Thursday, November 28, 2019

Industrialization and computerization in entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship has taken a new turn with the onset of industrialization and computerization. Long before the introduction of these two, entrepreneurship was a less common word that was limited to the business-oriented individuals. The introduction of social sites has seen a major breakthrough in the field of entrepreneurship (Abrahamson 1997).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Industrialization and computerization in entrepreneurship specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Social sites have facilitated easy advertisement and access to millions of prospective customers across the globe. One such social site that has contributed to the tremendous growth of entrepreneurship over the last few years is Twitter. This report will look at the advantages and limitations of Twitter as far as its technological configuration of providing an open source arena and limiting messages to one hundred and forty characters is concerned. C ountless entrepreneurs have found marketing their products and services via Twitter as a viable means of advertisement. Indeed, hundreds of opportunities are advertised daily on twitter for both buyers and sellers. Twitter has enabled entrepreneurs and other business organizations to acquire loyal customers (Amit and Zott 2001). In the same manner, buyers have been able to find sellers of their choice through the social site. Therefore, twitter has been of great significance to not only the entrepreneurs, but to the buyers as well. The use of Twitter has been favoured by the entrepreneurs for various reasons. First and foremost, Twitter’s â€Å"Re-tweet† feature helps to spread the information faster as compared to other social networks (Scott 1991). This feature enables entrepreneurs to reach millions of prospective clients in a few minutes. This is especially possible where the entrepreneurs have huge numbers of followers (Leinhardt 1977). The original tweet by the e ntrepreneurs can be re-tweeted by their followers and their followers’ followers and the chain continues.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Eventually, the original information released by the entrepreneurs will be spread to almost every part of the globe (Baker 1990). This fast conveyance of information is a great advantage to the entrepreneurs. Another advantage of twitter is attributed to its cheap cost of advertising compared to other methods of advertisement. Because many entrepreneurs advertise their goods and services using Twitter, this has made the cost of advertisement to be lower hence making it more affordable to the entrepreneurs. Twitter is also the cheapest means of advertisement compared to television advertisement and other forms of advertisement. This affordability of the costs of advertising on twitter is an advantage to the entrepreneurs who obvious ly seek a cost effective method of advertisement (Fiskel 1980). Twitter has many users from virtually each nation on earth. With an approximate of over three hundred and sixty two million users, Twitter is certainly the best place for entrepreneurs to advertise their products (Tapscott 2000). Entrepreneurs make use of a variety of business models to access this large number of users and turn them into customers (Stokes, Wilson and Mador 2010). One such model is the Bricks and Clicks Business Model. Under this model, entrepreneurs allow Twitter users to order for products via Twitter. The users however have to go to the entrepreneurs’ stores to pick the ordered products. This model is effective especially where the users are located in the entrepreneurs’ locality. The Online Auction Business Model is also extensively used by entrepreneurs on Twitter in their transactions. In this model, entrepreneurs advertise a service or product on sale on Twitter and then provide roo m for Twitter users interested in it to bid.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Industrialization and computerization in entrepreneurship specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The highest bidder gets the chance to buy the product or service. This model is very advantageous to the entrepreneurs because enables them to sell their products and services at the highest price suggested by the buyers (Timmers 1998). As much as Twitter is a suitable social site for the advertisement of products and services by entrepreneurs, it also has some limitations that make it difficult for the entrepreneurs to get the desired effect (Peay 1976). One of these challenges is the limited number of characters that entrepreneurs can type in their messages to clients or other entrepreneurs. Twitter only allows users to use a maximum of one hundred and forty characters while writing messages. This limitation hinders entrepreneurs from communica ting with their clients, prospective customers and other entrepreneurs in an effective manner. As a result, the entrepreneurs may experience delays in response from the recipients of the messages due to difficulty in understanding the message (Mandel 1983). If a message is briefly written, there is a high probability of the recipient misunderstanding it. From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that Twitter has played a big role in the spread of entrepreneurship and the facilitation of the activities of entrepreneurs. It has done this by easing communication between entrepreneurs and other entrepreneurs or customers. It has also provided a cheaper means for entrepreneurs to use for advertising their products and services. In addition to that, it is also clear from the foregoing discussion that entrepreneurs access their customers using a variety of business models, some of which have been discussed above. Finally, Twitter has a number of disadvantages that pose a challenge to en trepreneurs using it as a means of communication and advertisement.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reference List Abrahamson, E (1997) Social network effects on the extent of innovation diffusion: A computer simulation. Organization Science, 8(3), 289. Amit, R., and Zott, C (2001) Value creation in e-business. Strategic Management Journal, 22(2), 493-520. Baker, E (1990) Market Networks and Corporate Behaviour. American Journal of Sociology, 96(12), 589-625. Fiskel, J (1980) Dynamic evolution in societal networks. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 7(9), 27-46. Leinhardt, S (1977) Social networks: A developing paradigm. New York, Academic Press. Mandel, J (1983) Local roles and social networks. American Sociological Review,  48(32), 376-386. Peay, R (1976) A note concerning the connectivity of social networks. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 4(12), 319-321. Scott, J (1991) Social Network Analysis: A Handbook. Newbury Park, Sage Publications. Stokes, D, Wilson, N and Mador, M (2010) Entrepreneurship. United Kingdom,  Cengage Learning. Tapscott, D (2000) Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation. New York, McGraw-Hill. Timmers, P (1998) Business models for electronic markets. Journal on Electronic Markets, 8(2), 3-8. This report on Industrialization and computerization in entrepreneurship was written and submitted by user Branson Irwin 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.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

