Important People of History Essay Example for Free

Important People of History Essay Ancient Greece was known for many things, including great thinkers and philosophers. Many names come to mind from this period, including that of Socrates. Certainly, none are so colorful. He wrote nothing, but his impact was unmatched by others. His ideas were revolutionary, and caused enough controversy that he was finally put on trial in Athens, guaranteeing that his mark on history would be indelible. Socrates was born in 469 B. C. E. to Sophroniscus and Phaenarete. Little is known about him beyond what others wrote, since he resisted any urges to put words on paper. What is known about him comes from Aristophanes, Xenophon, and Plato, all of whom wrote about him. However, their narratives differ in some crucial ways, and so there are some things that will never be known about the enigmatic philosopher. Socrates was a firm believer in the power of the intellect. He insisted that â€Å"a man must order his life by the guidance of his own intellect,† believing that it was this above all that must be cultivated. He never hesitated in saying what he believed, and this tendency made him unpopular in many circles. However, he did not allow this to deter him from expressing these beliefs. Knowledge and truth were paramount to him, and he would not sacrifice these virtues for anything. When he was eighteen, Socrates was required to do the duty of every citizen, and this included training in the Athenian militia. He served the years that were expected of him, engaging in battle in 432 as a foot soldier to help put down a revolt. On the way home from the siege that followed, Socrates saved the life of Alcibiades during a subsequent battle near Spartolus, losing the battle. They returned to Athens in 429, where he was accused of helping the playwright Euripides to write his tragedies. Important People of History Page 2 of 5 Socrates next saw battle at Delium in 424. The Athenians saw defeat yet again, although Socrates distinguished himself once more. In another year, he was yet again immersed in battle, this time at Amphipolis. This ended in another defeat, and was also the last battle that Socrates fought. Peace was made between Athens and Sparta, and this is when Socrates could begin to concentrate in earnest on debates and discussions to pass on his ideas and beliefs. Education, democracy, and Mystery religion were key themes in this. During this time, Socrates married Xanthippe, and they would have two sons. Socrates perhaps became best known for the Socratic Method. This method was meant to help intellectuals come to correct conclusions, and it made definition the most essential point of this. In a desire to find the truth, Socrates believed that one must â€Å"require a standard of truth and an explanation of the causes of error. † The comparison of two ideas is necessary in making a judgment, and those ideas must be clear and not vague. This method lasted throughout the centuries, and is still practiced today. Socrates is also known as the founder of utilitarianism. Ethics and the process of applying his methods to them was a key interest of his, and this study led to utilitarian ideas. With this, he came to the conclusion that good is useful and â€Å"virtue is happiness. † This formed the core of his paradox, which is that men do not willingly commit wrongs, and that this is done only through ignorance. While Socrates wrote nothing, he spent a great deal of his life conversing with others. This was a major part of his Socratic method. He never attempted to teach, for he believed that he had no knowledge. He professed that he was only exceptional in the fact Important People of History Page 3 of 5 that he knew that he knew nothing. It was a goal of his to prove that popular ideas were inconsistent, and he wished to convince all to whom he spoke that their convictions could not stand up under examination. Socrates was well known for frequenting places such as marketplaces, where he would engage people in conversation. He enjoyed doing this with people of all ranks and stations, often putting off important people and gaining their animosity. His manner and lack of deference gained him many enemies; many resenting what they felt were his ridicule. There was nothing that Socrates felt was too sacred to question and criticize, and this included both religion and government. He was perhaps more agnostic than anything, and he had no compunctions about questioning and criticizing the gods. This added to feelings of animosity against him, as did the fact that he was also quite vocal against the ruling powers. It was this that was to lead to his arrest and subsequent trial, which is perhaps the pinnacle of his career. Socrates was arrested when he was seventy on charges that â€Å"he does not believe in the gods recognized by the city, but introduces strange supernatural beings; he is also guilty, because he corrupts the youth. † The political reasons were kept quiet, instead focusing on impiety, and the sentence proposed was that of death, although those who accused him had no real desire to put him to death, only to force him to leave and no longer be a thorn in their sides. However, Socrates refused to leave, instead remaining behind to face the charges against him. A life away from his interactions with the Athenians would not have suited him, and so he remained. Important People of History Page 4 of 5 Socrates faced a jury of 501 men. This jury, as all Athenian juries, would vote twice. Their first vote was on guilt or innocence, and their second vote was for the sentence. While Socrates expected that he would be convicted, he expressed surprise at â€Å"how closely the jury was split on the first and basic question. † It was a difference of six percent that would have turned the tide, acquitting him. Socrates had the chance to avoid a sentence of death once the verdict came in. It was a practice of the Athenian law system to allow the defendant to put forth another punishment, and the jury would choose between the two. However, the punishment that Socrates suggested was merely a small fine, which was so minuscule a punishment that the jury had little choice but to condemn him to death. It was not for thirty days after his trial that Socrates would meet his end. During that time, his friend Crito appealed to him to escape, but Socrates believed that the harm that would come from that would be a greater harm to the city than to allow himself to follow through with the sentence, and that it would have â€Å"brought shame on his family and friends. † Socrates did not seem to fear his death. In fact, on the day upon which he was scheduled to die, he seemed quite happy and pleasant. Death was perhaps another opportunity for him to learn and experience. He was also not alone when the end came, as his wife and younger son, as well as friends, were present. He spent his last day doing what he loved best, discussing philosophy and once more passing on his wisdom. Xanthippe was taken home before his actual death took place, leaving him with his Important People of History Page 5 of 5 friends and advising them to agree if they believed what he said was truth, and to oppose it if they did not, refusing to restrain themselves. To the end, he was determined to hold onto his ideals and beliefs, and insisted on others doing so as well. After bathing and then meeting with his family once more, he met with his executioners. He was given a glass of hemlock after having its effects explained to him. After this formality, he â€Å"cheerfully took the cup and drank. † Thus ended the life of one of the most profound leaders of philosophy. Socrates, through all of his life, lived up to the ideals and beliefs that he taught. He never compromised these, even up to the day that he died. To him, the importance of remaining true to himself and his teachings was paramount, and to do otherwise would be an injustice. He did not simply talk and hope that others learned from him; he lived by example and died by the same. His legacy proved to be quite enduring, and is still a cornerstone of philosophy to this day. His students, such as Plato, helped to preserve this and pass it on. Without Plato and others, little would be known today of Socrates. The impression he made was a lasting one, and a good example even today, encouraging people not to be afraid to question and discuss, because without these things, learning cannot be successful. Works Cited Bury, J. B. and Russell Meiggs. A History of Greece. London: Macmillan Education LTD, 1975. Nails, Debra. â€Å"Socrates. † Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 16 Sept. 2005. http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/socrates/. Stone, I. F. The Trial of Socrates. New York: Doubleday, 1989.

