Accounting Theory British Petroleum

As per Tagesson (2014), most of the corporation activities affect the biodiversity or the environment either directly or indirectly. Therefore, this report has been prepared in order to study and understand the direct as well as the indirect impacts of a renowned corporation named British Petroleum Limited on the ecology. Thus, here, a case study on British Petroleum Limited has been studied and analyzed in detail in order to find out the issues related with the firm. It has been found that the particular company mainly has three issues. At first, consequence of oil spill on ocean ecosystem, secondly, lack of ecology services for governing risks and thirdly, lack of regulation sketch for noticing the reinstatement cost.   Ã‚   Depending on the provided case of British Petroleum, it has been noticed that the specified company is not capable to measure its reinstatement cost. As a result of this, the company analyzes this cost with respect to monetary terms. In addition, it has been identified that British Petroleum does not provide much significance to the harm it causes to the environment. Besides, the company counts this as products that cannot be marketed. So, British Petroleum should focus on the same and measure the value. It has been found that the government of the nation counts the firm as liable to pay fine as it causes harm to the ecosystem through causing oil spills, though the company does not portray the total damages done by it clearly (Ball 2016). As a result, the chief intention of preparing this report is to alert the firm British Petroleum regarding the spoils done by it to the environment.    The report mainly deals with the collection of data from both secondary and primary resources, so both primary and secondary as well as qualitative and quantitative analysis will be performed. Telephonic or face-to-face interview (qualitative analysis) and questionnaire survey (quantitative analysis) will be performed here. The secondary resources include – websites, articles and scientific journals. In order to collect accurate and authentic information, researcher will gather data from the inhabitants of Gulf Coast where oil spills occurred and employees of the company through survey. Nonetheless, both the staffs and the inhabitants of the region might falter to answer the researcher to the survey questions due to the nature of the research (Guthrie and Parker 2014). Oil spills are a type of pollution and thus all the firms of the petroleum sector should remain alert about this. However, British Petroleum does not portray the damages it done to the environment through oil spills. Moreover, the firm is found to cause more incidental oil spills than accidental oil spills. The later pattern of spill occurs accidentally and thus it is named so, but the former kind occurs due to the carelessness, negligence and ignorance of the employees and management of British Petroleum. Both the types of oil spills affect the ocean ecosystem (environment) directly and this has leaded to increase in mortality rate in marine ecosystem. Therefore, the company should pay the cleanup amount and fine charged by the government, but BP Limited aims to cover all the damages done by it to the ecological wealth (Dull, Schleifer and McMillan 2015). It has been found that ecological damage measurement as well as detection is very difficult, so the corporation measures it with respect to monetary value.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The stakeholders of British Petroleum fully trust on the corporation regarding its moral standards and ethical standards, so it should put steps forward for betterment of the ecological and social wealth (Henderson et al. 2015). Furthermore, British Petroleum should follow all the accounting standards of the environment for making it a trustworthy organization for the stakeholders. These standards will assist the corporation to widen a strong relationship between the organization, environment and ecosystem.   Ã‚   It is a common factor that most of the organizations of oil and petroleum industry break their penalty or fines by the application of political bargaining. However, the application of the political bargaining approach does not help the firm to recover all the damages done by it to the ecosystem. Thus, the organization British Petroleum should imply any process-adjusted structure in order to resolve all the risks associated with its operations. Moreover, it can be said that this particular process is considered as the required one for each firm of the particular sector. It has been found that the â€Å"accidental oil spills† generally arise due to collide of autocratic action as this results into featured accounts (Molisa 2014). The unveiled data of a firm is very important for the management department as it helps in estimating the endeavor point for reinstatement cost. Therefore, lack of regulation sketch might affect the corporation negatively, especially in the process of i dentifying reinstatement cost, so the mentioned approach is important for every organization of the oil and petroleum sector. In this research work, the researcher will implement primary research process as well as secondary research method. Thus, from both the primary and secondary resources, the researcher will gather data for better analysis. Thus, the researcher will target the people who live in Gulf Coast and the workers of BP Limited for performing questionnaire survey. In addition, secondary data will be gathered from the secondary sources (like – websites, journals and articles).    The researcher will collect information from a fixed sample size of 50 employees and 150 residents of Gulf Coast and this sample will be selected randomly. The selection of the samples can be done through various techniques, however, in this work, â€Å"Probability Sampling Technique† will be used. There are various kinds of oil spills that generally take place due to the activity of the organization British Petroleum and the percentages of occurring various kinds are shown below: Figure 1: Various patterns of Oil Spills and Their Occurrence Percentage In addition to this, it has been found that due to increased percentage of occurrence of oil spills, the mortality rate of the marine ecosystem has also been increased noticeably. It has been found that the oil spills majorly affect the ocean ecosystem as various kinds of spills take place on a short interval of time. These are: As per the data collected from Gulf, it has been came to know that the oil spills chiefly affect the ocean ecosystem, deepwater but it also affect the other parts of the environment. With