gender, disability (whether physical or mental), veteran status, national origin, and the list continues. In no way does this require that you have to hire an unqualified person for a position because they fall into one or more of these groups. What it does mean is that you can not discriminate and exclude a person from getting a job, getting promoted, and other factors, just because they happen to fall into that group.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Executive Remuneration Analysis of Vodafone

Executive Remuneration Analysis of Vodafone 1. Introduction Executive remuneration is the compensation which company rewards for the executive directors. Since the early 1980s, executive payment increase rapidly. The unjustified increasing of executive remuneration pushes the reform of remuneration policy. The Cadbury code mentioned this problem in the Code of Practice in 1995. Cadbury gives some suggestions to companies about the executive remuneration policy.According to his suggestions, companies should dividend total payment into the basic salary and performance-based bonus, and the remuneration report should publish in the annual reporting every year [1]. In additional, UK government provides the vote right for shareholders to supervise the company’s executive remuneration, it also can force executive directors taking investors’ interest into account when they design the company strategy [2]. The analysis of big companies’ remuneration policy is more emphasi ze by investors and government, especially after the 2008 financial crisis.Investors are paying more attention to whether the executives deserve the high reward. Therefore, the analysis of executive remuneration is more necessary and valuable. Companies in FTSE 100 have the highest market capitalization in UK, and it means the analysis of FTSE 100 companies is most valuable. Vodafone Group, as one of the biggest company in the FTSE 100 companies, has business in almost 70 countries. And the market capitalization is nearly ? 90bn [3]. Last year, Vittorio Calao, the CEO? of Vodafone received around ? 0m for remuneration in fiscal year 2012, which is one of the highest remuneration in the FTSE 100 [4]. Although the executive rewards are higher than others in the FTSE 100, there still are 96. 12% shareholders voting in favour with the Vodafone’s remuneration policy [5]. This raises the question that why there are a huge amount of shareholders convincingly supports their highest r emuneration. This essay analyses the executive remuneration for Vodafone Group. Firstly, it will talk about the remuneration principle. Then the Remuneration Committee will be discussed.This part aims to measure whether the Remuneration Committee according to the UK Corporate Governance Code. The third part will explain the remuneration package of Vodafone Group, both base salary and various bonuses are included. At last, the essay will discuss the rationality of Vodafone’s executive remuneration from the perspectives of remuneration policy itself and the comparison with other companies. 2. Remuneration principle The aim of Vodafone’s executive remuneration is driving executives to achieve the company’s long-term strategic goals by offering an attractive and competitive reward [6].Vodafone wishes to make sure that their executive directors keeping in the highest level in work by providing an attractive payment. For example, a part of rewards are measured by the performance for this year. Therefore, executive directors were given an opportunity to achieve the truly exceptional performance. The remuneration package is determined by Remuneration Committee after Comprehensive consideration. The Remuneration Committee will choose some relevant group of comparators when setting total reward. It makes sure that the executive remuneration policies are considered on a total compensation basis.The comparators are choosing from some basic considerations, which are as follows: 1) top European companies, 2) top UK companies, 3) particularly for scarce skills, and 4) the relevant market in question [6]. These comparators mean that Europe is the major region for business for Vodafone, and the company is original from UK. According to above three principles, the external comparators are consisting by similar size companies, and the European top 25 companies and a few other select companies relevant to the sector.Additionally, the external comparator group do not including the financial companies, such as bank and insurance company. Another important Remuneration principle is that the rewards will related to the performance both long-term and short-term. According to the Annual Report of 2012, performance-based reward account for 70% in the whole remuneration package [6]. Vodafone build a link between executive directors and shareholders by this way, in order to force executive directors think about shareholders’ interest. 