The Importance Of Imaginary Places

The Importance Of Imaginary Places Id like to begin my essay from one quotation that helped me to understand the main direction of this work discussion. This quotation explains the main content of the notion imaginary places and their meaning for people. Lets look at it attentively and analyze how the World Trade Center site in New York City is now an imaginary place. Leonard Mcclure stated that Such sites are, of course, actual places. We can go there today, stand, look, and know we are in the place. Yet, at the same time, these actual places are mythic because they embody meanings far beyond the scope of the events that happened and even beyond the limits of the physical locations themselves. In that sense, they are imaginary places. (Leonard Mcclure, 2003) I want to mention in this paragraph that such imaginary places are very important for 21st century Americans. In our consciousness the notion imaginary place can be interpret as a place that exists only in imagination, it can be imagination of one person or it can be imagination of group of people, who are interested in one problem or question; also imaginary place is a place said to exist in fictional or religious writings. In our case it is one taken website that reflects events that had a place in American society several years ago. The date of awful catastrophe will never be forgotten by people who lost there their relatives and I think that the whole country will never forget that tragedy. Saying about the World Trade Center (WTC) we can say that it was a complex in Lower Manhattan in New York City. In 2001 in the September 11 the World Trade Centers seven buildings were destroyed by terrorist attacks. The site is at present being rebuilt with six new skyscrapers and a memorial to the casualties of the terrorist attacks. Now this website considered an imaginary place that exists as a part of memory for people who know this place and for people who will never see beloved people. It will be very honest answer to say that people should remember their history and visiting imaginary places all people receive such possibility. Young people need to know how the place that they can see every day looked like several years ago and they should know its history. Old people can visit this place in their imagination and remember some events from their past life. Imaginary places are important part of todays life, because everyday we are looking for something new and sometimes even forget about historical places and people who were connected with these places. It is a good idea to create imaginary places and it is also a good idea of creation of imaginary communities. Im not promoting against real places and real communities, but in my opinion people should have a chance to talk about their memories with people with the same interest and our past is the wonderful base for our future success and happiness. Id like to talk about imaginary communities in this paragraph as a component connected with the notion imaginary places. Famous American researcher Benedict Anderson named nations the  «imaginary associations ».  «Imaginary » as their representatives, not knowing the most compatriots, even never meeting them; however feel the involvement to them. By other words,  «imaginary associations » exist in imagination of their members. Like imaginary places we cant visit in real life and touch to its things and ground where they based. Imagination is a really interesting notion, because it allows us to create something new and important, or unimportant, but pleasantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it depends from our necessities and wishes. Role of imagination in the process of creative cognition it is possible to define as one of methods of the use of present for a man knowledge. The functions of imagination are probed in-process on row procedures of scientific cognition: hypothesis, evident des ign, and mental experiment. The purpose of imagination is ability to create new appearances. It gives birth from necessities to correlate accessible to the man with that it is not given to him straight. It is understandable that for research of cognitive role of imagination it is necessary to find out its features. Complication of exposure of specific of imagination is conditioned that it closely interlaces with all types of cognition. This circumstance is reason of origin of tendency to the denial of existence of imagination as the special form of reflection. To decide this problem, it is necessary to expose actual nature of imagination. From all above stated determinations evidently, that the substantial sign of imagination is consider ability of subject to create new appearances. But it is not enough, because it is impossible then to conduct distinctions between imagination and thought. Creation of new knowledge and concepts in the field of logical thought can take place and with out participation of imagination. Thus, we should take into account circumstance that imagination is creation of new appearances, and transformation of past experience, and what transformation is accomplished at organic unity perceptible and rational. I think that imagination as a main aspect of imaginary places creation should be discussed with more details. We will consider specific forms of activity that is revealed in which perceptible reflection of reality, and also that role which execute feeling in the processes of forming of appearances. Very often feelings examined straight as valuable appearance of reality. Feelings primary appearances of certain properties of reality straight or indirectly join in forming of all (including generalized) mental appearances. Imagination, creating evident appearances, absorbs in itself feelings. But at it imagination leans against their semantic moment. Therefore, imagination physiological does not depend on activity of sense-organs. Imagination is product of transformation foremost of functional descriptions reflections. Perception is appearance of object on the whole, in it already very full semantic descriptions of subjectivity open up. During perception a subject is able to construct whole complexes directly not these parameters of object. The elements of imagination find out itself in a perceptible reflection only then, when along with ability functionally to finish building appearances these objects ability of man to expose is clearly revealed on your own functional meaningfulness of the perceived objects and to do this meaningfulness by the article of the special consideration and special procedures. Circumstance that in perception of persons capable from data separate to finish building elements the failings sides of object, see unit at to the real availability only its parts, testifies to development of subjective and active descriptions of perceptible appearances. Complexity such appearances, included in them experience individual and collective there is a display of nascent imagination activity. Essence of imagination consists in that appearances of imagination are consciously produced by a man. Thus, by a basic line which distinguishes imagination from different forms of activity in a perceptible reflection, there is original realized by the subject of imagination of human (social, cultural and other) grounds of this activity. The outer world comes forward the financial base of process of imagination in everything riches of its relations, from which the new impressions are dipped out and new images are created. Imagination can be examined and as a process (form) and as a result of (table of contents) reflection of objective to reality. It executes functions: heuristic, anticipatory, practical, cognitive, aesthetic and others. Imagination is capable to transform the whole world without an exception. Imagination it one of capabilities man to product new images. By the feature of imagination as facilities transfer of knowledge from one area there is an original alloy on other perceptible and rational. Analyzing information about imagination as a form of our mind work we should emphasize that imagination is the specific reflection of reality and serves by the mean of its cognition. Activity of imagination necessarily flows in evident plan. It necessarily destroys a subject outside available situations, forms appearances, not having a direct original in to reality. Thus, based on our research data we can conclude that imaginary places allow people to be involved in imaginary activity and it also allows Americans to be involved in the history of their country, because it is necessary for all people remember what had happened in their country and I believe that such imaginary place also can help to avoid some catastrophes in future.

