Africa In Perspective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Africa In Perspective - Essay Example Trevor-Roper stated that Africa had nothing that could be taught or learned in so far as history is concerned, but seemed to prophesy about Africa’s Future. Although George Hegel and Hugh Trevor-Roper viewed Africa with contempt and negative connotations, they did not understand the Africa’s story and its potential for the future. It is notable that Africa in the traditional days did not have much to offer in terms of development or movements. Not much was known about the continent to the extent that it was not considered as a force in the global sphere. Civilizations had not knocked Arica’s doors. While civilization swept most parts of Europe and the nations of America’s, Africa missed the opportunity to become part of the world system. Accessibility into the continent of Africa was not a possible issue, as the terrain and navigation methods at that time could not allow penetration into the heart of the continent. Consequently, global powers did not think that Africa deserved to be included in the civilization process to they extent that the continent was left to hang in the dark with few possibilities.To this extent, Hegel and Trevor-roper were right in noting that nothing could be understood, learned or recorded about history and that remains a fact. It is important to note that Hegel and Trevor did not take into consideration the challenges that faced the ‘dark’ continent in the traditional days.In the traditional days, Africa had a governance system that was manifested by the clan system.  

Ethical Dilemmas in Organizational Communication Essay

Ethical Dilemmas in Organizational Communication - Essay Example However, the ethical dilemmas profoundly and dramatically affect the brand image of the enterprises and corporations due to increased awareness concerning these social issues amongst the general population of the world (Garber, 2008). An individual may encounter the ethical dilemmas in personal lives as well as in the professional or the business world. As an example about the ethical dilemma, I am a newly appointed personal director in a large beverage distributor and screening of all the applications for promotions to management positions come under my job responsibilities and tasks. According to the standard process and policies of the organization, top three contenders, or the applicants comes under the selection for additional interviews with the management after completing the screening process (Zastrow &Â  Kirst-Ashman, 2009). ... The finest option that I would go for is accosting the president about the discriminatory stance. As being a firm believer and supporter of the concept of EEO that is Equal Employee Opportunity, I would make my best effort to convince and persuade the president for the selected female candidates that they are the best matches with the skills and capabilities in accordance to the provided job specifications. Moreover, the president should not have the bias and prejudice feature while considering the applicants and their proficiency and talent should be the emphasis and the highlighting point while interviewing or selecting. While looking at the other side of the continuum, to resolve this ethical dilemma, I should reopen the position with an anticipation to catch the attention of further qualified candidates as an alternative preference that would come under implementation. Since I am an employee whose principal duty and responsibility is to screen, shortlist and recruit the applicant s according to the exact and accurate specifications provided by either the departments or the top executives, which is the foremost and key cause to go for this option. Therefore, by reopening the position, I would look for the best candidates according to the precise requirements as provided. In another example situation of ethical dilemma, I have overheard a dialogue exchange that was under discussion between my manager and the manager of another department in which my best friend came under hiring and worked. The matter of subject was my friend in the conversation that they were having. The conversation made it noticeably obvious that manager of the other department was not satisfied and happy with the work of my friend. In addition, the manager did

Two Party System Essay Example for Free

Two Party System Essay It is commonly argued that political parties are becoming weaker and interest groups are becoming more powerful in America.   Keeping these changes in mind, is it possible that the United States will ever move away from the two-party system and have three or more strong parties? In 1992, Texan billionaire Ross Perot won more votes than any `third party` candidate for President ever had before. Coincidence, or will a smaller party ever become a strong enough force to rule the United States, or indeed have an influential presence in Parliament?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Statistics suggest that Americans are in favor of a third major force in their political scenario.    According to a poll conducted by Angus Reid Global Monitor: â€Å"Many adults in the United States believe there should be a viable alternative to Republicans and Democrats, according to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 53 per cent of respondents believe there should be a third major political party in the country, up three points since June 2004.