Behind The Beautiful Forevers By Katherine Boo Essay

In the Novel Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, India has entered new age of globalization that is causing growth the Indian people have never experienced before. The booming economy creates immense prosperity for a select group of Indians citizens, but still lacks opportunity for most of the poor population. With this globalization comes change to the community surrounding the people of Annawadi. The upper class citizens of India continue gaining wealth and the poor are trapped right where they have always been as stated, â€Å"There were too many people in Mumbai for them all to have jobs† (Boo pg. 13). In the novel, Kristin Boo reveals the not so pretty side of globalization by displaying the lives of the extremely poor that live next door to some of the wealthiest sections of Mumbai. A man named Abdul from this area of Mumbai is one of the leading figures of his slum. He has a sharp work ethic and runs his families recycling operation. Abduls family was one of the most well of in the slum of Annawadi at this time of prosperity. As time progresses, he gets caught up with troubles in his village and gets falsely accused of murder by a jealous neighbor. The corruption as a result of this accusation brings Abdul and his family’s lives to a major halt, leaving him with nearly nothing after all the rubble is cleared. Abduls life takes an unexpected turn due to globalization when he rises to the top, gets caught up in corruption, and has to look for newShow MoreRelatedBehind The Beautiful Forevers By Katherine Boo2015 Words   |  9 PagesBehind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo is a documented version of life in a Mumbai slum. The â€Å"story† revolves around the life, death, and hope in the undercity of Annawadi. The book thrusts the reader into the hidden worlds behind the lavish living of the rich and into the lives of people that are impossible to forget. Originally published February 7th, 2012 by Random House in New York, Katherine Boo writes about the apparent economic inequality occurring in the Mumbai undercity. This tellingRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Behind The Beautiful Forevers By Katherine Boo912 Words   |  4 Pages Corruption in Poor Communities The book Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, addresses the corruption of a slum in India called Annawadi. Annawadi is a small, poor area in the shadows of luxurious hotels and an airport near Mumbai. The poor community struggles to make a living and hold on to a hope of one day reaching success since India is improving economically. As India is improving economically, Annawadi seems to stay the same because of the people who abuse theirRead MoreAnalysis Of Katherine Boo s Behind The Beautiful Forevers2398 Words   |  10 PagesThe money is going directly into the hands of corrupt governments and corporations, who constantly use it improperly. This aspect of money misuse is clearly illustrated in Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Boo focuses the book on the impoverished slum of Annawadi, located in Mumbai, India. Throughout the book, Boo shows examples of how the citizens of Annawadi are stuck in a poverty trap because of the countryâ €™s inconsistent and inefficient systems, leading to the failure of sustainableRead MoreA Cultural Analysis Of Katherine Boo s Behind The Beautiful Forevers1728 Words   |  7 Pages Summer Essay A Cultural Analysis of Katherine Boo’s Behind The Beautiful Forevers INTRODUCTION Culture: â€Å"the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group† (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, definition 5b). In her book Behind The Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo examines issues of culture, integrating them into a unique, nonfiction work. Ms. Boo—an award winning journalist—uses her life experiences as well as the cultureRead MoreBehind the Beautiful Forevers Essay1136 Words   |  5 Pagesas seen in Behind the Beautiful Forevers The city of Mumbai has seen much growth in the past years. A string of elegant hotels have been set up for travelers and high-class business men. An ever growing, top of the line airport has been built for those coming in and out of the country. From the outside, Mumbai seems to have taken a liking to being internationally integrated with the rest of world, otherwise known as globalization. This is not the case, however; as seen in Katherine Boo’s novelRead MoreBehind The Beautiful Forevers Essay1576 Words   |  7 PagesKatherine Boo’s implicit purpose for writing Behind the Beautiful Forevers was to give the reader an inside look at a day in the life of an individual living within a slum of Mumbai. The residents of the Mumbai slum, Annawadi, live upon piles of waste where there is minimal opportunity to create a better life for themselves. For example, residents within the slums of Mumbai scavenge through â€Å"mounds of illegally dumped construction rubble† (73) in hopes of making a profit off recyclable materialsRead MoreBehind the Beautiful Forevers Analysis1198 Words   |  5 Pageswritings of the slums that surround the luxury hotels of Mumbai’s airport are very, very real. Katherine Boo’s book â€Å"Behind the Beautiful Forevers – Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity† does not attempt to solve problems or be an expert on social policy; instead, Boo provides the reader with an objective window into the battles between extremities of wealth and poverty. â€Å"Behind the Beautiful Forevers,† then, exposes the paucity and corruption prevalent within India. Boo’s story begins in AnnawadiRead MoreBased on True Events A Glance into the Nonfiction Novel Genre979 Words   |  4 Pagesnovel journey began, beginning with the narrative journalistic qualities of Truman Capote, continuing with the story telling of such authors as Norman Mailer, and then continues to stay constant throughout present day literature with works like Katherine Boo’s display of immersion journalism. Truman Capote is said to have invented this new genre in 1966 with, what some call his finest work, the book In Cold Blood (â€Å"Truman Capote†). In Cold Blood details the 1959 murders of Herbert Clutter, his wifeRead MoreAnalysis Of Behind The Beautiful Forevers 1101 Words   |  5 PagesKatherine Boo, a staff writer at The New Yorker and former reporter and editor at The Washington Post, has worked for over two decades â€Å"reporting within poor communities, considering how societies distribute opportunity and how individuals get out of poverty† (Boo 257). In November 2007, she and her husband, an Indian citizen, moved from the United States to India to study a group of slum dwellers in Annawadi, Mumbai (Boo 249). While studying this group of individuals in India from 2007 to 2011Read MoreCorruption as a Difficulty in Everyday Annawadian Life1470 Words   |  6 PagesCorruption as a Difficulty in Everyday Annawadian Life In Katherine Boo’s novel Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity we are thrown into a slum in Mumbai, Annawadi and are shown that corruption is an undeniable difficulty that the Annawadians face in their everyday lives. â€Å"For every two people in Annawadi inching up, there was one in a catastrophic plunge† (24) the people of Annawadi are in such a state because of all the corruption. As soon as they get ahead

The Conflict Between Adolescents And Adolescents - 1319 Words