The Characteristics of a Compelling Introduction

The Characteristics of a Compelling Introduction An introduction is the opening of an essay or speech, which typically identifies the topic, arouses interest, and prepares the audience for the development of the thesis. Also called an  opening, a lead,  or an introductory paragraph. For an introduction to be effective, says Brendan Hennessy, it should  persuade readers that what you have to say is worth close attention. Etymology From the Latin, to bring in. Examples and Observations In addition to appealing to readers and helping them to anticipate tone and substance, the opening passage can also help readers read by helping them to anticipate the structure of what will follow. In classical rhetoric, this was called the division or partition because it indicates how the piece of writing will be divided into parts. Methods of Introducing an EssayHere are a few possible ways to open an essay effectively:State your central idea, or thesis, perhaps showing why you care about it.Present startling facts about your subject.Tell an illustrative anecdote.Give background information that will help your reader understand your subject, or see why it is important.Begin with an arresting quotation.Ask a challenging question. (In your essay, youll go on to answer it.)Example of Introductory Paragraph in an Essay Bill Clinton loves to shop. On a March day in an elegant crafts store in Lima, the Peruvian capital, he hunted for presents for his wife and the women on his staff back home. He had given a speech at a university earlier and just came from a ceremony kicking off a program to help impoverished Peruvians. Now he was eyeing a necklace with a green stone amulet. Four Goals of IntroductionsAn effective introduction has four basic goals:Catch the audiences attention and focus it on your topic.Motivate the audience to listen by pointing out how your topic will benefit them.Establish credibility and rapport with your audience by creating a common bond and letting them know about your expertise and experience with the topic.Present your thesis statement, which includes clarification of your central idea and main points.Examples of an Introduction in a Speech The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I have endured at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners, and convince myself that I am at the world’s largest Gryffindor reunion. (J.K Rowling) Quintilian on the Appropriate Time to Compose an Introduction (or Exordium) ï » ¿I do not, on these accounts, agree with those who think that the exordium is to be written last; for though it is proper that our materials should be collected, and that we should settle what effect is to be produced by each particular, before we begin to speak or write, yet we ought certainly to begin with that which is naturally first. No man begins to paint a portrait, or mold a statue, with the feet; nor does any art find its completion where the commencement ought to be. Else what will be the case if we have no time to write our speech? Will not so preposterous a practice disappoint us? The orators materials are, therefore, to be first contemplated in the order in which we direct, and then to be written in the order in which he is to deliver them. Pronunciation in-tre-DUK-shun Sources Brendan Hennessy, How To Write Coursework and Exam Essays, How To Books 2010.Richard Coe,  Form and Substance: An Advanced Rhetoric. Wiley, 1981X.J. Kennedy et al.,  The Bedford Reader. Bedford/St. Martins, 2000Introduction to Its Not About Bill, by Peter Baker.  The New York Times Magazine, May 31, 2009Cheryl Hamilton,  Essentials of Public Speaking, 5th ed. Wadsworth, 2012J.K. Rowling, commencement address at Harvard University, June 2008Quintilian,  Institutes of Oratory, 95 AD

