Internal Accountant’s Report to Management Essay

Introduction Since our company is preparing for an upcoming government contract bid, management has decided that a full Financial Status Review (FSR) prior to the release of the bid is essential. This report is to provide supporting information prior to the bid in order to evaluate if any irregularities with regard to fraud and/or abuse of the company have taken place and if so, to what effect. The report is divided into four sections, which will cover information on the effect of potential occupational fraud and abuse on the company. It will also discuss U.S. government oversight of accounting fraud and abuse and its effect on the company. Section three will provide potential corruption schemes to be aware of in the company. Finally, some recommendations will be given of types of accounting evidence and methods of gathering evidence to support the FSR and to provide reasonable assurance that no irregularities have occurred. Occupational fraud and abuse According to 2009 Global Fraud Survey organizations lose about 5% of its gross revenues to all forms of fraud and abuse in the workplace. Moreover, having to report fraud is very unhealthy for the company and its stakeholders. It can result in some negative effects like remunerations and salaries, employee base, employee benefits, but also morale and profits. Also occupational frauds and abuses usually have an adverse effect on the reputation of the company. In case of a very significant fraud it may even lead to bankruptcy. U.S. governmental oversight of accounting fraud and abuse There have been many significant accounting scandals, like Enron, Computer Associates, Xerox, Adelphia, WorldCom and Royal Ahold, that have had extensive press coverage and, despite the fact that some of them are already some years in the past, they are still being discussed. Since then many new, different and strict accounting regulations and rules have been created in order to prevent or defer fraud, abuse or waste. Many of the frauds were with regard to revenue recognition, which has led to many improvements by now. Noticeable changes have been made in the way firms from particular industries book revenues as a result of the heightened SEC scrutiny of revenue accounting; companies have become more conservative when it comes to the timing of the revenue recognition. Particularly many Internet companies have reduced the total amount of the revenue being recognized compared to the situation before the heightened scrutiny. According to a survey in FORBES, less fraud cases have been reported recently. Enforcement cases and prosecutions over the last decade were very well publicized which had a positive effect on the attitude of many companies’ senior management. Also it is said that government’s enforcement efforts have had a deterring effect. Moreover, additional requirements imposed by Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) made senior executives more concerned about the financial results reported and on which they have to sign off. It is clear that the US financial reporting environment has changed and based on the positive current events, constantly improving reporting requirements, rules and regulations, even greater changes are expected in the future. Corruption schemes Corruption has unfortunately been a very common phenomenon in the work environment throughout the years. It is defined as  ¨an intent to gain particular personal advantage at the cost of organization ¨ he/she represents. Corruption schemes are usually divided into 4 main categories: * Bribery and Kickbacks * Commercial bribery is the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting of anything of value to influence the outcome of a business transaction * It usually involves the submission of invoices that are overpriced or fictitious * Is usually undertaken by employees such as purchasing agents * Economic Extortion * Money extortion from a potential purchaser or supplier * Example: a corrupt purchasing officer demanding a payment in exchange to make a decision in the vendor’s favor * Conflicts of Interest * The situation occurs when an employee, manager or executive has an undisclosed personal or economic interest (with a negative effect on the company) * For example, the victim organization is not informed that its employees have divided royalties * This scheme includes the exertion of the insider’s influence to the detriment of the entity * Illegal Gratuities * This type of scheme is similar to bribery schemes. The only difference is that there is an intent to reward a business decision, rather than influence it * A common example is when purchasing agents are promised expensive vacations, etc. after a vendor’s contact is approved Accounting evidence and evidence gathering methods Gathering accounting evidence is a very common activity in auditing. Accounting evidence is being collected using investigative and auditing practices. For investigations, this is the evidence that lawyers and government officials can rely on for very important and high profile cases. For more routine reviews as the FSR prior to the bid, it is the type of evidence that we can rely on to give reasonable assurance that no irregularities have occurred. In both situations, the accounting evidence should be based on the following important qualities: * Relevance * Materiality * Competency The types of accounting evidence we are referring to include: * Physical evidence * Third-party representations * Documentary evidence * Computations * Data Interrelationships * Client representations * Accounting Records Since this is a FSR and not an investigative procedure, I recommend the following auditing methods to gather evidence that will provide reasonable assurance that no irregularities have occurred and that our financial statements are relevant and have been compiled in a competent manner and contain no material misstatements: * Compliance testing – to ensure that we have an adequate internal control system and that it is working effectively; an adequate level of transaction testing will have to be performed to provide this assurance * Substantive testing – a. Test of detail – for the purpose of the FSR I recommend these only when and where the internal control system does not provide the assurance we desire b. Analytical testing – I recommend these to provide further assurance that our financial statements adequately reflect the financial position of our company References: Wells, J. (2011). Principles of fraud examination (3rd ed). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Singleton, T. W., Singleton, A. J. (2010). Fraud auditing and forensic accounting. (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Online Source: http://safeside.ch/safeside.info/index.php/fraud-schemes/corruption/224-corruption-schemes-

