Friday, December 27, 2019

Financial Ratio Calculations

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1157 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Level High school Did you like this example? Financial ratios are useful indicators of a firms performance and financial situation. Most ratios can be calculated from information provided by the financial statements. Financial ratios can be used to analyse trends and to compare the firms financials to those of other firms. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Financial Ratio Calculations | Profitability Calculations" essay for you Create order Sometimes, ratio analysis can predict future bankruptcy of a business. As we can see the performance of Systems Integrated PLC is related to the areas of profitability, efficiency and liquidity. First of all, the profitability of a company is clearly shown through the Return on Capital Employed ratio (R.O.C.E) and the gross profit percentage, the second one is reduced from 2009 to 2010 but about the first we can say that is getting higher. Moreover, we have the gross profit margin ratio and we can see that year by year is getting lower and this is not good for our business .Profitability depends on the obsolescence/damage/theft, or even the under/overvaluation of stock. Also, it depends on the general fall or increase in selling price. Utility companies tend to have low R.O.C.E ratios because of the high investments in fixed assets. For example, a high R.O.C.E may be due to the fact that some firms are using old-aged assets which are almost fully depreciated. Liquidity 4) Acid Test = (Current Assets Inventors) / Current Liabilities = (1822 935) / 1313 = 0.67:1 5) Inventory Holding Period = (Average Inventory / Cost of Sales) * 365 = [(850 + 935) / 2] / 7540 = 43 days 6) Customer Collection Period = (Debtors / Sales) * 365 = (842 / 11178) * 365 = 27 days 7) Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities = 1822 / 1313 = 1.4:1 8) Suppliers Payment Period = (Suppliers / Purchases) * 365 = (1313 / 7625) * 365 = 63 days 9) Interest Cover = EBIT / Interest Expense = 1366 / 105 = 13 times Secondly, liquidity is mostly shown by the current ratio and the acid test ratio. A current ratio of 2.5:1 is considered to be adequate. In addition to this, a high current ratio indicates that the firm is tying up its resources in unproductive assets. Also, indicates slow moving stock and slow paying customers. The sufficiency of a current ratio depends on the composition of the current assets and how soon the short/long term obligations ha ve to be settled. Also an acid test ratio of 1.1:1 is considered to be sufficient, too. The numerator of a liquidity ratio is part or all of current assets. Possibly the most common liquidity ratio is the current ratio . The problem with the current ratio as a liquidity ratio is that inventories, a current asset, may not be converted to cash for several months, while many current liabilities must be paid within 90 days. Thus a more conservative liquidity ratio is the acid test ratio. Efficiency 10) Fixed Assets usage = Net Sales / Fixed Assets = 11178 / 2832 = 3.9 times 11) Total Assets usage = Net Sales / Total Assets = 11178 / 4653.5 = 2.4 times Lastly, efficiency is another important fact in a company. It is combined in three periods: the customers collection period, the suppliers payment period and the inventory holding period. We can see that at the fixed assets usage ratio of System Integrated plc has increased from the 2.9 of the industry to 3.9 times. In the second ratio, the total asset usage, System Integrated plc has almost the same percentage with the industry and this is good news for our company because is a very good percentage. The fact that some firms holding period is obsolete and that they have a slow moving stock is completely because of the high inventory holding specific period. Although, these firms aim at reducing this ratio so they could be more efficient and productive. Accounting is the language of business and its numbers are pertinent convey financial information. A lot of people are confused with the accounting numbers. The importance is high to know and to learn how to find meaning in those numbers because it helps you to understand where your business is going. Measuring accounting numbers and business transactions need a context to be significant. A list of numbers doesnt mean much without knowing what you are looking at. You can find meaning about the accounting numbers by looking at the description labels, such as customers names, account names or vendor names. Moreover accounting numbers are usually used for analysis and to answer questions. For example if you want to know how much rent expenses you have left in your budget, you need to look at accounting numbers. They can provide you preacute;cis information about how much rent you have spent and how much you have left cover. Accounting quantifies operations and gives people the aptitude to see a situation from a different viewpoint. You can make impo rtant decisions if you look your sales numbers for the year and when you mix that with expenses, you can gain many issues, such as if the expenses are too high for sales or if payroll its usually low. Furthermore, accounting numbers help us in many ways. For instance by looking at accounting numbers you can easily recognise old accounts receivable that you have to collect and also with the accounts you know who owes you and for how