The formation and objectives of the IFAC

The formation and objectives of the IFAC IFAC the (international federation of accountants) is a non governmental and a global organization for accountancy professional, formed in 1977 in Munich -Germany at the 11th world congress of accountants. Currently there are 164member bodies in 125 countries and jurisdictions, representing over 2.5 million accountants. Source: Q FINANCE The complex world of international auditing regulation. Objectives of IFAC The main functions of IFAC are to guard the interest of the public by developing international standards, promoting international convergence and contributing to the development of the accountancy profession worldwide. Source 16th Jan 2008.Allen Blewitt, ACCAs chief executive, goes head to head with Ian Ball, IFACs chief executive, in a wide-ranging discussion of IFACs work and the added value it offers both to its members and to accountancy professionals worldwide .What does IFAC actually do for me ? (http://www.accaglobal.com/members/publications/accounting_business/archive/2008/january/3059282). Formation of IFAC From a very long period of time, it was believed that accountancy showcased itself as an international profession, but it was only during the early 1960s that initiatives regarding the international standardization in accounting and auditing practices bechanced. In the year 1962, the 8th global congress conducted in New York conceptualized the idea of setting the international standards that would govern the accounting and auditing practices worldwide. However during the year 1967 in order to examine the needs of accounting profession, the 9th global congress constituted the international working party and to report back to the next international congress held in Sydney (1972). In the 1972 congress an International Co-ordination committee for accounting profession (ICCAP) was formed, following the report of the international working party. Apparently the ICCAP had also been given the remit to recommend changes for widening its work, but opinions continued to be divided, at times there were discussions about the expansion of ICCAP to become an INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ACCOUNTANTS. Thus after due consideration the final report of ICCAP declared the proposed constitution of IFAC. Source THE FORMATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ACCOUNTANTS by Prof Christopher Humphrey, Manchester Business School, England and Anne Loft, Lund University, Sweden. (http://www.ifac.org/download/ifac_history_article_2-2007.pdf ) Setting Standards, Making History: The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), 1977-2007 by Prof Christopher Humphrey, Manchester Business School, England and Anne Loft, Lund University, Sweden. Transparency and alliance with member bodies is the main aim with which the organizational structure of IFAC has been designed. The IFAC council consists of 15 National representatives (a president, deputy president and 2 vice presidents).The main objectives of the IFAC council and the board is to look after the overall governance and the management of the organization. The council and the committee members are country representatives (if there are two or more member bodies in the country they will be collectively represented by the appointed national representative). Source http://www.ifac.org/About/2009-annual-report/ifac/structure/index2.html PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED BY IFAC INFLUENCING THE FINANCIAL REPORTING /AUDITING PRACTICES WORLDWIDE Introduction to the general standard setting initiative taken by IFAC Development, promotion and enforcement of globally recognized standards are the only fundamental way to protect public interest. The above mentioned criteria are also the only means to ensure the prospect of information upon which investors and other stakeholders rely on. The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB), International Ethics standards board for accountants (IESBA), International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) are collectively referred to as the public interest activity committee and they follow a rigorous process in a transparent, efficient and effective manner that supports the development of high quality standards in the public interest. These independent standard setting boards have consultative advisory groups which include public member and the publics perspective. Another initiative taken by IFAC with regard to the standard setting process is the Compliance program established by the IFAC board that evaluates the quality of the IFAC members and associates as to whether they use the best possible criteria to initiate a standard. The Compliance Advisory Panel (CAP) oversees the implementation and operation of the IFACs compliance program. IFAC initiates standard setting boards not only highlighting to the professional accountants (Professional Accountants in a Business committee) and public interests but also several initiatives have been taken to address the issue of the small and medium business and the developing nations. Such as the formation of Small and Medium practice committee that ensures standards produced are applicable to Small and medium practices (SMPs) and Small and medium entities (SMEs).The Developing Nations Committee which oversees the interest of the developing nations and the Transnational Audit Committee that deals with the needs of the members of Forum of Firms(FoF). BACKGROUND ON THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ACCOUNTANTS (Pg 4- 6)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦web.ifac.org/media//d/international/background-information-on-t.pdf

Erp as Software as a Service (Saas) for Smes

