International Financial Reporting Standards Assignment - 1

International Financial Reporting Standards - Assignment Example More than 100 countries have formally accepted IFRS as the standards for preparing financial statements and to become compatible with each other. IFRS are issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), a private sector international body. In fact, IASB itself is a new body, which emerged on the international scene in the year 2001, by replacing the International Accounting Standard Committee (IASC). With the increasing acceptance of these standards around the world, it appears all the more necessary for multinational enterprises (MNE) and countries with a global presence, that they should adopt the IFRS in order to make their functioning more acceptable in these areas. This will not only help the MNEs to save on their resources, but it will also help them in making use of similar modular and portable systems for accounting. There are many countries where the IFRS are not yet in use, but even in such countries, IFRS inspired standards are now being used. This helps in making the fullest use of the globalization and liberalization practices. Therefore it is in the interest of US companies that they should adopt the IFRS in all sincerity and make the best use of the available opportunities. In fact, adopting uniform standards will also help in tracking financial irregularities and thinking of appropriate solutions. Key benefits of going for IFRS include; i. Streamlining of reporting of the financial health of the company ii. Cost reduction - as companies will be able to make standard packages iii. Consistency in operations and financial details iv. Comparison with international competitors becomes easier. v. Better opportunities for accessing capital markets  

Time for a Change Essay Example for Free

Time for a Change Essay Part of running a major business involves periodically examining what’s working and what can get better (Hogg, 2010). As everyone knows, just as every other company needs to work to remain relevant, we have to keep up with our primary competitors including Allstate, Farmers, Geico and Progressive. We need to do work better to perform processes uniformly across the state and the only way to do so is go from four regional offices in California, to one regional office. We first will need to create a transition committee that will have supervisors from each offices, section and division managers as well communication with other zones that have gone through similar transitional change. With this transition, we will also need to take into consideration how much this will cost the company and also how much will be saved as a result in the conclusion of the process. Which office will be the first to close, which will come second which will close last and finally which will remain open? There will also need to be a plan for the increase of work load when we close the offices and how we will keep the work load down and manageable by adding specialty teams that focus on certain areas of the work instead of handling it all. Additionally, we will also need to review how this will affect the potential impacted communities, and how we will handle the internal and external communication plans. When creating a transitional committee we need to select the right members for this committee. We understand that some may not be making the move but their assistants will be beneficial to everyone. Within this committee we need to select who will handle what roles each person will be in charge of. We will have groups in charge of different areas. Such as people count, communication, timelines, training and expenses. For the people count, this group will be in charge of finding out how many people will be moving and how many will be leaving. With this information they ill be required to determine the amount of new associates that need to be hired and how many hiring waves. The group that will handle communication will be the ones who will communicate to associates the time line of transition as well as information on the specialty teams that will be formed. This group of individuals will be required to travel to all offices to a job fair for associates so that they can see how their department is changing and what the new roles will look like. It will give them an opportunity to find out if they would be interested in a certain specialty team. For the training group, their job is to determine how many trainers will be needed and if temporary trainers will need to be pulled to help train new associates as well as set up refresher courses for existing associates. The expense committee will not only be covering the transition expenses, but also travel expenses and hiring expenses. Why is it necessary to transition from 4 regional offices to one? First, with the recent move of our payment plan department and our Life/Health department to other states all four regional offices now have less than 60 percent occupancy. One of our offices is even at 40 percent and the building itself needs some costly upgrades to minimally keep it as a viable work location. Another reason why we need to close these offices is due to the fact that each office seems to do work their own way in lieu of processing work items in the same manner as intended and designed by the corporate office. By combining everything into one singular location, we can ensure that processing consistency is achieved while also aiming to treat every policyholder in the state exactly the same way with consistent high quality service. Doing so would enable our Zone to achieve and retain the Remarkable expectations set forth by policyholders. Another reason why it would be highly beneficial to transition from 4 regional offices to 1 is the day to day expense. The current cost per average month to simply cover electrical utility expenses is one hundred thousand dollars in a single office with gas expenses around fifteen thousand and forty thousand in public water fees. Since we are not a company regulated by stakeholders but a company literally managed by our policyholders also referred to as a mutual company, it is our policyholders who are paying for all the utilities on 4 offices that are not being used at full capacity. In transitioning to a single office we will be saving our policyholders an estimated 5. 6 million ollars annually which can be reinvested into the organization by way of rate reductions and directly benefit customers. We need to determine which office will remain open. Since a separate entity of the company manages facilities and all are owned the decision really comes down to a few details. Which facility can house a majority of the associates, can new talent be recruited in that community to sustain the growth, which facility is the most energy efficient, which facility needs the least amount of necessary upgrades, and where would a majority of our associates be willing to relocate to? This decision was relatively simple as the Central California office location was the newest facility and the only that was not a single level structure, is in a growing city that has an established university and the ability to add much more housing that will be required. An added benefit is that water expenses are minimized as the grounds are all hydrated with reclaimed well water. As a result of that decision the next decision is determining which office to close first. We will first close our West Lake and Costa Mesa offices as each is very costly to keep open and sit on prime freeway real-estate. When any transition involving associates is being planned, one must realize that there are numerous impacts both positive and negative. While the realization is there that we will lose very