Gumamela Flowers as Alternative Perfume

â€Å"Gumamela Flowers as alternative perfume† Members: Jozelle Omania Mark Andrew G. Jupida Jimwel C. Ocharona Peter Paul A. De Vera Prince Acee T. Santos Book: you and the natural World Series Biology   html Date: 11/29/12 Statement of the problem: This study Gumamela flowers as an alternative perfume aims to have a fragrance which is safe, effective and environmental friendly. Based from: Biology book and internet Introduction Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, known colloquially as the Chinese hibiscus, China rose and shoe flower, is an evergreen flowering shrub native to East Asia. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant throughout the tropics and subtropics. The flowers are large, generally red in the original varieties, and firm, but generally lack any scent. Numerous varieties, cultivars, and hybrids are available, with flower colors ranging from white through yellow and orange to scarlet and shades of pink, with both single and double sets of petals. Despite their size and red hues attractive to nectar-feeding birds, they are not visited regularly by hummingbirds when grown in the Neotropics. Generalists, like the Sapphire-spangled Emerald, Amazilia lactea, or long-billed species, like the Stripe-breasted Starthroat, Heliomaster squamosus, are occasionally seen to visit it, however. In the subtropical and temperate Americas, hummingbirds are attracted to them on a regular basis. Meaning Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is one of many plant genera with a genetic characteristic known aspolyploidy, in which there are more than two complete sets of chromosomes, unlike most other species including human. Polyploidy is a condition where the phenotype of the offspring may be quite different from the parent, or indeed any ancestor, essentially allowing possibly random expression of all (or any) of the characteristics of all the generations that have gone before. Because of this characteristic, H. osa-sinensis has become popular with hobbyists who cross and recross varieties, creating new named varieties and holding competitions to exhibit and judge the many resulting new seedlings and often strikingly unique flowers. To add to the genetic opportunities, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis has been successfully hybridized with the cold-hardy Hibiscus moscheutos and several other North American Hibiscus species, producing cold-hardy hybrids (see cold-hardy Hibiscus cultivars). Making perfume from G umamela is a popular science project for children due to reasonably easy process that is involved. Before you begin making Gumamela perfume you will need to make sure that you have the correct ingredients and equipment. You will need:†¢ One cup of gumamela flowers (a type of hibiscus)†¢ Five by five inch of muslin pouch†¢ A rubber band†¢ Half an ounce of gumamela essential oils†¢ Two quart glass bowl†¢ A potato masher†¢ One cup of distilled water†¢ One quarter of a cup of ethyl alcohol and a 20 oz spray bottle. If this experiment is being carried out for a child's investigatory project, make sure that they are supervised by an adult at all time.Once all of the ingredients and equipment has been collected, the following steps can then be carried out.†¢ Fill the muslin pouch with the cup of gumamela flowers. Secure the pouch with the rubber band and place it in the glass bowl. You can then add the cip of distilled water to the bowl and microwave the bowl for around four minutes.†¢ Remove the bowl from the microwave and mash the musli n pouch with a potato masher within the bowl. This will express the essential oils that are contained within the pouch of flowers.This should be continued until the water has gained a reddish pink hue. The pouch can then be discarded and the liquid poured into the spray bottle. †¢ Add the ethyl alcohol and gumamela essential oils to the spray bottle. The oils help to enhance the aroma of the perfume and also help it stick to the skin. The ethyl alcohol can be replaced with water for those with sensitive skin but this will create more of a body spray. The lid can then be placed on the spray bottle and the whole think shaken vigorously for a few minutes to blend everything together.