ERP as Software as a Service *(*SaaS*)* for SMEs Table of Contents Page Abstract The main barriers for implementing ERP systems in SMEs were constraints in terms of resources and information, implementation time escalations, poorly defined organisational structures, weak formalisation of procedures or processes, unclear and also confused understanding amongst the employees and management. There are various methods to overcome the barriers of implementing ERP solutions in SMEs. This include coming up with a realistic value-adding processes required to be incorporated in the proposed ERP system, providing effective education on ERP systems, making sure as a vendors, they do not just provide lip service and to involve everyone in the whole system’s lifecycle. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is an online delivery of softwares (Dubey & Wagle 2007). The model is uncomplicated and appealing wherein companies signs up to the use the solution which is hosted by the vendors that sells and/or develops the software rather than spending large sums on an application such as ERP and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and installing this software on individual machines (Dubey & Wagle 2007; Banham 2008). All of the major software vendors are now offering its solution on SaaS model basis – SAP, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and Salesforce. com are all staking their claims. Introduction SME Definition â€Å"companies with less than 250 employees, total assets under 27 million Euros,_ independent privately held_ and _ _owner-managers or their families manage the company personally (Loecher 2000; Sogorb 2002)†. _ Why ERP vendors are focusing on SME’s Barriers to implementation of ERP systems in SME’s It was found that the main barriers for implementing ERP systems in SMEs were: constraints in terms of resources and inf ormation, implementation time escalations, poorly defined organisational framework, informal and also non-orderly procedures or processes, unclear and also confused understanding amongst the employees and management. Each of these factors is now discussed in turn. _Figure 1: ERP implementation issues (source: Bernroider & Leseure 2005)_ How ERP vendors can overcome these barriers SaaS Technology Some other advantages of working with SaaS models include: low introduction and subscription costs and faster initiating speed (Kaplan 2005; Torbacki 2008), elimination of license and upgrade costs (Torbacki 2008), predictability of costs (Torbacki 2008), ow TCO costs (Total Cost of Ownership) due to lack of necessity of major investments in servers, databases and maintenance (Torbacki 2008), generating a greater ROI than traditional software packages (Kaplan 2005) no requirement of installing any software on a workstation (Torbacki 2008), online access from any location with an Internet connection (Torbacki 2008), continuous opportunity to the newest software versions and business technologies (Torbacki 2008), customers no longer require the large support staff for applications (Bontis & Chung 2000; Kapl an 2005) {draw:frame} Figure 2: Types of SaaS used or considering of using (source: Kaplan 2009)_ An example of one vendor’s SaaS offering Nationwide Express Farwest Steel Corporation SaaS alternatives have become more pervasive and observed fast development, and their cost-effectiveness, operational reliability become more obvious and there are a growing number of enterprises of all sizes that are generating performance improvements and measurable cost savings as a result of adopting SaaS. For SaaS vendors, they must focus on make possible easier deployments to avoid the need for pricey consultation support. Also they should truly deliver lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and offer more robust strategies for integration that acknowledges the current volatile environments and also in the near future. Finally, the SaaS solutions offered must be simpler, more agile, more robust, and more intuitive and worthy of all the investments allocated. References Banham, R 2008, ‘Up and Away – Companies are feeling a little less trapped by spreadsheets these days’, CFO Magazine, viewed 19 October 2009, Bernroider, E. W. N & Leseure, M. J 2005, ‘Enterprise resource planning (ERP) diffusion and characteristics according to the system’s lifecycle: A comparative view of small-to-medium sized and large enterprises’, Working Papers on Information Processing and Information Management, Institute of Information Processing and Information Management, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. http://epub. wu. ac. at/dyn/virlib/wp/eng/mediate/epub-wu-01_84b. pdf? ID=epub-wu-01_84b Bontis, N & Chung, H 2000, ‘The evolution of software pricing: from box licenses to application service provider models’, Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 246-255. Christodoulou, M 2009, ‘How big is an SME? Confusion over size could complicate international rules’, Accountancy Age, pp. 7 http://www. accountancyage. com/accountancyage/analysis/2246584/big-sme-confusion-size Deep, A, Guttridge, P, Dani, S & Burns, N 2007, ‘Investigating factors affecting ERP selection in made-to-order SME sector’, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 430-446. Dubey, A, Wagle D 2007, ‘Delivering Software as a Service’, The McKinsey Quarterly. http://www. mckinsey. de/downloads/publikation/mck_on_bt/2007/mobt_12_Delivering_Software_as_a_Service. pdf European Commission 2009, ‘SME Definition’, viewed 17 October 2009, Gartner 2009, Gartner Sur vey Shows Many Users are underwhelmed by Their Experiences of SaaS, viewed 17 October 2009, Harindranath, G, Dyerson, R & Barnes, D 2008, ‘ICT Adoption and Use in UK SMEs: a Failure of Initiatives? , _The _Electronic Journal Information Systems Evaluation, Volume 11, Issue 2, pp. 91 – 96. IBM 2009a, Software as a Service, viewed 17 October 2009, IBM 2009b, ‘Managed server services’, viewed 17 October 2009, IBM 2009c, Software as a Service from IBM and Innovative Computing Corp. delivers speedy customer service for Nationwide Express, IBM Software as a Service, viewed 18 October 2009, Jacobson, S, Shepherd, J, D’Aquila, M & Carter, K 2007, ‘The ERP Market Sizing Report, 2006–2011’, AMR

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge

The National Wildlife Refuge Service is the worlds largest collection of protected areas dedicated to wildlife preservation, more than 150 million acres of strategically located wildlife habitat protecting thousands of species. There are wildlife refuges in all 50 states and U.S. territories, and most major U.S. cities are no more than an hours drive from at least one wildlife refuge. But how did this system of wildlife preservation begin? What was Americas first national wildlife refuge? President Theodore Roosevelt created the first U.S. national wildlife refuge on March 14, 1903, when he set aside Pelican Island as a sanctuary and breeding ground for native birds. Location of Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Indian River Lagoon, on the Atlantic coast of central Florida. The nearest town is Sebastian, which lies just west of the refuge. Originally, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge included only 3-acre Pelican Island and another 2.5 acres of surrounding water. Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge was expanded twice, in 1968 and again in 1970, and today comprises 5,413 acres of mangrove islands, other submerged land, and waterways. Pelican Island is an historic bird rookery that provides nesting habitat for at least 16 species of colonial water birds as well as the endangered wood stork. More than 30 species of water birds use the island during the winter migratory season, and more than 130 bird species are found throughout the entire Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge also provides critical habitat for several threatened and endangered species, including manatees, loggerhead and green sea turtles, and southeastern beach mice. Early History of Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge During the 19th century, plume hunters, egg gatherers and common vandals exterminated all the egrets, herons and spoonbills on Pelican Island, and nearly destroyed the population of brown pelicans for which the island is named. By the late 1800s, the market for bird feathers to supply the fashion industry and adorn ladies hats was so lucrative that plume feathers were worth more than gold, and birds with fine plumage were being slaughtered wholesale. The Guardian of Pelican Island Paul Kroegel, a German immigrant and boat builder, established a homestead on the west bank of the Indian River Lagoon. From his home, Kroegel could see thousands of brown pelicans and other water birds roosting and nesting on Pelican Island. There were no state or federal laws at that time to protect the birds, but Kroegel started sailing to Pelican Island, gun in hand, to stand guard against plume hunters and other intruders. Many naturalists became interested in Pelican Island, which was the last rookery for brown pelicans on the east coast of Florida. They also took a growing interest in the work Kroegel was doing to protect the birds. One of the most influential naturalists who visited Pelican Island and sought out Kroegel was Frank Chapman, curator of the American Museum of Natural History in New York and a member of the American Ornithologists Union. After his visit, Chapman vowed to find some way to protect the birds of Pelican Island. In 1901, the American Ornithologists Union and the Florida Audubon Society led a successful campaign for a Florida state law that would protect non-game birds. Kroegel was one of four wardens hired by the Florida Audubon Society to protect water birds from plume hunters. It was dangerous work. Two of those first four wardens were murdered in the line of duty. Securing Federal Protection for the Birds of Pelican Island Frank Chapman and another bird advocate named William Dutcher were acquainted with Theodore Roosevelt, who had taken office as President of the United States in 1901. The two men visited Roosevelt at his family home in Sagamore Hill, New York, and appealed to him as a conservationist to use the power of his office to protect the birds of Pelican Island. It didnt take much to convince Roosevelt to sign an executive order naming Pelican Island as the first federal bird reservation. During his presidency, Roosevelt would create a network of 55 wildlife refuges nationwide. Paul Kroegel was hired as the first national wildlife refuge manager, becoming the official guardian of his beloved Pelican Island and its native and migratory bird populations. At first, Kroegel was paid only $1 per month by the Florida Audubon Society, because Congress had failed to budget any money for the wildlife refuge the president had created. Kroegel continued to watch over Pelican Island for the next 23 years, retiring from federal service in 1926. The U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System The national wildlife refuge system that President Roosevelt established by creating Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge and many other wildlife areas has become the worlds largest and most diverse collection of lands dedicated to wildlife preservation. Today, the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System includes 562Â  national wildlife refuges, thousands of waterfowl protection areas and four marine national monuments throughout the United States and in U.S. territories. Collectively, these wildlife areas total more than 150 million acres of managed and protected lands. The addition of three marine national monuments in early 2009—all three located in the Pacific Ocean—increased the size of the National Wildlife Refuge System by 50 percent. In 2016, public land advocates nationwide were shocked when armed gunmen took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. This action at least had the benefit of bringing to the publics attention the importance of these lands, not only for wildlife but also for people. Edited by Frederic Beaudry

Drugs A Dominant Dilemma - 2393 Words