Thursday, November 21, 2019

To what extent have the issues of ethnic representation in the media Essay

To what extent have the issues of ethnic representation in the media changed over the past 40 years, use theory and examples to construct your answer - Essay Example Media creates a cultural pedagogy. Therefore it is clear that if media creates a cultural pedagogy then it plays a formidable role in representing the ethical or racial minorities. (Dines and Humez, 2002) Questions relating to the media and the minorities are always directed towards the representation of the minorities by the media because according to Mr. Masterman media is an essential system representation of representation or it may be said that it is concerned with the acute or specific representations of the minorities by the media. It is rightly said that media should not only look after the actual representation of the media but it should also be kept in mind that the minorities get adequate access of the media not only at the national and regional level but also at the local level because if the minorities do not get adequate access of the media they do not get the scope of knowing whether they are over represented or under represented by the media or whether the media is portraying their situation correctly or not.(Vargaftig, 1997) It has been studied and found out that the though the media represents the minorities but the way it represents the minorities actually  Ã‚  does trivialize, degrade, contradict them. Thus the media can be complained of misrepresenting the minorities and as the media misrepresents the minorities the others or the whites see the conditions of the minorities as shown and don’t understand the actual condition of the minorities and as a result what happens even if the people who are interested to help the minorities do not become aware of their pathetic condition and the minorities lose all chance of receiving help. The term Media encompasses everything ranging from internet, films, newspapers, and books and so on. More accurately media basically helps to disseminate information to the audience.   To be more precise

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Scene Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Scene Analysis - Essay Example The Grandmaster was a commercial and critical success since it handled the story, the scenes and the characters very convincingly and took every one on a journey into the time period between 1930 to 1950, through the life story of Ip Man, the lead character of the film. It is indeed surprising that the director chose to open the story with a fight sequence in the rain that shows the histrionics of Ip Man the lead character and familiarizes the audience with his proficiency in the art. As a student of movie making would note, this opening fight sequence superceded all other fight sequences in the movie and the treatment of lights, camera and action were full of montages that are unique and historically significant in the history of Chinese cinema. The Grandmaster is not a very important cult film today which falls in the category of Chinese action movies that deal with Kung Fu masters, combats and is shouldered by the lead characters or fighters in the movie. However, the film has unique montages that have never been created in the history of Chinese cinema before. Take for example the opening fight sequence done in the night in a rainy street (NIX, 2013, 1). The fight is between Ip Man and a number of combatants and uses all possible camera angles to convincingly display his skills. There are moments in the sequence which show rain waters only, whether they are on the floor of the street where they are gathered to form a pool and are disturbed by the fight on goi ng on the same street; or whether they are flying off Ip Man’s rich white hat (Marsh, 2013, 1). These scenes were a different inclusion in an otherwise action movie. The fact that the camera, the light (especially the way it was made to reflect in the rain drops and the water splashing around), and the edits of the footage (Vineyard, 2008, 24) are very swift and shown to the audience in short timings between the fight scenes adds the extra element of

Monday, November 18, 2019

Human resource management in Foxconn Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human resource management in Foxconn - Essay Example It began in 2009 where a factory by the name of Sun Dayong, committed suicide just because he lost an iPhone 4 prototype in his posession (Barbosa 2008). It was followed by 14 suicides 2010 until 2012, the latest in June of 2012 where suicides were directly related to wage. Obviously, there is something very wrong in the human resource management practice of Foxconn which needs to be addressed. Human resource issue The kind of technology that Foxconn supplies to Apple may be cutting edge and its client, Apple Inc may be a revolutionary company but the human resource practice of Foxconn is medieval that even predated classical management theorists whose theorists were already debunked by modern practice of management. Foxconn workplaces were often described as labor camps due to the horrible treatment of its employees that include abuse and illegal overtimes to the point that employees commit suicide. Worst, Foxconn also make their employees sign waivers that gurantee that Foxconn wil l not be sued by its employees up to their descendants if something happened to them whether they died, get injured and committed suicide (Malone 2010). In its Mexico plant, it was even alleged that the bus that was supposed to take the workers to and from the plant were deliberately delayed by Foxconn so that the managemend could force its employees to do an overtime work without pay while waiting for the bus. This issue had been compounded until riot broke loose in February 19, 2010 where employees set fire in the company’s gymnasium. These actions only manifests how callous and abusive Foxconn in treating its employees. Their human resource practice virtually breaks every rule in good human resource management. Their human resource practice did not even conform to the basic tenet of Taylor’s scientific management which is the most basic management concept available today. Taylor management theories may have been dismissed as outdated but at least, Taylor had the mot ivation concept that if employees will be paid well, they will also be motivated to work well (Butler 1991). Foxconn is notorious in this aspect that its employees are even driven to suicide out of frustration of the company ‘s level of pay. It would find ways where it can force its employees to work overtime without pay such as delaying their commuter bus. It may be a cheap strategy but Foxconn would resort to it for as long as it can make more money out of its employees never mind if they will commit suicide later. Foxconn has also no regard for its employees welfare. Instead of addressing the root cause of its suicide issues in the company which is mismanagement and oppressive pay, it instead made its employees sign a contract that would deter them in suing the company if anything happen to them in the company. This is Foxconn’s response to its human resource issue which is to protect itself from legal complications instead of mending its management practice (Dalrymp le 2009). What Foxconn should have done? Applicable human resource theories. Had Foxconn been a conscientious company, it should have addressed the employees grievances instead of seeking legal protection. If the issue is pay, Foxconn should have increased the wages of its workers at least for it to become competitive industry and not at its current level where it drives employees to suicide. Second, it should have conducted leadership and management trainings to its