the passage of time, the demand as well as the supply of the oil increased, but the workforce, numbers of staffs and contractors started to decrease as the occurrence of oil spills of the firm started to increase. Moreover, the information regarding the budget of Deepwater Horizon has been collected from the organization’s employees and it can be enhanced through the following chart: Figure 4: Financial Plan of Deepwater Horizon On the other hand, the reinstatement cost can be better explained through the following pie chart: Figure 5: Lack of Regulation Sketch Here, genuine information has been collected from both the kinds of resources (secondary and primary) and the participants of research survey can keep trust on the researcher of the project as the gathered data will not be unveiled. It can be concluded that British Petroleum should keep notice on the damages done by it the environment and should implement the accounting standards of environment. Moreover, fines paid by the firm to the government are not enough for improving the harm cause to the ecology. Baker, C.R. and Burlaud, A., 2015. The historical evolution from accounting theory to conceptual framework in financial standards setting.  The CPA Journal,  85(8), p.54. Ball, R., 2016. Why We Do International Accounting Research.  Journal of International Accounting Research,  15(2), pp.1-6. Bp.com. 2017.  Bp.com. [online] Available at: https://www.bp.com [Accessed 18 Jan. 2017]. Deegan, C., 2013.  Financial accounting theory. McGraw-Hill Education Australia. Dull, R.B., Schleifer, L.L. and McMillan, J.J., 2015. Achievement goal theory: the relationship of accounting students’ goal orientations with self-efficacy, anxiety, and achievement.  Accounting Education,  24(2), pp.152-174. Freeman, R.J., Shoulders, C.D., Allison, G.S., Smith Jr, G.R. and Becker, C.J., 2014. Governmental and nonprofit accounting: Theory and practice.  JPAEJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATION VOLUME 20 NUMBER 3, p.441. Guthrie, J. and D. Parker, L., 2014. The global accounting academic: what counts!.  Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal,  27(1), pp.2-14. Henderson, S., Peirson, G., Herbohn, K. and Howieson, B., 2015.  Issues in financial accounting. Pearson Higher Education AU. Molisa, P.B.M., 2014. Accounting for apocalypse: Re-thinking social accounting theory and practice for our time of social crises and ecological collapse. Tagesson, T., 2014. Accounting reforms, standard setting and compliance.  Public sector accounting, pp.8-22.

Strategic Project Assignment (Nanotech) Research Paper

Strategic Project Assignment (Nanotech) - Research Paper Example The resources being identified in the resource based view in an organization can generally be defined as all assets, organizational functions, organizational processes, firm competitive advantages, information and knowledge.2 I studied that there exists three main types of organizational structures; a functional structure that is set up according to the purpose of each department in the organization. For example in Nanotech, there would be a software engineering department and a marketing or sales department. This structure is best for small businesses and would not be efficient for Nanotech particularly because it does not favor communication between departments across the organizational boundary i.e. the production department in the US and correspondent production department in China. A divisional structure is another type of organizational structure where the organization’s framework is grouped into smaller divisions all equipped with the necessary resources. This structure may be appropriate for Nanotech as the firm can be categorized on a geographical basis i.e. a US and a China division. However, just like the functional structure, it does not cover the effective communication process which is mandatory. A third organizational structure, the matrix structure, is the best for a foreign operation such as Nanotech. This is because it is suitable for multinational companies. The matrix structure divides the organization’s resources by both function and product, and has double management by appointing a project manager to supervise project processes and a functional manager hence balancing organizational procedures. Nanotech can implement this structure and have one of its managers primarily responsible for launching its products into the Chinese market while another one provides technical knowledge like the market potential for their products. The functional manager can delegate responsibilities to the junior mangers who report to him. The forei gn operation can be performed by effectively and efficiently defining the supply chain which is overseen by a project and functional manager after the implementation of the matrix structure in the Nanotech organization. A supply chain is effective when its resources and capabilities are fully explored. These resources can be divided into internal and external capabilities of the firm. Internal capabilities include procurement, logistics and manufacturing, supply chain planning and customer service management. Material flow, information flow and interpersonal relationships form the external capabilities. All these resources need to be valuable and sustainable to the organization.3 The factor of transportation of these products from Nanotech headquarters in the US to the new base in China is an internal process that will depend on the logistics and manufacturing capability of the firm. This will be covered in the project scope after looking at the activity resource estimation, the pro ject time estimations and the estimation of the project cost. Once the aspects of the project management i.e. scope, time and cost have been discussed, options