An individual may come in conclusion that this play is not just any other play that has many different types of ideas, this play it relates to a situation that actually occurs in the real world. This situation is difficult nowadays due to the reason that adolescents express their emotions through the internet rather than expressing them with an adult or a friend. With that being said, if someone receives hears this information, then he or she will assume that the adolescent does not have trust. Therefore, one of the basic themes that fits perfect for this play is Trust. Another individual may say that the basic theme of this play is Power of Words. This theme can be backed up through perceiving that individuals in today’s world are afraid being themselves around other people. All because of one reason, being frightened of what people are going to say about them. Everybody has their own different opinion about other individuals being homosexual, some will follow the bible, some will follow their parents’ opinion, and others just have their own perspective opinion towards homosexuality. However, at the end of the day, whatever people follow, some homosexuals are still afraid listening to those people’s opinion about homosexuality. Homosexuals are not worried if they are going to get assaulted or killed because of their preference on gender, they are more worried on people s reaction that may ruined their self- esteem. That is how much power words have. In my perspective,Show MoreRelatedWhat Causes Conflict Between Adolescents and Their Parents Essay1248 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Conflicts in the family are usually considered as an undesirable symptom of a problem that need to be solved by family members. 1 In the family relationships, the parent-adolescent relationship represents an involuntary association, an imbalance of power and resources, and an obligation for the parent to function as caregiver. 2 While the presenting problem with most families is obviously parent-adolescent conflict. Adolescence is a period of increasing parent-child conflict and conflictsRead MoreParental Power And Adult Authority1473 Words   |  6 Pagesto child control. Types of parental power indicate the methods parents use to exert their influence on the child† (Vargas, Busch-Rossnagel, Montero-Sieburth, and Villarruel, 2000). However, a recent study found that Hispanic children who are between the ages of four and six often struggle with depression, anxiety, and somatization due to common parenting styles within Hispanic culture (Cohen, 2015). Hispanic parents tend to control by teaching their children to be obedient and show absoluteRead MoreGender And Ethnic Background On Adolescent Development997 Words   |  4 Pagessuch as the neighborhood in which the adolescent lives, their socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic background, play a role in their development. A spectrum that considers a multifaceted framework, provides a platform to enhance one’s understanding of the assessment outcomes. According to Hill, Bromell, Tyson Flint (2007), the stages of adolescent development from ages eight to sixteen, involve biological, social, and cognitive components. Adolescents move through phases of identity developmentRead MoreAdolescence And Young Adulthood : Young Relationships And Delinquency143 6 Words   |  6 Pagesculture, it is easy to assume that young relationships are innocent and do not enable any issues in the adolescents cognitive or physical development. The main concern of Ming Cui et al. is that dating in early adolescence can impede developmental adjustment (Serafini Rye Drysdale, 2013, pg. 253). The reason for this concern is that there is more research showing that there is an association between romantic relationships and delinquency in adolescence and young adulthood (Serafini Rye DrysdaleRead MorePuberty And Its Effect On The Family1479 Words   |  6 Pageswere white, highly educated and from upper middle class families with one parent and one adolescent from each family participating. The study tried to use equal numbers of fathers and mothers as much as possible but complete equality was not always possible because more mothers participated than fathers. The adolescents were between the ages of 10 and 17 years old and were various stages of pube rty. Each adolescent was assessed based on their visible signs of secondary sex features such as facial hairRead MoreA Reflection of Stage 5 of Erik Eriksons 8 Stages of Psychosocial Development646 Words   |  3 Pagesto 18, and the basic conflict inherent in the adolescent stage, which the person must resolve, is between identity and role confusion. This conflict between identity and role confusion especially plays itself out in peer relationships, but the teenager also navigates through identity and role confusion with relationships in the family unit. Identity and role confusion issues can arise with sexuality, as well as worldviews. Eriksons stages can show how to distinguish between healthy and dysfunctionalRead MoreAdolescent s Relationship With A Biological And Step Parent1401 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction: When a parent begins a serious relationship after divorce, there is a change in family dynamics which can affect the adolescent in several ways. An adolescent’s emotional well-being is affected due to the sudden change in one’s life. A new relationship can cause conflict in that when both families come together to form one unit, each family is bringing in one’s own set of beliefs and feelings. In order for a family to become one unit, each member of the family must be a cohesive systemRead MoreDevelopmental Stages And Theories Of Development861 Words   |  4 Pagesdeal with or cope with the conflicts of a certain stage of life before they can move on to a higher level of development (Ashford et al, 2013). He organized eight different stages of psychosocial development from infancy to old age. Each of the eight stages represents an internal conflict that will greatly define who and individual becomes and the choices they will make later in life based on their experiences within each stage. During the adolescent years, the conflict of interest in Erikson’sRead MoreUnderstanding The Link Between Gender Role Conflict, Resilience, And Victimization997 Words   |  4 Pagesand the world have faced many difficulties in life. This leads to the problem of suicide. Within the article Understanding the Link Between Gender Role Conflict, Resilience, and Propensity for Suicide in Adolescent and Emerging Adult Males, multiple authors focuses mainly on suicide rates in adolescent males. Suicide is a major contribution to death among people between the ages 10-24 with â€Å"28.5% of youth ages 10-24 feeling frequent sadness or hopelessness, 13% making a suicide plan, and 8.4% of youthRead MoreEssay about Adolescent Depression1718 Words   |  7 Pagesperiod is a common occurrence according to the research findings of Goodwin, Mrug, Borch, Cillessen, 2012). in fact according to research adolescents is the peek age for onset of depression during this time (1). There are many causes of depression among late to early adolescents. Over the years research has concluded that the most prevalent causes of adolescent depression is , genetics, absence of parental protection, low self-esteem, child abuse (of all types) , faulty interpersonal relationships

Process Innovation Reengineering Work