† (Angus Reid Global Monitor, 2003). And according to VoteBuddy.com, 2006, more than two thirds of Americans want a third party because of the following reasons:   Most people are simply aware that government of, by, and for the Democrats and Republicans has not been working; they have little idea why. Part of the reason is that neither party really stands for what it used to. Instead, both of them have moved to the center in hopes of capturing the many moderate voters out there. A lot of people really miss having a party that represents the principles they believe in. Others have specific concerns that they believe have been abandoned by the one major party that ever showed any interest in them. (VoteBuddy.com, 2006). Indeed the voting trends of the past decade or two have perhaps been indicative of this new trend towards a third, independent party.   In recent years, Ross Perot and Ralph Nader, both representatives of independent parties, have gained a fairly large part of the vote over their Democratic and Republican competitors, not enough to cause worry to leaders of the two major parties yet, but certainly more than in previous years. Also worth noting is the low percentage of voter turnout at American polls.   Are those who don’t turn out to vote independent supporters who are just thinking that their vote will be wasted?   Or are they so happy with the system as it is that they don’t feel they need to vote?   Today, American voters give all kinds of reasons for not voting. The cost of being involved in the voting process is among them. On the one hand, many find it difficult to register and stay registered (moving means having to reregister), despite efforts like the federal motor-voter bill, which allows Americans to register while renewing drivers licenses, and popular pushes like MTVs Rock the Vote campaign.   (Hough, 2006) Others get turned off by the enormous time commitment needed to follow the race. This years presidential election, for example, saw candidates jockeying for position nearly two years before the actual election. Unfortunately, instead of giving Americans more time to absorb the issues, according to results from the Vanishing Voter Project, the long campaign has them tuning out.   (Hough, 2006) You can make an argument for a long campaign, acknowledged Patterson, but our data show its a disincentive. During the second week of the projects polling — a full year before the election — only 5 percent of Americans said they were paying a great deal of attention to the campaign. Roughly 60 percent said they were paying little or no attention. By week three, despite heavy news coverage, Americans interest in the campaign actually declined.   (Hough, 2006) Whatever the case is, a true representation of political feeling in America will only be obtained once voter turnout is higher. Another aspect which would make it hard for a third party to gain strength is congressional opposition to third parties.   Traditionally, according to Wikipedia, a two party system works as follows: A two-party system is a form of party system where two major political parties dominate the voting in nearly all elections. As a result, all, or nearly all, elected offices end up being held by candidates endorsed by the two major parties. Coalition governments occur only rarely in two-party systems, though each party may internally look like a coalition. Under a two-party system, one of two major parties typically holds a majority in the legislature (or a legislative house in a bicameral system), and is referred to as the Majority Party. The other major party is referred to as the Minority Party. The leader of the majority party may be referred to as the Majority Leader, assisted by the Majority Whip, and the leader of the major opposition party may be referred to as the Minority Leader, assisted by the Minority Whip. Two-party systems often develop spontaneously when the voting system used for elections discriminates against third or smaller parties, because the number of votes received for a party in a whole country is not directly related to the proportion of seats it receives in the countrys assembly/assemblies. (Wikipedia, 2006). We can see how a system structured in a way like this would make it very difficult for a third party to prosper. In addition, some reports state that Congress itself shows opposition to third parties, which, at least for the current time, would make it very hard for a third party to achieve any sort of effectiveness in Congress. In BC Politics, Kevin Surbaugh (2006), reports that he has read in a Green Party document. He states: â€Å"This article is about the Democrats trying to pass a bill (HR 4694) that effectively seeks to ban any and all third parties, basically making it so only the Republicans and Democrats will have access to power. Its already difficult for an independent or third party candidate to gain ballot access, but this new bill would make it almost impossible. HR 4694 (Let the People Decide Clean Campaign Act) would mean that the official nominees of parties (i.e., Democrats and Republicans) that had averaged 25% of the vote for House races in a given district in the last two elections would get full public funding. All others (i.e., third party and independent candidates) would be required to submit petitions signed by 10% of the number of people who voted in the last election to get partial funding, and 20% petitions to get full funding. The press release gives an example of the 2nd district in Missouri, where 10% of that district would be some 35,000 signatures, just to spend anything at all, including your/his/her own money. This is a bill that people of all parties should be concerned about.: (Surbaugh, 2006). Surbaugh calls for actions from Americans to prevent this bill from occurring. Perhaps the best form of action they can take would be to present themselves at the polls and vote for the people that they want to vote for. Again, statistics show that Americans don’t vote for independents because they are afraid that they will be â€Å"wasting† their vote.   Terry Mitchell commented on this in July 2006 in an article called â€Å"Voters are to Blame for Bad Politics†, as follows: â€Å"One of our biggest problems is our unwillingness to vote for independent or third party candidates. These candidates generally do not have obligations to party bosses or quid pro quo relationships with lobbyists like the major party candidates do. Very often, we will vote for the lesser of two evils, rather than an independent or third party candidate who might be much better. Of course, when you vote for the lesser of two evils, youre still voting for an evil. Many people feel like they would be wasting their vote by voting for any of those other candidates. This is simply not true. A voter only wastes his/her vote when he/she votes for someone he/she does not really like. Instead, we create a voting catch-22 for ourselves, i.e., no one will vote for Mr. Independent because he has no chance; Mr. Independent has no chance because no one will vote for him. If enough people decided to start voting their conscience, we could break that vicious cycle.† (Mitchell, 2006) When Americans go to the poll on 7 November 2006, there will not only be two parties on the ballot paper. Democrats and Republicans will be joined by the likes of the Constitution Party, the Liberation Party, interest groups such as the Green Party, and even the Peace and Freedom Party.   How will the 45% of Americans who want a third party in Government vote?   Indeed, will they vote at all?   Once before we have seen how powerful an effective third party vote can be.   Some have said that Perot cost George Bush the 1992 election. During the spring primaries in the big industrial states like New York and Pennsylvania, when attention might have been paid to Clinton and former California Governor Jerry Brown as they fought each other and debated a domestic agenda for the new administration, all the media covered was the undeclared candidacy of Ross Perot (Ieinsdorf.com, 2006). And did Nader cost Gore the election in 2000? A closer look shows if Nader wasnt a choice, the 2.7% who supported Nader would have split so Gore would have picked up about 2% more support and Bush would have picked up an additional 1%. In a non-Nader race, Gore would have prevailed over Bush 50% to 49%. (Mike Hersh, 2003). This is indicative of exactly how much impact the third party vote can have, and the fact that these two events occurred in close succession are indicative that the public is slowly beginning to vote for who they actually want to.   This suggests that while there is still huge opposition, in the end a third party will prevail. In conclusion, we can see that while it may be that Americans are in favor of a third major political party in their country (the votes for Ralph Nader and Ross Perot in recent years are indicative of this, and not purely mirage), some reform is needed before this can happen. Is this trend to continue?   The results of the upcoming election will be interesting. Americans themselves must actually go to the polls, and once there, they must vote for the candidates they actually believe the most in.   Congressional opposition to new parties also needs to be overcome and traditional two party system beliefs changed. While I believe that a third party will be prevalent in American politics in the future, I do not believe that it will occur very soon.   The three determining factors – Congressional opposition, low voter turnout, and voters not voting for who they really want, need to be overcome first. Works Cited Angus Reid Global Monitor, â€Å"Americans Want Third Major Political Party† (2003), retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItemitemID=11673 Hersh, Mike, (2003) â€Å"Did Nader Help Al Gore in 2000†, retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://www.mikehersh.com/Did_Nader_Help_or_Hurt_Al_Gore.shtml Hough, Lory, (2006) â€Å"The American Voter† retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/ksgpress/bulletin/spring2000/american_vote.html Iensdorf, (2006) â€Å"Perot Did not Cost George Bush the 1992 Election† retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://www.leinsdorf.com/perot.htm Mitchell, Terry, (2006), â€Å"Voters are To Blame for Bad Politics† retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=11264 Surbaugh, Kevin, (2006) â€Å"Congress Planning to Shut down Third Parties†, retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/02/11/034246.php VoteBuddy.com, â€Å"Our Vote is Held Hostage†,   2006 retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://votebuddy.com/ Wikipedia, (2006), â€Å"Two Party System†, retrieved 6 Nov 2006 from the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-party_system