The Social Life of Borders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Social Life of Borders - Essay Example Miller says concerning borderlands, â€Å"Borderlands are spaces that defy categories and paradigms, that â€Å"don’t fit,† and that therefore reveal the criteria that determine fittedness spaces whose very existence is simultaneously denied and demanded by the socially powerful. Borderlands are targets of repression and zones of militarization, as can be seen by the recent deployment of weaponry and guardsmen along the U.S.-Mexico border. Borderlands are marginalized yet strategic†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bibler-Coutin 171). As such, it is not difficult for the reader to understand the unique nature of the borderlands as something that neither typifies the culture and identity of either region that adjoins such an area. A secondary concept that the author chooses to discuss is that of â€Å"nonexistence†. This is a unique term that encompasses elements of the illegal and undocumented nature that many immigrants have to live with on a daily basis (Lee 56). As such, the author goes in depth to discuss what such a â€Å"nonexistence† feels like with respect to everyday life and the obtainment of goods and services that so many native residents take for granted. All in all, the concepts of borderlands combined with the space of nonexistence helps to present the reader with the unique externalities that are oftentimes unspoken but help to define the experience of untold thousands of individuals throughout the world. The image that has been chosen is taken from Google Earth images of the US-Mexico Border. This particular image is taken from the US side of the border looking in to the Mexican side. What this author found indicative and unique regarding this image is the fact that the â€Å"borderland† in this image is demarcated by a military-style fence that brings to mind images of the front lines of a battlefield. Whereas tall fences exist in many regions of the world to keep out would be à ©migrà ©s, this particular fence is interesting in the fact that it has an

The Demand for Health Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Demand for Health Insurance - Essay Example Alarming policy is the policy involving market-oriented solutions regarding the health insurance. Since customers have the habit of sorting themselves in certain groups, the talks on how to change the policy is based on the aborting criterion (Morrisey 87). Here, strategies should be put in place so that all level of customer should be favored and that they should not sort themselves in groups. In doing the above, the strength part of it is that all the customers will benefit equally. Weakness here is that customers are hard to understand and they tend to oppose the whole procedure for their own benefits. In most cases, health care policy in the developing country entails a government-sponsored clinics and hospital networks. The above has a goal of primarily providing access of the universe. Often, the above exists alongside the private providers systems for which pockets are paid off by individuals. In addition, it is evident as per the researchers that another health care policy includes health care clinics being prioritize, increasing success, and certain special funds being made available (Manning 4). The above is seen when President Nixon Richard decided to tackle cancer, and he planned to channel some millions of dollars to cater research work. Similarly, other health issues like the aids, small pox just to mention but a few are other forms of health policy that Medicaid put up for the fight of the health care issues.

Operations Management Case Study

Operations Management Case Study Preface: Western Bainoona Group â€Å"WBG† is Transportation, Roads and infrastructure general contracting; it has been established since 1990. It has 5 internal heads sections with 5000 persons. I will implement my company â€Å"WBG† as a study case on every task. Explain the importance of effective operations management in achieving organizational objectives (A.C 1-1) The operations management which is managing the processes to produce and distribute products and services has the big effective on achieving the objectives of the company due to several important factors: Operations management is responsible for short term objectives which considered as milestones to reach the long term objectives, therefore if the operations management is close to company short objectives, definitely the company long term objectives will be targeted. Operations management considered Micro analysis â€Å" SWOT analysis† which help the company to know the strength , weakness, opportunities and threats factors which affect on achieving the goals, so if the operations management doing this analysis in correct way , the company will take the advantage of the strength and opportunities factors and take care from the threats and weakness factors. Operations management depends on detailed level of aggregation so it will be always close to deep details in the company and in the market which helps the company to win chances, to avoid bad surprises and to be prepared always so it will serve the company to achieve its objectives easily without obstructions. Operations management is the balance between company inputs and outputs so if the balance between controlling company resources and achieving customer satisfaction is achieved so the company objectives will be targeted. Evaluate the success of existing operations management processes in meeting an organization’s overall strategic management objectives. (A.C. 1-2) To evaluate WBG operations management, we have to define the operations function. If we go through WBG operations function, easily we could see that operations are supporting the company strategy because WBG capabilities are bigger than the company plan and strategy due to strong capabilities factors such as huge infrastructure, thousands of employees and different procedures comparing with WBG Mission which is providing optimum quality in a timely and cost-effective manner with care to society and the environment. So for WBG operations management evaluation, we could go through 5 factors to compare between operations management performance and WBG mission: Quality : Inside WBG, it’s famous that the things must be done twice to be in proper way so the quality of operations must be enhances to meet the company mission and strategy. Speed : Some departments inside WBG are doing the works quickly like HR and contracting but the other departments are not like Garage and heavy equipments so the speed of operations must be enhanced in some divisions. Dependability : Dependability needs to be enhanced due to double works culture inside the company. Flexibility : The flexibility is strong inside WBG due to huge resources and good leadership. Cost : Doing the things cheaply is the procedure for any work inside WBG but because of double works, the cost is becoming more and more sometimes so the operations management must taking care of the cost and prevent double works. Explain the importance of effective quality management in achieving organizational objectives. (A.C 2-1) The quality management concentrates on the savings and additional revenue that company could realize if it eliminate errors and double works throughout its operations and produce products and services at the optimal level of quality desired by its customers. In case of achieving that, the company objectives will be targeted easily. Also