Character Moral Deficiencies in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

â€Å"All the world's a stage / And all the men and women merely players.† This quote from William Shakespeare compares the world to a stage and life to a play where men and women are just actors playing their role. This message is not so different from F. Scott Fitzgerald's in his novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). The wealthy characters in The Great Gatsby are Shakespeare’s players; and the Valley of Ashes is part of his stage, where the awful consequences of their moral deficiencies are played out. The Valley of Ashes is a desolate area of land which is covered by ashes dumped by industrial companies; it is described as a â€Å"fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat† (Fitzgerald 24). Beneath the ashes, George and Myrtle Wilson make their meager living by running a gas station next to a billboard advertising an oculist business in Queens. This billboard has two eyes looking out over the Valley of Ashes, seemingly watching and judging the characters who pass t hrough. Here in the Valley of Ashes, the stage is set on which the superficial and material-driven characters can display their selfishness. Furthermore, the effects of their immorality are exemplified as well. Fitzgerald develops the symbol of the Valley of Ashes to strengthen the thematic idea of the effects of utter corruption and selfishness in The Great Gatsby; this can be expressed through the scandalous affair of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, the tragic murder of Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson's pronounced rage. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband, has no moral reservations about his own extramarital affair with Myrtle who lives in the Valley of Ashes. The affair begins from an innocent train ride, but Tom's own lack of moral standards contribute to the ... ...by the mind—they do not possess any inherent meaning; rather, people invest them with meaning. Fitzgerald uses the symbol of the Valley of Ashes to further analyze the thematic idea of corruption and selfishness in The Great Gatsby. Multiple events occur in the Valley of Ashes throughout the novel, three of which exemplify Fitzgerald's theme very well: the amoral affair of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, the murder of Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson's manifested rage. Work Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2013. Print. Character Moral Deficiencies in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald â€Å"All the world's a stage / And all the men and women merely players.† This quote from William Shakespeare compares the world to a stage and life to a play where men and women are just actors playing their role. This message is not so different from F. Scott Fitzgerald's in his novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). The wealthy characters in The Great Gatsby are Shakespeare’s players; and the Valley of Ashes is part of his stage, where the awful consequences of their moral deficiencies are played out. The Valley of Ashes is a desolate area of land which is covered by ashes dumped by industrial companies; it is described as a â€Å"fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat† (Fitzgerald 24). Beneath the ashes, George and Myrtle Wilson make their meager living by running a gas station next to a billboard advertising an oculist business in Queens. This billboard has two eyes looking out over the Valley of Ashes, seemingly watching and judging the characters who pass t hrough. Here in the Valley of Ashes, the stage is set on which the superficial and material-driven characters can display their selfishness. Furthermore, the effects of their immorality are exemplified as well. Fitzgerald develops the symbol of the Valley of Ashes to strengthen the thematic idea of the effects of utter corruption and selfishness in The Great Gatsby; this can be expressed through the scandalous affair of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, the tragic murder of Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson's pronounced rage. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband, has no moral reservations about his own extramarital affair with Myrtle who lives in the Valley of Ashes. The affair begins from an innocent train ride, but Tom's own lack of moral standards contribute to the ... ...by the mind—they do not possess any inherent meaning; rather, people invest them with meaning. Fitzgerald uses the symbol of the Valley of Ashes to further analyze the thematic idea of corruption and selfishness in The Great Gatsby. Multiple events occur in the Valley of Ashes throughout the novel, three of which exemplify Fitzgerald's theme very well: the amoral affair of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, the murder of Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson's manifested rage. Work Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2013. Print.

Media Influence On Public Policy Essay -- politics, government

Policymaking is a political process which is affected by various social and economic factors (Hofferbert, 1974) and media systems play an integral role in shaping the social context in which policies are developed. Through the media, citizens learn how government policies will affect them, and governments gain feedback on their policies and programs. Media systems act as the primary channels between those who might want to influence policy and the policymakers '' controlling the scope of political discourse and regulating the flow of information. Textbook policymaking follows an orderly sequence where problems are identified, solutions devised, policies adopted, implemented, and lastly evaluated (Mazamanian & Sabatier, 1989). In reality, the policy process is more fluid, where policies are formed through the struggle of ideas of various advocacy coalitions (Sabatier, 1991) in what has been described as a policy primeval soup (Kingdon, 1995). The policies, on which the media focuses can, and often does, play an important part in determining the focal issues for policymakers. One of the fundamental roles of the media in a liberal democracy is to critically scrutinise governmental affairs: that is to act as a watchdog of government to ensure that the government can be held accountable by the public. However, the systematic deregulation of media systems worldwide is diminishing the ability of citizens to meaningfully participate in policymaking process governing the media (McChesney, 2003, p. 126). The relaxation of ownership rules and control, has resulted in a move away from diversity of production to a situation where media ownership is becoming increasing concentrated by just a few predominantly western global conglomerates (M... ... small media reforms (like public journalism) will be enough to reduce the commercial and corporate imperatives driving our existing media systems (Hackett and Zhao, 1998, p. 235). Instead, a fundamental reform of the entire system is needed, together with a wider institutional reform of the very structures the media systems work within, our democracies. This will be a difficult task, due to powerful vested interests benefiting from the status quo, including media, political and economic elites. Reforms will need to be driven by campaigns mobilising public support across the political spectrum, to enable the citizens of the world to have a media system that works to strengthen democratic principles as opposed to undermining them. This task is challenging, but it will become easier once people begin to understand the media’s role in policymaking within our democracies.