Question: Discuss about the Process Innovation for Reengineering Work. Answer: Introduction The study focuses on defining expenditure cycle while covering the concepts of ordering and receiving goods along with the use of retailing and distribution link. Apart from that, a situation of a company named Fruito has been facing issues in the accounting process. Potential impact of the recognized threat will be described. Expenditure cycle is defined as the set of actions and purchasing decisions. Expenditure cycle is considered as a repetitive process that is responsible for creating various purchased orders, ordered goods, receiving the products, approving invoices of the purchased items, and lastly paying the invoices. Every shoppers and companies while making purchase every time use expenditure cycle. It is used to buy the products and to compare the process of pricing and choosing the suppliers. Shoppers in the next time will make a purchase after choosing the appropriate mode of payment (Sueyoshi Goto, 2013). Expenditure cycle of a company consists of few procedures. They are described in the following: Purchasing Decision: Firms requires raw materials for production of goods and services. For purchasing the goods business owners will consider few things in terms of pricing and choosing right mode of payment. Ordering Materials: Pricing is the next step after purchasing. After that, the company agent will confirm about the terms and conditions return policies and delivery times. The company agent will fill the order after confirmation (Kellermann Jones, 2013). Receiving Materials: After receiving the order, the purchasing agent will clear the invoice and will check about any discrepancies in terms of returns and credits. Inventory and storage: Once the order is received, they are properly stored at the inventory. The excess materials are stored in the inventory or shipped to the warehouse in order to prevent deterioration and loss. Payment: It is the last stage of the whole expenditure cycle, where company agent clears the payment and completes the whole expenditure cycle. Modes of payments include different forms of credits, checks and cash, etc. However, payments of the gods also include credits and cash for the damaged products and any other discounts or incomplete orders (Amoako, 2013). Risks Faced by Fruito Fruito is a company that deals with selling fruits and vegetables in its company owned shops and distributing the products into other local businesses such as hotels and restaurants. However, it is found that the company is facing risks while completing the whole processes of expenditure cycle. Fruito faces problems in terms of ordering the fruits and vegetables and receiving the products from its potential suppliers. Threats in ordering the products are discussed below: Ordering unnecessary items Purchasing inferior quality fruits and vegetables Purchasing from unauthorized suppliers Purchasing fruits at inflated prices Excess inventory and stock outs. Threats related to receiving fruits are as follows: Receiving unordered fruits Theft of inventory Errors in terms of counting the received fruits and vegetables These are the possible threats that are faced by Fruito in their process of operating the expenditure cycle. The risks will hamper the result of the whole expenditure cycle. The financial department of the company will face issue in calculating the profitability of the company. The risks are responsible for the decreased productivity of the company and supervising the accounts payable department of the company (Hall, 2012). Potential impact of each threat Stock out or excess inventory can result into loss of the products. As fruits and vegetables are perishable products, hence they will perish early if excess amount of inventory is stored. Ordering unnecessary fruits will lead to rotten of fruits and loss of money. As there is a fixed rate of selling and distribution of the products, hence unnecessary items can not be stored for a long time. Purchasing fruits at inflated price leads to loss of money for the company (Davenport, 2013). Purchasing inferior quality of fruits and vegetables will ultimately leads to fast rotten of fruits along with diminished reputation from customers and clients. It will recur both monetary and non-monetary loss from all sides. Purchasing from unauthorized suppliers is a disadvantage in terms of quality of the fruits and vegetables (Amoako, 2013). In terms of receiving the ordered goods, receiving unordered goods will lead to increase of inventory at excess that will lead to loss of fruits and vegetables. Sometimes the purchasing agents can make error in counting the products during the time of delivery of the ordered goods from the suppliers facility. Error in counting leads to loss of money as well as improper delivery of fruits to the retail shops as well as to clients. Theft of inventory is a problem of irregular delivery of products to the clients. Hence, the demand and supply of goods are not met properly (Zadek et al., 2013). Reducing risk by implementation of control Risks are reduced by the following implementation of control related to the particular risks. For stock outs and excess inventory, use of perpetual inventory method, supplier performance reports, periodical physical accounts, and sales forecasting accurate inventory control. In case of ordering unnecessary items, databases of different divisions along with production reports must be integrated. At the time of inflation, catalogs of low cost fruits, checking prices of frequently used fruits, reviewing purchase orders, and performance review can be practiced (Collier, 2015). Reducing inferior fruits can be done by reviewing purchase orders, using approved list of suppliers. Unauthorized suppliers can be reduced by periodic review of the list of suppliers, and restriction of the access to list of suppliers (Belo et al., 2013). Accepting fruits on the approved purchased order will reduce unordered goods. Signature of the clerks and bar coding of the ordered fruits reduces errors in counting. Documentation of transfers of intra company, segregation of duties and securing storage locations will reduce theft in inventory (Hall, 2012). Conclusion An initial internal audit will be conducted to identify the threats in the process of ordering and receiving goods in the process of expenditure cycle. The audit has pointed out the above risks and their potential impact to the company in its business operations. Apart from that, proper implementation of controls is also recommended to the company for minimizing the risks. References Amoako, G. K. (2013). Accounting practices of SMEs: A case study of Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana.International Journal of Business and Management,8(24), 73. Belo, F., Gala, V. D., Li, J. (2013). Government spending, political cycles, and the cross section of stock returns.Journal of Financial Economics,107(2), 305-324. Collier, P. M. (2015).Accounting for managers: Interpreting accounting information for decision making. John Wiley Sons. Davenport, T. H. (2013).Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Harvard Business Press. Hall, J. A. (2012).Accounting information systems. Cengage Learning. Kellermann, A. L., Jones, S. S. (2013). What it will take to achieve the as-yet-unfulfilled promises of health information technology.Health Affairs,32(1), 63-68. Sueyoshi, T., Goto, M. (2013). A use of DEADA to measure importance of RD expenditure in Japanese information technology industry.Decision Support Systems,54(2), 941-952. Zadek, S., Evans, R., Pruzan, P. (2013).Building corporate accountability: Emerging practice in social and ethical accounting and auditing. Routledge.