long. These numbers and accounts are helpful and valuable to any organization or a business. On the other hand, accounting number have their weaknesses too. We consider many reasons and factors for weaknesses in numbers in financial statements. Some factors are: the creative accounting, the off balance sheet financing, bias, the managerial pressures and objectivity. Creative accounting it is a firm of misrepresenting the performance and position of a business. This means that accountants apply particular accounting methods to a transaction to make s tatements look the way they want them to look. Companies are free to choose which policies to apply, so there is a space in regulations to perform creative accounting. One of the most important things is that some planned attempts to materially misstate accounting figures are illegal. The most common examples include tax evasion schemes. Besides that, some Off-balance sheet financing issues occur when the accountant does not put everything on the balance sheet. Usually Off-balance sheet financing aims in making the business to seem more valuable by inflating the value of assets and does not include some liabilities. Additionally we have Bias who is causing the nepotism of the preferences or partial. Bias influences with an unfair way users of accounting information. Bias is also broken up in categories of Disclosure bias, Estimation bias, Attributional bias, Judgement bias. Inventors are usually influenced by disclosure bias and estimation bias lead auditors to verify false informat ion. Bias does not affect only numerically but it also affects narrative reporting which represents the image and icon of a business management. Judgement bias affects the financial reporting subliminally, inaccuracies might also occur from unconscious bias. Accounting decisions require professional judgement. Ambiguity builds upon concept of representation and occurs of the representation of accrual accounting and cash flow. The problem that is made by ambiguity is that ambiguity surrounds accounting numbers and so numbers does not actually exist but are estimated. If you are looking to make your own financial ratio calculations then take a look at our Financial Ratio Calculator

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Transitioning From An Undergraduate Level Course - 1698 Words

Transitioning from an undergraduate level course to a graduate level at Kutztown University can be extremely overwhelming for many students. From enrolling in challenging courses that prompt students to over succeed in materials, to professors enforcing and enabling students to perform certain aspects and or skills can be extremely overbearing and difficult at times. Nonetheless, within each course subject the outcomes are substantial and rewarding, for each student accomplishes a new asset that will only supplement them in their future field of study. As for my personal learning experience within my first semester graduate course I believe I have not only gained a sustainable amount of information, but also a better understanding in the field of mental health counseling. In particular, from my first semester I believe my fundamentals course not only gave me a new insight within the field but also a hands on experience by encouraging and embarking me into the counseling process. In fact, before entering Kutztown University Fundamental’s graduate course with Dr. Arena I had very little experience and skills within the subject of counseling. Prior to the course I only had one undergraduate course, which looked at an introduction level to clinical psychology, and a summer job, which entitled me as a unit counselor for a Girl Scout day camp. During these two experiences I was able to gain a brief understanding of the certainShow MoreRelatedTransitioning From Any Undergraduate Level Course1623 Words   |  7 Pages Transitioning from any undergraduate level course to a graduate level at Kutztown University can be extremely overwhelming for many students. From enrolling in challenging courses that prompt students to over succeed in materials, to professors enforcing and enabling students to perform certain aspects and or skills can be extremely overbearing and difficult at times. 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Hardiness originates from existential psychology. Research has found that academic hardiness relates to SAT scores, academic performance, and college enrollment. The ongoing pattern of research has supported hardiness as a facilitator of performance in stressful situations. Hardiness helps one turn stressful circumstances from chaotic disasters to blooming opportunities for growth (Maddi et al., 2012). This study also,Read MoreAnxiously Waiting For The Next Therapy Session1517 Words   |  7 Pagesamb ition to combine the two fields, but I was confident that I could find a way for them to parallel. As I paced around the room, I recalled the details of the next client. He was a 6 year old foster child with severe food anxiety. Constantly transitioning to and from different foster homes, he had never lived in a stable environment. As a direct repercussion of this, any new foods that he encountered resulted in a major anxiety attack. Consequently, he was quickly declining to an unhealthy body weight

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Organ Transplants for Prisoners free essay sample