The Worldwide Reputation of Morgan Stanley Essay -- Morgan Stanley Emp

The Worldwide Reputation of Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley has earned a worldwide reputation for excellence in financial advice and market execution. Today, Morgan Stanley is employing over 51,000 members in about 27 countries connect people, ideas and capital to help their clients reach their financial needs and future goals. (http://www.morganstanley.com). Ever since the year 1997, Morgan Stanley has joined forces with two respected organizations. Morgan Stanley, which was established in New York in 1935 combined with Dean Witter, which was as big and well-known as Morgan Stanley. Dean Witter was established in 1924 in San Francisco. Due to the fact that they have become more powerful by combining each other’s advantages in the financial world, they have made many historic records. Some of these include in â€Å"national and international expansion, in the use of technology, and in the development of new financial tools and techniques that have redefined the meaning of financial services for individual, institutiona l and investment banking clients† (http://www.morganstanley.com/about/inside/history.html?page=about). According to the Morgan Stanley’s website, it states that â€Å"Morgan Stanley is one of the world's largest diversified financial services companies, with a reputation for excellence in advice and execution on a global scale. Our Firm enjoys leading franchises in three attractive businesses: Global Securities, where Morgan Stanley serves individual and institutional investors and investment banking clients; Global Asset Management, with our highly rated Morgan Stanley and Van Kampen funds; and Global Credit Card Services, with our Discover Card, held by 40% of U.S. households, as well as a growing Morgan Stanley card business in the United Kingdom† (http://www.morganstanley.com/about/ir/index.html?page=inv). Because Morgan Stanley is business partners with one of the top credit card companies, more people are exposed to what Morgan Stanley has to offer to their clients. Dean Witter first office opened in 1924 in San Francisco. In 1935, Henry S Morgan, Harold Stanley an d others leave J.P Morgan & Co. and Drexel & Co to form investment banking firm of Morgan Stanley & Co, Inc. The year of 1972 was when Morgan Stanley went public. Their Mission Statement is â€Å"Whether serving private individuals or Fortune 500 companies, Morgan Stanley Investment Manag... ...ing of myself and open my eyes to an environment where I may be in just couple of year. Ultimately, this experience has shown me which direction I should take after I graduate in June. I know for sure that even though this kind of filed has lot of room to move up and also make tons of money, this is not something that I would be satisfied with as my career. I would like to go into the automotive industry and search what they have to offer me. References Morgan Stanley homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2004, from http://www.morganstanley.com/ History of Morgan Stanley. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2004, from http://www.morganstanley.com/about/inside/history.html?page=about Investor Relations. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2004, from http://www.morganstanley.com/about/ir/index.html?page=inv Morgan Stanley Investment Management (2004). Exceeding Expectations. [Brochure]. Corporate Governance. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2004, from http://www.morganstanley.com/about/inside/governance/msg_ethics.ht ml?page=about Company Organization. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2004, from http://www.morganstanley.com/about/inside/orgchart.html?page=about

Developing Yourself as an Effective Human Resources Essay

The Human Resources Profession Map was created by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) together with Human Resources (HR) practitioners. The aim was to highlight and explain what HR personnel need to know, do and how to deliver the highest standards of knowledge, skills and behaviour required for growth and success within an organisation. The HR Map is a very important tool to help personnel identify areas that need to be developed within their career. The HR Professional Map is created for any type of organisation (small or large) and is based around areas of professional competencies to help those just starting their careers as well as seasoned professionals. The Map is structured around ten professional areas, eight behaviours and four bands of professional competence. It holds two professional core areas, which are ‘insights, strategy and solutions’ and ‘leading HR’. These areas are essential for any worker who needs to develop skills to the best possible level. Firstly, s/he needs to understand the company’s values and have a thorough knowledge of what the company does. The basics need to be covered before the employee can proceed within the other training and development parts of the profession map. After learning about insights, strategies and solutions, the HR practitioners should be aware of any arising problems that could effect their work place. The knowledge that comes from the gained behavioural skills should be good enough for HR practitioners to be able to come up with solutions and adapt it to new situations, helping an employee gain confidence and become a better leader. Another eight professional areas that professionals need to know are; service delivery and information; organisation design; organisation development;  resourcing and talent planning; learning and talent development; performance and reward; employee engagement and employee relations. The eight behaviours show what kind of attributes HR practitioners should implement, which are; being curious; a decisive thinker; skilled influencer; personally credible; collaborative; driven to deliver; having the courage to challenge and being a role model. All of those areas and behaviours are covered by four bands of competence. Band one would be for beginners who start their career and have a basic understanding of the HR role and band four would be for senior professionals who have the most experience within a company. The key area for me to focus on within my company would be employee engagement at band one of professional competency. For the last six years I have been working at the cinema where I have learnt everything about the company’s values and goals, through starting as a staff-member to becoming a duty-manager. Employee engagement is a very important level of commitment to any company; an engaged employee should always have pride in what s/he does and work hard to achieve success. In order to have motivated and positive staff who deliver outstanding results, I need to know how to communicate, listen, train/coach my team members, setting aspirational targets through meetings, appraisals and one-to-one sessions. I am sent for various training sessions which provides me with the ability to provide the best support and training for my personnel. After observing and listening to my staff I have noticed that people learn in various ways and I need to adopt different methods in training s essions to get the best out of them and to make them feel valued and motivated. ACTIVITY 2 Understanding Customer Needs. It happens very often in my professional role that certain customers come to me asking for some data, advice or requiring assistance. Not so long ago I had three customers simultaneously come to me with individual problems. They were: Staff Member Emma, who wanted to find out how many hours of holiday she earned so far and when would be the best time to book her holidays. Operational Assistant Ben, who wanted me to add the new starters which would  be starting from the beginning of next week to the system and send a ‘new starter form’ to the Head Office HR Manager. General Manager Paul, who asked me to check our monthly payroll which just got sent through and needed to be replied to by the end of the working day. It is essential that I always try to prioritise my tasks according to the customer needs and the impact it would have on the company. At the beginning I told Emma that I was unable to focus on her query at that specific moment, but would make sure that tomorro w I would have more time to talk through her holiday requests. My priority was checking the monthly payroll. The task was set by my General Manager and I had only till the end of the day to check it. I need to have enough time to thoroughly check the payroll as if there are any mistakes I need to create a report with all the faults found and send it to the HR manager to investigate. Adding new staff to the system was my second priority. The staff’s data did not go live until the week after and therefore was lacking any real pressure in terms of time, and the system we use is simple and straight-forward. Nevertheless, it took priority over Emma in case there were mistakes that would later delay this important and timely process. As stated, Emma was my last priority because her query was not as pressing as the previous two. However, I still made her feel important and valued by informing her that I would have everything ready for the meeting the next day. Effective Communication Effective communication is