Chapter 1 Course Notes Essay Example

Chapter 1 Course Notes Essay Financial Accounting Theory and Analysis 10e Chapter 1 The Development of Accounting Theory What is Theory? Webster defines theory as â€Å"Systematically organized knowledge, applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances; a system of assumptions, accepted principles and rules of procedure to analyze, predict or otherwise explain the nature of behavior of a specified set of phenomena. † Why is the development of a general theory of accounting important? The development of a general theory of accounting is because of the role accounting plays in our economic society. We live in a capitalistic society which is characterized by a self-regulated market that operates through the forces of supply and demand. What is the relationship of accounting research to accounting theory? The goal of accounting theory is to provide a set of principles and relationships that explains observed practices and predicts unobserved practices. That is, accounting theory should be able to explain why companies elect certain accounting methods over others and should enable users to predict the attributes of firms that elect various accounting methods. And as in other disciplines, accounting theory should also be verifiable through accounting research. Accounting research is needed to attain a more general theory of accounting, and in this regard the various theories of accounting that have been posited must be subjected to verification. The Early History of Accounting We will write a custom essay sample on Chapter 1 Course Notes specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Chapter 1 Course Notes specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Chapter 1 Course Notes specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Zenon Papyri * Accounting records have been found to date back several thousand years in various parts of the world. Discovered in 1915, the Zenon Papyri contained information Apollonius private estate for a period of about 30 years concerning construction projects, agricultural activities, and business operations during the 3rd century B. C. According to Hain, this â€Å"surprisingly elaborate accounting system† was used in Greece since the fi fth century B. C. â€Å"Zenon’s accounting system contained provisions for esponsibility accounting, a written record of all transactions, a personal account for wages paid to employees, inventory records, and a record of asset acquisitions and disposals. In addition, there is evidence that all the accounts were audited. † The Impact of the Renaissance * It wasn’t until approximately 1300-1500 the need arose for more accurate records due to the Italians merchants vigoursly pursing trade and commerce. Italian merchan ts borrowed Arabic numeral system and the basis of arithmetic and an evolving trend toward the present double entry book keeping system developed. In 1494 an Italian monk, Fra Luca Pacioli, wrote a book on arithmetic that included a description of double-entry bookkeeping. Pacioli’s work, Summa de Arithmetica Geometria Proportioniet Proportionalita, did not fully describe double-entry bookkeeping; rather, it formalized the practices and ideas that had been evolving over the years. Double-entry bookkeeping enabled business organizations to keep complete records of transactions and ultimately resulted in the ability to prepare financial statements. The evolution of joint ventures into ongoing businesses As ongoing business organizations replaced isolated ventures, it became necessary to develop accounting records and reports that reflected a continuing investment of capital employed in various ways and to periodically summarize the results of activities. By the nineteenth century, bookkeeping expanded into accounting, and the concept that the owner’s original contribution, plus or minus profits or losses, indicated net worth emerged. However, profit was considered an increase in assets from any source, as the concepts of cost and income were yet to be developed. Another factor that influenced the development of accounting during the nineteenth century was the evolution in England of joint ventures into business corporations. Under the corporate form of business, owners (stockholders) may not be management. Thus many individuals, external to the business itself, needed information about the corporation’s activities. Moreover, owners and prospective owners wanted to evaluate whether stockholder investments have yielded a return. As a consequence, the emerging existence of corporations created a need for periodic reporting as well as a need to distinguish between capital and income. The impact of the industrial revolution and the progressive movement The industrial revolution and the succession of the Companies Acts in England also increased the need for professional standards and accountants. In the later part of the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution arrived in the United States, bringing the need for more formal accounting procedures and standards. Railroads became a major economic influence. These companies created the need for supporting industries, which in turn led to increases in the market for corporate securities and an increased need for trained accountants as the separation of the management and ownership functions became more distinct. The concept of capital maintenance The major concern of accounting during the early 1900s was the development of a theory that could cope with corporate abuses that were occurring at that time, and capital maintenance emerged as a concept. This concept evolved from maintaining invested capital intact to maintaining the physical productive capacity of the firm to maintaining real capital. In essence, this last view of capital maintenance was an extension of the economic concept of income (see Chapter 5) that there could be no increase in wealth unless the stockholder or the firm were better off at the end of the period than at the beginning. The accountant as a protector of business interests World War I changed the public’s attitude toward the business sector. Many people believed that the successful completion of the war could at least partially be attributed to the ingenuity of American business. As a consequence, the public perceived that business had reformed and that external regulation was no longer necessary. The accountant’s role changed from protector of third parties to protector of business interests. Critics of accounting practice during the 1920s suggested that accountants abdicated the stewardship role, placed too much emphasis on the needs of management, and permitted too much flexibility in financial reporting. During this time financial statements were viewed as the representations of management, and accountants did not have the ability to require businesses to use accounting principles they did not wish to employ. The result of this attitude is well known. In 1929 the stock market crashed and the Great Depression ensued. Although accountants were not initially blamed for these events, the possibility of governmental intervention in the corporate sector loomed. Accounting in the United States since 1930 Meetings between NYSE and AIA One of the first attempts to improve accounting began shortly after the inception of the Great Depression with a series of meetings between representatives of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the American Institute of Accountants. The purpose of these meetings was to discuss problems pertaining to the interests of investors, the NYSE, and accountants in the preparation of external financial statements. The