Analysis of Lease Accounting Standards

Analysis of Lease Accounting Standards Abstract The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are reviewing their guidelines on lease accounting this year. This paper provides background information on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FASB and IASB including what their role is in accounting. It details the history of lease accounting for them, changes that have occurred since the original guidelines were issued, and why the FASB and IASB are looking to update the current standards. History and Future of Lease Accounting for Leases The history of lease accounting provides numerous changes to the standards. FASB 13 is the last major change that has been made and that was 30 years ago. The financial community describes the changes that could arise from the FASB and IASB as an effort to bring transparency to company balance sheets. This is a continuing reaction to Enron and certain happenings earlier in the decade that brought off-balance sheet items to the forefront. There is a lot of focus on off-balance sheet obligations now. Users of financial statements depend on the statements to provide important information about a companys performance, financial condition, and the cash flow. Financial statement users include bankers deciding whether to lend money or renew a loan to a company, suppliers deciding to extend you credit. â€Å"The FASB and IASBs conceptual framework objective is to provide a common framework that provides useful and complete accounting information† (Monson, 2001). Standard Setting Bodies Security and Exchange Commission The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established in 1933 after the Crash of 1930. Prior to this time there, no standard setting body existed. Even after its formation, the SEC encouraged the private sector to set them. In 1934, the SEC received the authority to establish financial accounting and reporting for publicly held companies. Committee on Accounting Procedures In 1939, the SEC suggested that the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) create a formal standard setting body. The AICPA established the Committee on Accounting Procedures (CAP). During its reign from 1939 to 1959, they issued 51 Accounting Research Bulletins. CAP was not as successful as had been hoped. CAP only issued standards on problems as they occurred. These standards are known as Accounting Research Bulletins or ARBs. Accounting Principles Board The Committee on Accounting Procedures was replaced with the Accounting Principles Board (APB) in 1959. They issued 31 opinions and 4 statements over the next 14 years. They are credited with the development of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) from the opinions and statements they issued. Financial Accounting Standards Board The APB was replaced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which was formed in 1973. FASB is an independent board with full-time members who no longer work in private firms or their employers. FASB establishes standards for businesses in the private sector. As part of the FASB mission statement it states that, â€Å"standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors, and others rely on credible, transparent, and comparable information† (Financial, 2007.). In Facts about FASB (2007), the FASB seeks to accomplish their mission by acting to keep standards current to reflect any changes in methods of doing business, to improve the usefulness of financial reporting by focusing on relevance, reliability, comparability, and consistency, and to promote the international convergence of accounting standards. International Accounting Standards Board The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) established in 2001 is based in London. It succeeded the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), which was founded in 1973. The IASB develops a solitary set of global accounting standards that provide transparent and comparable information in financial statements. The IASB works with national accounting standards bodies to accomplish a united set of accounting standards to be used around the world. Original Standards for Leases ARB 43, Chapter 14 In 1949, the Committee on Accounting Procedures issued ARB 43, Restatement and Revision of Accounting Research Bulletins, Chapter 14 Disclosure of Long-Term Leases in Financial Statements of Lessees. ARB 43, Chapter 14 only provides guidance for leasing land and buildings. ARB 43 (1953) requires that the lessee assumes all the expenses and obligations of ownership, such as taxes, insurance, and repairs. These types of arrangements differed from conventional long-term leases but the principles of disclosure were intended to be applied to both types of arrangements. The disclosures that need to be reported included the amount of annual rent to be paid, the period for which the payments are payable. The disclosure is to be reported for the life of the lease not just the first year. In the first year of the lease, the disclosure needs to detail the transaction (FASB, 1953). APB Opinion No. 5 The Accounting Principles