important in every work place. It is essential for employees to build the appropriate level of trust and understanding, to help create strong working relationships and therefore solve any arising problems with more ease. The three most common ways to communicate in my company are: Face to face. The most efficient and common within my role, it is used when I want to delegate jobs to staff members, within team meetings etc. This type of communication cannot be ignored and is particularly successful in motivating staff to do their jobs effectively. Although sometimes face-to-face can be difficult and cause problems; when dealing with a difficult situation it is sometimes hard to stay calm or always see eye-to-eye. Emotions can become visible which may cloud communication and further exasperate an event. E-mails. These are used on a regular basis. Most contact with external customers is through e-mail and so we need to make sure they are always answered swiftly. They are easy, effectively free and a very fast form of communication. For my internal customers I use an e-mail service for sending out rotas and other staff requests, therefore it is important to check it daily. Unfortunately, sometimes e-mails may be misread and people could feel offended by its content due to miscommunication. Also, some messages may be misplaced and sent to a customer’s ‘spam’ folder and therefore treated as unsent and ignored, causing negative experiences. Feedback Forms. A very popular method that is used for one-to-one meetings, probation reviews and appraisals. These forms provide to customers a clear and concise outline of their positive/negative behaviour, and acknowledge, with their line manager, what kind of changes need to be made, creating a clear plan that could help with their development. Feedback can also help staff feel appreciated and increase their self-esteem. A disadvantage of feedback forms may be the subjective nature of feedback (as anyone within the management team can choose to provide a form without first going through any procedures or checks) leaving open the possibility of personal opinions clashing with a customer’s work ethic. Effective Service Delivery To be able to meet all customer needs the company should have an effective service delivery. Good working relationships and team work should be key to creating a good service delivery for our customers. Everyday I have to deliver satisfactory service on time. Whether it is with our external customers by replying to their e-mails or phone calls on a daily basis or for my internal customers when writing rotas and meeting deadlines set by Management or Head Office. It is essential for a HR practitioner to be able to deliver a service within a timely manner because that will help build trust with customers. Delivering a service on budget is essential in my work place as I have to deal with it on a daily basis. I am mostly responsible for payroll and, within my company, payroll is the biggest controlling cost. Every week we have to schedule staff according to expected business levels. On top of this, everyday we have to control our forecast and act accordingly to set hours, which may incl ude sending staff home when it is quiet or  calling more people in when it is busy. Dealing with difficult customers and handling complaints is not easy, especially external ones. Whenever I have to deal with one I am always focused, listen to the person’s complaint, apologise for the problem and try to explain why certain situation have happened. I’m always trying to put myself in their position and empathise with them. Sometimes just explaining things may resolve the problem because a customer may not understand something, be confused or simply be agitated and in need of assistance. I asses the situation and decide how best to resolve it (whether with a mere apology or free guest passes etc). If the customer is still not happy with the outcome and would like the complaint to go further, I pass the situation onto head office to be dealt with more formally. When handling and resolving complains it is important to stay calm, communicate and be aware how serious the complaint is. Sometimes is okay to to resolve it in an informal one-to-one meeting but if it’s something serious like Gross Misconduct, then the complaint must be dealt with form ally which could result in dismissal. Looking at the Associate Membership criteria I would need to develop ‘practical and technical HR knowledge’ and ‘collating, analysing and interpreting data’. These two areas stand out the most from the associated membership criteria because I know I could develop these skills better throughout my personal development plan and become a more skilled HR practitioner. Learning more about practical and technical HR knowledge will expand my awareness and make me a more rounded, proficient professional. And learning how to properly collate, analyse and interpret data is something I have yet to really learn and so will give me a crucial grounding for further development. In order to be able to grow within developing practical and technical HR knowledge I would have to gain a lot of experience by shadowing my HR manager and fellow colleagues. In my organisation it is very important to know as much as possible about the human resources department because we do not hav e many people on site with HR skills. After learning about HR development I could focus on one or two key areas, such as disciplinary procedures or maternity leave, which would add key areas of knowledge to my  current HR capabilities. I believe that developing yourself practically and technically is essential for an individual who wants to become a good HR practitioner within his/her company as this is a core grounding to any career in HR. Collating, analysing and interpreting data is connected to developing practical and technical knowledge within my HR area. By getting support from my line managers I can be trained in creating weekly analyses of all payroll reports such as sickness submissions, lateness tracker and breaks. That skill would teach me how to work on our workforce payroll and I would get to know the rules and disciplinary procedures. With that in mind, I would be able to implement visible data and make staff responsible for their absences. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is a â€Å"combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that will help you manage your own learning and growth†, focusing â€Å"firmly on results – the benefits that professional development can bring you in the real world† (CIPD website). It can be defined as a life-long learning project that describes the actions of an individual professional who is continuously planning, managing, reviewing and developing his/her skills within their professional or private life. The main aspect of CPD is the Personal Development Plan (PDP) which is structured to help and support individuals to be able to plan and organise their objectives or values in their personal or career development. It identifies what skills and knowledge you need to develop to progress further. I believe that CPD is important to me and my organisation because it gives me and my employer a chance to grow and progress within my career. It sets clear objectives and provides an opportunity to widen any knowledge and skills which are important to succeed within the organisation. By planning my PDP I am able to understand my strengths and weaknesses and learn how to improve them day by day. It keeps me interested therefore I feel motivated and positive. The company can also benefit from having the structure of CPD in place as it helps the company move forward by having motivated and happy personnel, as well as better working relationships due to managers spending more time with staff through one-to-one meetings and appraisals. The two options that I chose from my personal development plan are having practical and technical HR knowledge and completion of my CIPD course. Personally, advantages of having practical and technical HR knowledge would be the ability to implement my new skills on site and be able to use more of my own initiative on day to day basis. By shadowing my HR manager and having support from my head office team I would be able to learn about all procedures very quickly. In having those skills I would know how to run the HR department and by doing so I would be very well prepared for HR audits. The only disadvantage for this area would be time organisation, in making sure I can travel to London (and therefore needing cover) and that my HR manager has time to coach me, although this would only be for a set amount of time. The reason why I chose to study an online CIPD course is because I wanted to get my qualification while I was still working a full-time job. It provides great flexibility and no daily travel saves a lot of time and money. I find studying online is less stressful than face-to-face college as it allows me to work within my on surroundings and at a pace I am comfortable with. All lessons are available via a website and the tutors are always quick in responding to e-mails. A disadvantage to studying online is the lack of visible pressure from tutors to push me to work between my regular weekly shifts at work, although this at least helps improve my self-motivational skills.