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Audit Risk Model Accounting Essay

The Audit Risk Model Accounting Essay The Audit Risk Model (ARM) is defined as: Inherent Risk is the auditors measure of assessing whether material misstatements exist in the financial statement before considering of internal controls. Ignoring internal controls, if the auditor assesses that the likelihood of material errors is high, the auditor will assume that the Inherent Risk is high. As the Control Risk constitutes a separate component of the Audit Risk Model, it is ignored here.   Control Risk is the auditors measure of assessing the likelihood that the clients internal control system is unable to prevent or detect material misstatements exceeding a tolerable level. In assessing the level of the Control Risk, the auditor will assess the effectiveness of the firms internal control system during his audit, e.g. through questionnaires. The lower the effectiveness of internal controls the greater the frequency of error. Detection Risk is the auditors measure of assessing the likelihood that the auditor  wont detect material misstatements. Auditors will carry out more audit work to increase the detection rate if  Internal Risk and Control Risk are too high in order to meet the Audit Risk target. When applying the Audit Risk Model, the auditor has to determine a target level of Audit Risk that is in accordance with providing reasonable assurance. The Internal Risk and Control Risk can be pooled together as Occurrence Risk (OR), i.e. the risk of the existence of  misstatements before the actual audit. The Detection Risk on the other hand is the risk of the existence of misstatements during the actual audit. The first step in applying the Audit Risk  Model is to determine a tolerable level of Audit Risk. In the next step the Audit Risk is decomposed into its three components. The auditor has no control over the Internal Risk and Control Risk but must assess their levels in order to determine the level of Detection Risk that is sufficient to achieve the target Audit Risk. The Detection Risk can be influenced by the extent of testing. Applying the formula of the Audit Risk Model, the auditor will need to perform more testing, that is collect more evidence, and thus reduce the Detection Risk, in case the level of Internal Risk and/or Control Risk is high in order to achieve (maintain) the target. The Detection Risk  can be influenced by the nature, timing, and extent of the audit procedures. 2. One of the components of the audit risk model is inherent risk. Describe typical factors that auditors evaluate assessing inherent risk. With the benefit of hindsight, what inherent risk factors were present during the audits of the 1989 through 1992 Comptronix financial statements? Internal Risk is the auditors measure of assessing whether material misstatements exist in the financial statement before considering the effectiveness of internal controls. Besides factors related to the peculiar assertion, the auditor needs to take external circumstances into account that might influence the Internal Risk. Those can comprise the nature of business and industry, the integrity of management, the size of account balances, the existence of related  parties, the lack of sufficient working capital to continue operations, etc. Taking into account those numerous factors, professional judgment has to be applied by the auditor. Examples of accounts that pose low Internal Risk comprise traded securities or fixed assets in contrast to accounts with high Internal Risk such as those for which estimates have to  be used or complex calculation have to be conducted. With hindsight the following inherent risk factors were present: Fictitious purchases of equipment An audit that would have included a physical inspection of Comptronixs equipment might have revealed that certain recognized assets do not exist or  that considering the age of and thus the depreciation for the equipment that certain pieces of  equipment are not worth their book values. Fictitious accounts payments for the equipment Besides auditing in a manner that would have revealed the nonexistence of certain purchases of equipment the auditors could have also audited check records and bank statements to see where and by whom the checks were cashed in. This would have revealed that the checks were never cashed in by a third, outside party, but were cashed internally. Fictitious sales and accounts receivables In the same manner as with the fictitious accounts for equipment, the auditor could have checked the inventory to verify the decrease in inventory of goods for sale as well as the payments by the customers. The former would have revealed the lack of sales while the latter would have revealed the lack of external customers for no outside  party deposited money in Comptronixs account. Another approach would have comprised matching the sales with the order papers and invoices. Here the auditor would have realized that there are no records for the bogus sales and hence no sales were realized. 