cooperative efforts between the members of the NYSE and the AIA were well received. However, the post-Depression atmosphere in the United States was characterized by regulation. There was even legislation introduced that would have required auditors to be licensed by the federal government after passing a civil service examination. AAA Similarly, in 1935 the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting changed its name to the American Accounting Association (AAA) and announced its intention to expand its activities in the research and development of accounting principles and standards. The first result of these expanded activities was the publication, in 1936, of a brief report cautiously titled â€Å"A Tentative Statement of Accounting Principles Underlying Corporate Financial Statements. † The four-and-one-half-page document summarized the significant concepts underlying financial statements at that time. SEC (Securities And Exchange Commission) Two of the most important pieces of legislation passed at this time were the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which established the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC was created to administer various securities acts. Under powers provided by Congress, the SEC was given the authority to prescribe accounting principles and reporting practices. Nevertheless, because the SEC has acted as an overseer and allowed the private sector to develop accounting principles, this authority has seldom been used. However, the SEC has exerted pressure on the accounting profession and has been especially interested in narrowing areas of difference in accounting practice. * Securities Act of 1933 A federal piece of legislation enacted as a result of the market crash of 1929. The legislation had two main goals: (1) to ensure more transparency in financial statements so investors can make informed decisions about investments, and (2) to establish laws against misrepresentation and fraudulent activities in the securities markets. * Securities Exchange Act of 1934 The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 was created to provide governance of securities transactions on the secondary market (after issue) and regulate the exchanges and broker-dealers in order to protect the investing public. Committee on Accounting Procedure The AICPA’s Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP) was formed in 1936. The committee had authority to issue pronouncements on matters of accounting practice and procedure in order to establish generally accepted practices. CAP was relatively inactive during its first two years, but became more active in response to the SEC’s release of ASR No. 4. One of the first responses was to expand CAP membership from 7 to 21. Major concerns were: * Use of the historical cost model of accounting. The then-accepted definition of assets as unamortized cost was seen by some critics as allowing management too much flexibility in deciding when to charge costs to expense. * The impact on inflation on reported profits. Lobbies were held by several companies in the 1940s for the use of replacement cost depreciation. Both CAP and the SEC rejected the efforts. This decade long debate didn’t until Congress passed legislation in 1954 amending the IRS Tax Code to allow accelerated depreciation. CAP works were originally published in the form of Accounting Research Bulletins (ARBs). The pronouncements did not dictate mandatory practice and received authority only from their general acceptance. The Accounting Research Bulletins were consolidated in 1953 into Accounting Terminology Bulletin No. 1, â€Å"Review and Resume† and ARB No 43 through 51 was published from 1953 until 1959. The recommendations of these bulletins that have not been superseded are contained in the FASB Accounting Standards Codifications. Accounting Principles Board By 1959 the methods of formulating accounting principles were being questioned as not arising from research or based on theory. The CAP was also criticized for acting in a piecemeal fashion and issuing standards that, in many cases, were inconsistent. Additionally, all of its members were part-time and as a result their independence was questioned. Finally, the fact that all of the CAP members were required to be AICPA members prevented many financial executives, investors, and academics from serving on the committee. As a result, accountants and financial statement users were calling for wider representation in the development of accounting principles. The AICPA responded to the alleged shortcomings of the CAP by forming the Accounting Principles Board (APB). The objectives of this body were to advance the written expression of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), to narrow areas of difference in appropriate practice, and to in the method of establishing accounting principles was quickly squelched when the first APB chairman, Weldon Powell, voiced his belief that accounting research was more applied and pure and that the usefulness of the end product was a major concern. The APB was composed of from seventeen to twenty-one members, who were selected primarily from the accounting profession but also included individuals from industry, government, and academia. Initially, the pronouncements of the APB, termed â€Å"opinions,† were not mandatory practice; however, the issuance of APB Opinion No. 2 (see FASB ASC 740-10-25 and 45) and a subsequent partial retraction contained in APB Opinion No. 4 (see FASB ASC 740-10-50) highlighted the need for standard-setting groups to have more authority. Financial Accounting Standards Board Due to the growing criticism of the APB, in 1971 the board of directors of the AICPA appointed two committees. The Wheat Committee, chaired by Francis Wheat, was to study how financial accounting principles should be established. The Trueblood Committee, chaired by Robert Trueblood, was asked to determine the objectives of financial statements. The Wheat Committee issued its report in 1972 recommending that the APB be abolished and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) be created. In contrast to the APB, whose members were all from the AICPA, this new board was to comprise representatives from various organizations. The members of the FASB were also to be full-time paid employees, unlike the APB members, who served part-time and were not paid. the Accounting Principles Board Formation and structure The APB was composed of from seventeen to twenty-one members, who were selected primarily from the accounting profession but also included individuals from industry, government, and academia. Types of pronouncements * APB Opinions Initially, the pronouncements of the APB, termed â€Å"opinions,† were not mandatory practice; however, the issuance of APB Opinion No. 2 (see FASB ASC 740-10-25 and 45) and a subsequent partial retraction contained in APB Opinion No. (see FASB ASC 740-10-50) highlighted the need for standard-setting groups to have more authority. The flap over accounting for the investment tax Credit This controversy was over the proper method to use in accounting for the investment tax credit. In the early 1960s the country was suffering from the effects of a recession. After Presid ent John F. Kennedy took office, his advisors suggested an innovative fiscal economic policy that involved a direct income tax credit (as opposed to a tax deduction) based on a percentage of the cost of a qualified investment. Congress passed legislation creating the investment tax credit in 1961. The APB was then faced with deciding how companies should record and report the effects of the investment tax credit. It considered two alternative approaches: 1. The flow-through method, which treated the tax credit as a decrease in income tax expense in the year it occurred. 