For numerous generations now, drugs have been a dominant dilemma in our society. The fact that not only drug issues increased rapidly but drug related problems are on the rise. Using drugs increases the risk of injury. Car crashes, falls, burns, drowning, and suicide are all linked to drug use These substances affect the body in many ways, including the exchange of information within the brain, is slowed. The usage of drugs ruins the users looks, makes them depressed, and contributes to slipping grades. Although it is illegal for someone to purchase, possess, or consume alcohol under the age of 19, many teenagers do. In addition to breaking the law, these teenagers put themselves into vulnerable situations, that can change their lives†¦show more content†¦Most people that use these illegal substances go on to doing more serious crimes such as rape, murder, and suicide. Drugs and alcohol have damaging effects on the mind, body, and personality, it is advisable to stay away fr om them. Most of teens are getting help from family members to get drugs, which is a huge part of the problem. As stated in the article Drugs Even Affect Kids, 65% of drug addicts get access to the drink via there closes family and friends. This is causing teens to think that it is okay to do drugs, and this is also showing lack of parental support. If teens see that other people are doing something, or people they look up to such as parents doing something then they are going to think it is okay. Being in high school, you are opened up to some of the teens and parents that are doing this for their children, so you see it going on. A major cause of doing drugs is because of all the stress teens are dealing with. They are doing drugs in this case so they can create a way to escape from their problems. Red Ribbon week explains, quite a few have similar feelings that that the go through, for instance, depression or stress that can be caused by problems at school or with family friends. This has a tremendous impact on their decisions with drugs and alcohol.† Nowadays teens are exposed to a lot more school work and job related things that they feel they have no time to get any of it done, so it builds up a large amount of

Racism During the Holocaust - 824 Words

From 1933 through 1945 was a period of history called the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, people were being killed for their looks, race, and disability. About 11 million people were killed in brutal and tragic ways. Adolf Hitler, the leader, wanted to create a pure race. Racism helped Hitler organize the population into the way he wanted. He wanted people to support the cause of making a pure race. If people opposed, they would be persecuted. Racism allowed Hitler to influence the German people into following his leadership even if it meant genocide. People started to become racist because they were being psychologically conditioned. When Hitler came into power, Germanys living conditions were poor from the Great Depression. He used this state of Germany to his advantage by promising a better life to everyone. The people had hope and decided to follow him. Racism grew stronger through hearing all of Hitler’s propaganda speeches. Sajid Surve states in his article t hat Hitler has found ways to convince people of racism. In his speeches he would speak only in telling or ordering mode, he would repeat his points, he would create mottos to motivate the people, and he would get people’s emotions to boil up (â€Å"Hitler’s Guide to Propaganda – The Psychology of Coercion†). I think that Hitler got most of his followers though the tactics he put in his speeches. The people were being brainwashed and were desperate enough to follow the racism movement and hope for aShow MoreRelatedRacism During The Holocaust By Elie Wiesel1285 Words   |  6 PagesRacism in Extreme Ways In 1944-1945, Elie Wiesel was one of the few survivors to witness the lives during the Holocaust. He was only 15 years old to experience many brutal and harsh treatment between the Jews and the non-Jews. Growing up, Wiesel had faced many prejudice in the concentration camp as a prisoner by the Gestapos and other non-Jew workers. In 1960, Wiesel wanted to share his past experiences from the Holocaust by writing his memoir. In his memoir, Night, Elie Wiesel discussesRead MoreSocial Forces Of The Holocaust1534 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough an incredibly traumatic event. The Holocaust is the traumatic event that hit Germany beginning in the 1930’s. The Holocaust was a period in time from 1933 to 1945, in which Jews experienced discrimination. Out of nine million Jews that were living in Germany, over half of them were killed in the Holocaust. All the Jews that were killed were killed because of prejudice and discrimination against them. An event as traumatic and massi ve as the Holocaust has no choice but to affect the countryRead MoreRacism in Schindlers List850 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The opposite of love is not hate but indifference,† Elie Weisel stated after commenting on his thoughts on racism and his years surviving the Holocaust. Weisel was thrown in and out of concentration camps starting at the age of fifteen until finally his final camp where his father had died was liberated. The tragedies that Weisel along with the other millions of people who suffered were unimaginable and even Weisel himself strived for years to find words that somewhat explained what their experienceRead MoreThe Nazi Party and The Holocaust Essay610 Words   |  3 PagesThe Holocaust was a terrible time. This terrible time was all a plan, led by Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler was sent to prison for treason. Even after he got out, he worked with the government of Germany. He even rose to be the Dictator of Germany, with the luck of the last leaders passing. He blamed others for his struggle. He passed laws, to make it legal to descriminate and to single out groups of people, races, and religions. During the Holocaust, terrible and devistating things happened. JewsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Maus 864 Words   |  4 PagesSpiegalman’s experience to be his best credential. Maus is a graphic novel that depicts basically a cat and mouse representation of the Holocaust. A graphic novel as defined by Webster’s dictionary is a â€Å"fictional story that is presented in comic strip format and published as a book.