In the article â€Å"Wanted, Dead or Alive? Kidney Transplants in Inmates Awaiting Execution†, Jacob M. Appel argues that, despite the criminal justice system’s view that death-row inmates deserve to die, they should be given the same opportunity to extend their life as anyone else. â€Å"The United States Supreme Court has held since 1976 that prison inmates are entitled to the same medical treatment as the free public† (645). â€Å"When it comes to healthcare, ‘bad people’ are as equal as the rest of us† (646). When someone is sentenced to execution it is decided by the criminal justice system, not the medical community.The justice system views these peoples’ social worth as so low that they deserve to die for the crimes they have committed. â€Å"The state’s determination of social worth only finds that the condemned prisoner no longer deserves life—a far higher bar than a determination that he or she is no longer worthy of healthcare prior to death†(646). In the medical community, the goal is to save lives. Appel also points out that even though kidney transplants do increase survival rates over dialysis, just because someone doesn’t get a transplant, this does not necessarily mean that they will die.He says that kidney transplants tend to be more of a life-enhancing surgery, as opposed to a life-extending surgery. On the argument that to give a kidney to someone who will die soon anyway is a waste of a perfectly good organ; Appel says this objection is invalid. A small percentage of death row inmates are ever actually executed, seventy-five percent of death sentences are appealed and overturned and that one in fifteen death row inmates is acquitted. Because of these statistics, Appel says that to ignore these peoples’ requests for kidney transplant would be morally wrong. Robert M. Sade’s article â€Å"The Prisoner’s Dilemma: Should Convicted Felons Have the Same Access to Heart Transplantation as Ordinary Citizens? † argues that whether or not criminals should receive heart transplants depends on who you ask. He goes on to pose the question to four separate entities; the organ procurement and transplantation network (OPTN), physicians, transplant centers, and prison officials. The OPTN says that just because someone is in prison doesn’t mean they should not be considered for an organ transplant, the â€Å"screening for all otential recipients should be done at the candidacy stage and once listed, all candidates should be eligible for equitable allocation of organs† (648). On the basis of social worth, physicians shouldn’t discriminate by using social value as criteria for medical decisions. Sade says that psychosocial factors may be used as selection criteria, however, because they might shed light on whether or not adequate social support systems exist for the transplant recipient. The prison sentence is payment for the crime; the prisoner owes nothing more to society, certainly not his or her life† (647). The transplant center brings up the issue of money. When a non-prisoner has a transplant operation, they fund the surgery with the help of insurance and public health programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Prisoners have neither private nor public insurance aside from what the prison system has in their budget, so this begs the question, â€Å"should the prison pay for a heart transplant for a convicted criminal? † The answer is no.Most prison systems can only afford to provide general health care, but not the large amount of funds needed for a heart transplant. Sade says the bill for aftercare of a prisoner’s heart transplant done in California in 2002 was around a million dollars. The final decision is with the prison system. The prison system’s only obligation is to provide room and board and general healthcare at a reasonable cost. Without sufficient funds (and it is safe to say there are not) the prison system and officials have reason enough to deny prisoners heart transplants.These two articles both address the question of whether a prisoner should be considered eligible for organ transplant, but their arguments vary for many reasons, primarily the organ in question, the status of the prisoner in question, and whether a prisoner is eligible for transplant consideration at all. Appel’s article is about kidney transplants and prisoners on death row. Appel says inmates have the same right to kidney transplant eligibility as any other citizen, no matter their social rank. He says that just because someone has been sentenced to die doesn’t mean their quality of life should be lowered before they are executed.It appears that Appel did in-depth research for his argument. He cites outside sources and has data to back up his argument that it is more cost-effective to perform transplant surgery instead of using dialysis treatment. Appel uses a few different ethical theories in support of his argument. He is utilitarian in his concern for cost-effectiveness, deontological in his aim at addressing the importance of good intentions and not consequences, and he also shows a preference for natural law in that he intends to preserve life.He embraces the moral principle of non-maleficence, â€Å"above all, do no harm†. Committing the logical fallacy of appealing to probability, he raises the level of doubt. He reminds us that only a small fraction of inmates are actually executed. Appealing to money, he explains that kidney transplants are much less expensive than dialysis. Appealing to pity, he makes us ask, â€Å"What if the death row inmate isn’t guilty? What if the inmate is never executed? What