3. Another component of the audit risk model is control risk. Describe the five components of internal control. What characteristics of Comptronixs internal control increased control risk for the audits of the1989 1992 year-end financial statements? Control risk is an auditors ¶ assessment of the internal control systems of a company. This also includes the attitude and expertise directors and management have towards internal controls. If  control risk is high then the amount of substantive procedures that have to be conducted increases accordingly. The internal control: Integrated Framework published 1994 by COSO breaks effective internal control into five interrelated components: control environment risk assessment control activities information and communication monitoring The control environment encompasses the internal control framework and is considered a foundation for all other elements. Included factors are integrity, ethical values, competence, managements philosophy, operating cycles, assignment of authority and the attention and direction provided by the board. Generally the control environment materializes in a written statement being the code of conduct. The risk assessment is best described as the means of identifying and analyzing internal and external risks to the achievement of financial reporting control objectives. Control activities are developed to address each control objective and to minimize risks identified. Information and communication from management to personnel must be clearly stated and should stress that control responsibilities must be taken seriously. The personnel must understand its role in the internal control system. Thus the company identifies methods and procedures by which right information is provided to the right people. Finally, monitoring is the process (internal or external) to evaluate the performance of the internal control system over time. At Comptronix various factors increased the control risk for the company. First, the loss of one of the major customers is a circumstance that increases control risk as management has an incentive to misstate earnings and other accounts to stay profitable. Second, the accounting system could be bypassed by management with factious manual entries. This increases control risk as it grants unlimited authority to top management for changing and manipulating accounts. Also cash disbursements could be approved by management based solely on an invoice. Finally the computerized accounting system in the shipping department, which constitutes a good internal control device, could be accessed and manipulated by the controller. In summary management had too much authority to enter and change the electronic accounting systems of the company, while there were no double checks in place to verify and control manual changes in the system. 4. The board of directors, and its audit committee, can be an effective corporate governance mechanism .a) Discuss the pros and cons of allowing inside directors to serve on the board. Describe typical responsibilities of audit committees. Inside directors on the board can facilitate its effectiveness by establishing strong connections  between the board and day to day business. However, inside directors can also comprise the independence of the board when it comes to personal interests. For example, the ability of the  board to set bonuses that are tied to performance and salaries of management is an important argument against inside directors. Another common topic in research is that adding insiders to the board of directors reduces board monitoring. On the other hand, a study by George Drymiotes shows that a less independent board, one that also looks after the agents interests to some degree, can sometimes fulfill its monitoring role more effectively than a board that is completely independent. A fully independent boards inability to commit to a specific level of  monitoring effort makes monitoring ineffective. Having insiders as part of the board, however, shifts the boards interests closer to those of the a gent and mitigates the boards incentives to short-change the agent (Drymiotes, 2007). The paper also suggests that any other mechanisms that align the boards interests, to some extent, with those of the manager may be beneficial to organizations. For instance, board and management interests can become more aligned when management owns a portion of the firm. Giving management a share of the firm means that a group of shareholders is managing the firm. Importantly, this particular group of shareholders finds ex post monitoring desirable, the same way inside directors do. Thus, a board representing shareholder interests may have stronger incentives to monitor the agent ex post. The audit committees responsibilities can be summarized as assisting the board of directors in verifying: the integrity of the companys financial statements the independence, integrity, qualification and performance of the external auditors the performance of the companys internal audit functions the appropriateness of the internal control systems the monitoring of compliance with laws and regulatory requirements and the code of conduct b) What strengths or weaknesses were present related to Comptronixs board of directors and audit committee? First of all the CEO and COO of Comptronix represented management of the board which constitutes already for 28.6% of the board of directors. Despite the evidence above and considering that the managers engaged in fraud, the high percentage of inside directors on the  board is a considerable weakness. Moreover, the remaining five outside board directors, rather  undermined than strengthened the boards independence: Two of them had close affiliations with management, the other maintained relations that were not that apparent at first glance, but nevertheless substantial. One, for example, was the partner in the venture capital firm that owned over 5% of Comptronix. Finally four annual board meetings seem to not have been sufficient to exert control over management. Concerning the audit committee it can be maintained that it was neither independent nor  qualified. The committee members, two outside and one gray director, were drawn from the  board of directors which was already evaluated as not being independent. Furthermore, not any of the members had accounting or financial reporting backgrounds, therefore lacking crucial expertise and experience in their function as an audit committee. 