quality management allow the company to meet current quality levels, meet the consumer’s requirement for quality, save employees through competitive training programs, and keep up with the latest technology which help the company to compete inside the market continuously and in same time achieving its objectives. On the other hand, quality management defines the areas which need to be enhanced inside the company, specifies the time of achieving quality results which will serve company goals, makes MACRO and MICRO analysis which help the company to define the market and entire system advantages and disadvantages and deploys the quality in all company divisions in different shapes. . Evaluate the success of existing quality management processes in meeting an organization’s overall strategic management objectives. (A.C 2-2) To evaluate the current quality management of WBG, we have to go through some important elements which affect on quality: Errors and double works : Till today, the existing quality management didn’t control the errors percentages which are high and the double works culture inside the company due to careless of employees, ignoring of the procedures and less knowledge. These things cause loss in money and time always. Desired customers’ optimal level of quality WBG in the recent years has ISO 9000 and special grade approval from municipality after it was 3rd grade. This Paradigm shift is due to customer’s satisfaction, products and services optimal quality. So the existing quality management must continue developing the optimal customer level of quality to be the first line inside market. Competitive training programs for employees Unfortunately, the existing quality management didn’t make any quality training for the employees and because of that a lot of errors and double works still happened. Latest market technology The existing quality management tried to use the latest market technology in its products and services but sometimes it didn’t use this due to cost issue. So it has to reserve special budget for quality developments. The time of achieving quality results Unfortunately, the existing quality management didn’t clear the time of achieving the quality results so the company long term objectives duration are not specified or known. 3.1 Plan a strategic quality change to improve organizational performance. (A.C.3-1) WBG must use the Forced Choice Model in its planning of strategic quality change because it has good description what will be happened in the next couple of years as the construction field could be predicted. The main long term objective is to achieve the company vision which says taking WBG forward as a leading construction company in the region and move on decisively towards a wider existence. Under this vision, we can make strategic quality plan for Contracting Department .the force model can analysis the department position by SWOT and Environmental assessment by PESTE. SWOT analysis can show the following: S: Internal Strengths: Strong budget and cash flow situation, good relations between staff, strong and big structure department, ISO certificates, Professional classification approval from ADM municipality, new IT system. W: Internal weakness: No QA/QC division, Lack of proposition, shortage of discerning skilled employees, Low motivation level, lack of employee’s commitment, some unskilled managers. O: External Opportunities: Excellent relations with authorities, contractors and clients, Banks Finance support, competitors vulnerabilities such as finance issues and authorities approval. T: External Threads: A Labour law, availability of resources, taxation, new legislations, Economic crises, increased trade barriers, competitor intentions PESTE –Macro environment analysis: We will find politically that UAE has stable government. Economically, market had enhanced and developed as the projects are increased due to EXPO2020. Socially, UAE has suitable demographics and good lifestyle trends. Technologically, the infrastructure level is helping too much to establish projects. Environmentally, the climate is suitable for construction and all resources are close. Strategy option : After the Macro and Micro analysis are done, the appropriate strategy for contracting department is â€Å"Competitive tenders pricing, decrease resources wastage and increase products and services quality â€Å". Requirements for implementing strategy option : Doing continuity different Training quality courses for supervisors, staff and engineers. Recruitment of skilled pricing manager, QA/QC manager and project managers. Develop the system and the coordination between contracting division and others. Create quality assurance and quality control divisions. Making known rewards system. Contingency Plans : Asking help from third party consultancy management offices. Joint venture with main contractors. 3.2 Define resources, tools and systems to support business processes in a strategic quality change (AC 3.2) Resources: Human Resources : staff , trainers ,supervisors ,engineers and managers Material Resources: all WBG material in its asphalt plant and crushers. Transportation Resources: Fleet of cars, trucks and six wheels. Tools: Heavy and light equipments. Emails and reports. WBG Garage. WBG office. Meetings. System: Training system. Rewards system. Company systems such as oracle, primavera, etc. HR system. 3.3 Evaluate the wider implications of planned strategic quality change in an organization. (AC 3.3) The evaluation of strategic quality change application in Contracting Department could be observed through some major elements: Cost : Q: Does the cost of the past repeated works and material wastage is more than existing quality training courses cost? If yes, that means the training courses must be proceeded and evaluated monthly by observing the wastage of material on construction site and percentage of repeated works, if the percentage is going to be lower than the past, that means the training courses is doing well, but if not, the company must check the problem either from impropriate courses or employees careless. Productivity : Q: Does Contracting Department win more tenders after strategic quality change application? Q: Does daily progress becomes more than before? If yes, that means the productivity on proper way but if not, it must check the cause either from improper coordination or personnel issues. Profitability : Q: Does Contracting Department specify time to gain the benefits from strategic quality change application? If yes, that means it has to observe the profitability percentage as planed or less. But if not, it must specify planned time to gain benefits otherwise the risk is too high. Products and services Quality : Q: Do suppliers and clients satisfy from products and services? Q: Do new suppliers and clients make agreement with WBG contracting department? If yes, that means the quality in right way. But if not, it must check with QA/QC division to explain the causes. 