if he or she is exonerated of their charge and must continue life without good health? Sade talks about heart transplants for prisoners in general, not specific to death row inmates. Sade says no one has legal entitlement to healthcare in our country. Many factors go into deciding who receives a heart transplant and the final say lies with the prison system, because they are the ones who pay for the treatment. Sade says the prison system just cannot afford to provide funds for expensive heart transplant surgeries and aftercare, but it appears as though he pulled the number out of thin air, citing only one instance of a heart transplant in California, providing an estimated amount.This is a utilitarian point of view, giving power to the authoritative figures and not to the person in need of help. It could be argued that some logical fallacies are committed, appealing to authority, as it is a claim that something is true just because an â€Å"expert† said so (his source is not cited), and appealing to money in his argument that the transplant surgery is too expensive. Compared to Appel’s well-researched article, Sade does not play fair, seeming to ad opt paternalistic tendencies, hoping to sway the reader, â€Å"because I said so†.I view this issue from a Rossian standpoint. I think that it should be a decision made using intuition. I don’t think it should make a difference what specific organ is to be transplanted. I think a case-by-case basis â€Å"rule† should be applied to all prospective transplant organs, no matter the level of difficulty or cost for surgery. I think that if a person is eligible for a transplant of any kind, it is only fair that they be placed on the recipient list, however, if they are in prison, we should look more closely. If the prisoner is on death row, their case should be rejected.All non-death row prisoners should be given a fair chance at receiving the transplant organ. The reason I am specifying the inmates on death row is because in my opinion, these are the worst offenders. I feel that if the criminal justice system has decided that their crimes are so severe that they are to be executed as punishment, perhaps we should not step in and squander an organ that might be used to save the life of a person who has not been condemned to die for having been found guilty of committing a horrible crime.I feel that most law-abiding citizens would be pretty upset if they found out that someone who is on death row has received an organ transplant and not paid a dime for it. The reality of the situation is that our prisons appear to be unable to finance such an undertaking. I feel that it would be wasteful and unfair to ask taxpayers to fund a life-enhancing surgery for someone who has been convicted of a crime for which they stand to be executed.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

The stories of the dominant Gatsby and Jean Valjean

Introduction The role played by a character in any play defines his or her traits. These roles depend on the themes that the writer wants to discuss throughout the play. The writer could talk about love and compassion, greed and injustice. The theme of the play brings out the main traits of character revealed within the play.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The stories of the dominant Gatsby and Jean Valjean specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A positive theme shows positive traits whereas a negative theme highlights negative ones. Different styles become necessary to help represent better the traits designed for the plays. This essay compares and contrasts the characters of Gatsby and Jean Valjean in the Les Miserable novels and films. Gatsby was a young man whose life got transformed from poverty to riches. He grew up under sheer impoverished circumstances as a young boy but became extremely wealthy. He should be about thirty years old and full of life. Raised from a struggling family, Gatsby desired riches and hated the miserable life his family lived. He became obsessed with seeking shortcuts or a quick way to gain some fortune and wealth. He was eager to get power that came with being wealthy. He hated processes and procedures. He could not keep up at school because he did not see how the school curriculum could get him out of poverty. He dropped out of school barely two weeks after admission because of dissatisfaction with the duties assigned to him at school – janitorial duties. He could not bear the shame of the assigned duties. This was also his only way of paying his school fees. Stopping to do the chores meant that he would have to leave school. That is what he did by expelling himself (Fitzgerald, 2008). Left with no other choice, Gatsby resorted to criminal living. He formed a gang engaging in several organized criminal activities including the sale of illegal brews (alcoho l) and stolen securities. The decision by Gatsby to live such a life came as a need to be loved by a lady Daisy Buchanan. The obsession for riches and wealth got fueled by the desire to have this woman as his wife. He wanted to make a great impression on this lady with his wealth and would not give up until he acquired everything he wanted. The lady Daisy was from a rich family with an elegant background. Gatsby lied about his own background in order to prove that he is worth this lady.