3. Remuneration CommitteeAccording to the UK Corporate Governance Code, the Remuneration Committee must include at least three independent non-executive directors [7]. The Remuneration Committee of Vodafone is consisting by independent non-executive directors and running independently in the company. The chairman of Remuneration Committee is Luc Vandevelde, and there are another five members in the Remuneration Committee. All of them are the non-executive directors in company. There also are two external adv isors: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (‘pwc’) and Towers Watson.Pwc is responsible for performance analysis and giving suggestions about company strategy and measuring the performance. It also supports the international business of Vodafone, such as tax, finance, compliance and operations. Another external advisor Towers Watson provides the market data of executive payment to Remuneration Committee. They also manage the pensions and benefit for Vodafone [6]. There are a lot of factors need to be considered by Remuneration Committee when deciding the payment package. Firstly, Remuneration Committee consults the CEO and HR directors’ opinion of the appropriate reward package for executives.Secondly, the external advisors give the Committee another perspective form the external information analysis. They can provide the benchmark of directors’ reward about other similar company on the market. Additionally, Committee also take the company’s strategy into ac count, both long-term and short-term are important. In fiscal year 2012, Remuneration Committee had five meetings to discuss the Short-Term Incentive bonus, Long-Term Incentive plan and basic salary in order to determine the total remuneration packages of the executive directors appropriately [6].Remuneration Committee particularly report four chief executive directors in the Directors’ Remuneration Report, including Chief Executive Vittotio Colao, Chief Financial Officer Andy Halford, Chief Technology Officer Stephen Pusey and Regional CEO Europe Michel Combes, and the reporting also include the reward of non-executive directors. 4. Remuneration package The Vodafone remuneration package is divided into five parts: base salary, Global Short-Term Incentive Plan (‘GSTIP’), Global Long-Term Incentive Plan (‘GLTI’) base awards, Global Long-Term Incentive Plan (‘GLTI’) co-investment matching awards and benefit [6].These parts reflect the remu neration policy of Vodafone which make the executives holing a lot of company shares to align the interest of executive directors and investors. It also obeys the UK Corporate Governance Code that keeping the reward in a level which is attractive and motivate to the directors, and designing the performance- related income based on long-term strategy. Base salary aims to attract and retain the best talents. It reflects the directors’ level of skill, experience and the responsibility in Vodafone. In fiscal year 2012, Committee decided the base salary stay at the same level with 2011[6].Global (‘GSTIP’) measure the performance in this financial year with the short- term financial and non- financial target, and the GSTIP is paid in cash in June 2013. The related performance is service revenue (25%), EBITDA (25%), adjusted free cash flow (20%) and competitive performance assessment (30%). This bonus can flow from 0-200% of base salary, and it reward 93. 4% of target f or financial year 2012[6]. Global Long-Term Incentive Plan (‘GLTI’) is consist of performance shares which award every year and vest three years later to force directors on the Vodafone’s long-term strategy.The vesting of performance shares is determined by the adjusted free cash flow and relative TSR performance. Both operational performance and external performance are included in the two measures in GLTI. The target GLTI face value of CEO is 137. 5% for basic salary, and 110% for other directors. In this year, executive directors was rewarded the vesting the shares of 2008 fiscal year at 30. 6% of maximum [6]. Global Long-Term Incentive Plan (‘GLTI’) co-investment matching awards means that executive directors can purchase Vodafone normal shares and turning them to performance shares after holding three years.Benefit is the pension scheme for the executive director and other benefit such as company car and private medical insurance. 5. Analysis of the director remuneration Figure 1 Total remuneration for 2012 (based on Vodafone 2012 Annual Report) The Figure 1 shows the detail of the total remuneration for fiscal year 2012 including a value for GLTI payment. Without the GLTI vesting during this year, Vodafone actually paid 30. 35m pounds to CEO Colao, 19. 27m pounds to CFO Halford, 21m pounds to Europe region CEO Combes, and 14. 08m pounds for CTO Pusey [6].The Figure 1 illustrates that all the four chief executive directors’ incomes are increasing except the CTO Pusey. Although the total rewards were general increased, GSTIP for fiscal year 2012 was decreasing. In the meanwhile, salary and cash in lieu of pension were keeping in the similar level with last year. Therefore, the increasing of total remuneration was due to the significant increasing of the item cash in lieu of GLTI dividends. During the fiscal year 2012, the Global Short-Term Incentive was deduct from last year. The total actual short term incentive pay ment was 93. %, while the target payment is 100% and the maximum payment is 200% for the basic salary [6]. According to the remuneration policy of Vodafone, GSTIP is influenced by the performance for this year. There are four indicates to measure the GSTIP: service revenue, EBITDA, adjusted free cash flow and competitive performance assessment. According to the 2012 annual report, the service revenue slightly increased to 46. 4bn pounds, which was just arrival the target performance [6]. However, the EBITAD and adjust free cash flow were cut down, especially the adjust free cash flow.Because of the loss of China Mobile Limited and the dividends of SFR, the actual pay-out percentage for adjust free cash flow is 8. 