Board issued Opinion No. 5, Reporting of Leases in Financial Statements of Lessees in September 1964 and supercedes ARB 43, Chapter 14. Since ARB 43 had been issued, leases had been disclosed on financial statements but not in a consistent manner. The information disclosed was often not enough for investors to get a clear picture of a companys financial position. According to APB Opinion No. 5 (1967), there had been very few instances of capitalization of leased property and recognition of the related obligation. In Accounting Principles Boards Opinion No. 5, rental (lease) payments for services, property taxes, utilities, maintenance, etc. are to be treated as an expense. Having the right to use property and paying a specific rental amount over a period are not considered an asset or liability. An operating lease should disclose relevant information about the lease or rental agreement and the information disclosed will vary from one situation to another. Lessees were to disclose the minimum annual payments and length of time at the least. The maximum they should disclose was the type of property leased, the obligation assumed, requirements of the lease. APB No. 5 (1967) states a capitalized lease may require a note or schedule to disclose the details of the lease agreement. Lease arrangements that are similar to an installment purchase should be listed on the balance sheet and depreciated accordingly. For a lease agreement to be capitalized there should be material equity in the purchase. IAS 17 The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued IAS 17, Accounting for Leases, in September 1982. A lease is classified either as a finance lease or an operating lease. A finance lease is classified as such â€Å"if it transfers substantially all the risks and rewards† (International, 2003) to the lessee. Leases are classified as an operating lease if they do not meet the criteria of a finance lease. The following situations would lead a lease to be classified as a finance lease: Transfer of ownership of the asset to the lessee at the end of the lease The lessee has the option to purchase the asset at an amount that is sufficiently lower than the fair value The lease term is for most of the assets life At the beginning of the lease, the present value of the minimum lease payments is equal to the fair value of the asset. (International, 2003) IAS 17 (2003) requires that the following accounting principles be applied to finance leases. The finance lease should be recorded as an asset and a liability, lease payments should be distributed between finance charges or interest expense and the principle amount of the liability, and depreciation should be calculated using the same method as that of the companies owned assets. The International Accounting Standards Board (2003) defines the disclosure requirements lessees of finance leases must follow. Lessees of finance leases disclose the carrying amount of the asset, reconciliation between total minimum lease payments and the present value, amounts of minimum lease payments as of the balance sheet date, and the present value for the next years, years 2 through 5 combined, and beyond 5 years and a general description of the lease arrangement. In section 35 of IAS 17, the International Accounting Standards Board (2003) provides disclosure details for lessees of operating leases. Lessees must recognize lease payments as an expense on the income statement. They should provide in the financial statement disclosure a description of the lease arrangement, including any provisions, whether there is a purchase option, and any restrictions that are imposed. Also, lease payments as of the financial statement date for the next year, years 2 through 5 combined, and beyond 5 years. Changes to Original Standards APB Opinion No. 31 The Accounting Principles Board issued Opinion No. 31, Disclosure of Lease Commitments by Lessees, on June 1972 with an effective date of January 1, 1974. Opinion No. 31 was developed because investors, grantors, and users of financial statements acknowledged that at the time the disclosures did not provide all the information they deemed important. The APB issued it to clarify and now require the disclosure requirements of APB Opinion No. 5. The Board did not want to establish any disclosure requirements because the FASB had placed leases as a subject on its agenda at the time this was issued. The Board was hesitant because they did not want to bias the decision. The Board reworded its requirements for the disclosures of operating leases. A lease that is for one year or more needs to provide the total rental expense. The minimum rental payments should be disclosed for each of the five succeeding years, each of the next three to five year periods, and the remainder should be listed as a single amount. Additional disclosures that should be included are whether the payments are dependent upon any factors other than time, if so what is the basis for calculating the payments, is there a purchase or renewal option, and any restrictions. (FASB, 1973) FAS 13 In November 1976, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued FAS 13, Accounting for Leases. The issuance was to provide detailed criteria that other statements had supplied for classifying leases that would prevent many different interpretations. This statement superseded APB Opinion No. 5, Reporting of Leases in Financial Statements of Lessees and APB Opinion No. 7, Reporting of Leases in Financial Statements for Lessors. FAS 13 established standards of financial reporting for both lessees and lessors. The standard provided a definition of leases, how leases should be classified, and what needed to be disclosed. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (1976) defined a lease as â€Å"an agreement conveying the right to use property, plant, or equipment usually for a stated period of time†. This definition includes agreements that although may not be identified as a lease but falls under the definition. FAS 13 (1976) states that a lease is classified either as an operating lease or as a capital lease. Capital leases meet one or more of the criteria FASB established for a capital lease. The criteria for classifying leases as a capital lease are: The lease transfers ownership of the asset at the end of the lease term. The lease contains a bargain purchase option The lease is longer than 75% of the products economic life The present value of the lease is more than 90% of the asset value using the lessees incremental borrowing rate. (FASB, 1976) FAS 13 provided the following accounting principles that are applied when it is determined that a lessee is involved in a capital lease. The lessee records a capital lease as an asset and liability for the amount equal to the value of the lease payments. If the lease has a bargain purchase option or if the property transfers ownership at the end of the lease term, the asset is depreciated according to the lessees normal depreciation for owned assets. If the lease does not contain a bargain purchase option or if the property does not transfer ownership at the end of the lease, the asset is depreciated for the life of the lease. Leases that do not meet the criteria of a capital lease are classified as an operational lease and are treated as an expense for the term of the lease on the income statement. (FASB, 1976) Capital leases should disclose the gross amount of the asset and the future minimum lease payments. Operating leases should disclose the future minimum rental payment required, a general description of the terms of the lease agreement to include how the rental payments are determined, terms of renewal or purchase option, any restrictions that may apply. FASB and IASB to Update Lease Standards In July 2006, the FASB and IASB announced that it had added a leasing project to its agenda to reconsider all aspects of lease accounting. One reason for the project is to harmonize lease accounting standards with the IASB. â€Å" The IASB and FASB currently have substantial differences in their treatment of leases; particularly notable is that the â€Å"bright line† tests of FAS 13 (whether the lease term is 75% or more of the economic life, and whether the present value of the rents is 90% or more of the fair value) are not used by the IASB, which prefers a â€Å"facts and circumstances† approach that entails more judgment calls† (Open, 2006). Both the FASB and IASB have the finance and operating lease concept. However, their criteria are different for classification. Another reason is a request from investors and other authoritative bodies who have been criticizing that similar lease transactions were still being accounted for in different ways. In the SECs 2005 report in response to Sarbanes-Oxley the SEC stated that too many leases were being kept off the balance sheet. â€Å"The commissions staff estimated that the standards allow publicly traded companies to keep an undiscounted $1.25 trillion in future cash obligations off their balance sheet† (Leone, 2006). Therefore, the current accounting standards are failing to provide the necessary complete and transparent information. FASB and IASB hope to have an exposure draft available in 2009. Solutions There are two solutions to the lease problem. The FASB and IASB can either recommend leases to be reporting on a companys income statement only as an expense or on a companys balance sheet only as an asset and liability. Income Statement Only Using the income statement only solution, companies would report their leases as operating lease. An operating lease recognizes the lessees payments as rent expense or lease expense on the income statement. Balance Sheet Only Using the balance sheet only solution, companies report their leases on the balance sheet as an asset and liability. It will also allow for depreciation and interest expense on the income statement. Capitalization of all leases will bring previously unreported assets and liabilities onto the balance sheet Analysis When companies lease an asset, the way it is accounted for depends on whether it is categorized as an operating or capital lease. How a lease is categorized may be different for tax purposes then for accounting purposes. The GAAP standards and Internal Revenue Service can have different sets of criteria. According to IRS Revenue Ruling 55-540 the IRS is wary of lease arrangements used to accelerate depreciation deductions. The IRS has no general rule for leases and each case is decided on an individual basis. However, from decisions previous made the following factors indicate a sale instead of a lease. If the asset meets one or more of the factors, it is considered a sale NOT a lease. A