loyal, experienced, tenured associates we must also realize that we will also shed a significant expense. Employee compensation is our largest investment in the organization. With the loss of those associates and backfill with newer associates there will naturally be a savings component in conjunctions with that realization and change. Newer associates will have a lower base salary, fewer vacation benefits resulting in increased days producing at the office, and potentially an improved work ethic as they are very happy, not for a new job but the potential for a new career. Combined occupancy of the southern office locations were at a total of 70 percent capacity. For those associates there will be a few options. We will offer early retirement packages for those who are at retirement age. We will offer a relocation package to all employees who are willing to relocate and we will provide them with a weekend tour of the new facility and community to assist them with their decision. This package also includes a bonus if they were able to sale their house prior to the move. If not, State Farm will buy their house and sell it for them. The last office that will close will be our Northern California office. That will not happen for at least 3 years after the first two offices close in an effort to minimize work flow disruption and well as mitigate the loss of tenured employee capital. With the closing of the two offices, we will need to learn the number of employees that will be part of the transition and how many employees that will take the early retirement package and how many will quit State Farm all together. We will need to determine the work flow as well as how many new associates that need to be hired in the final location. Also being incorporated into the transition process is a new workflow distribution system along with a new specialized team concept approach to facilitate with training new associates to make each job responsibility less than what it currently is. Different associates are strong in certain areas and weaker in others so the thought is to capitalize on each of the strengths. The teams that we need to create should be the following. For example in our Auto Department, they will be going to the following. New business application issuance team consisting of both underwriters and assistants, added car application issuance teams, three processing/production teams, one rating/accounting team, three call center teams finally one training team and one quality review/improvement team. Our Personal Lines Fire team will be doing something very similar as well as our Business Lines Department. Our claims department will also go into smaller specialized teams. With these specialty teams in place it will help with the work flow as well as ensure that the work gets processed correctly an efficiently. Additionally, since our current underwriting assistant training program last a surprising three years due to the complexity of the job. With the specialty teams that will be in place the training will not need to be as long as the focus of each role will evolve to its new state. The new training program will last up to 15 to 18 months to get fully proficient with continuing development to refine complex skill sets in their respective specialty areas. The first year training will be focused on the basics and once the trainers get a feel for what the trainees strengths are after that year, the next 8 months will be focused on their area of specialization. By doing this, we will provide better and more accurate service to our policyholders and more time will be spent doing the work. When we get to the point of communicating to our employees we will be earing different remarks from them such as why us, why not the other office, what am I going to do and so on and so on. They’ll need information to make decisions about their and their family’s future (Van Camp, 2012). When we determine when we are going to tell them employees there are five key concepts that we need to remember when we are communicating to all employees. The news we will be providin g will be life changing for numerous amount of people and we will need to be prepared to handle a large amount of questions and backlash and personal feelings. What we need to do and focus on is providing regular, weekly e-mail blasts from leadership describing the changing events. Let employees know when major decisions are expected to be made; for example, communicate when benefit and personnel information will be released. Encourage dialogue between managers and their teams. If needed, have leadership step in and directly communicate with employees through town hall-style meetings and discussions. Create a channel for two-way open communication. For example, create a virtual suggestion box or a forum for discussion between employees and leadership. Posts can remain anonymous for employees at every level through the organization. If there is no information available or something has yet to be decided, let employees know that, but don’t keep them guessing. Employees who have to wonder about their futures are not engages in their jobs, and productivity and loyalty will be affected (Van Camp, 2012). When we go to the public with this information we will need to provide our plans in writing so that the media does not misconstrue any of our information. We do not want false information being provided and pushed out to the public. We already know that we are changing the lives of our employees but we will also be changing the communities. We also need to be prepared for questions such as what will this do to smaller area’s that depend on the business from State Farm associates, impact to the local housing market and loss of existing talent. For associates not wanting to continue with the company we will assist them with their resumes and interviewing skills in an effort to minimize their personal impacts of the transition. There will be numerous classes to assist with resumes and interviews as well as letter of recommendation from their supervisor to help them get another job. Finally we will have our operations managers from each office deliver the message of the closing of the offices. No one looks forward to addressing an angry audience, but you do have one major factor working in your favor: People definitely care about your message. As with an apprehensive audience, treat their emotions with respect and avoid humor. Prepare thoroughly so you can provide complete information in a calm, rational manner. Consider using the indirect approach to build support for your message while addressing points of concern along the way. Remain calm and don’t engage in emotional exchanges with the audience (Bovee Thill, 2012, p. 477). Our operations managers would be the perfect candidates that will be able to deliver this message so that they will be able to hear the compassion in their voice and to understand that this is not an easy move on anyone. We want to remain ahead of our competitors. We want to ensure that we are not one of those companies that will start having massive layoffs due to the decline of the business. State Farm has been around for 90 years and we want to be around for even more. By having a transitional committee, we will be able to affectively shut down 3 offices and move the work load and employees to one. We will be able to have specialized teams within all of the departments. We will drastically reduce cost which will allow our policyholders to have more rate decreases on their auto and homeowners policies. We will show compassion when delivering speaking to our associates and to the media. Last but not least we will keep everyone in the loop through emails and meetings with management so no one is left in the dark.

