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Comparing Public and Private Sector Accounting Free Essays

INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING Public Sector Accounting is related to government and different from private sector accounting. Accounting and financial reporting for public sector are based on distinctive concepts, standards, and procedure designed to accommodate their environment. This also based on the needs of their accounting information users. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparing Public and Private Sector Accounting or any similar topic only for you Order Now Derbyshire (1987) defined a public sector as a device for regulating human activities so that men and women can live together in reasonable harmony. The public sector is providing basic government services whether federal, state or local/municipal. It encompasses universal and critical services such as a national defense, healthcare, public roads and primary education. The public sector is part of economic and administrative life that deals with the delivery of goods and services by and for the government. A stakeholder is a party who has an interest in the organization’s activities, project or program. This is including whose affects, or can be affected by, the organization’s actions and decisions. More institutional stakeholders are lying under the public sector compared to private sector. For examples the parliament, the Auditor General and the Cabinet. They are mainly from individuals who are directly or indirectly involved in the company’s action such as the shareholders and suppliers. The public sector operates within a framework of public authorization and control. One common feature of all public sectors bodies is Parliament will derived the specific power ultimately. However, the formal and informal networks such as the ministers, local councils, and pressure groups impacted on the way of how the public organizations operate. The public sector also has a plurality of objectives. Political, economic, social, regulatory, technical and performance of services often occur on the basis of perceived need rather than in response to strict market-related demand. For example, in Malaysia, plurality of objectives of the government is clearly observed. The observation is through the setting up of different ministries with a variety of portfolios. In addition, public sector organization has no direct financial interest or benefits to the contributors of resources. Any direct or proportionate share of those organization’s goods and services will not been received by the contributors of resources. For instance, an individual who is a tax payer in Malaysia will not receive direct benefits from the Inland Revenue Board. Instead, they enjoy indirect benefits from the provision of education at all levels, provision of health services, continuous clean water supply and any other benefits. The public sector is varying accounting principles and practices. In general, fund accounting where separate accounts are maintained for each fund so that limitations and restriction placed on use of the resources allocated can be properly monitored and accountability is ensured. The private sector is generally using the entity accounting which a term used to identify the organization. The accounting service is to be provided and whose accounting or other information is to be analyzed, accumulated and reported. Lastly, the public sector is more to political rather than financial control which concerned about delivering social responsibilities to the public at large. Hence, the priority on resources allocation is generally governed by the priority set by the government. The national agenda sets the priority, not by any investment appraisal and profitability criteria. How to cite Comparing Public and Private Sector Accounting, Essay examples