†(1) Maus tells the story of Spiegelmans father, and his experience as a Jew during the Holocaust. A subtopic within the novel includes Spiegelman interviewing his father, Vladek, and getting him to tell his story. All of theRead MoreMotives Behind Genocide : Genocide Negatively Affects Perpetrators By Perpetuating Distorted Thinking About The Self And Others1628 Words   |  7 PagesGenocide†). Genocide causes millions of innocent individuals and families to be tortured and murdered in numerous inhumane ways. The violence that is used in genoci de is caused by the false beliefs inside ones mind. 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The destruction of native lifeRead MoreAdolf Hitler and The Holocaust Essay729 Words   |  3 PagesHitler, who was the chancellor and future dictator of Germany, resulted in the death of six million Jews and thousands of other innocents. The Holocaust is arguably the worst thing that has happened in our history. In our modern world we still have racist and religious problems accross the world particularly in the Middle East and Africa. By studying the Holocaust we can learn many things and gain a perspective on our lives. Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi political party and Fuhrer of Germany was bornRead MoreTaking a Look at Racism1172 Words   |  5 PagesRacism has presented itself countless times throughout the history of human existence. It exists in many forms, and its consequences have proven dire several times. The definition of racism varies depending on the dictionary, but the common theme throughout all definitions is one of intolerance or hatred toward a culture. The concept of a culture, however, is a socially constructed concept in order to classify humans based on their behavior, mannerisms, social ideals, ethnicity, age, faith, skinRead MoreAnalysis Of The Novel Night By Elie Wiesel882 Words   |  4 PagesThe Jewish Holocaust was a traumatic event that took place from the early 1930s to the mid 1940s. During the Holocaust, the Germans believed that they had racial authority among other civilians. Under the rule of Adolf Hitler, the NAZIs targeted Jews and other groups due to their pe rceived racial inferiority. For instance, they persecuted Jews, Gypsies, Elderly, Mentally Disabled, and Homosexuals (etc.) because they believed that they did not portray the behavior of the so-called â€Å"social norms†

Northern Rock Plc Free Essays

Northern Rock Plc Contents Page 1Report2 1. 1Audit Committee and Auditors2 1. 2Experience:4 2Comparison5 2. We will write a custom essay sample on Northern Rock Plc or any similar topic only for you Order Now 1Chief Executive and Chairman5 2. 2Audit Committee5 2. 3Risk Management Committee6 2. 4Remuneration Nominations Committee6 3Chance of another failure6 4Conclusion:8 5References8 Report In this report I am going to highlight the weaknesses in the corporate governance code of Northern Rock that lead to its downfall. Audit Committee and Auditors According to the UK Corporate governance code the board should set up formal and obvious arrangements bearing in mind how to apply the corporate reporting internal control, and risk management rules for keeping the right relationship with the company`s auditors. The board should make up an audit committee of at least three non executive directors in the case of smaller companies at least two NEDs. The chairman can be a member in smaller companies but cannot chair the committee unless he or she was considered independent on appointment as chairman. The board should make sure that at least one the member should have recent and relevant experience in the audit committee. The board’s responsibilities are to lay out all the terms in writing and monitor the financial statement of the company, to review the financial performance and reporting. It should also review internal financial control, risk management system if not in place separately to check the effectiveness and internal function of internal audit. The board should also be review and monitor the external auditors work their appointments and re appointments, their remunerations, and more importantly the non audit services should be checked very closely. In the case of Northern rock the board and the audit committee failed to implement the above mentioned guidelines. In July 2007 the chief executive published on the website that operationally Northern rock’s first half of 2007 was a good one. He mentioned that mortgage lending in particular was strong. If that was the case then how did Northern Rock end up being nationalised in just over 7 months? Was someone checking and verifying the statements of the chief executive. The external auditor’s complacency was another issue. In their report of 2006 they gave a clean bill of health. This was later investigated by the House of Lords economic affairs committee which found that the auditors had performed their job carelessly. An effective audit committee could have spotted these problems well in advance. The reason for PWC’s complacency might either be because of the presence of Rosemary Radcliffe on the audit committee who was previously a partner of PWC or maybe they were providing other non audit services to the company and did not want to upset the board. As per the corporate governance code the number of audit committee’s members was according to the code but none of the NEDs had any financial experience. Nichola Pease had experience of fund management but not in the banking industry even that experience was not a recent one as required by the code. It seems that at Northern Rock the audit and risk committees were not taken very seriously as Rosemary Radcliffe only attended two out of four audit committee and one out of three risk committee meetings. Experience: Northern Rock appointed a Senior Independent Director with over half the board being non-executive directors- following the combined code 2 and Basel 2 recommendations. However none of the directors were experienced enough in the field of banking not even building society. This in fact does not