2. The deferred method, which treated the tax credit as a reduction in the cost of the asset and therefore was reflected over the life of the asset through Rule 203 The lack of support for some of the APB’s pronouncements and concern over the formulation and acceptance of GAAP caused the Council of the AICPA to adopt Rule 203 of the Code of Professional Ethics. 10 This rule requires departures from accounting principles published in APB Opinions or Accounting Research Bulletins (or subsequently FASB Statements and now the FASB ASC) to be disclosed in footnotes to financial statements or in independent auditors’ reports when the effects of such departures are material. This action has had the effect of requiring companies and public accountants who deviate from authoritative pronouncements to justify such departures. Criticism of the APB 1. The independence of the members of the APB. The individuals serving on the board had full-time responsibilities elsewhere that might influence their views of certain issues. 2. The structure of the board. The largest eight public accounting firms (at that time) were automatically awarded one member, and there were usually five or six other public accountants on the APB. 3. Response time. The emerging accounting problems were not being investigated and solved quickly enough by the part-time members. The financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) The Wheat Committee The Wheat Committee, chaired by Francis Wheat, was to study how financial accounting principles should be established. The AICPA quickly adopted the Wheat Committee recommendations, and the FASB became the official body charged with issuing accounting standards. The Trueblood Committee The Trueblood Committee, chaired by Robert Trueblood, was asked to determine the objectives of fi nancial statements. The FASB was established The Wheat Committee issued its report in 1972 recommending that the APB be abolished and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) be created. The structure of the FASB The structure of the FASB is as follows. A board of trustees nominated by organizations whose members have special knowledge and interest in financial reporting is selected. The organizations originally chosen to select the trustees were the American Accounting Association; the AICPA; the Financial Executives Institute; the National Association of Accountants (The NAA’s ame was later changed to Institute of Management Accountants in 1991), and the Financial Analysts Federation. In 1997 the board of trustees added four members from public interest organizations. The board that governs the FASB is the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF). The FAF appoints the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), which advises the FASB on major policy issues, the selection of tas k forces, and the agenda of topics. The number of members on the FASAC varies from year to year. The bylaws call for at least twenty members to be appointed. However, the actual number of members has grown to about thirty in recent years to obtain representation from a wider group of interested parties. FASB Mission The FASB’s mission is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of financial information. In attempting to accomplish this mission, the FASB seeks to: 1. Improve the usefulness of financial reporting by focusing on the primary characteristics of relevance and reliability and on the qualities of comparability and consistency 2. Keep standards current to reflect changes in methods of doing business and changes in the economic environment 3. Consider promptly any significant areas of deficiency in financial reporting that might be improved through the standard-setting process 4. Promote the international comparability of accounting standards concurrent with improving the quality of financial reporting 5. Improve the common understanding of the nature and purposes of information contained in financial reports Type of Pronouncements * Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts Statements of Financial Accounting Standards * Interpretations * Technical Bullentins Originally, the FASB issued two types of pronouncements, Statements of Financial Accounting Standards (SFASs) and Interpretations. Subsequently, the FASB established two new series of releases: (1) Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts (SFACs) and (2) Technical Bulletins. SFASs conveyed required accounting methods and procedures for specific accou nting issues and officially created GAAP. Interpretations were modifications or extensions of issues pronouncements. SFACs are intended to establish the objectives and concepts that the FASB will use in developing standards of financial accounting and reporting. To date, the FASB has issued seven SFACs, which are discussed in depth in Chapters 2, 6, and 7. SFACs differed from Statements of Financial Accounting Standards in that they did not establish GAAP. Similarly, they are not intended to invoke Rule 203 of the Rules of Conduct of the Code of Professional Ethics. It is anticipated that the major beneficiary of these SFACs will be the FASB itself. However, knowledge of the objectives and concepts the board uses should enable financial statement users to better understand the content and limitations of financial accounting information. Technical Bulletins were strictly interpretive in nature and did not establish new standards or amend existing standards. They were intended to provide guidance on financial accounting and reporting problems on a timely basis. Emerging Issues One of the fi rst criticisms of the FASB was for failing to provide timely guidance on emerging implementation and practice problems. During 1984 the FASB responded to this criticism by (1) establishing a task force, the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), to assist in identifying issues and problems that might require action; and (2) expanding the scope of the FASB Technical Bulletins in an effort to offer quicker guidance on a wider variety of issues. The EITF was formed in response to two confl icting issues. On the one hand, accountants are faced with a variety of issues that are not fully addressed in accounting pronouncements, such as interest rate swaps or new fi nancial instruments. These and other new issues need immediate resolution. On the other hand, many accountants maintain that the ever-increasing body of professional pronouncements has created a standards overload problem (discussed in more detail below). The FASB established the EITF in an attempt to simultaneously address both issues. The goal of the EITF is to provide timely guidance on new issues while limiting the number of issues whose resolutions require formal pronouncements by the FASB. Standards Overload One of the fi rst criticisms of the FASB was for failing to provide timely guidance on emerging implementation and practice problems. During 1984 the FASB responded to this criticism by (1) establishing a task force, the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), to assist in identifying issues and problems that might require action; and (2) expanding the scope of the FASB Technical Bulletins in an effort to offer quicker guidance on a wider variety of issues. The EITF was formed in response to two confl icting issues. On the one hand, accountants are faced with a variety of issues that are not fully addressed in accounting pronouncements, such as interest rate swaps or new fi nancial instruments. These and other new issues need immediate resolution. On the other hand, many accountants maintain that the ever-increasing body of professional pronouncements has created a standards overload problem (discussed in more detail below). The FASB established the EITF in an attempt to simultaneously address both issues. The goal of the EITF is to provide timely guidance on new issues while limiting the number of issues whose resolutions require formal pronouncements by the FASB. Standard setting as a political process A highly infl uential academic accountant stated that accounting standards are as much a product of political action as they are of careful logic or empirical fi ndings. 