The Effects of Society in Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway Essay

Society is a constant changing idea, whether that change be from region to region or a period of time. People move through it without thinking what they really are doing. Often they do not realize how much pressure society places on one’s being. It is the basis of how a person forms their opinions, beliefs, and morals. The structure of behavior rests in the society one is raised in. People’s acceptance of one another and a desire to conform create a world where people are struggling to fit in. Virginia Woolf sees this. Woolf views society as a center for conflict for the characters in her novel. They struggle with the internal dilemma of whether they should be who they want to be or what everyone else wants them to be. In the novel Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf uses stream of consciousness to demonstrate the pressures and effects of society on different characters in the 1920’s. Using both Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Smith, Woolf reveals how two different realms of society, the upper class and the middle class, can place very similar pressures and produce very similar effects on the people who dwell within each. Presented as a dynamic character, Septimus Smith is shown as a once idealistic poet who crosses over into a world where his thoughts focus solely on the injustices of humanity. This is evident when Woolf describes him saying, â€Å"It was a case of complete breakdown- complete physical and nervous breakdown, with every symptom in an advanced stage.† (Woolf 144) War, in this novel, is shown as the life-altering element of Septimus’s life. This is because of a combination of the lost of his friend Evans and Septimus’s inability to mourn that loss. Evans was Septimus’s closest friend, and his death is al... ...ly for the main characters of the novel but for anyone who allows it to be. Sources Cited Blackstone, Bernard. Virginia Woolf: A Commentary. London: Hogarth Press, 1949. (An older but excellent essay.) Daiches, David. Virginia Woolf. New York: New Directions, 1963. Hafley,James. Glass Roof: Virginia Woolf as Novelist University of California Press, 1954 Hoff, Molly. Woolf's Mrs Dalloway. The Explicator; June 22, 2002. Web. 28 Aug. 2015. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00144940109597097 Jensen, Emily. "Clarissa Dalloway's Respectable Suicide." Virginia Woolf: A Feminist Slant. Ed. Jane Marcus. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1983. Kane, Julie. Varieties of Mystical Experience in the Writings of Virginia Woolf. Twentieth Century Literature Vol 41 Iss 4 1995. Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981.