support the idea of having good corporate governance as it does not ensure failure or success. The above factors raised questions as to why the company’s shareholders did not question the risky business model or was it because of outstanding profits seen as the reward for taking such risk. The remuneration committee can also be held responsible for the failure as both the chief executive and the company took on the gamble for the high risks which in turn questions the values of the shareholder and executive. As mentioned above there were so many factors involved . i. e. he lack of experience, the chairman of the board and nominations committee Dr Ridley had no prior financial experience and even the subject that he has studied is far different to the role he was responsible for. The other four non executive directors Fenwick, Gibson, Pease and Queen also did not have recent relevant experience. Sir Derek Wanless with a good education background but unfort unately with some negative history while working in NatWest where he got paid ? 3M having lead a disastrous acquisition strategy. If the company was aware of the history then why was he appointed as a chairman of the Audit and risk committee? All of the above points indicate that it was really poor corporate governance in place which neither of the committee paid attention or lack their experience in the case of chief executive`s appointment cannot be said that much as he was internally promoted it is sometimes good so he knew about the company from scratch to the top but in some case it is better to have an experience person from a different companies so that they can bring new ideas and innovation. The audit committee had to review what they have been there for the monitoring of the internal financial control, the services, remuneration, re appointments of the external auditors. If the corporate governance were strong in the company there would not be any mis representation of the financial reporting neither by the chief executive nor by the external auditors and also they would have known the consequence of the failure before it had happened. Comparison In this question I am going to compare the governance arrangements noted in the case study with the current version of the UK corporate Governance code. Northern rock had applied most of the governance code but there were some weaknesses in some of the areas. Chief Executive and Chairman As per the UK governance code the chief executive and the chairman should be separate, their re-appointment and remuneration will have to be approved by the board. In Northern Rock the above codes were applied properly. Chief executive and chairman were two different individuals and their appointment and re appointment were also approved by the board. Audit Committee As mentioned above Northern Rock’s audit committee failed to comply with the UK Corporate Governance code on more than one count which led to the auditors not performing their job properly. Audit committee should act as a watch dog in an organisation. Risk Management Committee UK corporate governance says that the board should conduct a review of the risk management committee’s effectiveness at least on a yearly basis. The review should cover almost everything including financial, operational and compliance controls and should be presented to the shareholders. Looking at the timeline of collapse of Northern Rock it seems that the risk committee was not very effective in identifying risks faced by the organisation and hence failed to perform its duty properly which led to the collapse of UK’s 5th largest lender in within one year. Remuneration Nominations Committee According to the UK corporate governance code the company should have a remuneration and a nomination committee which should determine the salaries of the board members and should nominate suitable individuals for appointment. The nomination committee should be made up of non executive directors who should be independent members of the committee. The chair or non executive director should chair the committee but he or she should not chair the committee when appointing the successor to the chairmanship. The committee should also evaluate the skills, experience and knowledge of the candidate when making recommendations. It seems that northern rock’s nomination committee failed in doing their job properly according to the UK corporate governance code. If they had fulfilled the above requirements in accordance to the UK code then the inexperience of the NEDs would have not been an issue. Chance of another failure Generally, organisations with relatively poor governance don’t succeed as uch as those with high standard corporate governance aided by investors. Northern Rock proved this statement when worries about corporate governance resulted in poor performance. This came about 4 years before it was nationalised when shareholders were concerned in the kind of bonuses which were being paid to executives. This develops another understanding about the theory that governance drives performance rather than performance driving governance. Non-executives improve performance and t he balance between executives and non-executives is very vital. Considering both the internal and external factors affecting the failure of northern rock it was mainly caused due to its internal disability of managing crisis. It was the very flawed legal regulation and the poor corporate governance of Northern Rock that let itself down during the tough mortgage crisis in the US. The business model of the company worked for a number of years but despite the risk involved the non-executive directors cared less of the actual risks to the company’s model. Lesson can be learnt from the Northern Rock fiasco by other businesses regardless of their size or profitability. If any business does not implement the corporate governance codes properly they are guaranteed to have problems sooner or later. Similar failure happened to the fourth largest American bank Lehman brothers due to poor corporate governance as their systems were very weak. The key areas of