15 This phenomenon exists because a variety of parties are interested in and affected by the development of accounting standards. Various users of accounting information have found that the best way to infl uence the formulation of accounting standards is to attempt to infl uence the standard setters. The CAP, APB, and FASB have all come under a great deal of pressure to develop or amend standards so as to benefi t a particular user group. For example, the APB had originally intended to develop a comprehensive theory of accounting before attempting to solve any current problems; however, this approach was abandoned when it was determined that such an effort might take up to fi ve years and that the SEC would not wait that long before taking action. The Business Roundtable engaged in what initially was a successful effort (later reversed) to increase the required consensus for passage of a SFAS from a simple majority to fi ve of the seven members of the FASB. Congressional action was threatened over the FASB’s proposed elimination of the pooling of interest method of accounting for business combinations (see Chapter 16). Two of the most notable examples of the politicizing of accounting standards involved the issues of employee stock options and fair value accounting. Economic Consequences The increased pressure on the standard-setting process is not surprising, considering that many accounting standards have signifi cant economic consequences. Economic consequences refers to the impact of accounting reports on various segments of our economic society. This concept holds that the accounting practices a company adopts affect its security price and value. Consequently, the choice of accounting methods infl uences decision making rather than just refl ecting the results of these decisions. Consider the release of the FASB’s pronouncement on other postretirement benefi ts (OPRBs) FASB Statement No. 106, â€Å"Other Post Retirement Benefi ts† (see FASB ASC 715-10-30, 60, and 80). The accounting guidelines for OPRBs required companies to change from a pay-as-you-go basis to an accrual basis for health care and other benefi ts that companies provide to retirees and their dependents. The accrual basis requires companies to measure the obligation to provide future services and accrue these costs during the years employees provide service. This change in accounting caused a large increase in recorded expenses for many companies. Consequently, a number of companies simply ceased providing such benefi ts to their employees, at a large social cost. The impact on our economic society of accounting for OPRBs illustrates the need for the FASB to fully consider both the necessity to further develop sound reporting practices and the possible economic consequences of new codifi cation content. Accounting standard setting does not exist in a vacuum. It cannot be completely insulated from political pressures, nor can it avoid carefully evaluating the possible ramifi cations of standard setting. gaap Evolution of phrase: * Changed wording of auditor’s certificate brought about by meetings between NYSE and AIA One result of the meetings between the AICPA and members of the NYSE following the onset of the Great Depression was a revision in the wording of the certifi cate issued by CPAs. The opinion paragraph formerly stated that the fi nancial statements had been examined and were accurate. The terminology was changed to say that the statements are â€Å"fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. † This expression is now interpreted as encompassing the conventions, rules, and procedures that are necessary to explain accepted accounting practice at a given time. Therefore fi nancial statements are fair only to the extent that the principles are fair and the statements comply with the principles. * The APB’s definition * The Auditing Standards Executive Committee’s definition The current sources of GAAP consist of four levels described as A, B, C, and D by Statement of Auditing Standards No 69 he business reporting research project Steering Committee Working Group the role of ethics in accounting Ethics are concerned with the types of behavior society considers right and wrong. Accounting ethics incorporate social standards of behavior as well as behavioral standards that relate specifi cally to the profession. The e nvironment of public accounting has become ethically complex. The accountants’ Code of Professional Ethics developed by the AICPA has evolved over time, and as business transactions have become more and more complex, ethical issues have also become more complex. Accounting in Crisis – the events of the early 2000s On January 1, 2001, Enron’s stock was selling for over $90 per share. From that time until the early summer of 2001, nineteen investment research fi rms reviewed its performance and twelve had given it a â€Å"strong buy† recommendation, while fi ve others had recommended it as â€Å"buy. †27 Additionally, the company’s 2000 annual report indicated that its auditor had not found any signifi cant accounting problems. However, on August 14, 2001, it was announced that the company’s president, Jeffery Skilling, had resigned after only six months on the job for â€Å"purely personal reasons. Enron used what were termed special-purpose entities (SPEs) now termed variable interest entities (VIEs) to access capital and hedge risk. 28 By using SPEs such as limited partnerships with outside parties, a company may be permitted to increase its fi nancial leverage and return on assets without reportin g debt on its balance sheet. 29 The arrangement works as follows: An entity contributes fi xed assets and related debt to an SPE in exchange for an ownership interest. The SPE then borrows large sums of money from a fi nancial institution to purchase assets or conduct other business without the debt or assets showing up on the originating company’s fi nancial statements. The originating company can also sell leveraged assets to the SPE and record a profi t. At the time these transactions took place, the FASB required that only 3 percent of a SPE be owned by an outside investor. If this guideline is met, the SPE didn’t need to be consolidated and the SPE’s debt was not disclosed on the originating company’s fi nancial statements. Enron used SPEs to new degrees of complexity and sophistication, capitalizing them with not only a variety of fi xed assets and liabilities but also extremely complex derivative fi nancial instruments, its own restricted stock, rights to acquire its stock, and related liabilities. Additionally, as Enron’s fi nancial dealings became more complicated, the company apparently also transferred troubled assets that were falling in value, such as certain overseas energy facilities, its broadband operation, or stock in companies that had been spun off to the SPEs. As a consequence, the losses on these assets were kept off Enron’s books. To compensate partnership investors for assuming downside risk, Enron promised to issue additional shares of its stock. As the value of the assets in these partnerships fell, Enron began to incur larger and larger obligations to issue its own stock farther down the road. The problem was later compounded as the value of Enron’s stock declined. On October 16, 2001, the company reported a third-quarter loss and its stock dropped to about $33 a share. On October 28, as some of the problems with the SPEs were made public, a special committee of the board of directors of Enron was established under the chairmanship of William C. Powers, dean of the University of Texas Law School