Inferior to Society Essay -- Character Analysis, Beneatha

Lorraine Hansberry depicts her character of Beneatha as being inferior to the rest of the human race through the use of the name â€Å"Beneatha†, depicting the hardships of African Americans. Hansberry accomplishes her depiction of the hardships through the use of discrimination, both stereotypical and racial, against the African American race and through the general inferiority of her character of Beneatha, in her play, A Raisin in the Sun. For instance, when Hansberry introduces the character of Beneatha, she illustrates that Beneatha is inferior to Ruth in physical appearance (35). Hansberry writes: "([Beneatha] is not as pretty as her sister-in-law)"(35). This passage illustrates the hardships of the African American race through the character of Beneatha, portraying the inferiority of Beneatha through the name Beneatha. This passage is significant because it shows Beneatha as inferior before she can even show her personality, therefore identifies her as inferior. Si nce she is labeled as inferior, society treats her in a childlike manner and she does not receive the same general rights and treatment as other members of society. When Beneatha enters the scene, she looks up at the ceiling, symbolizing her inferiority (46). Hansberry writes: â€Å"(Beneatha comes in brushing her hair and looking up to the ceiling, where the sound of a vacuum cleaner has started up)†(46). This passage depicts the general inferiority of Beneatha. This passage exhibits the fact that Beneatha is inferior to the rest of society. Although she is literally beneath the people on the floor above her, she is also figuratively below them. This passage is significant because it depicts the reality of the true superiority of society versus the character of... ...even looking up) In your heart of hearts you are much drunkard. BENEATHA: (To encourage WALTER, thoroughly caught uwith this side of him) OCOMOGOSAIY, FLAMING SPEAR! RUTH: (Having had enough, and embarrassed for the family) Beneatha, you got company—what's the matter with you? Walter Lee Younger, get down off that table and stop acting like a fool. RUTH: He's had a little to drink†¦I don't know that her excuse is. GEORGE: Oh, don't be so proud of yourself, Bennie—just because you look eccentric.(78-80 In this passage, George tells Beneatha that she needs to stop being so obsessed with her heritage. This passage is significant because it illustrates Beneatha as a child by displaying her childlike obsession with her heritage. Beneatha is shown as being beneath other people and as a child through her fascination with her family origin.

Government Security Classifications Essay

In light of the growing controversy surrounding the former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, the Republican Party is claiming that she used her personal email account to send classified information. The United States classification system is currently established by Executive Order 13526 and has three levels of classification – Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret. The lowest level of classification is Confidential. Confidential material is defined in Executive Order 13526 as, â€Å"Any information that would cause damage or be prejudicial to national security if it were made available.† A variety of markings are used for material that is not classified, but whose distribution is limited administratively such as, For Official Use Only (FOUO), or Sensitive but unclassified (SBU). Although these items are marked unclassified, they are not to be sent via personal email. No special investigation is needed at this level for the individual other than â€Å"a need to know basis.† The second highest classification is Secret. Secret material is defined in Executive Order 13526 as, â€Å"Any information that would cause ‘serious damage’ to national security if it were made public.† Most information that is classified is held at this level. In order to have a secret clearance, you must have an investigation into your back ground to ensure trustworthiness. This is usually conducted by a government agency. The highest level of classification is Top Secret. Top secret as defined in Executive Order 13526, â€Å"Shall be applied to information, unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause ‘exceptionally grave damage’ to the national security that the original classification authority is able to identify or describe.† It is believed that 1.4 million Americans have top secret clearances. Top secret clearances are usually given to specific individuals who pass a very stringent security background investigation. Individuals with this level of classification work at the top levels of our government. As you can see we have a government system in place to ensure that classified information is distributed accordingly throughout the government  to protect national security. In regards to Mrs. Clinton, do you think that she broke the rules by using her personal email account? The jury is still out on that investigation.