the failure were Corporate risk management, Board of directors, remuneration committee and nomination committee. The board of directors included nine retired four of them 75 years old one a theatre producer and another navy admiral with no banking industry experience. In the board of directors the directors were paid well for their work each in the range $325,000 to $397,000 even after getting high return from the company they were not seriously taking care of the company due to having other responsibilities. Their risk management were also a failure because their executive committee the CRO and the CFO meeting were every week but instead they meet only twice in both 2006 and 2007 which was very outrageous. The failure of the remuneration committee was that only $1 billion were paid in cash bonuses in just matter of 8years which is a big failure. Other than that $500 million was paid to the chairman. Out of the ten board member four of them were 75 years old and only one had the recent knowledge of financial sector. If in the future any other bank or business will not make their corporate governance strong I am afraid there will be more cases like in the future. Conclusion: After all I have mentioned above it was a poor corporate governance that led the bank to failure. Northern rock had all sort of weaknesses in their corporate governance code it will be a good lesson for the other banks to learn if they have any sort of weaknesses in their corporate governance they should amend those before it will be too late. References 1. Treanor, J. (2008). Poor governance reduces profits, says ABI. Available: http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2008/feb/27/executivesalaries. insurance. Last accessed 09 Feb 2013. 2. Roman A. Tomasic . (2009). Corporate Rescue, Governance and Risk Taking – Northern Rock and Its International Context. Available: http://papers. ssrn. com/sol3/papers. cfm? abstract_id=1417953. Last accessed 09 Feb 2013. 3. The Financial Reporting council. (2012). The UK Corporate Governance Code. Available: http://www. frc. org. uk/Our-Work/Publications/Corporate-Governance/UK- Corporate-Governance-Code-September-2012. aspx. Last accessed 09 Feb 2013. 4. Agha, M G and Qatinah, A. (). Lehman Brothers and Corporate Governance Failure. Available: http://www. slideshare. net/adnanqatinah1/lehman-brothers-case-study2. Last accessed 09 Feb 2013. How to cite Northern Rock Plc, Essay examples

Sustainability Report on Electronic Waste Management †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Sustainability Report on Electronic Waste Management. Answer: Introduction Electronic wastes are devastating in that they contain very toxic substances. Some of these substances include mercury, lead, lithium, as well as cadmium among others. Upon disposal, these electronic wastes tend to release very toxic substances into the environment. These substances pose a threat to human health. This causes problems with regard to workers safety. This also causes a lot of liability concerns especially for those who take their electronics to facilities that recycle these electronic items. Electronic wastes also contain valuable materials that can be used in other places. Materials such as silver and even gold can be obtained from these electronic wastes. These materials are important as they offer very significant opportunities for economic extraction. The value for cell phones contributed by these valuable metals is around 70%. This means that recycling these materials is beneficial. The management of electronics is very important. Given the uncertainty and complexity experienced in the electronics stream, it is important that a multidisciplinary approach is used. It is important to develop and implement effective systems that can effectively recycle electronic products. Information technology has changed the people's lives significantly, however, electronics may also bring very devastating effect to the lives of the people if not well managed in time. Personal computers contain very toxic substances that when wrongly disposed of can affect human life (Devan, 2014). These substances include toxic gases, metals, and even biologically active materials. Body Electronic waste managementis a very important part especially in the life of the urban population. This is because it ensures that the environment is protected and safeguarded from devastating impacts that arise from the poor disposal of the electronic materials. This is not just a technical environmental problem (Kahn, 2016, p. 112).This is also a social, economic and political as well.Waste management and especiallyelectronic waste management is an urban lifestyle issue. Resource consumption, jobs availability and income level are all affected in various ways with how electronic waste is handled. The development of a proper waste management is a responsibility of the entire society. It is important that a more comprehensive system is developed to help handled waste arising from electronic components. It is evident that in order to maintain a clean environment that that brings about sustainability a database must be kept which contains necessary information with regard to recycling centers, where consumers may take the items that they no longer need(Egher, 2016). This is important in ensuring that environmental sustainability is achieved. Recycling centers are important in e-waste management program. Environmental sustainability is possible with improvements in the operation of waste management. The process of achieving environmental sustainability is hectic and it involves a serious of preparation and equipment which is necessary in order to bring about huge waste reduction(Kessinger, et al., 2014). This can be advanced by inspecting the prevailing operational procedures. The absence of strategies and examination of the generation procedure for approaches is also something that needs to be addressed so as to enhance waste reduction. Initiating standard operation strategies can help in advancing the utilization of basic materials in the formation process that can