5, while the target performance is 20% in the whole GSTIP [6]. The policy of GSTIP is related to both the financial and non-financial performance in this year in order to measure the executive short-term performance in a rational way. The target performance is not only base d on the Vodafone’s strategy and past operation, but also taking the long-term strategy into account. Figure 2 Adjust free cash flow target and range for awards Based on Vodafone 2012 Annual Report) Figure 3 GLTI award for 2008 & 2009 (based on Vodafone 2012 Annual Report) Opposite the reducing of DSTIP, cash for Global Long-Term Incentive Plan is significant increase. The GLTI is determined by adjust free cash flow and the TSR outperformance of a peer group median. These two indicators consist a matrix in order to measure the internal operational performance and external performance. The long-term operation cycle is three years which means the target performance of financial year 2012 was settled in 2010.According to Figure 2, the target for 2012 is 18bn pounds, while the actual adjusted free cash flow for 2012 was 20. 9bn pounds [6]. Another important measure is the TSR performance. The figure 3 shows that Vodafone’s TSR was outperformance than the peer group which c onstitute by the similar size companies. The TSR performance increasing by 18. 5% in 2012, and exceed the target number. Therefore, the TSR performance for 2012 was paid by 100% of maximum to executive directors, while there is only 30% in 2011.Figure 4 Five year historical TSR performance (based on Vodafone 2012 Annual Report) Table 1 Comparison of Vodafone & BT Group (Base on [6] [8] [9] [10]) 201220112010 CEO Reward ?000Total Revenue ?bnCEO Reward ?000Total Revenue ?bnCEO Reward ?000Total Revenue ?bn Vodafone303546. 46282645. 88266844. 47 BT Group250518. 90235920. 1210520. 1 To compare with other similar size companies in UK, figure 4 reflects the Vodafone TSR performance compare with the average level of FSTE 100. From this figure, it indicates that Vodafone’s TSR performance is higher than the average level of FSTE 100.It means that the Vodafone Group is in a better operation situation among FSTE 100 companies. Therefore, it is reasonable that Vodafone’s executive remuneration is higher than the similar size companies. Additionally, the comparison in Table 1 is shown in similar result. BT Group is another strong competitor of Vodafone in UK telecommunication industry. The numbers in table 1 are published in the annual report for the two companies from 2010 to 2012. The total revenue of Vodafone is basically twice as much as BT Group, while the difference between the CEO remuneration is just around ? m in the three years. Through above analysis, Vodafone remuneration is in a rational level, and it is corresponding to its operation performance. 6. Conclusion All in all, Vodafone executive remuneration is acceptable and in a rational level. It not only reflects the operation performance but also obey the rules of UK Corporate Governance Code. The executive remuneration is setting by an independent remuneration committee which consist by five non-executive directors and two external advisors.The remuneration report is published by Remuneration C ommittee in Vodafone’s Annual Report. The remuneration package divide into base salary, Global Short-Term Incentive Plan (‘GSTIP’), Global Long-Term Incentive Plan (‘GLTI’) base awards, Global Long-Term Incentive Plan (‘GLTI’) co-investment matching awards and benefit. Through these five parts, executive reward is related to performance and the investor interest, and can help executives focusing on company’s strategy. Therefore, Vodafone executive remuneration can be seen as a good example in executive remuneration policy.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Rap Censorship essays

Rap Censorship essays I'm so tired of elected officials, politician wanna-be's, and media whores posturing and pretending that they know what's best for the entire country. Are we Americans so ignorant that we need fringe members of the government to tell us what is and what isn't acceptable entertainment for our kids What we can and can't listen to? What's good for us and what isn't Let's put an end once and for all to this tyranical misconduct and abuse of power and attempt to remove our constitutional right to free speech. The only "gangsterism" I see coming in response to rap lyrics is coming from C. Delores Tucker, William Bennett, and Bob Dole. Are rap lyrics the scourge of society? I think not. America thinks not. As these ineffective politicians will see when America returns to the polls! I'm certainly not saying that it's OK to demean or violate someone else. It's not! What I am saying is that rap should not be dragged around and beaten senseless by a bunch of preppy non-thinking wonderbuns who take pieces of lyrics and analyze them out of context in order to build and further their own political agendas. Most rap artists chronicle their existence in their lyrics. Wanna know how Chuck D felt or what he was thinking when "Apocalypse..." was created? Pop it in the old tape deck. What was up with KRS One when he was working on "...Boom Bap?" Listen to the lyrics. And these are just two examples that exist in an industry full of positive rappers. The problem isn't rap lyrics. The words that artists use are just words. They often portray real life situations in the music; if a rapper's existence was in a fair, beautiful, calm world, I'm sure the rapper would talk about it in songs. But that's not always reality. How can you tell somebody who lives in a society that cares nothing about him or her, in an environment that's often conducive to destruction and negativity, which offers very little hope, to only rap about happy, positive stuff. ...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Cloning--Our Next Generation essays