Free Essays on Spine

Functional Goals following SCI - Basic SCI - Functional Goals for Specific Levels of Complete Injury Level Abilities Functional Goals C1-C3 C3-limited movement of head and neck Breathing: Depends on a ventilator for breathing. Communication: Talking is sometimes difficult, very limited or impossible. If ability to talk is limited, communication can be accomplished independently with a mouth stick and assistive technologies like a computer for speech or typing. Effective verbal communication allows the individual with SCI to direct caregivers in the person's daily activities, like bathing, dressing, personal hygiene, transferring as well as bladder and bowel management. Daily tasks: Assistive technology allows for independence in tasks such as turning pages, using a telephone and operating lights and appliances. Mobility: Can operate an electric wheelchair by using a head control, mouth stick, or chin control. A power tilt wheelchair also for independent pressure relief. C3-C4 Usually has head and neck control. Individuals at C4 level may shrug their shoulders Breathing: May initially require a ventilator for breathing, usually adjust to breathing full-time without ventilatory assistance. Communication: Normal. Daily tasks: With specialized equipment, some may have limited independence in feeding and independently operate an adjustable bed with an adapted controller. C5 Typically has head and neck control, can shrug shoulder and has shoulder control. Can bend his/her elbows and turn palm Daily tasks: Independence with eating, drinking, face washing, brushing of teeth, face shaving and hair care after assistance in setting up specialized equipment. Health care: Can manage their own health care by doing self-assist coughs and pressure reliefs by leaning forward or side -to-side. Mobility: May have strength to push a manual wheelchair for short distances over smooth surfaces. A power wheelchair with hand contr... Free Essays on Spine Free Essays on Spine Functional Goals following SCI - Basic SCI - Functional Goals for Specific Levels of Complete Injury Level Abilities Functional Goals C1-C3 C3-limited movement of head and neck Breathing: Depends on a ventilator for breathing. Communication: Talking is sometimes difficult, very limited or impossible. If ability to talk is limited, communication can be accomplished independently with a mouth stick and assistive technologies like a computer for speech or typing. Effective verbal communication allows the individual with SCI to direct caregivers in the person's daily activities, like bathing, dressing, personal hygiene, transferring as well as bladder and bowel management. Daily tasks: Assistive technology allows for independence in tasks such as turning pages, using a telephone and operating lights and appliances. Mobility: Can operate an electric wheelchair by using a head control, mouth stick, or chin control. A power tilt wheelchair also for independent pressure relief. C3-C4 Usually has head and neck control. Individuals at C4 level may shrug their shoulders Breathing: May initially require a ventilator for breathing, usually adjust to breathing full-time without ventilatory assistance. Communication: Normal. Daily tasks: With specialized equipment, some may have limited independence in feeding and independently operate an adjustable bed with an adapted controller. C5 Typically has head and neck control, can shrug shoulder and has shoulder control. Can bend his/her elbows and turn palm Daily tasks: Independence with eating, drinking, face washing, brushing of teeth, face shaving and hair care after assistance in setting up specialized equipment. Health care: Can manage their own health care by doing self-assist coughs and pressure reliefs by leaning forward or side -to-side. Mobility: May have strength to push a manual wheelchair for short distances over smooth surfaces. A power wheelchair with hand contr...

Italy during WWII essays

Italy during WWII essays During World War II, Italy became involved and would face fighting against a variety of people at first were allies with Germany, but later became part of the Allied Power, with Britain, the United States, Canada, etc. During this time, in Italy, the leader(Il Duce) was Benito Mussolini, which did not help because they later found that his intentions were not what they had thought previously. Later he was taken out of office abd murdered by the mob.Italy never truly became part of the war until the beaches of Sicily was invaded, in July of 1943.The Germans were in Italy which they would use to find against the Allies. After Allied victory in North Africa, the Allies decided to storm the beaches of Sicily. They attacked what they considered to be Italys underbelly, as a way to get to the mainland, and attack Germany. They attacked in July of 1943. None of the Italians were enthusiastic toward war and wanted to avoid it completely, but they fought right along sides the Germans to try to keep the Allies away from the mainland. This plan failed, the Germans lost around 12,000 people and the Italians killed or captured was about 145,000 people. This is their greatest loss in only one battle. On September 8, 1943, Italy signed a take-it-or-leave-it surrender to the Allies. On September 9th, 1943, the Allies attacked Italys mainland, as a way to try to confuse the Germans. The Germans and the Allies fought for nine days in this battle. The Germans were unable to hold back the Allied powers, but were willing to give up most of Italy. Now, as the fighting wore into the fall and winter, they realized there were going to be many problems they experienced. They had to deal with rain, snow, disease, famine, and among all things, death. A new outbreak of Gonorrhea had broken out, had prevented many soldiers from fighting, and many deaths. People would starve and die of malnourishment. ...