Gran torino movie analysys Essay

The movie Gran Torino, is a movie that is based on an old neighborhood which was mostly American nationalities living there. Through the years this changed and it became an Asian society to live in. This movie was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, which we has also one of the main characters in the movie. The story of the movie was written by Dave Johansson and the screen play was done by Nick Schenk. Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighbourhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy an old man, who can’t get along with either his kids or his neighbours, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbour Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao’s family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighbourhood. â€Å"I have more in common with these gooks than my own spoiled, rotten family,† he tells himself. The three main actors that have the biggest emphasis towards the movie is Clint Eastwood. He is the one who plays Walt Kowalski in the movie. Then we have the two kids from his neighbours. Thao which is been portrayed by Bee Vang, and Thao’s sister Sue, which has been played by Ahney Her. There is a lot of intercultural aspects in the movie that we see but there is also a strong sense of how through the years, the differences from one generation to another and how alike they are in the different societies. Before Walt Kowalski in the movie start to care about Thao and Sue, and before he gets to know them, he is depicted as a mad old man, which he is also very racist towards and outsiders, but especially the people from the Asian lands. The argue that can be made for this reason is that Walt before settling down in the neighbourhood that he lived with his deceased wife, we was in the Korean war. It wouldn’t be easy for any man to live in a neighbourhood, in which the ethnicity of the people living there is of the same ethnicity in which we fought against in the Korean War. Through out the movie and especially when Walt starts to take Sue and Thao under his wings as a family one can say, and through out the stories that he tells and the harm’s he has done, in the end we can say that the way he dies to save Thao and Sue, it’s a way for Walt to get a type of redemption. He takes Sue and Thao as his children, to make right for him having two sons which he wasn’t ever there for them and vice versa. His relationship with those sons and their families is brusque because Walt is an emotionally closed-off guy. No one and nothing lives up to his standards, particularly the growing population of Hmong immigrants who now dominate his neighbourhood. Thao’s cousin is in a gang in the area, and when they try to force Thao to join the gang and they make a ruckus during the night, Walt just wanted his piece but by getting involved in the situation, he saves Thao and then Thao in order to repay him, he does various different chores for Walt and he gets to see that Thao and Sue aren’t as bad kids as he thought, he was just prejudice towards the people that he just didn’t know. And slowly by time he becomes fond of the family and starts acting in a way as he is their protector. The film illustrates town members forcing to make a choice as to which popular culture they will follow. They can follow a path of religion and live peacefully or they can choose a path of constant feuding by joining a gang. Either way, the town has become divided and both opposing cultures seem to be constituted as a popular lifestyle. The first major inter cultural communication is more of a tradition for the Hmong. When he unwillingly saves Thao, then the rest of the community, look to him in what they think that they have found a hero. They start bringing him different gifts and different plates of food as a way of them saying thank you for his actions. He still doesn’t want anything to do with them and tries to not accept them but there’s nothing else that he can do. Walt’s wife, according to the movie was a person of the church. And now that she has passed away, the father of the church, father Janovich tries to be there with Walt and tries to make sure that he will be fine. Walt is a man who is haunted by what he did in the Korean War. In the film, Walter speaks to Father Janovich and says, â€Å"The thing that haunts a guy is the stuff he wasn’t ordered to do.† Within these few small words, Walt describes to Father Janovich the chaotic mindset that keeps his life forever haunted. This gives us the notion that Walt is haunted by his actions in the past and that’s why now he is such a grumpy old man who can’t live in peace with the actions that he committed. Walt is an old man that is in a place where according to him, there isn’t something that someone can do that will reach to his standards. Throughout the movie, Walt seems incapable of speaking to his son’s without criticizing their every thought. When his two sons, Mitch and Steve Kowalski, talk at their mother’s funeral Steve says to Mitch, â€Å"The point I’m trying to make is that there’s nothing anyone can do that won’t disappoint the old man, its inevitable† it’s a struggle of the old generation which is Walt, and the generation that followed him, his sons. Walt can be said that he is more a patriot rather than a racist. But he is both and tries his best to make it known to the others. He is proud of his patriotism and watches helplessly as their neighbourhood is becoming a ghetto of other ethnic groups who seek only violence and just tear apart the neighbourhood in which he lives. Even now with the loss of his wife, he won’t allow his self to admit that he is alone, he has too much pride to do that. Walt saves Sue from a group of African Americans who were bothering her. He pulls out his gun and makes them leave her alone. Now Sue is a witty girl, and on the ride back to the house they start to engage in a conversation. Walt wasn’t polite but as I said Sue is a witty girl and she answered him in ways that were humorous. From that point on is where he starts to have a bond with the rest of the family as well. After this incident Walt starts being fond of the family. Later he is being invited to a barbeque that they are having. At first he didn’t want to go but with Sue, he changed his mind and went. As they start to eat and talk, sue lets him in in the various traditions that they have and their meanings. Later by not knowing he taps one of the small children in his head, something which is considered very rude. Sue explains to him that it’s believed that in the head is where the soul of the person resigns. Also that it’s impolite to stare, but then he sees the family doctor staring at him. Then sue talks to him and he wanted to read Walt. He told him that he lives in a life of pain and suffering and if he continues in this way he won’t have piece in his life. this family doctor and father Janovich are in a way trying to lead him to have a peaceful life. In all honesty, I believe the ending of this film was noble. Walt sacrifices his life in order to save Thao and Sue’s family from further harm. His courageous act not only places the entire Hmong gang behind bars, but also ends the conflicts between the Thao and his cousin who is the gang leader. He goes and faces them and In a way makes them kill him and now because they have witnesses Thao, Sue and their family won’t be bothered with again. Overall, I thought Gran Torino was an empowering movie. The film depicts actual scenarios of cultural conflict that can be found in today’s world, especially racism and small kids joining gangs. Sources Gran Torino the movie http://elizabethbettin.blogspot.gr/2010/11/week-6-gran-torino-analysis.html http://hollywoodandfine.com/reviews/%E2%80%98gran-torino%E2%80%99-who%E2%80%99s-saving-whom/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205489/