5. Public Companies must file quarterly financial statements in Form 10-Qs, that have been reviewed by the companys external auditor. Briefly describe the key requirements of  Auditing Standards (AU) Section 722, Interim Financial Information. Why wouldnt all companies (public and private) engage their auditors to perform timely reviews of interim financial statements? The SEC requires all public companies to have quarterly financial statements reviewed by the external auditor on a timely basis. SAS No. 71 provides guidance on the nature, timing, and extent of procedures to be applied by the independent accountant in conducting a review of interim financial information. The objective of a review of  interim financial information is to determine whether material modifications should be made for such information to conform to GAAP. A review of interim financial information consists principally of inquiries and analytical procedures. It does not include (1) tests of accounting records, (2) the evaluation of corroborating evidential matter in response to inquiries, or (3) other normal procedures ordinarily performed during an audit. Thus, the accountant does not obtain reasonable assurance that would serve as the basis for an opinion on that financial information. In performing a review of interim financial information, the accountant needs to have sufficient knowledge of a clients internal control as it relates to the preparation of  both interim and annual financial statements. That knowledge assists the accountant in identifying the likelihood of potential material misstatements in interim financial information and in selecting the inquiries and analytical procedures that will provide the accountant a basis for reporting whether material modifications should be made to the interim financial information in order for it to conform to GAAP. Non-public companies are not required to engage independent accountants to  perform a review of interim financial statements. Thus, a private companys decision to engage an independent accountant to conduct a review of interim financial information is a cost-benefit decision. The services associated with obtaining such a review require time and money. If top executives and the board of directors do not believe the related  benefits exceed the costs, then they are not likely to engage independent accountants. The guidance in SAS No. 71 applies to interim financial information that is included in a note to the audited financial statements of a non-public company. If the interim financial Information for the non-public company is presented in a separate complete set of interim financial statements, the accountant should comply with the AICPAs Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services. Recently, there has been increased attention on interim reviews because of alleged financial reporting fraud involving interim financial statements. The SEC requirement for timely interim reviews for public companies was sparked by the February 1999  Report and Recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the  Effectiveness of Corporate Audit Committees (The Blue Ribbon Report). That report included a recommendation that the SEC require a reporting companys outside auditor to conduct a SAS No. 71 interim review prior to the companys filing of its Form 10-Q with the SEC. According to the Blue Ribbon Panels report, the  ³increased involvement by the outside auditors and the audit committee in the interim financial reporting process should result in more accurate interim reporting. 7. Provide a brief summary of each of the three fraud conditions. Additionally, provide anexample from the Comptronix fraud of each of the three fraud conditions. 1) I ncentive or pressure to perpetrate fraud  ± Bonus for superb performance. Company awardstock incentive to key employees2) An opportunity to carry out the fraud  ± Executive positions that may bypass existing accountsystem. I nternal controls are insufficient. Board of directors composes of mostly internaldirectors and acquaintances.3) Attitude or rationalization to justify the fraudulent action.  ± helped company avoidingreporting net losses. 8. Auditing Standards (AU) Section 3 16, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial StatementAudit, notes that there is a possibility that management override of controls could occur inevery audit and accordingly, the auditor should include audit procedures in every audit toaddress that risk.a) What do you think is meant by the term  ³management override ´? Management override can be defined as the possibility for management to circumvent internalcontrols that appear to work efficiently, in order to manipulate accounting records and preparing fraudulent financial statements directly or indirectly. As the internal control system is expectedto function properly, the ways in which management can override controls are unpredictable. b) Provide two examples of where management override of controls occurred in theComptronix fraud The executives were able to bypass the existing accounting system. They could record fictitious  journal entries of sales and purchases manually inventing some customer order numbers andquantities that did not exist and obviously were not cross-checked with other internal systems,like the customer order- or inventory system.  