3.4 Design systems to monitor the implementation of a strategic quality change in an organization (AC 3.4) Monitoring the Training system : After staff, supervisors and engineers are done any training course, the contracting management must measure the percentage of understanding this course by doing small technical test on papers and on sites by daily progress reports to ensure that people got the benefit from the training or not. Monitoring the Daily work system : The seniors and managers of the contracting department must observe cost _items budget and cash flow_, schedule _milestones_ and quality through arranged below steps: Daily progress report from every employee and must handed over officially by internal mail system. All daily reports must be entered to analytical program to know the strong points and problem points for every employee works. Seniors and managers must interfere directly on time to solve any problem or misunderstanding of execution the strategic quality plan or procedures. Weekly feedback report must be given to every employee to show the progress and assess the efforts. Monthly encouraged rewords to the deserved employees who did the max progress works with less mistakes to motivate the employees to use this strategic quality change plan and to be more familiar with it. Weekly progress meeting must be held to discuss about the progress and to maintain the problems. Making seminars every 2 months and show all the employees the results of execution the strategic quality change and promise all employees with good yearly bonus if they doing their best to achieve the targets. 4.1 Implement a strategic quality change in an organization (A.C.4-1) By using of process mapping as below Figure†1† which shows the current system of contracting department Source: WBG Current contracting system So the proposed process mapping which will help to implement strategy quality change is as below Figure†2† Source: WBG Proposed contracting system 4.2 Embed a quality culture in an organization to ensure continuous monitoring and development. (A.C.4-2) To embed the quality in WBG Contracting Department, the management must do the following: Training Courses in different types of quality to teach the staff how to deal with the process in quality way which means low cost, less time and best results. Share the monthly process results to all stakeholders to show them the difference between using strategic quality and without. Encourage stakeholders by giving rewords and holidays. Give the shareholders more benefits in case of they targeted more goals for the company. Use latest technology to observe the process and system inside the deprtment and the company. 4.3 Monitor the implementation of a strategic quality change in an organization (AC 4.3) Daily progress report from every senior to his project manager who is responsible to compare between the actual schedule and the planned one so easily he could mark all the millstones which were delayed or achieved in advance. Also every PM must send this report to the operation manager who will evaluate the status of all projects. Quality Assurance: the QA engineers with managers must ensure that all daily operations and processes which are developed to appropriate the strategic change are on the right way and in case of any violations such as wrong material orders; they have to take action directly. Quality Control: the QC engineers with manager must control Budget, Quality, implementation methods, etc to evaluate the processes status and give the management real feedback about it. Meetings: all the senior management must meet once weekly to discuss about the progress and to maintain the problems. 5.1 Evaluate the outcomes of a strategic quality change in an organization (AC 5.1) Budget Reviews : The Contracting Department Manager must check the budget situation according to actual progress and planned cash flow so easily he could know the all outcomes after implementing the strategic quality change are similar to before situation or going better. Employee Machinery working hours VS Progress: The Contracting Department Manager can compare between the actual employees and machineries working hours and the planned estimated working hours by time sheet. So he could know the projects used extra working hours as before or within the estimated schedule as per the strategic quality planned. Time Schedule: The Contracting Department Manager could compare between the actual schedule and the planned one as per the strategic quality planned. So easily he could mark all the millstones which were delayed or achieved in advance. So by doing Check Sheet for the previous elements in every project, the things will be easier: 5.2 Recommend areas for improvement to a strategic quality change that align with organizational objectives (AC 5.2) Client Satisfaction : The client must be satisfied with WBG projects in all items so the contracting management must be careful to satisfy the clients give more efforts and expenses even if it’s out a little bit of the main scope because if the client is satisfying, sure the company will be in his priority in the next projects. Safe the employees : The contracting management must appreciate the employee’s efforts by sending thanking mails and give some days off to relax before transfer them to the next project. And in case there is no new project, they could send the employees for open vacation without terminate them so the Staff will increase their loyalty to the company. Paper works : The contracting management must ensure that all activities and lesson leaned are registered daily to give good feedback and lessons for the future. Share the benefits : The contracting management must give Bonus to the employees which aims to increase their efforts in implementation of strategic quality plan. References Quality.co.uk, (2015).The Quality Manual Management Network. [online] Available at: http://www.quality.co.uk/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2015]. Bsigroup.com, (2015).ISO 9001 Quality Management | BSI Group. [online] Available at: http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/iso-9001-quality-management/ [Accessed 12 Jan. 2015]. BusinessDictionary.com, (2015).What is total quality management (TQM)? Definition and meaning. [online] Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/total-quality-management-TQM.html [Accessed 11 Jan. 2015]. Tutorialspoint.com, (2015).Basic Quality Tools. [online] Available at: http://www.tutorialspoint.com/management_concepts/basic_quality_tools.htm [Accessed 13 Jan. 2015]. Bia.ca, (2015).Strategic Quality Planning. [online] Available at: http://www.bia.ca/strategic-quality-planning.htm [Accessed 13 Jan. 2015]. Total Words: 2,992 [1]