Forms of Human Communication through the Ages Research Paper

Forms of Human Communication through the Ages - Research Paper Example That freedom was not always available and human beings had to work hard to get to the level of communicational freedom that most people have today. That journey has been a long and fascinating one. The Cro-Magnon, a precursor to modern man, was the first to participate in cave and rock paintings. To date it remains the earliest form of actual primate communication, estimated at 40,000 years ago (Ayiter, 2014).The majority of cave paintings found throughout Europe show scenes featuring animals, like bison and bear. Experts believe that cave paintings were important to early man for few reasons. These animals were essential to the livelihood for survival; they may have signs to let hunters know what game was available in this territory. Another theory involves the concept of an early religion; they may have thought that the images had magical or medicinal powers and they, also, may have thought depicting them might improve the likelihood of successfully hunting and killing one. These cave painters did not have any forms of actual paint, there implements were likely berries of different colors and charcoal (Beacon Learning Center, 2001). Cave paintings were a form of visual communication to members of one or perhaps multiple groups. It is likely that this artistic and communicative format that paved the way for the traditions of storytelling, spiritual belief, and cultural identity all at the same time. Cave paintings continued for a long time before verbal communication became more common; in fact, even after the invention of languages certain forms of cave-paining arts remained relevant and not uncommon (Beacon Learning Center, 2001). Human beings began using their new found verbal abilities of, language as soon they realized that they could.

Generations of winter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Generations of winter - Essay Example Boris Nikitovich Gradov, who is not only the head of the family but a kind patriarch. Dr. Boris is one of the finest surgeons in all of Moscow. His caliber was unprecedented. As a consequence of his expertise and services to the nation, he and his family owned Silver Forest, which was an amazing dacha located outside Moscow that was very different from the everyday crowd of Kremlin. Till the 1930s, they lived as bourgeois counterparts would have will the regime was taken by the Bolsheviks.1 There was no sense to things in the world of Stalin. Anxiety and apprehensiveness prevailed the country. The Government would randomly strike on the population any time they want to and wish to and thus, the nation had no idea how to react. The intelligentsia, military, and general population had no power. The nation was splurged by terrorism and hopelessness. Terrorism was destroying the nation by any means possible. Terrorists were harming the people of the country themselves. It was precluding the people to succeed in life. Nikita examines the devastating condition of the country in the harshly ironic tone that encompasses the novel. Nikita illustrates the condition of millions of people of that era who were in a silent agreement with each other that an awful thing is happening that is nothing is happening in the nation. There is no progress being made. 2 A person is left scared by reading the novel as nobody has the slightest idea that who dies in the concentration camp or not. It is the arbitrariness of the novel that it does not say much about its ending and where it is taking the readers. It keeps the readers glued to it without saying much or almost nothing. The anxiety of the people, the state brutality which is completely pointless and violent artistry keeps the reader glued to the book. The Kafkaesque’s era was a time of brutality off course. The images of camp life and also tormenting chambers of N.K.V.D are also very traumatic and distressing. When World War II begins, we are relieved that at least now there is a relief that the conflict has become localized and is not global. The frightening view of sufferings of human life is unclearly understandable as Aksyonov described it. 3 The character of Nina is also very prominent in the novel as it tells about the pretentiousness of Soviet Union. As Aksyonov wrote it disdainfully, â€Å"The literature of socialist realism was in full flower; Formalism had already been completely rooted out. Soviet poets, playwrights and novelists had been gathered up in a single union and were vigorously turning out the works the people needed†.4 The novel Generations of Winter is embedded with Russian poetry throughout the book. Nina plays an important role as the Soviet literary scene is described by her in detail. All the poets and quotations are a benevolence of Nina in the play. The novelist admires the efforts by these poets as his writing depicts. One of the most touching scene of the novel occurs in his mother’s journal in the reunion of mother and son and thus the profound connection between the two is revealed. This connection is the Russian poetry. But, it is unlucky that the allusive character of this novel is lost when it is translated. 5 Mr. Vassily Aksyonov has never been an easy writer to translate because he appreciates slang language and likes to pursue many articulation clashes. The translators of Generations of Wi