Auditing & Assurance Services

Questions: 1. Find your inner sceptic: Its not enough to be sceptical, you have to demonstrate it in practice? 2. Explain the nature, size and scope of the big four accounting firms? 3. Are they really accounting firms or are they morphing into something else? Answers: 1. Audit is vital when it comes to the point of public, as well as investors because helps in elevating the level of confidence. It takes a lot of judgement and skills to provide the desired result. Hence, the auditor is needed a level of scepticism as it helps in conducting the audit at an enhanced level. This issue generated aftermath the banking crisis where the regulators challenged the audit firms whether the desired level of scepticism was showcased. Further, the need to exercise an enhanced level of scepticism is primarily needed. The application of an enhanced level of professional scepticism is a major skill when it comes to the profession of an auditor (Blay et. al, 2011). Until the time, the auditors are ready to challenge the assertions put forth by the auditor they will not perform as a way to fraud nor will be in a position to ascertain the fact that the financial statement of the company is projecting a true and fair view. Furthermore, scepticism can be taken to an enh anced level, challenging everything in an established company will tend to slow the publication of the financial statements and will increase the costs that are unnecessary (Heeler, 2009). Being sceptical is the not the desired result because it must be demonstrated in practice. When it comes to an auditor, being sceptical of information, explanation and other relevant documents it is a chief source (Holland Lane, 2012). However, knowing it and being sceptical will not produce a positive impact rather it should be demonstrated on every assignment. The application must be done that will help the clients and ensure proper documentation. Professional scepticism can be defined as an attitude that contains a reasoning bent of mind, ready to combat any situation that might project possible misleading either due to error or fraud and an evaluation of the audit evidence that is critical in nature (ACCA, 2015). The explanation provides a clear view that the work is influenced when the scepticism is implemented in practice. It helps and supports the auditor to assess the findings and conclude whether reasonable audit evidence has been received to ensure a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company (ICAEW, 2016). Hence, it is essential that a sceptical bent of mind is essential because it leads to efficiency and effectiveness of the level of audit. (ACCA, 2015) Therefore, being sceptical is not a major consideration rather needs to be applied because the client will get justification. Scepticism enhances the audit practice and projects the reaction of the auditor during the process of an audit (Kalpan Williams, 2013). A sceptical auditor lay trust in facts, as well as data, ensures proper verification and ensures strong interpretations that are evident from the report that is prepared (Carcello, 2012). Therefore, having a sound knowledge is not enough because it needs to be reflected in the work. An auditor may have paramount knowledge, however; there might be a fault in the report that reflects the level of deficiency. However, an auditor who is sceptical ensures a strong financial presentation and provides a strong practical exposure that is error free. A sceptical auditor believes in fact, as well as data, ensure proper verification (Coram et. al, 2011). Hence, being sceptical is not enough because there are various situations like clos ed, doubts and disconnection that might affect the audit. Hence, the auditor must be strong enough in the practical field so that the so that any deflections in the information can be traced (ICAEW, 2016). It is the practical work, as well as the clients service that boasts of the strong service. 2. Initially, the Big Four was a vast firm that comprised of eight. In 1989 there was a merger that reduced the Big eight into Big Six and further in 1998 it was reduced to five when Price Waterhouse underwent a merger with Lybrand to become PricewaterhouseCoopers. The Big Four accounting firms are operated by a board that has its presence globally or council that contains total responsibility for the governance, as well as oversight of the member firms that are networked. The structure of the governance bodies contains a variation, however, contains leaders of senior rank from the various line and geographical areas. The CEO/Chair of the Big four is linked to the audit practice, the other two from the area of tax practice. However, there is no scenario of profit pooling at the international level. The amount remitted to the global network form by an individual member firm to fund the running cost of the network is linked to the revenue that the member firm generates. In reality, the U.S member firms When it comes to the practice of assurance, the firm moves on to enhance the level of audit efficiency. This contains offshoring, development of centers of lower cost, outsourcing of aspect and using of technicians related to data. The Big four firms are operated by international networks. Member forms have a common name; brand and the member firm are legal entities. Big four firms operate as an umbrella entity and termed as a global network firm. The link is established by the legal agreement between the two. When it comes to governance it is done by way of various committees that come from within the firm and the members are selected by the partners. In some other case, the guidelines of the governance need large audit firms to bring non-executives who are independent when it comes to the matter of governance (Mock et. al, 2013). The Big Four are similar to other firms in the matter of management of equity actively in the prevailing situation. Moreover, the Big four are showing str ong standards for partner promotion and transferring more parts from equity and getting it shift to the status of salary in the practice of audit. Moreover, there is a trend practiced by the Big four in promoting individuals. Hence, it is a clear-cut indication that the there will be more income partners as compared to equity partners in the forthcoming days. As a matter of fact, the Big Four audit firms employ more than 710,000 people in 2016. This number contains partners, audit, professionals, tax, staffs, etc. In the past five years, there has been a paramount increment in the employment by the Big Four indicating an increment of over 16%. Apart from the year 2010, the employment by the Big Four has increased every year since 2009. The Big Four firms are into assurance, consulting, tax and even in the role of administration. The number of people in the Big Four has increased with the due passage of time while the staff composition in the assurance area has decreased. Due to the enhancement in advisory and variation in the financial statement audit work, the need for individuals who are experienced in nature has increased tremendously. This has led to a strong market for the technical expertise and other professionals in the field of finance. The Big strives to hire students from the accounting field and various others such as a comput er, technology, organizational change, etc. Further, there has been a strong surge in the requirement from the field of statistics (Hoffelder, 2012). The Big four has clearly shown that they are pouring in enough investment so that they can evaluate the manner to reframe their procedure of audit and take benefit of the chances that is given by the current technologies (Pristine, 2016). However, at the current point of time, there is little evidence that will provide a result on the quality of audit, protection of the investor, audit efficiency, etc. 3. Yes, the Big four are accounting firms however, they are venturing into various other services such as external audit, services pertaining to taxation, consultancy related to management and business, evaluation of risk and control. Further, they are even venturing into various other services like massive employment and opportunities in tune to career development to auditor and accountants all over. Apart from the normal accounting services the big four are constantly eyeing upon: Management consulting The other activities of the big four revolve around advisory services. This is one of the other activities that the firm is undertaking as they have a strong grasp of the external environment. The immense knowledge of the firm is utilized to provide various services like setting up of the business plan, financial standing, etc (Pristine, 2016). Moreover, the accountants from the firm have helped to trace new opportunities, manage the change in the external environment, take care of the insurance needs, etc. Speciality services With the due passage of time, the offerings by the firm have undergone a variation. Specialized services are provided by the firm. One of the noteworthy ventures is the business valuation that helps in determining the worth of the business and provides an adequate response to the fact that whether the business should head for merger or acquisition. Further, information system services are even provided that helps in knowing the integrity, as well as the security of the computer system. Fraud and forensic services are even provided that helps in uncovering the fraud practices. References ACCA. (2015). Professional Scepticism. Retrieved January 24, 2017 from https://www.accaglobal.com/lk/en/student/exam-support-resources/professional-exams-study-resources/p7/technical-articles/scepticism.html Blay, A. D., Geiger, M. A. North, D. S. ( 2011). The Auditor's Going-Concern Opinion as a Communication of Risk. Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory, 30 (2): 77- 102. Carcello, J. (2012). What do investors want from the standard audit report? CPA Journal 82 Coram, P., Mock, T. J., Turner, J. Gray, G. (2011). The communicative value of the auditors report. Australian Accounting Review 21(3): 235-252. Heeler, D. (2009). Audit Principles, Risk Assessment Effective Reporting. Pearson Press Hoffelder, K. (2012). New Audit Standard Encourages More Talking. Harvard Press. Holland, K. Lane, J. (2012). Perceived auditor independence and audit firm fees, Accounting and Business Research. 42(2), 115-141. ICAEW. (2016). Professional scepticism what it means for auditors in practice. Retrieved https://www.icaew.com/en/technical/audit-and-assurance/faculty/webcasts/professional-scepticism-what-it-means-for-auditors-in-practice Kaplan, S. Williams, D. (2013). Do going concern audit reports protect auditors from litigation? A simultaneous equations approach. The Accounting Review, 88 (1), 199-232. Mock, T. J., Bdard, J., Coram, P., Davis, S., Espahbodi, R. and Warne, R. (2013). The audit reporting model: Current research synthesis and implications. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, 32, 323-351. Pristine, E. (2016). Why are the Big 4 accounting firms important?. Retrieved 24 January 2017 from https://www.quora.com/Why-are-the-Big-4-accounting-firms-important