Early Childhood Education Field Essay -- Education, teaching, elementa

Introduction Due to an increased demannd for standards and accountability in the early childhood education field, policy makers have increasingly turned to the development of effective professional practice among early childhood educators (ECEs) as the predominant approach in securing better outcomes for children. ECEs have thus found themselves under increased pressure to develop professional practices through professional development which has been demonstrated to have a profound impact on children’s holistic development and their performance prospects in society. This essay will focus on the development of effective professional practice among ECEs. The paper will critically evaluate the importance of developing professional practice among ECEs, how it is developed and the application in ECE’s practice. The essay will highlight how professional practice and core beliefs of ECEs are shaped by factors such as professional and personal identity, beliefs and values and regulatory d ocuments and bodies. Development of Professional Practice The importance attached to the development of effective professional practice among ECEs can be seen in the Professional Support Coordinators Alliance of South Australia (PSCSA’s) definition of professional development. The PSCSA defines professional development as â€Å"continuous learning that enables practitioners to affirm existing understandings as well as acquire new skills and knowledge and thereby remain up-to-date with evolving developments in the field (PSCSA, 2008, p17).† The report also considers the development of professional practice among ECEs as any endeavor to improve service delivery to the families and the children that they are contracted to provide the service for. This def... ...n The development of effective self practice among early childhood educators has become an increasingly important aspect of quality management and improved service delivery in the ECE sector. The significance of professional development for ECEs is that it enhances the acquisition of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions as well as the application of this knowledge in professional practice. Professional development is mainly through continuous learning and training and is dependent on the educator’s core personal and professional values and beliefs. These beliefs are shaped by publications of regulatory and professional bodies and through constant self reflection and evaluation. This then enables ECEs work on their beliefs that shape their professional practice as regards mode of teaching and also professional relationships with family and community.

Evaluation of Comptronix Corporation: Identifying Inherent Risk and Control Risk Factors Essay

1. Professional auditing standards present the audit risk model, which is used to determine the nature, timing, and extent of audit procedures. Describe the components of the model and discuss how changes in each component affect the auditor’s need for evidence. The audit risk model is used to determine the nature, timing, and extent of substantive audit procedures. The components of audit risk model usually stated as follows: DR = AR/(IR x CR) Where: DR = detection risk; AR = audit risk; IR = inherent risk; CR = control risk Detection Risk: auditors’ procedures will lead them to conclude that a financial statement assertion is not materially misstated when in fact such misstatement does exist. If auditors want to decrease DR, they had better collect more evidence and make sure the validity of evidence. Audit Risk: auditors may unknowingly fail to appropriately modify their opinion on financial statements that are materially misstated. If AR should be keep in low level, which means the other risks also should be low. Inherent Risk: The risk of material misstatement of a financial statement assertion, assuming there were no related controls. As inherent risk increases, PDR decreases, which in turn increases the auditor’s need for stronger evidence. Control risk: The risk that a material misstatement that could occur in an account will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by internal control. If the strength of internal control is assessed as decreasing, the auditor should pay more attention to control risks. 2. One of the components of the audit risk model is inherent risk. Describe typical factors that auditors evaluate when 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? Inherent risk is a measure of the auditor’s assessment of the susceptibility of an assertion to a material misstatement assuming there are no related internal controls. Some believe that inherent risk would be greater for some assertions and related account based on some conditions as follows: †¢Complex calculations rather than simple calculations. Once the company lost their a key customer, Management have a strong motivation manipulate sales and operating performance to satisfy investor expectations because the loss of a key customer put too much pressure on management to meet the requirements of external users. †¢Public Offering of Stock: After Comptronix made its public offering of stock , they have the pressure which push the management to manipulate operating performance too meet the expectations from the external users. †¢Technological Improvement: Comptronix is a manufacture company which main products are circuit boards and the circuit boards’ development depend on technological improvement. The technological improvement has a negative impact on operating performance. †¢Pressures from a new star Company: By the first year of the fraud (1989), Comptronix became a new company which can employ more than 1,800 employees in less than a decade , and at same time, the company expanded its the size of the company in three different locations. The rapid development of company made the management adjusted their operations instead of monitoring company operations. †¢Estimation of Accounts: The high inherent risk accounts include Accounts receivable/ payable, inventory, and property, plant, and equipment. But all the accounts’ computation is based on estimation which led the numbers are very unreliable and subjective. †¢Cash Flow Pressures: Comptronix suffered net losses from 1986. Until the company attracted a venture capitalist, the company was able to generate strong sales and profits. Prior to 1989, Comptronix had generated only two consecutive years of profit after several years of net losses. cash flow of financial statement cannot cover many years of recurring losses. The management has motives to make up operating accounts to look perfect to attract more investors. 