CloningOur Next Generation essays Some people believe that biologists are cloning human embryos only to see how far they can go, but in actuality, there are many legitimate reasons for investing cloning. Embryologists believe that research into cloning could help improve the life of future generations. I believe this is the main concern of most scientists. The idea that humans may one day be cloned created either in part or whole to be genetically identical to the original plant or animal from a single somatic cell without sexual reproductionbecame a more realistic dream on February 23, 1997. On that date, the news broke that Ian Wilmut and his colleagues at the Roslin Insitute were about to announce the successful cloning of a sheep by a new technique. This technique had never before been successful on mammals. It was called somatic cell nuclear transfer. The technique involved transplanting the genetic material of an adult sheep into an egg from which the nucleus had been removed. The resulting birth of the sheep, named Dolly, was born on July 5, 1996. However, Dolly was different from prior attempts to create identical offspring. Dolly only contained the genetic material of one parent and was, therefore, a delayed genetic twin of a single adult sheep. There are two very different procedures referred to as cloning. The first is embryo cloning. This involves the removal of one or more cells from an embryo and encouraging the cell to develop into a separate embryo with the same DNA as the original. This has been successful on many species of animals. Some limited experimentation has been done on human embryos. Yet, nature remains the true cloning agent. About 1 in every 75 human conceptions, results in a split ovum for an unknown, reason to produce monozygotic twins or triplets. The second procedure is Adult DNA cloning or cell nuclear replacement. This involves removing the DNA from an embryo and replacing it with the DNA of a cell that has been rem...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Drect effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Drect effect - Essay Example The Court of Appeal referred two question to the ECJ and this are whether a different retirement age for men and women in breach of Directive 76/207 and if so whether Directive 76/207 to be relied on by Mrs. Marshall in the circumstances of the case. The Equal Treatment Directive 76/207, which is based not on Article 141 of the EC treaty but on the institutions general powers under Article 308 (ex 235), lays down the principle of equal treatment for men and women in Article 1(1). 1 (iii) The logic of this reasoning is that a Directive can only be invoked vertically, by an individual against the state, and not horizontally, by one individual against another, because individuals are not to blame for the non-implementation of the Directive. This view was EC law and national law confirmed in this case. In Marshall the issue of the horizontal effect of directives was, it seemed, finally laid to rest. In favour of horizontal effects is the fact that directives have always in fact been published, that Treaty provisions addressed to and imposing obligations on, MS have been held to be horizontally effective that it would be anomalous, and offend against the principle of equality. If an individual’s rights to invoke a directive were depend on the status, public or private, of the party against whom he wished to invoke it, that the useful effect of Community law would be weakened if individuals were not free to invoke the protection of Community law against all parties. Although ECJ imposed limitation on the HDE of directives, it also creates other strategies or ways to advance the domestic enforcement of these meaner which broadening the concept of state, indirect effect, incidental horizontal effect and state liability. However, the ECJ is expanding the concept of public sector in the case law and thus including more individual capable of protection of community law [Johnson v RUC2 and Foster v British Gas3] Part b) (i) The

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Music Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Music Study - Essay Example Recorded on a piano, roll the â€Å"Maple Leaf Rag† was named after a short-lived Sedalia social club and â€Å"he gave the genre its iconic masterpiece. It was also ragtimes biggest hit. The phenomenal success of the Maple Leaf Rag sparked a nationwide ragtime craze.† (Levang) â€Å"Three Dances† by Susato, the Renaissance Flemish composer, instrumentalist and publisher, celebrates dance music. The three pieces include simple but artistic arrangement of dance music. â€Å"Tielman Susato...established himself in Antwerp, c. 1529, as music copyist, flutist, and trumpeter, and later as publisher. In 1543, he produced the Premier Livre des chansons à   quatre parties. . ., including eight chansons by himself.† (Reese, 290) Thus, this paper makes a comparative analysis of the two celebrated musical pieces of different period and category. â€Å"Maple Leaf Rag† (1916) by Joplin has been celebrated as a multi-strain ragtime and it is adorned with athletic bass lines and upbeat melodies. There are four parts in the piece and each of them has a recurring theme striding bass line with abundant seventh chords. The piece, which has a single movement or section, belongs to the genre piano piece with the instrumentation of piano and has a romantic genre piece style. â€Å"The explosive popularity of the Maple Leaf Rag...was founded on fortuitous circumstance... It was in all ways an unlikely combination. And yet it happened... Joplin wasn’t the only composer of ragtime in the 1890s, or even the first one.... But Joplin was the decisive ragtime composer, the one whose musical imagination gave ragtime its finest expression.† (Levang) The music combined march tempos, minstrel-show songs, and the ‘ragged" or syncopated rhythms. The syncopation of the rhythms is especially evident in the transition betwe en the first and second strain and it was impressively original at the time of its composition. The careful construction of the ragtime tune in the piece excels all