Creative Writing Tips for College Students

Creative Writing Tips for College Students Writing is an unavoidable task for everyone, be it necessary for college, junior school, or in a working environment. This means that we all should have some writing skills at our finger tips. However, college creative writing in in one way or another, differs from writing in high school. One key feature of college creative essay writing is the use of an argument, which should be set out in a systematic manner. This argument includes a claim, evidence supporting or refuting the claim, and limits to your claim. To have a paper that is flowing and has depth, the first step should be to choose a topic that one is well informed about, and one that is easy to research. This saves one the agony of running out of material to write about. With a topic at hand, the next step is to plan the paper. This means that you write down your ideas as they come to mind, in order to avoid forgetting any of them. When writing your draft, do not focus too much about the grammar and other related errors. You can always take care of this when writing the final paper. Do not forget to use your own voice, since what is read on the paper represents you as a person. Once you have exhausted all of your ideas, it is best to conduct research using various sources. Make sure to list the sources used, so that you do not leave out any of them when making in-text citations and preparing the reference list. With a draft and sources ready, you can start writing the final draft of your creative writing paper. When writing, make sure to keep to certain guidelines, depending on the type of research paper that you are writing. For instance, a thesis paper has a different structure from that of a term paper. Further, the kind of formatting style used also determines the outline of your paper. A paper written using APA has a different structure from one written using the MLA formatting style. When writing, it is important that students follow guidelines given by instructors. Not following instructions may lead to failure. Following given guidelines helps to limit your creative writing paper to a specific topic, which helps avoid ambiguity. When writing, make sure to use short and clear sentences. These should be used to form flowing paragraphs, where each paragraph expounds on a single idea. It is also advisable that one avoids using big words of which the meanings are not clear. Avoid repetition, and make sure to use in-text citations in your work wherever necessary, so as to avoid instances of plagiarism. Before submitting your work, make sure to go through it and correct all grammatical and other errors.

Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Politics - Essay Example Thus, they could be distinguished in accordance to the effective number of parties that they have (Golosov, 2010). As mentioned, party systems come in various types. Two of the most popular are the two-party system and the multi-party system. A two-party system is a state by which democracies are dominated by only two parties. While there may be other parties existing in the sidelines, those are of no real threat to the two main ones and exercise no real political significance. In this system, either of the parties should be able to gain enough numbers of working majority post-election and obtain a position that will allow it to govern without the other party’s support. Expectedly, power will change rotationally in a two-party system (historylearningsite.co.uk, 2011). Moreover, in a two-party system, the voter is presented with a simple choice. Additionally, in this type of party system, political moderation is promoted since the incumbent party can appeal to the so-called â⠂¬Å"floating voters† in the concerned country. ... However, this is not good for two-party systems. Recent history would also show that the two houses of congress have always been rules by the Democrats up until the time the people voted for George W. Bush. Another country that makes use of the two-party system is Jamaica. This country’s two-party system started during the political rivalry of William Bustamante and Norman Manley. The system that Jamaica has is very similar to the two-party system in North America. The two parties fighting for positions in Jamaica are JLP and PNP. The system in Jamaica differs from the one in the US and Britain due to the following, (1) the wealthy in Jamaica, who are basically the ones that becomes the leaders in the country, are closely knit that of the 1st five prime ministers are related; and (2) the political frame of reference in Jamaica is not class or race but party identification. The members of each party are extremely loyal due mainly to their very strong family ties. At times, viol ence can be the result of antagonism against the other party. Other countries with two-party system of government are New Zealand, Great Britain, Canada (Conservatives and Liberals) and Australia (Liberal Party and Labour Party which has been affected by a third party, i.e., the Country Party) (eb.com, n.d.). On the other hand, the multi-party system is one that is made up of more than two political parties that impacts the country’s politics and are able to control government either separately or via a coalition with other parties. In this system, the effective number of parties is from 3 to 10. Under this system, numerous political parties, both major

Letter To The Editor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Letter To The Editor - Essay Example The analysis includes the intergenerational equity, the uncertainty of the imminent happenings, and the irreversible nature of the changes in the environment and the adoption of sustainable development. The components depict an important study that is beneficial to humans and their coexistence with the environment that is available in the earth.Societal steps to move from an empty world to a full world The whole global system requires that society equates the production rates with the depreciation rates. The instances call for a demographic transition that is for both humans and people. The other important step is the emphasis on the qualitative sector of the economy. The case implies to the society having more use of the technology and the service industry. The case will reduce the pressure on the environment. The investments, on the other hand, should also be with a focus on quality improvement or replacement of the same. The taxes that are prevalent in the society also need to cha nge. The taxing should be on value addition rather than the taxing worker and business incomes.The instance of labor-intensive employment should replace new production jobs. Individuals should transform into business owners. The situation will ensure they earn their income from a share of the company rather than working on a full-time basis.The role of eco-economics is a necessity. The political nature of the subject makes the ruling system to favor a system that gives room for the natural laws to be in effect.