Next to that it was possible to record fictitious purchases of equipment without creating thenecessary documents accompanying such purchases. The internal control failed to detect thisirregularity.Another example is the possibility of overriding control systems over cash disbursements. With afictitious vendor invoice it was possible to make an accountant payable clerk prepare a check  without the necessity to crosscheck whether the delivery of the goods actually took place or anorder number generated by the vendor existed that should have been found on the invoice later  on. c) Research AU Section 3 16 to identify the three required auditor responses to furtheraddress the risk of management override of internal controls Paragraphs 58  ± 67 in Section 316 of the Auditing Standards by the PCAOB describe proceduresthat should be performed to further address the risk of management override of controls. Thethree main responses that should be undertaken by the auditor are as follows:1. Examining journal entries and other adjustments for evidence of possible materialmisstatement due to fraud.Material misstatements due to fraud mostly occur by:a. recording inappropriate or unauthorized journal entries throughout the year or at periodend or  Ã‚  b. making adjustments to amounts reported in the financial statements that are not reflectedin formal journal entries due to consolidating adjustments, report combinations andreclassifications.Therefore, the auditor should test the appropriateness of journal entries recorded in the generalledger and other adjustments. I n particular, the auditor should:à ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Obtain an understanding of the entitys financial reporting process and the controls over  Ã‚  journal entries and other adjustments à ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ I dentify and select journal entries and other adjustments for testingà ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Determine the timing of the testingà ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ I nquire of individuals involved in the financial reporting process about inappropriate or  unusual activity relating to the processing of journal entries and other adjustments2. Reviewing accounting estimates for biases that could result in material misstatement due tofraud.The assumptions and resulting accounting estimates that management has to make to prepare thefinancial statements affect the underlying accounting techniques and figures. Therefore, a lot of  fraudulent financial reporting is done by intentional false estimations of management. Theauditor ¶s task is to consider retrospectively whether single estimates are supported by auditevidence and whether the ones that underlie the reported financial figures widely diverge and, if  so, investigate whether the assumptions and accounting estimates were intentionally biased in  part of management. Thereby, the auditor should test those accounting estimates that are basedon highly sensitive assumptions or are otherwise s ignificantly affected by management  judgements. I f single management estimates were biased, affecting the financial figuresmaterially, the auditor should investigate whether there have been circumstances that led to this  bias and if these circumstances can constitute a risk for financial statement fraud. Also theestimates taken as a whole should then be re-considered by the auditor.3. Evaluating the business rationale for significant unusual transactions.Transactions that are outside the normal course of business for the company or entityinvestigated or that appear to be unusual should be investigated by the auditor . I t should also beevaluated whether there is an underlying rationale behind those transactions or whether they are  possibly an indication of fraudulent financial reportingTo understand the underlying rationale for the transactions in question, the auditor shouldinvestigate:à ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Whether the form of such transactions is overly complex (e.g. whether it involves multipleentities within a consolidated group or unrelated third parties)à ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Whether management has discussed the nature of and accounting for such transactions withthe audit committee or board of directorsà ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Whether management is placing more emphasis on the need for a particular accountingtreatment than on the underlying economics of the transactionà ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Whether transactions that involve unconsolidated related parties, including special purposeentities, have been properly reviewed and approved by the audit committee or board of directors à ®Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Whether the transactions involve previously unidentified related parties or parties that do nothave the substance or the financial strength to support the transaction without assistance from theentity under audit

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

JIT Manufacturing and Inventory Control System Essay examples -- Busin

JIT Manufacturing and Inventory Control System Since the dawn of human existence evolution in all sectors of society has occurred due to Economic factors. This has mainly happened due to the fact that all technological achievements have occurred in favor of money. Specifically we can admit that Economy is the main reason for growth and development. By these means it is in our interest to establish strong economies either as societies (macroeconomics) or as individuals (microeconomics). For these reasons several techniques and methods have been initiated in order help modern individuals to develop. Such techniques are usually Accounting or Managerial in their nature. However one of the most important technique is both an Accounting and a Managerial technique and is called "The just in time method". Just in time manufacturing "was an inventory control approach that was developed by Taiichi Ohno at Toyota Motor Company of Japan. Specifically it requires that "the exact quantity of defect-free raw materials, parts and subassemblies are produced just in time for the next stage of the manufacturing stage" (Ivancevich-Lorenzi-Skinner, p 427). That actually means an inventory is never large and by this way cost is being reduced due to the fact that there are no losses of materials due to ba...