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The writer of the novel, The Great Gatsby, deliberately delays the information about Gatsby’s obsession with lady Daisy until the end of the novel. He presents him rather as a flamboyant man who loved to throw opulent parties at his luxurious mansion. He paints him living a luxurious life surrounded by powerful men and gorgeous women (Bloom, 2010). Jean Valjean is a central character in Les Miserables who became the main figure of love and compassion as highlighted in the Gugo’s trials. He was a criminal whose life got transformed by the deplorable conditions and experiences acquired at the prison. He went into the prison naà ¯ve and emerged as a hardened criminal with immense hatred for the church and society. He did not care about respect and greeted even the bishop with much contempt and hatred. His meeting with Myriel Digne changed his life. He was forced to make a promise to become honest in all his undertakings. The once hardened and desperate criminal was influenced by love and yielded to its redemptive power and compassion. His diligence helped him to become a symbol of change within his hometown. Jean Valjean ended up as a philanthropic wealthy man (Hugo, 2006). Discussion The stories of the dominant Gatsby and Jean Valjean show some similarities concerning their characters. Both of them have lived criminal lives e ven though fueled by different passions. They are both conquered by love. Gatsby and Valjean end up wealthy and powerful. On the contrary, the two characters differ in their personality and strength. Gatsby strikes the readers as a naà ¯ve and lovesick individual though his character is negative. His desperation is clear. He is a cheat who tells lies about his background. He is selfish. He only thinks of himself and what he wants as opposed to what can benefit the others. When conquered by love, Gatsby resorts to criminal activities to sustain it. On the other hand, we see Valjean who is physically strong and hardworking. He is an honest man who keeps his word (promises). His life is transformed by love and compassion. He becomes visionary and philanthropic. Gatsby spends his money and wealth only on himself. He is evil and lacks a vision. Valjean is a symbol of hope. The factual changes that occur in the life of Valjean prove that anyone can experience a better life after a negati ve experience. Gatsby is a symbol of evil and discontentment. He is constantly in pursuit of what he lacks for. He is not willing to discover and do what is right while Valjean seeks to do what is right. Conclusion Gatsby and Valjean have similarities and differences. Valjean’s life changes for the better in the face of love unlike that of Gatsby. Their stories highlight the fact that these individuals are unique and different.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The stories of the dominant Gatsby and Jean Valjean specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Works Cited Bloom, Harold. The Great Gatsby. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2010. Web.13 December, 2011. https://books.google.com/books?id=adjCx-wnhWsCprintsec=frontcoverhl=rusource=gbs_atbredir_esc=y#v=onepageqf=false. Fitzgerald, Scott. F. The Great Gatsby. USA: NuVision Publications, 2008. Print. Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. Objective Systems Pty Ltd, 2006. Web. This essay on The stories of the dominant Gatsby and Jean Valjean was written and submitted by user Victoria Z. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Argumentative Essay Example

Argumentative Essay Accounting Regulation: Word Count: 1195 Table of Contents:Page 1. 0 Argument in favour of tight accounting regulation: 1. 1 Introduction3 1. 2 The agency problem3 1. 3 Comparability of financial statements3 1. 4 Auditing4 1. 5 Auditor’s independence concerns4 1. 6 Credibility of financial reporting4 1. 7 Conclusion5 2. 0 Argument in favour of â€Å"Free market† regulation: 2. 1 Introduction6 2. 2 Information needs6 2. 3 Market for managers7 2. 4 Market for Corporate takeovers7 2. 5 Auditing7 2. 6 Conclusion7 3. 0 Summary of both arguments and position taken:8 . 0 Footnotes:9 5. 0 References:10 1. 0 In favour of tight accounting regulation: 1. 1 Introduction: Since the share market crash of 1929, accounting regulation has been introduced and developed to avoid further economic disasters. Tight regulation of accounting standards provide users of financial information with reliable and accurate information free of charge that will contribute to informed and educated decisi on making. The aim of the following paper will be to support and confirm the need for tight regulation of accounting standard setting process. 1. 2 The Agency Problem: Management have more knowledge of the firm than outsiders such as shareholders and debt holders and could theoretically create individually tailored and individually audited financial reports to every financier. Active trading in primary and secondary markets would mean that the number of separate contracts could become very large and thus strict uniform accounting standards have evolved as a low cost and efficient solution to a potentially expensive agency problem. 1. 3 Comparability of financial statements: The development of global businesses has led to demands for greater international comparability in financial reporting. Improved comparability benefits both producers and users of financial statements. Producers would achieve cost savings by avoiding the restatement by translation of accounting information, and there would be more efficient decision making by capital providers. Financial markets would also become more liquid and competitive resulting in less information risk and a lower cost of capital to firms. 