Accounting Practice †Pa1 Essay

Question 1: a. 2 b. 2 c. 1 d. 2 e. 1 f. 2 g. 3 h. 3 i. 1 j. 2 k. 1 l. 3 m. 2 n. 2 o. 3 p. 4 q. 3 r. 1 s. 1 t. 2 u. 3 v. 4 w. 4 x. 1 y. 2 See more: The stages of consumer buying decision process essay Question 2 a. Potential tax issues related to the payment Erin received in August: 1) For Erin: âž ¢ Based on the information provided, Erin’s employment with CCC was terminated in July 2009 and Erin was informed on July 31, 2009. Thus  the payment Erin received in August is considered as pay in lieu of termination notice. Therefore, it is taxable income and should be reported as employment income in her tax return. But it seems that the amount of $9500 she received is net of tax amount (her total before tax salary for two moths is $12,000). She should contact CCC to get a T4 slip so that she will not be double taxed on $9500. 2) For CCC: âž ¢ Since the payment is related to pay in lieu of termination notice, the correct way that CCC should have done was to deduct income tax, CPP, EI and provided a T4 to Erin. And CCC should pay EHT on that payment too. But Worldwide actually paid the termination pay, CCC failed the responsibility of withholding the income tax, CPP and EI and paying EHT for that payment. No deductible expenses should be charged on CCC’s book. 3) For Worldwide: âž ¢ It seems that Worldwide withheld $2500 from Erin’s termination pay (total before tax salary $12000-net paid amount $9500), which might be charged under income tax payable and others deductions per USA tax act. From Worldwide’s perspective, the payment is deductible expenses. But in fact, since Erin is the employee of CCC, the payroll should be paid through CCC instead of Worldwide. In other word, income tax should be paid to Canada instead of USA. Erin mentioned that the payment was meant to be non taxable since it was somehow related to RRSP, which can not be applied to pay in lieu of termination notice. If the severance pay or retiring allowance were paid to Erin, the portion of payments may be transferred to an RRSP under certain conditions and the amount transferred to RRSP is tax free. But in this case, Erin has done maximum contribution on her RRSP. Beside, if Erin worked for CCC more than 5 years and CCC’s payroll is at least 2.5 million, or severed the employment of 50 or more employees in six months period, CCC is also responsible to pay severance pay to Erin, which is taxable and should be added to salary income. But CCC does not have to pay EHT for severance payment. b. Memoranda Date: xxxx, 2010 To: EHS audit manager From: Ryan O’ Leary, EHS Kitchener office Subject: New issues for audit plan at CCC Dear xxx, Contacted by a colleague from our Vancouver office, I am surprisingly aware of that several CCC’s employees have been terminated and termination payments have been paid from CCC’s parent company, Worldwide Connections Inc, which is a US company. The employees have been told that their termination was due to cash flow problems of CCC. Based on the above information and the fact that we didn’t notice any unusual things during our review of 20Ãâ€"9 T4s for CCC, I would like to draw your attention to how the information received might affect the audit plan and other concerns related to ethical issues. a) First of all, the control risk should be planned higher based on the following facts: âž ¢ CCC should be the one who pays the termination fee and issue T4s to terminated employees but they failed to do so. Instead, their USA parent company paid. It might because the management has no knowledge of this, which they supposed to have or because they intended to do so. Therefore, the integrity of the management seems to be a problem. âž ¢ Cash flow problems: several employees have been terminated due to cash flow problems and their USA parent company helped CCC to pay the  termination payment. It seems that it is the truth that CCC does have problems of cash flow. Beside these factors, examining the following financial ratios would help us to detect the cash flow concerns: i. Quick ratio: (current assets-inventory)/current liabilities: it gives a more rigorous assessment of CCC’s ability to pay its current liabilities. If a quick ratio is greater than 1.0, then CCC has sufficient cash to meet their short-term liabilities. But low or decreasing quick ratio would be a good sign of cash flow concern. ii. OCF ratio: cash flow from operation / current liabilities, this ratio would measure how well current liabilities are covered by the cash flow generated from CCC’s operations. If the ratio is less than 1, it is an indication of cash flow concern and the smaller the ratio is, the bigger the concern. iii. Short-term debt coverage ratio: operating cash flow/ short-term debt, this ratio would measure how well the short-term debts are covered by the operating cash flow. iv. The capital expenditure coverage ratio: operating cash flow/capital expenditure, this ratio compares a company’s outlays for its property, plant and equipment to operating cash flow. A positive difference between operating cash flow and capital expenditures defines free cash flow. Therefore, the smaller this ratio is, the less cash assets CCC has to work with. v. OCF/Sales ratio: this ratio, which is expressed as a percentage, compares a company’s operating cash flow to its net sales or revenues, which tells CCC’s ability to turn sales into cash. The greater the amount of operating cash flow, the better. There is no standard guideline for the operating cash flow/sales ratio, but obviously, the ability to generate consistent and/or improving percentage comparisons are positive qualities. It would be a concern to see CCC’s sales grow without a parallel growth in operating cash flow. Positive and negative changes in CCC’s terms of sale and/or the collection experience of its accounts receivable will show up in this indicator. b) The audit risk needs to be planned to a lower level based on the higher control risk. Therefore, the detection risk has to be lower to reach the acceptable level of audit risk, which means more samples and substantive procedures need to be performed especially on payroll cycle and balances and transactions related to cash flow. c) Potential ethical issues that might affect our audit plan: âž ¢ Integrity of CCC’s management: like I mentioned previously, it is reasonable doubt for CCC’s management’s integrity due to the fact that they failed to collect income tax and other deductions for the employees worked in Canada and had their USA parent company paid. The management either intended to do so to try to hide the cash flow problem or lack the knowledge of knowing their responsibility of collecting income tax and pay EHT when they make termination payment. Besides, when the time we did review of T4s, we were not told by the management the termination and payment from USA Company. Therefore, I would like to recommend to interview with the management first to understand what their intention was and interact with the higher level of management if necessary. If no correction can be agreed upon or no cooperation from the company, then involve CRA and audit committee. âž ¢ Due care /competence of our audit team: based on the fact that several employees have been terminated and nothing has been found unusual during our T4s review, it seems that due professional care and competence of our audit team is also questionable. I would like to recommend that not only use more experienced auditors, but also remind the team that perform the job with due dare to avoid unnecessary undetected misstatements. I look forward to discuss the details with you! Sincerely, Ryan Question 3 a. A Memo to Albert Desrosiers: Memoranda Date: Feb 18, 2007 To: Albert Desrosiers, Audit Manager, Morrison and Associates From: Wei Liu, CGA, Audit Manager, Morrison and Associates Subject: Assessment for financial position and audit at Prime Restaurant Suppliers Ltd (Prime) Dear Albert, Upon your request, I have analyzed Prime’s financial ratios and the balance sheet and reviewed the audit work done by Paul. I would like to discuss the following issues with you: i. After analyzed and evaluated Prime’s financial ratios and the balance sheet, the following are the problem areas that could impact the nature of the audit work required thus need our special attention: âž ¢ Inventory: it has increased significantly over the past two years, 27% in 20Ãâ€"6 and 35% in 20Ãâ€"5. And inventory turnover has dropped 0.6 from 3 in 20Ãâ€"5 to 2.4 in 20Ãâ€"6. It is an indication of either excessive inventories or ineffective buying or misstatements of valuation in inventory. Substantive procedures would be required to make sure the assertions of existence, valuation, ownership are fairly presented. Performing test counts of inventory should be done more cautiously. âž ¢ Accounts receivable: It increased 8.7% in 20Ãâ€"6 and 43% in 20Ãâ€"5. And receivables turnover has dropped 0.4 in 