portion of the payments are specifically allocated as interest or it is obvious that is what is intended. The title is transferred at the end of the â€Å"rental† term. The lessee may purchase the asset at the end of the lease term for a bargain purchase price. When a lease qualifies as an operating lease, there are major consequences for the net income or loss and the return ratios of that company. In general, both the operating and net income of the firm will be decreased and the assets and liabilities for the firm will be understated. Debt management ratios are important to creditors and stockholders. Creditors want to make sure funds are available to pay interest and principal and are therefore particularly interested in short-run coverage ratios. Stockholders are concerned about the impact of excessive debt and interest on long-term profitability. Lenders and investors use such ratios as debt to equity, current ratios, and return on assets to evaluate the credit risk of current or prospective businesses. Ratios are used to measure the effectiveness that a company uses its assets and to compare a companys current performance. As shown below in the comparison of ratios in an operating or capitalized lease, the financial ratios can be misleading just by reporting leases off the balance sheet. By reporting the lease of ABC Restaurant, Inc. (Figures 1-4) as an operating lease or ABC Restaurant, Inc. (Figures 5-8) as a capitalized lease, the companys financial statements are affected. The financial statements of both are identical except for the accounts that were affected by the relative lease. The financial statements are not as accurate as investors and lenders are demanding. The current ratio is a quick indication of whether or not the company will have the means to pay its bills during the next year. It is clear to remain solvent, a company must have at least as much money coming in as it has going out. The current ratio is .31 for the operating lease and .30 for the capitalized lease. A current ratio over 1.5 to 2.0 is generally required for comfort. The debt ratio for the operating lease is 1.68%. In comparison, the debt ratio for the capitalized lease is 1.64%. A high debt ratio is generally viewed as risky by lenders and investors. The debt to equity ratio equals -1.32 and their return on assets is 38.45%. In relation to the capitalized lease which had a debt to equity ratio of -1.40 and their return on assets is 34.05%. The effect of a capital lease on net income is different then that of an operating lease because capital leases are treated the same as if assets are bought by the company. The company is allowed to claim depreciation on the asset and the interest payments on the lease are a tax deductions. By reporting assets on the balance sheet, this provides an increased level of information to lenders. This is especially useful to lenders of non public business or the small (S Corporations) who elect to omit disclosures on the financial statements. When a company does this those who review their financial statements will be misled because there will be no evidence of a lease existing. The payments will be accounted for on the income statement as rent expense or lease expense. Thereby, reducing the net income of those companies income statements. The AICPA issues Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services. The FASB issues standards for the public. The process for both the AICPA and the FASB starts with deliberations that are open to the public; the proposed Statements are then issued as Exposure Drafts, which allows the public to comment on them prior to the final pronouncement issued. Many accountants issued their opinions on what they feel should be done about this 30-year-old standard. Conclusion Currently, the lease standards are outdated. â€Å"Lease arrangements have evolved considerably over the past 30 years and the standards are outdated† (Miller, 12). FAS 13 was suppose to force leases to be capitalized but it did nothing but help lease companies create more cunning operating leases. The misclassification of leases affects not only the balance sheet but also the income statement and cash flow statement.

Negative Aspects of The Iraq War Essay -- essays research papers

By attacking Iraq, the United States has shown that they are no better than the villain Saddam Hussein. The assaults on Iraq were criminal and wicked acts while they were also unjust and unnecessary. In an attempt to overthrow Hussein and end his cruel reign of terror, the US sent in an armed military force. Since the beginning of the war, there have been over 3334 military fatalities for the US alone. The US has caused as many, if not more, civilian deaths in Iraq than Hussein did, and in the process we have lost many of our soldiers, in addition to the twenty-six thousand wounded. As England and many other countries try to help us with our fruitless quest, they also lose their soldiers. Not only may soldiers be hurt physically, the images they see in Iraq haunt them forever mentally. Our country had a huge surplus of money before the war started, but now we are in a colossal deficit. This is due to the fact that there were immense funds involved, therefore depriving every one of our country?s inhabitants of the money that is rightfully theirs. It is true that Hussein ruled tyr...