The Relationship Between Business Ethics and Organizational Culture Essay

The Relationship Between Business Ethics and Organizational Culture - Essay Example Research into cultural variables has been carried out and the outcome reveals that the ethical perception of an organization is dependent on its organizational behavior. Other researchers have also revealed that employees’ behavior is hugely influenced by value system organizational culture. It has been discovered that unethical and illegal conduct by corporate agents has a huge capability of creating adverse effects on the immediate stakeholders. Culture is perceived to be just one of the variables that influence an organization as a whole but with very significant effects. The leadership and members of an organization have a big role to play in constructing, enforcing and retaining the culture within their organization since culture can easily be manipulated by these very same people. Organizational culture can be viewed from various approaches. The first approach involves a traditional perspective; this involves objectives matter such as: rituals, symbolism and tales. Secon dly, it can be viewed from an interpretive perspective; this involves the study of how members of a given organization could be having a common subjective meaning towards the organization. Lastly, organizational culture can be viewed from a critical-interpretive perspective; this involves the study of the common subjective meanings within an organization and the possible struggles for power that could be brought about by the competition among the subjective meaning. Although there are a few commonalities, organizational culture widely varies from one organization to another. Enron Corporation was once one of the most successful corporations with almost everything handled in the correct manner. It was known for its comprehensive management control and a proper system of governance which led the corporation to winning several awards in acknowledgement of the same. However things started getting out of hand in the company when unethical organizational culture found its way into the fir m. The poor organizational culture involved emergence of irregularities in the financial statements of the firm and embezzlement of funds in the form of using company working capital for personal purposes that are not included in the company budget. The case of Enron provides a firsthand example of how inadequate attention to alteration in cultural practices and leadership of a firm can results to its downfall despite there being a proper management system in place. This is a clear indication that the effectives of variables such as proper management system control heavily rely on an organization’s leadership and culture. Under the tenure of Richard Kinder as the company chief executive officer, the company incurred bad losses which led to some of the investors withdrawing their investments from the company. However, Richard Kinder was well known for his high levels in discipline in handling matters involving both employees and figures. He kept the business unit leaders on to es with numerous challenges. He also kept a close look on matters pertaining to expenses, cash flows and employee levels. But all this did not yield any positive results in preventing the company from incurring losses. However, things changed drastically with the appointment of Jeffrey Skilling as the new chief executive officer to replace Richard Kinder. The organizational culture of the company was also set to change widely with the introduction of a new chief executi

Causes, Effects, and Solutions to Global Warming Speech Essay - 9

Causes, Effects, and Solutions to Global Warming Speech - Essay Example There are many causes that contribute to global warming. As scientists say, global warming is attributed to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere resulting in blanket-like effect (John). The greenhouse gases generally originate from burning fossil fuels like oil, coal, natural gas. In addition, cutting down of trees and burning of forests commonly result in carbon accumulation. Trees purify the air of carbon dioxide, through utilizing it in photosynthesis (Chris). Furthermore, agricultural practices plus certain waste management practices tend to contribute nitrous oxide and methane gas (n.p). Global warming has caused a number of problems to the earth. One of the biggest entails the rise in sea level. With every rise in atmospheric temperatures, results in melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctica regions contributing to the sea and ocean levels rising. The aftermath of such involves weird phenomenon like floods, typhoons and hurricanes (John). A good example is hurricane Katrina which took thousands of lives and destroyed a number of homesteads. Moreover, the temperature rise in other areas has resulted in the expansion of deserts and contributing to drought in many regions. The climatic conditions required for growth of certain crops have also been disturbed causing a big problem to farmers (John). Global warming can be solved. In minimizing emission of greenhouses can be the first step in curbing it. First of all, discouraging unnecessary deforestation can be a good step. Proper waste disposal or recycling of wastes can minimize emissions of methane plus nitrous oxide. Planting of trees can beneficial in places where deforestation has already taken place (John). In conclusion, global warming is a menace which has to be solved in order to save the earth from its ravaging effects. Human beings have an opportunity to reverse this change and make the world a better place for the future generations.