1. 4 Auditing: The free market perspective assumes that auditing will take place in the absence of regulation and thus reducing the risk to shareholders. We will write a custom essay sample on Argumentative specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Argumentative specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Argumentative specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer However how are these auditors going to effectively evaluate and analyse a company’s financial statements without a financial reporting framework to adhere to? The tighter the regulation of accounting standards, the more efficient the auditors conduct will be. External audits will be much more expensive and time consuming to comprehend the particular accounting methods the company chooses to adopt if high regulatory standards are not in place. 1. 5 Auditor’s independence concerns: Auditor’s independence has been a significant issue in recent times which has contributed to major corporate collapses such as HIH and Enron. If tight regulation is not in place auditors will need to continually interact with management to comprehend the accounting methods chosen by management. This continuous interaction with management could represent a potential risk to the auditor’s independence and possibly lead to the public witnessing further corporate failures. 1. 6 Credibility of financial reporting: A question posed by Lafferty (1979) was â€Å"How do you explain to an intelligent public that it is possible for two companies in the same industry to follow entirely different accounting principles and both get a true and fair view audit report? The public may want to know how many true and fair views there are and whether there is any common standard against which to measure them all. † 1. 7 Conclusion The agency problem solution and the comparability of financial statements both act to significantly reduce costs to the firm. The continuous interaction between management and auditors would be a considerable risk without regulated standards and is a leading incentive to maintain strong regulation of accounting. Tight regulation of accounting standards is necessary to ensure shareholders and debt holders receive an optimal amount of information to make an informed decision. . 0 In favour of â€Å"free market† regulation: 2. 1 Introduction: The â€Å"free market† perspective on accounting regulation is the theory that demand and supply forces should be allowed to freely operate so as to generate an optimal supply of information about the entity. This approach would reduce the government’s regulatory authority over accounting standards and grant corporations with the power to decide which accounting methods best suit their businesses. The aim of this paper will be to indicate and discuss the potential benefits to corporations of adopting a free market approach to accounting regulation. . 2 Information needs: A reduction of regulation would witness organisations that do not produce adequate financial information penalised by higher costs of capital. A lack of detailed information to supply debt holders with would increase the risks associated with any finance to be obtained and therefore incur higher interest rates on any loans. This would then encourage managers to produce the necessary information in the financial statements to all users without the forces of regulation. Firms whose managers acquire a reputation for failing to disclose bad news are less likely to be followed by analysts and money managers, thus reducing the price and/or liquidity of the firms stocks. 2. 3 Market for managers: Without regulation management are encouraged to adopt their own strategies to maximise the value of the firm. These strategies, if effective, would provide a favourable view of their own performance which will be known to prospective employers and be reflected in their future salaries as well as positive price movements for the firm. An optimal amount of accounting information would also need to be provided in order to achieve an effective strategy that would increase the value of the firm. 2. 4 Market for Corporate takeovers: In an active market, under – performing organisations may be taken over by another entity, with the existing managerial team possibly replaced. Managers are therefore motivated to maximise their firm’s value to avoid this happening. They will be encouraged to provide any information required by the market to minimise the cost of capital and thereby increase the value of the firm. . 5 Auditing: In the absence of regulation a contractual demand would be in effect to have the financial reports audited by an external party. The audit will then improve the reliability of the financial information which will then in turn be expected to reduce the perceived risk to shareholders and debt holders resulting in further decreases to the firm’s costs of capital. 2. 6 Conclusion: Reg ulation of accounting information is deemed to be unnecessary as the market will punish those who do not disclose, or who do not disclose enough information. Personnel reputations and the risk of a corporate takeover serve to motivate managers to provide all the necessary information to interested parties in the absence of accounting regulation. Audits would also prove to be effective at reducing the firms cost of capital if no accounting regulation existed. 