Forensic Pathology

Forensic Pathology Forensic pathology has given us the ability to discover almost anything about someone using the smallest clues. A hair, tooth, or even tissue from a bullet hole can uncover the answers to a crime scene. It has become so advanced that the accuracy is 1 in 37 trillion. The new testing that's coming out is supposed to be even more accurate. One pathologist says that it could be compared to a computer; with the new developments you're paying the same price (about $2,000 per DNA scan) and getting a lot better data.It can also be used to prevent deaths and detect harmful drugs in someone. Beacause of the advancements in forensic pathology it has become one of the most helpful contributions to humankind.Fingerprinting is the easiest, most popular form of identity, but dental X-rays and CAT scans can help a tremendous amount. Charles Wetli, a forensic pathologist was able to identify every victim in an airplane explosion using these techniques.Micah's DNAHe can tell if it was a set up suicid e or really a homicide by studying injuries that could have resulted from gunshots, poisoning, or a forceful blow. All this info is very expensive to generate though.Without polymerase chain reaction procedures, capillary gel electrophoresis, or the ABI sequence analyzer DNA tests couldn't even take place. All these tests is how information is found. It used to take 2 to 4 weeks, but now it only takes 2 to 3 days. It all begins when police give specimens to the laboratory where pathologists discover evidence as they run the tests. The technologists search DNA for genetic markers by amplification and run the amplification on a sequence analyzer. If they find DNA, they try to find the genotype, and then of course they double-check their results. The results are...