3. Another component of the audit risk model is control risk. Describe the five components of internal control. What characteristics of Comptronix’s internal control increased control risk for the audits of the 1989-1992 year-end financial statements? Five components of control risk are: control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring. Control environment set the tone of an organization by influencing the control consciousness of people. Risk assessment is management’s process for identifying, analyzing, and responding to the risks. Control activities are policies and procedures that help ensure that management’s directives are carried out. Information is needed at all levels of an organization to assist management in meeting the organization’s objectives. Monitoring of controls is a process to assess the quality of internal control performance over time. The information and communication is seriously weak in that he three executives were able to perpetrate the fraud by bypassing the existing accounting system. They could record the fictitious entries manually and other employees were excluded from the manipulations to minimize the likelihood of the fraud being discovered. Besides, the weak control activity and monitoring is represented by the fact that Mr. Shifflett or Mr. Medlin could approve payments based solely on an invoice. Therefore, the fraud team was able to bypass internal controls over cash disbursements. Internal controls were also insufficient to detect the manipulation of sales and accounts receivable. Mr. Medlin had the ability to access the shipping department system. 4. The board of directors, and its audit committee, can be an effective corporate governance mechanism. Discuss the pros and cons of allowing inside directors to sere on the board. Describe typical responsibilities of audit committees.What strengths or weaknesses were present related to Comptronix’s board of directors and audit committee? As shareholders have limited access to the sufficient information, they are hard to monitor the daily transactions and management. They would delegate the responsibilities to the board of directors. Then, board of directors require inside directors to provide sufficient information in order to make decisions those are in the maximum profits of shareholders. However, if the inside directors have improper purposes, it’s easily to be a manipulation tool for management. Audit committee is responsible for ensuring that the company’s financial statements and reports are accurate and use fair and reasonable estimates. More specifically, it is charged with overseeing the financial reporting and disclosure process, monitoring choice of accounting policies and principles, overseeing hiring, performance and independence of the external auditors, oversight of regulatory compliance, monitoring the internal control process, overseeing the performance of the internal audit function, and discussing risk management policies and practices with management. The control environment is significantly influenced by the effectiveness of its board of directors or its audit committee. Factors that bear on the effectiveness of the board or audit committee include the extent of its independence from management, the experience and stature of its members. However, among the seven individuals in Comptronix board of directors, five members are either inside directors or directors had close affiliations with management. In addition, the primary responsibility of the board of directors is to protect the shareholders’ assets and ensure they receive a decent return on their investment. Board members act as trustees of the organization’s assets and must exercise due diligence to oversee that the organization is well managed and that its financial situation remains sound. But the composition of Comptronix’s board of directors obviously lacks objectivity. A qualifying audit committee should be composed of independent directors who are not officers or employees of the organization and who do not have other relationships that impair independence. However, The audit committee of Comptronix is made up two outside directors and one gray director, which would inevitably impair the independence. What’s more, to qualify, the committee must be composed of outside director with at least one qualifying as a financial expert. Nevertheless, for Comptronix Corporation, there is no indication of whether any of these individuals had accounting or financial reporting backgrounds. Lastly, the audit committee met only twice during 1991, it was not efficiently and sufficiently to monitor and oversee the financial reporting. 5. Public companies must file quarterly financial statements in Form 10-Qs, that have been reviewed by the company’s external auditor. Briefly describe the key requirements of Auditing Standards (AU) Section 722, Interim Financial Statements. Why wouldn’t all companies (public and private) engage their auditors to perform timely reviews of interim financial statements? The term interim financial information means financial information or statements covering a period less than a full year or for a 12-month period ending on a date other than the entity’s fiscal year end. A review consists principally of performing analytical procedures and making inquiries of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and does not contemplate (a) test of accounting records through inspection, observation, or confirmation; (b) tests of controls to evaluate their effectiveness; (c) the obtain net of corroborating evidence in response to inquiries; or (d) the performance of certain other procedures ordinarily performed in an audit. The decision to have a review engagement is a joint decision of the client and auditor. So a review would be performed when the benefits to the auditor and to the client exceed the costs to both parties. In general, firms with high complexity are more likely to be reviewed than firms with low complexity. Firms with high growth opportunities a less likely to be reviewed than those with low growth opportunities for they may be associated with higher information and litigation risks. And it’s also about the firms’ audit assurance and insurance needs. 