3. 0 Summary: A free market approach entrusts in the market to either discipline or reward management based on the financial disclosure decisions, whereas regulation of accounting standards does not rely on the market to enforce disclosure provisions as these are already made mandatory through regulation. A strict and uniform accounting structure provides a solution to a potentially expensive agency problem. On the other hand the free market approach does not provide a means for eliminating management’s ability to individually tailor separate financial statements to outsiders. Without a solution to this problem, firms would be exposed to greater costs, and debt holders to greater risks. The free market approach relies heavily on external auditing to prevent potential increases to costs of capital in the absence of regulation, however the auditors risk breaching their independence via this approach where accounting regulation would require much less interaction and therefore lower risks. The regulation of accounting standards provides comparability of financial statements that significantly reduce translation costs and costs to capital. The free market perspective on the other hand will incur greater translation costs and increased costs to capital without the ability to compare financial statements. The above points support the continuation of tight regulation of accounting standards as the free market approach cannot account for all the significant issues that surround financial reporting. The tight regulation of accounting standards stands as the most efficient and effective method for financial reporting. 4. 0 Footnotes: 1. Brown, P, amp; Tarca, A 2001, ‘Politics, Processes and the future of accounting standards’, Abacus, Vol. 37, no. 3, p. 268. 2. Brown, P, amp; Tarca, A 2001, ‘Politics, Processes and the future of accounting standards’, Abacus, Vol. 37, no. , p. 275. 3. Lafferty, M, (1979) ‘Why it is time for another leap forward’, accountancy, p. 51. 4. Skinner, D. J. (1994), ‘Why firms voluntarily disclose bad news’, journal of accounting research, 32(1), p. 40. 5. 0 References 1. Brown, P, amp; Tarca, A 2001, ‘Politics, Processes and the future of accounting standards’, Abacus, Vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 267-96. 2. Lafferty, M, 1979 ‘Why it is time for another leap forward’, accountancy, p. 51. 3. Skinner, D. J. 1994, ‘Why firms voluntarily disclose bad news’, journal of accounting research, Vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 38-60.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Why Teachers Need Plot, Emotion and Story

Why Teachers Need Plot, Emotion and Story Why Teachers Need Plot, Emotion and Story Why Teachers Need Plot, Emotion and Story By Michael Students like stories. Teachers know that stories keep their interest. But plot, emotion, character, conflict and theme the tools of a fiction writer can be power tools for educators as well. Having an attitude in class Learning theorists have taught that students learn when they feel the need to; that in a sense, they create their own learning. Because emotion and character come from who we are, a lesson with a story motivates students to learn. When a problem is part of a story when it involves people finding a solution feels more urgent. When a California textbook talks about California earthquakes, California students pay attention. When two geological plates slip past each other and the earth quakes under the ocean, thats interesting to some students. But when it causes a tsunami and destroys peoples homes, that introduces conflict, plot, and emotion. Students remember information better in a story form. It helps me remember that Napoleons 1812 invasion of Russia was unsuccessful when I imagine how he must have felt afterwards. For one thing, he must have felt cold which helps me remember the invasion ended in winter. Even math teachers need plot, emotion, and story. Children can understand a word problem better when there is a story line to it. I may not remember the exact answer to a mathematical word problem about John preparing dinner in the kitchen, but I might remember or estimate whether John ends up with too much or too little. Will John get his fill with two cups of food, or must he squeeze by on only half a cup? When the plot (and a hungry boy) depend on the answer, children are more likely to want to understand it. The story makes the problem more interesting to the student. If the teacher or textbook takes no attitude toward the subject, students may not bother to take one either, or even pay any attention. The lecturer ends up sounding like a washing machine, and students can tell he or she is probably not trying very hard. Using emotion to get into college I remember new vocabulary words because I categorize them according to how they make me feel. I may not know the exact definition of equanimity but I know its a happy word. Im not sure I can define opprobrium either, but I know its not a happy word. I didnt learn either word from a dictionary but from my reading, where I have gathered their general meaning by repeatedly seeing them either in happy or unhappy contexts. This technique of finding emotion is at the center of the strategy I teach for taking standardized college entrance exams such as the SAT. It works because many verbal test questions are little stories, with plot and emotion. 