20Ãâ€"6 and dropped 0.6  comparing to industry average. Meanwhile, the average collection period has increased 16.8 days, which increased 21%. However, sales only increased 1.3% in 20Ãâ€"6. All of these indicated that the collection of accounts receivable is questionable and Prime’s credit policies might not be efficient or the allowance for bad debt is not adequate. Therefore, more positive confirmation of accounts receivable might be necessary to ensure the existence and valuation; review allowance for doubtful accounts to make sure whether it is adequate; review aged AR report; review credit and collection policies; perform cut-off procedures and so on. âž ¢ Sales: Even though sales have increased in 20Ãâ€"6 by 1.3% and 16% in 20Ãâ€"5, but net income dropped significantly by 47% in 20Ãâ€"6 and 0.3% in 20Ãâ€"5. And gross margin has dropped 4.5% in 20Ãâ€"6 and 8.9% lower than industry average. Net margin has dropped by 2% in 20Ãâ€"6. When interest expenses are lower than prior’s years due to lower bank loans and mortgage and term loans and other operating expenses has no signs of increase, the reason for higher sales but much lower net income (before tax) are focused to costs of goods sold. Again, we need to take extreme cautions to make sure that existences, valuation, ownership of inventory are fairly presented. On the other hand, more procedures need to be done to make sure the revenue recognition is reasonable. âž ¢ Cash flow/accounts payable-inventory: it has no balance recorded on the balance sheet for cash. Even though Prime’s current ratio is 1.19, but quick ratio is only 0.65. Even worse is that accounts receivable is not dependable due to potential collection problem or overstatement. Accounts payable-inventory has increased 37% in 20Ãâ€"6, plus other current liabilities, Prime is facing a serious cash flow problem. The significant increase in Accounts payable-inventory pointed out again the problem of inventory, either excessive inventory has been obtained or ineffective buying has been happening. Substantive procedures should be performed cautiously on accounts payable-inventory to make sure its valuation, existence. Positive bank confirmation should be obtained. âž ¢ Income tax payable/future income tax liabilities: income tax payable has decreased 81% in 20Ãâ€"6 but future income tax liabilities increased 4.7%. In total, it decreased 40% while net income decreased 47%. Examining the computation is necessary to make sure fair presentation of these two figures. ii. With respect to Paul’s recommendation regarding the audit report, I have the following different opinions: âž ¢ I don’t agree that Paul restricted subsequent evidence accumulation to Prime’s accounts receivable and inventory. From part I analysis of financial ratio and the balance sheet, we know that Prime has a high control risk in accounts receivable and inventory, therefore, we can not restrict subsequent evidence accumulation. Controversially, sufficient evidences need to be collected to allow the audit risk lower to an acceptable level. âž ¢ Paul concluded from what he could observe that internal control were present and appeared to be operating as intended. This is not correct. First of all, internal control has to be tested whether we rely on it or not. Secondly, Prime only did review engagement for prior years and never be audited. And an audited financial statement is needed for Prime’s loan approval process thus the management has the motive to manipulate the statements to get the loan. Plus concerns showed from their financial ratios and balance sheet, including high increased inventory, AR, AP, cash flow problems, all of these facts indicates that we are facing a client with high control risk and inherent risk. Internal controls have to be tested. âž ¢ Paul concluded that changing of LIFO accounting from FIFO has no big impact on income statement and balance sheet due to consistent inventory cost over the year. That is wrong. The inventory was increased significantly over two years, which means the cost of inventory in 20Ãâ€"5 could be very different comparing to 20Ãâ€"6. More importantly, if LIFO is allowed used in 20Ãâ€"6, a retroactive procedure need to be done for previous year’s financial statements. âž ¢ Paul instructed the other assistant to ensure that goods shipped in the last few days of the year were recorded in sales. The shipped goods to customers is not the only criteria that we can recognize the sales. We need to make sure other criteria also presented, such as the amount can be measured and collection is reasonable assured or an allowance of bad and doubtful accounts is properly set up. âž ¢ 10 confirmations for AR have been sent out. I am not quite sure what this number are based on. But if it is just a random number, no sample size and materiality was put into consideration, it is not appropriate number. âž ¢ Paul believed that testing was sufficient for him to issue unqualified audit opinion. Based on all above mentioned disagreement, this conclusion is certainly too early to make. More substantive procedures need to be done. Evidences collected so far is not enough to make conclusion. iii. Other issues: âž ¢ Without permission from Mrs.Ruenstein, who is the owner of GoodFood Manufacturing, Paul showed Marvin a copy of GoodFood’s financial statements and advised him about Mrs.Ruenstein’s plan to retire. This is violation of confidentiality policy. I think we should advise Paul and inform GoodFood as soon as possible and explains the situation. Even though it might benefit the both parties, we still need to prepare for GoodFood’s complain/lawsuit. I look forward to hear from you and discuss more in details. Sincerely, Wei Liu b. Prime should consider the acquisition of GoodFood mainly based on the following facts: âž ¢ They are in the same industry but focus on  different customers. By acquiring GoodFood, Prime can expand its business into larger restaurant market. âž ¢ Prime’s strong sales team has been successful in generating leads to attract new customers. Therefore, it meets Mrs.Ruenstein’s desire to invest additional effort to build up sales levels. âž ¢ GoodFood has plenty of excess capacity that can compensate Prime’s shortage of cash flow and other capacity. The concerns about financing the purchase: Prime might have difficulty to obtain a long term loan to finance its purchase based on its current financial position. Even though Prime has increased sales in 20Ãâ€"5 and 20Ãâ€"6, but net income has dropped 47% in 20Ãâ€"6. It has large and increased current liabilities but has no reliable cash flow to depend on. Inventory is excessive, and AR’s average collection period is dropped. Return on total equity has dropped to 6.7% from 13.6% due to big drops in net income. All financial information is negative and can not support its financing request. However, if Prime can conquer the storage constraints and change back to FIFO accounting, it might be a big difference. Its cost of goods sold would dropped and net income would be increased! Question 4: A Letter to Board of Directors: Wei Liu, CGA Xxx Audit and consulting Firm Board of Directors, Townsville Recreation Centre (TRC) Date: December xxx, 2009 Dear Board members, It is my great pleasure to be in the position of providing my opinions regarding the creation of TRC and upcoming transfer of the recreational  facilities from the municipality to TRC. The following you will find the discussions related to that and other issues requested by you, including the proposal for the social media site. âž ¢ Creation of TRC and transfer of the recreational facilities from the municipality: o As what we all understand, the purpose of creating another independent legal entity, TRC, is to getting better information for decision making; to offer a wider range of lessons and activities on a cost-effective basis. It is agreed that Townsville would transfer not only all existing properties of the recreational centre operations and any related debt, but also all employees of the recreational centre. Therefore, from the financial perspective, TRC will record all transferred properties at fair value, record all related debt for remaining balance per bank’s confirmation, including unpaid accrued interests. A deferred capital contribution would be used to reflect the funding from Townsville. As for all employees being assured that they would still be eligible for pensions as well as health and insurance coverage, the board need to make sure the details of the pension plans need to be discussed and prepared to accommodate old employees and new employees and make sure the pension policies and procedures as well as health and insurance coverage policies and procedures are in place. It is better off for TRC to consider only offering the defined contribution pension plans to employees instead of defined benefit plans since the first one is less cost and less burden on TRC. The cost to