Writing a Powerful College Research Paper

Writing a Powerful College Research Paper Read about the main purposes of a research paper writing. What skills do the college students obtain when writing a research paper? College Research Paper: Purposes and a Writing Guideline In higher education, the term â€Å"research paper† is a broad term for assigned papers that call for a student to investigate a topic and put it into written form. The immediate purpose of such an assignment is to have the student learn something about a topic and present what they’ve learned effectively to their professor; therefore, the research paper is evaluated based on what the student has said on the topic and how they have said it. Most research papers incorporate information from library catalogs, periodical indexes, bibliographies, primary and secondary sources, journals, books and other published documents, etc. Most upper-level college professors expect their students to know how to write a research paper by the time they have reached their class or course – which they should have learned in freshman English Composition; however, students may find themselves being assigned the research papers in other classes as well, including those beyond the freshman year, to not only develop their writing skills but to master the techniques and conventions (the useful practices and rules) of formal, academic research. It is the skill they will be able to use for the rest of their lives – and certainly beyond their academic career. The research paper also introduces the student to an array of possibilities for learning, helping them to consistently discover information that helps them make sense out of the world that is rarely orderly, classified and compartmentalized. This type of assignment helps the student find similarities and differences, think critically about practical problems, issues, and topics, and trains them to order information and knowledge into meaningful patterns – habits of mind that are developed and cultivated with a thorough, rigorous education, which are then ingrained in the student’s way of thinking to benefit them for a lifetime. In essence, like the purpose of education itself, research paper assignments help the student by teaching them how to advance their education on their own. The student’s ability to find and evaluate information – which is strengthened most effectively through writing research papers – will benefit them in their chosen career field after college and even in their personal life. For example, if a student wants to be a journalist, but they have no idea how to conduct interviews or even how to write an article for a newspaper, they can learn how to do so by conducting thorough research; if a student is worried their grandmother is being illegally exploited financially by a lawyer or creditor, that same student, having no knowledge of legalities, could research laws and guidelines to better protect their loved one. Or a dairy farmer knowing a nuclear power plant is going up within a mile of their farm will need to research the hazards of nuclear energy and how it may affect their crops. There are an infinite number of practical applications for the skills one learns through doing the kind of research needed to write a re search paper. Weve got a good guideline for writing a research paper: How to Write a Research Paper The kind of research papers assigned in higher education are not the ones given mostly in secondary education, where a student has to provide a very basic, general overview of a subject. That may call for a research paper on the life of the Benjamin Franklin, the history of New York City, or the implications of Emancipation Proclamation. But in college or at the university level a student may be assigned a research paper where they have to take a stance on a certain subject, basically an argumentative research paper, with a thesis and evidence to support their argument; or, if they’re assigned an analytical research paper, they must evaluate and use their logical reasoning skills to further their understanding of a topic, subject or issue. We have developed considerable expertise in college and university research paper writing and provide quality academic writing services and guidance to your request. Place your order  now to get your research paper on time.