The Computer Nut :: essays research papers

Title: â€Å"The Computer Nut† Author: Betsy Byars Setting: â€Å"The Computer Nut† takes place in Kate’s small town. Overall, the different settings are in her house, in school, at a carwash, at Willie Lomax’s house, her dad’s office, a pep rally at her school’s football rally, and that’s basically where all the action takes place. Most of the time, the action takes place during the day. Towards the ending, however, most of the action takes place at night around 8 pm- 9pm. Major Characters: The main character of â€Å"The Computer Nut† is Kate. Kate is like any other kid. She is obsessed with computers, she has red hair, and she is an average middle school student. She is receiving messages from an â€Å"alien† who calls himself BB-9. Willie Lomax is the boy who helps find out who is sending Kate messages over the computer. Willie is also Kate’s crush and he is the only one who is truly willing to help Kate find out who really is sending her messages over the computer. He is around Kate’s height, chubby, he has reddish/blondish hair, and is very interested in Kate’s mystery â€Å"alien.† BB-9 is the self-proclaimed â€Å"alien comedian† who wants to come down to Earth to make people laugh, since Earth is the only planet in the universe where people laugh. He is an adult’s age and can take form as anything he wants. He was once a cow on another mission to Earth. A physical description is not availa ble. And lastly, Linda is Kate’s best friend. She is short, has brown hair, and very humorous. Plot Summary: One day, for an art project, Kate is just drawing a picture of herself on her dad’s computer in her dad’s office. After she is all done with her self-portrait, she receives a message from a strange person who later reveals himself as BB-9. BB-9 is an alien in search of a good laugh on Earth, which he says is the only planet where people laugh. After a series of message, Kate hopes the person contacting her is her secret crush, Willie Lomax, who just so happens to know about computers. Kate is determined to find out who it is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Kate’s best friend, Linda, finds out about the messages, she goes on and on and insists about how it HAS to be Frank Wilkins, a boy who told Kate he loved her at band camp a couple years back.

How Can Literature Save a Nation Essay

To fully understand this question, we need to define first two things. One is, of course, what literature is; second, what it is that endangers a nation that can be negated by literature. Literature, per definition, is the art of written works. In Latin, it literally means â€Å"to be acquainted with letters†. So, in that context, every book, every journal, every thing written, loosely defined, is literature. Now, what can books, journals and papers possibly do to save a nation from, say, war? Or economic crisis? Or anything that can harm what we define as â€Å" community sharing a common language, a common culture†; simply, a nation? Take for example something written by a middle-aged American way back in the 1850’s. And she was a woman, nonetheless, by the name of Harriett Beecher-Stowe. It revolves around an African-American man who, today, would be a houseboy or a worker. Those times, he was called a negro slave. The book is, of course, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, with the story touching sensitive topics of slavery, racism, and religious faith. This simple book by a simple schoolteacher awakened the minds of the American people into realizing that, to quote Shakespeare’s â€Å"Merchant of Venice†, â€Å"If you prick me, do I not bleed? If you tickle me, do I not laugh? † This aroused a sense of disgust that what White Americans were doing to another actual human being, albeit of a different color, yet still another living person, what they themselves would not want to be put up with. In short, this book helped shape America’s future as a slave-free country by igniting the first sparks of the American Civil War. Coincidentally, some decades later, it was to be the same book that would ignite another revolutionary spark somewhere in the Pacific; in the Southeast Asian region to be exact. While in Madrid, our very own Dr. Jose P. Rizal was moved by Uncle Tom’s Cabin that he proposed writing a novel that would do the same for the Philippines (at that time under Spanish oppression) what that book did for America. The result was â€Å"Noli Me Tangere† (Touch Me Not). Now, to illustrate how those works saved a nation concretely would be illogical. For it is not paper and pencil that saves a nation, it is us, its people. We are the nations conscience and we act on our own consciences. Literature, whether it be the Bible, or Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or The Da Vinci Code, ignites in us thoughts and emotions.. Of course it cannot save us physically, but it is a catalyst. Literature is concentrated on saving the civilised human race. It keeps us who we are, points out what makes us different from animals: our thinking and our ability to not only change and adapt, but to change the situation we are in. It informs us, thus, giving us new points of view and a broader opinion on a subject leading to a better understanding of it. It generates ideas that move us into action, that influence us, that change us. This is what creates a force or a chain reaction of sudden awareness that causes the people of a nation to rise up and save that nation; either from slavery, from oppression, from economic downfall, or form anything a nation is to be saved from by its people.