cover the pension plans and coverage should also be planned and budgeted. âž ¢ Accounting policies, format of the financial statements, and information necessary for decision making: o After transfer, TRC would be an independent non-for-profit legal entity. Therefore, all accounting policies need to be compliance with GAAP-general accepted accounting principles from CICA Handbook. PSA (Public sector accounting) Handbook will not be appropriate any more. TRC should determine and disclose which method is used for revenue recognition, either deferred method or the restricted fund method. The restricted fund method would be more suitable in  TRC’s situation since TRC receives subsidies for low-income individuals as restricted funding. Separate reporting on this restricted funding would be benefit for users, including Townsville to better understand the statements. And other significant accounting policies, such as accounting for capital assets and donated materials and services, use of estimates etc should be determined and disclosed. o As for the format of financial statements, according to the GAAP, normally it include: Statement of financial position; statement of operations; statement of changes in net assets; statement of cash flows. o Information necessary for decision making: the board should obtain information not only from financial perspective, such as summary on TRC’s financial position, implication of current economic, government’s budget plan; but also non financial performance reports, such as whether TRC would be actually offering more lessons and activities on a cost effective basis. âž ¢ Requirements of the information technology system: o Although it is costly to invest a new information system, but without it, it is much harder to produce useful and more reliable information to assist management operations effectively and efficiently. The new information system should not only record basic accounting information, but also produce information, like costs and revenues preparation between budgeted amount and actual amount; required funding reports; data for performance measurement etc. Also the board should ensure that policies and procedures for data integrity and security, IT supports, training for skilled personnel are all in place. âž ¢ Implications of the change in employment: o As part of transferring agreement, all current employees of the recreational centre will become employees of the TRC and they will be still eligible for pensions and health and insurance coverage. Therefore, all income tax, CPP and EI have been contributed will be considered as contributed under TRC. For those employees who are nearly retiring, they can  chose move their pension plan to TRC or leave it. And they can start to withdraw once their age reached to the defined age in the pension plan. âž ¢ Independent contractors and employees: o From the tax’s point of view, making a distinction between independent contractors and employees is very important since for independent contractors, they are responsible for reporting business income for their tax return. TRC has no responsibility to withhold income tax, CPP and EI for them and do not have to provide same benefits to contractors as employees have. TRC also do not pay EHT for amount paid to independent contractors but need to pay EHT for remuneration paid to employees. o The factors to consider for distinctions between independent contractors and employees: ââ€" ª Controls: Generally, in an employer-employee relationship, the employer controls, directly or indirectly, the way the work is to be done and the work methods used. But the contractors controls if he/she has the right to hire or fire, and decide where, when and how the work will be done. ââ€" ª Ownership of tools: if it is employer-employee relationship, the employer generally supplies the equipment and tools required by the employee; also employer covers the cost of repairs, insurance etc for using of tools. ââ€" ª Chance of profit/risk of loss: the employees are entitled to his or her full salary or wages regardless of the financial health of the business, the employer alone assumes the risk of loss. But for contractors, all risks are his/hers. ââ€" ª Integration or organization test: the tasks performed by employees form an integral part of the business but tasks performed by the independent contractor merely being accessory to the business. âž ¢ Revenues: TRC’s revenues include subsidies provided by the Townsville, membership fees, registration fees and rental fees. To maximum the revenues, I would like to recommend: o Subsidies from the Townsville: to be eligible to get the funding, TRC will have to provide complete listings of names, income levels, and subsidies provided. This information has previously been tracked through  Townsville’s accounting system. Therefore, TRC could use the same system and maintain the same reporting to ensure maximum subsidies funding. o For memberships are provided free of charge to families below a specific income level, the membership fees are actually covered by subsidies funding, revenue should be recognized even through the funding not yet received and fund receivable from Townsville could be set up. o Registration fees: under the municipality’s management, often the lesson was run at a loss due to under enrollment or a higher than anticipated number of subsidized registrants. Therefore, the board should enforce the management in TRC to implement a better budget system to budget the registration fees and number of enrolment. The board and the management should work on strategies of getting more people to sign the lessons and activities. Meanwhile, TRC should consider setting up a policy that maintains the right of cancellation of lessons/activities in the case of enrollment not covering the cost. o Rental fees: rental of the facilities is scheduled only around the times that the facilities are open to members and the general public, thus the rental income is limited due to time restraints. The board should consider a plan to expand available time for rental and fully use the facilities to maximum the rental income. âž ¢ Performance measures: o I understood that TRC would evaluate employees’ performance partly based on measures that are reflective of the mission statement objectives. Therefore, the board should be provided with performance reports that can help you to define the mission statement objectives have been met. The list below should be considered for performance measures: ââ€" ª The number of lessons/activities offered ââ€" ª The type of lessons/activities offered ââ€" ª The number of attendants for each type of lessons/activities ââ€" ª newly developed lessons/activities offered ââ€" ª Attendants for new lessons/activities ââ€" ª Number of individuals received subsidies ââ€" ª Type of lessons/activities offered to low-income families ââ€" ª Cost and revenue for each type of lessons/activities. âž ¢ Internal controls for Cash: o It seems that the internal controls for cash were not quite adequate due to the fact of theft of cash. To ensure this not continually happening in TRC, the board should make sure better internal control polices and procedures for cash management are in place, such as: segregation of duties for collecting and recording and bank reconciliations; more frequent cash deposit; proper authorizations, etc; the board should also make sure the implementation of the controls will be happening. âž ¢ Auditor for TRC: o According to Canadian auditing standard, we can not accept audit engagement if we provide non-assurance services, such as accounting and bookkeeping services; valuation services; internal audit service; financial information systems design or implementation services. Based on the fact that we are now providing the consulting services not relating to those, we will be able to provide audit service to you. As for the fees schedule, we need to follow a standard fee schedule. âž ¢ Proposal of the social media site: o The social media site provides many benefits for TRC to expand. While building up the site is necessary, many things need to be taken into consideration, especially when it is related to confidentiality and safety of information. It is not appropriate to publish the lists of all people being subsidized because it might violate the confidentiality policy; also to be able to keep the information collected safe, including client’s credit card number, the site has to be maintained under certain security to ensure data security. Besides, the board need to make sure whether there are skilled or enough personnel to maintain the site. More importantly, the board need to evaluate the overall costs to make sure that TRC does have the capacity to run this media site in a cost effective manner. If you need more clarification, please feel free to contact me. I would be happy to discuss more details with you. Sincerely, The end of assignment 8