Kristen Cookie Company Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Kristen Cookie Company - Term Paper Example Computation of the company’s optimum capacity compared to its break-even point also revealed that the present production system cannot make the company viable because optimum capacity is almost equal to break-even point. Having identified the weaknesses in Kirsten Cookie Company, recommendations were made on how to eliminate the bottleneck in production and how to make the company more viable and competetive in general. I. Introduction Background information   Kristen’s Cookie Company is a company that I co-own with my roommate. We operate in an on-campus apartment with the university students and personnel as our primary market. The initial idea of the company is to bake fresh cookies to order, using any combination of ingredients that the customer wants. The cookies that were ordered will be available for pick up within an hour. Thesis of the case study   This study will investigate whether the chosen production process which is the made to order is the most profi table mode of production considering the kind of market that we have and the facility and opportunity available to us. During the course of its investigation, it is important to note that the organization is a start-up company and is operated and manned by its owners (me and my roommate) and as such, this limitation should be considered in the assessment of the organization to arrive at an accurate findings where realistic recommendations can be made where it is appropriate. II. Methodology SWOT Analysis SWOT provides an organization the environmental assessment of which it operates and thus provides the framework to determine the appropriateness of Kristen Cookie Company’s production process. It includes both the internal and external factors of an organization’s environment. The internal factors involve the internal capability of an organization as expressed by the strength and weakness of SWOT. The external environment of an organization is expressed in the opportun ities and threats of the SWOT (Beagrie, 2004). SWOT provides a reality check in determining the appropriateness of the elected production process in the initial phase of Kirsten Cookie Company. Strength Making cookies through made to order has a marketing appeal of having a product that is freshly baked right from the oven cookies. Compared to the make to stocked cookies, they are fresher and relatively tastes better. Producing cookies through made to order minimizes risk because the company keeps no inventory of its finished products that has the potential of incurring loss due to spoilage and waste when it is not sold before its expiration date. Weakness The make to order production of cookies limits the production capacity of the business according to the number of orders which are done in almost real time (one hour before the customer can pick up their cookies). It also does not optimize production capacity and makes the facility vulnerable to idleness during off season. It is a lso vulnerable to opportunity cost because the company’s commitment to sell freshly baked cookies which the customers can pick up after an hour of ordering implies opportunity lost with demands foregone during the day (the business only operates at night and has a commitment that customers can pick up their cookies after an hour of ordering). Given the capacity of its facility, the make to order production system also has a bottleneck in the baking stage where it will compile buffers as it takes longer to bake (10 mins) before the next batch will arrive (6 mins for the 3 trays to complete).

Physical Reality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Physical Reality - Essay Example As a matter of fact, scientifically speaking, my senses serve merely as extension cords to my brain. My senses cannot experience anything by themselves. It is my brain that decodes what is happening with my senses, and makes 'sense' out of that. Let us take a simple example to understand this. When I travel in a train, and look out of the window, my sense of sight tells me that all the trees and people are moving in the opposite direction. My brain, however, unscrambles the data received by my eyes, and informs me that it is I sitting in the train and the train itself, which move forward. And I am willing to listen to the message that my brain gives me, although it contradicts what my eyes 'see'. So it is my brain, and the way I look at the world, which dictates how I see and experience it, and which I term reality. (Note, that a child, whose brain has not been conditioned will insist that it is the trees and the people that are moving, and not the train!) There is no objective reality (as I stated earlier) even if for our arguments' sake we accepted that our brains processed data in identical ways (which they do not). For what my senses experience, and the data that my brain receives would differ, depending on the place where I stand when viewing phenomena. During a solar eclipse, if I stand in the umbra, I would claim that the sun is black, but if you stand within the penumbra you would see it as a sliver. So what we see or experience depends on where we stand, our perspective. My thought processes therefore gives me my reality, and my identity. ("I think, therefore I am" - Decartes )If we are asked the question, "which is softer, a starched linen napkin or a rose petal"(Chopra 186) we can answer this without having to actually find a napkin or a petal. The reason I am able to do this is because I have gone to a subtler level of the sense of touch, and am able to visualize that touch. Similarly I can go to subtle levels of the other senses (sights, smells etc.). Deepak Chopra states that this level of the mind is not the subtlest that we can reach. We can go deeper. When we meditate the visual image of the rose would become fainter on the screen of our mind, till nothing remains but the screen itself. "Then one would be at the true origin of the senses, the field of intelligence itself" (Chopra 186)There are several other dimensions of reality, apart from the 'physical', which, as we discussed earlier is not so objective a thing as we may imagine, but quite a subjective phenomenon. Time and energy are two of the other dimensions of reality. Think of time: what happens if we travel faster than the speed of light Reality as we know would cease to exist then, and we may travel into yesterday. Coming to energy - those who practice Reiki1 state that they experience the energy that they transmit and receive in the process of healing, as a feeling of warmth, or a tingling sensation. The fact that energy is a vital