help lessen electronic waste. A strict upkeep program, which stresses restorative support, can reduce wastage caused by gear failure (Cayne, 2014). A representative program is a key component of any waste diminishment program. Preparing waste management program ought to incorporate right working and handling methodology, appropriate hardware utilization, recommended maintenance and assessment plans, adjust process control specifications and legitimate administration of waste materials(Young, 2016). Manufacturing companies ought to embrace electronic waste minimization techniques. This has the potential for reducing electronic wastes. This is what will reduce the impact that is felt on earth. It is important in ensuring that materials such as silver and gold which are contained in some of these materials can be extracted and properly used for other purposes (Kahn, 2016). This will effectively reduce the environmental impact that may arise from the burning of this materials. Obligations of the Citizen Individual citizens also have a responsibility in ensuring that the items used are properly disposed of. Nevertheless, care needs to be taken while handing over these materials to the recycling institutions. That is these items ought to be in working condition. This way it is possible to upgrade those that need to be upgraded and to allow easy extraction of components from those that have no chance of being upgraded. By giving out electronics that are still functional to recycling organizations, these devices can be improved and given to other institutions and even to other poor families(Egher, 2016, p. 111).This way a lot of waste materials which are normally burnt or thrown away can be reused. This is one of the preferable alternatives that can help in achieving a sustainable environment. There is a challenge when it comes to controlling electronic waste disposal. This is due to the fact that these wastes are disposed of together with other household items. Materials Electronic materials are known to contain a wide range of materials. These particular materials are well known be very precious. Nevertheless, these materials can also be very harmful. Exposure to these materials especially in there degenerated condition is very dangerous. The manufactures need to make sure that it is easy to extract materials from these materials with ease(Cannon, 2015). This is essential in making sure that these materials can be extracted before the materials are disposed of. It is also important that materials used in making these items need to be environmental friendly materials that can easily degrade and bring about no harm to the people and the environment at large. Outline The materials used in the manufacturing or development of electronic items should be those that can be dismantled effortlessly(Egher, 2016). This is very important as it can help in making sure that extraction of very important components is made easy. This makes it easy for them to be repaired and even upgraded to be used by others such as the less fortunate in the society. This will help ensure that an item is properly used until its lifespan is completely over. Development of strategies It is essential to ensure that materials used in making electronic devices are those that can be remanufactured with ease. This will ensure that the items can be remanufactured and reused. This is also essential in making sure that a proper economic system is in place to ensure that there is no waste. Feedstock Management The methods used in overseeing the complexity involved in the e-waste disposal should be designed in such a manner that they can be easily understood by even the ordinary person. Conclusion Electronic waste disposal is a problem in numerous regions. All across the globe, computer wastes are normally disposed without much consideration to its devastating effects both to the environment and on human life. For proper environmental protection, e-waste needs to be managed properly(Cossu, 2017). Environmental sustainability can only be achieved if proper waste management is put in place. Such things as computer chips, acids, and sludge from parts of melting computers if disposed on the ground have a devastating effect in that they bring about soil acidification. Contamination of water sources is also a serious problem. This leads to water shortage in a majority of the places (Kahn, 2016). Disposal of electronic wastes, therefore, have to be managed properly. Environmental hazards can be controlled with proper disposal of e-waste. Fumes and gases emitted from burning these waste also pollute the air. To contain this kind of problem, it is necessary that people are properly trained to handle electronic waste with care. Action needs to be taken at all levels. The society needs to be involved in the entire process of electronic waste management in order to ensure that there is sustainability. The need for support in the implementation process of electronic waste. This should involve financial support to the community, knowledge transfer as well as information support. All concerned stakeholders need to be involved in achieving sustainable environment by managing wastes properly. References Brown, M., 2016. Technology and electroninc waste management. Science Direct, pp. 1-5. Cannon, R., 2015. Electronic waste management. UK: Oxford University Press. Cayne, E., 2014. Waste Management. Chicago: CRC Press. Cossu, R., 2017. Waste management. International Journal of Integrated Waste Management, Science and Technology, 1(12), pp. 1-9. Davis, V., 2017. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management. Springer Link, II(10), pp. 7-89. Devan, W., 2014. Waste Management Todat. Chicago: CRC Press. Egher, T., 2016. Electronic Waste management solutions. Chicago: Penguin. Kahn, B., 2016. How to manage electronic wastes. IT safety and security, pp. 121-145. Kessinger, J., Donald, T., O'brian, T. Kiyoski, C., 2014. Waste management in the 21st century. Dallas: Penguin. young, D., 2016. Modern day management of electroninc waste. Waste And Disposal, Volume III, pp. 1-7.