6. Describe whether you think Comptronix’s executive team was inherently dishonest from the beginning. How is it possible for otherwise honest people to become involved in frauds like the one at Comptronix? We don’t think Comptronix’s executive team was inherently dishonest from the beginning. In opposite, we think there are two main reasons for the company committed the fraud. The first is its weak internal control. First comes to the company’s board of director. The board of directors is responsible for overseeing the actions of management. Factors that bear on the effectiveness of the board include the extent of its independence from management, the experience and stature of its members, the extent to which it raises and pursues difficult questions with management, and its interaction with the internal and external auditors. the audit committee of the board of directors should be composed of independent directors who are not officers or employees of the organization and who do not have other relationships that impair independence. In addition, the audit committee should have one or more members who have financial reporting expertise. However, Comptronix’s board of directors consist of the CEO and the COO of the company, And two of the other five directors who had close affiliations with management, one served as the company’s outside general legal counsel and the other who served as vice president of manufacturing for a significant customer of Comptronix, and one of the remaining outside directors who was a partner in the venture capital firm that owned 574,978 shares (5.3%) of Comptronix’s common stock, the second outside director who was the vice chairman and CEO of the local bank originally loaning money to the company, and the third outside director who was president of an international components supplier based in Taiwan. And there was no indication of whether any of these individuals had accounting or financial reporting backgrounds. 28.6% of the board consisted of inside directors. And even all of the board of directors disobey the independence and effectiveness of the formation of the board of directors. The interest relationship with the company increased the potential risk for the management to commit fraud. The second reason is the huge pressure of harsh competition for the companies in the industry. The fraud was motivated by the loss of a key customer in 1989 to the three executives’ former employer, SCI. Since the first manipulation of the financial statement, they were forced to manipulate the other years and evidences to hide the manipulation, which created a vicious circle. In conclusion, the weak internal control system provided a good environment for the commission of fraud. The huge pressure of the company brought the motivation of the fraud. Both of them played important roles for the honest people to become involved in frauds. 7. Auditing Standards (AU) Section 316, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit, notes that three conditions are generally present when fraud occurs. Research the authoritative standards for auditors and provide a brief summary of each of the three fraud conditions. Additionally, provide an example from the Comptronix fraud of each of the three fraud conditions. (1) Three fraud conditions First, management or other employees have an incentive or are under pressure, which provides a reason to commit fraud. Second, circumstances exist—for example, the absence of controls, ineffective controls, or the ability of management to override controls—that provide an opportunity for a fraud to be perpetrated. Third, those involved are able to rationalize committing a fraudulent act. Some individuals possess an attitude, character, or set of ethical values that allow them to knowingly and intentionally commit a dishonest act. (2) Examples The incentive for top company executive to do fraud is that after the company went public, the company needed an increasing number for profit on the income statement, to attract more investors and make the stock price higher and higher. One of the opportunities for fraud perpetrated in Comptronix is that their internal controls were so insufficient. The three executives had so many authorities to get access to various accounts. They can get control of both checks and accounts payable, which enable them to make fake equipment purchasing recording. Because Comptronix`s quarterly filings were unaudited, the executives were successful in manipulating quarterly financial statements. After they successfully manipulated 1989 year-end sales and receivables, they thought their performance may not be discovered by external auditors and SEC, so they began recording fictitious quarterly sales frequently. 8. Auditing Standards Section 316, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit, notes that there is a possibility that management override of controls could occur in every audit and accordingly, the auditor should include audit procedures in every audit to address that risk. a. What do you think is meant by the term â€Å"management override†? Management override of internal controls is the intervention by managers in handling financial information and making decisions contrary to internal control policy. Managers may think they have the ability to operate outside of the internal controls, but this is not true. b. provide two examples of where management override of controls occurred in the Comptronix fraud. For example, Mr. Medilin, as controller and treasurer, has the authorization to manipulate both sales documents and accounts receivable documents. Thus he can enter bogus sales into the accounting system then make fake accounts receivable to overstate the company`s earnings. Moreover, in order to overstate the equipment and accounts payable, the three company executives cut fake checks to the bogus accounts payable vendors associated with the fake purchases of equipment. However, the check preparing and recording of equipment purchases jobs should be distributed to different staff. Handling these two jobs at the same time by same executives provide them opportunity to make overstated recording of equipment purchasing. c. Research AU Section 316 to identify the three required auditor responses to further address the risk of management override of internal controls. Three required auditor responses to further address the risk of management override: (1) Examining journal entries and other adjustments for evidence of possible material misstatement due to fraud. (2) Reviewing accounting estimates for biases that could result in material misstatement due to fraud. (3) Evaluating the business rationale for significant unusual transactions.