14. Though many Americans in late 1864 viewed Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation with opprobrium, they greeted the capture of Atlanta with _______________. a. indifference b. elation c. derision d. trepidation As long as I have the feeling that opprobrium is not a happy word, I can answer that question correctly even if I hardly understand anything else. I dont have to know the history of the American Civil War, the role of President Abraham Lincoln, what the Emancipation Proclamation was, or even what, who, or where Atlanta is. I just need to imagine a crowd of Americans in 1864 hearing the latest news. The key to understanding this class of question is the conjunctive adverb though, which always tells us that the second clause carries a different emotion than the first clause. Now I know that the answer in the second clause must be a happy word, because the first clause has an unhappy word. So to answer the question correctly, I simply need to choose the happy word from the list. Again, I dont need to be able to define any of the words in the list, only to recognize whether they are happy words or not. To make the process simple, I mentally translate the question into: Though the first thingamabob was [not happy], the second thingamabob was __________. a. not happy b. happy c. not happy d. not happy I could use the same simplification technique with the conjunction but, as in The first thingamabob was [attractive, safe, whatever], but the second thingamabob was [the opposite]. The construction not only but tells us the opposite of though, that the second clause is giving us more of the same emotion as in the first clause: Not only was the thingamabob [useful], but it was [very useful, essential]. I use the slang word thingamabob to mean that it doesnt even matter what the thing actually is. What matters is the emotion in the clauses. It may sound like a vague technique, but by using it, I have achieved almost perfect scores on similar test sections in the PSAT, SAT, and GRE. Why tell stories? History is one of my favorite subjects. Even in elementary school, I would read ahead in my history book it had stories, after all. But at an earlier point in my life, I didnt appreciate history. History can be boring when teachers dont relate facts to human nature. I remember asking a teacher why we needed to study it. I wondered why we needed to learn about events that happened to other people long ago. My teacher explained that the stories of others can help us when were in similar situations. I read about a doctor who never expected to use what he had learned in his History of Medicine class, until he found himself in a prison camp without modern tools and treatments. In times of prosperity, we can draw lessons from other prosperous societies. When hard times come, its useful to know how other generations weathered hard times before us. A story is not just a way to make a lesson more interesting. A story can be the lesson itself. In December 1948, Israeli troops found the main road blocked to the central Egyptian garrison in the Negev desert. But Israeli general Yigael Yadin, an archaeologist by training, knew where a second road was. It had been abandoned thousands of years before, but with a little work, his troops made it through because their general knew old stories. 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 Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Synonyms for â€Å"Leader†Awoken or Awakened?50 Plain-Language Substitutions for Wordy Phrases

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Feminism in Jurisprudence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Feminism in Jurisprudence - Essay Example However recent theories and critical legal studies have highlighted the patriarchal elements in jurisprudence – the law itself is male, because the separation of the State and the extent of legal relief is conditioned by the separateness of the individual, a principle which is flawed in the case of women who are connected human beings. Therefore the framework of law and jurisprudence must be modified to reflect a more multicultural, multiracial and multiethnic framework in order to incorporate more voices, so that the law can serve to effectively address the needs of individuals in accordance with the circumstances. The most influential feminists are MacKinnon and Gilligan, whose theories have largely shaped female attack on existing jurisprudence. Catherine McKinnon’s crusade began with pornography, which she sought to ban. What worked against her struggle to ban pornography however, was the existence of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression. But MacKinnon appealed to the Zoning Commission in Minneapolis on the issue of pornography as follows: Catherine MacKinnon pressed for the curtailment of certain First Amendment rights through censorship, reflecting what has now become a widely debated feminist view of restriction of the rights to free speech and expression in such areas as pornography. In her view, presently it is certain powerful groups who are the only ones with the right to free speech and whose voices are heard, over and above the women and minority groups who have â€Å"been silenced by their powerlessness†2, therefore the role of Government and of jurisprudence cannot continue to be biased in favor of the powerful groups, rather the function of jurisprudence is to empower the minorities and the women. Thus, it may be seen that her views rise in opposition to the model of total