Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Internal auditing, Investor accounting, The process of Remittance, Assignment

Internal auditing, Investor accounting, The process of Remittance, Reconciliation and Reporting - Assignment Example However, the 15th day may fall on a weekend or a holiday making the previous business end of the cycle known as the accounting cutoff. Reporting and remittance are necessary to be done accurately and timely (Jickling 2) Investor Accounting The investor reporting process is a bit different from the remittance process, and it is a process involving submitting of information to Penny Mac portfolio’s accounting activities. It is made up of both and interim and monthly processing. The accounting process cycle that is as earlier said from 16th to 15th determines the timing of the reports. Reporting includes all the different loan-levels apart from third party foreclosure sales and payoffs. Interim reporting is done according to the type transaction with all interim reports being done under five business days. A report once done it is reviewed for any level of discrepancies through daily checks on the databases. The discrepancies thus noted are known as edits and they are made availa ble on a daily basis to investors. Report revisions are allowed so long as they are identified as corrections in the transaction level. The reporting of transaction corrections should not be made later than four business days before the end of the accounting cycle. Remittance Investor remittance is a process that involves the initiation of transferring funds from ones Penny Mac custodial account to that of Penny Mac. The funds are remitted through GPI that is easily accessible through mobile phones or through an Investor Accounting Manager (IAM). The timing of remittances as opposed to reporting which follows the accounting cycle, remittances is based on the option selected. GPI is a third party vendor tasked with the gathering of finances on behalf of Penny Mac. The investor is provided for all portfolios with a toll-free remittance number and an identification number. Funds that are to be remitted by investors must be made available before or on the date due. Due dates might fall on a holiday or a non-working day; hence payment have to be paid on the previous business day and not  later than nine p.m. Reconciliation Reconciliation of the monthly reports gives a summary of the activities that have been processed in the accounting cycle monthly of the Penny Mac individual portfolios. The reconciliation reports thus compiled after thorough analysis are made available at the end of every month through the Service Loans applications and through an Investor Accounting Manager (IAM). This is done after the closure of all books and all the processed loan levels. The reconciliation reports thus arrived at after analysis is used in the custodial account reconciliation process. The monthly reconciliation reports to be reviewed during custodial account reconciliation process are the monthly account statement, the detailed adjustment report, and the loan reconciliation difference. The Loan Reconciliation Difference Report is a detailed summary of all the transactions t he system did not capture in the original cycle. The discrepancies are also arrived at from the daily edit reports. Monthly reconciliation reports are used in the custodial reconciliation in the following ways (U.S. Congressional Budget Office web). Firstly, the report is examined to determine any discrepancies between the Penny Mac system and the investor’s. Secondly, the investor corrects their system taking into account the

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Main strengths and weaknesses of this play Essay Example for Free

The Main strengths and weaknesses of this play Essay In the first scene at the beginning of the play the Birling family Arthur, Sybil, Shelia and Eric along with Gerald Croft were sitting around the dinner table celebrating Sheila and Geralds engagement. So the atmosphere would have been exciting and relaxed, its one of the happiest nights of my life. I thought that it was a very good way of introducing the characteristics of the characters, for example Eric was very quiet, Mrs Birling was very bossy. Be careful with it. I expected that someone in the family would commit a serious crime and the inspector would come and investigate the crime, I thought this because of the title and the fact that everything seemed to smooth. In the play an inspector calls at the beginning where Mr Birling is giving his speech, J. B Priestly uses Dramatic Irony, this shows how confident Mr Birling is, Mr Birling says to war I say fiddlesticks this shows the dramatic irony makes Mr Birling look silly because the audience knows that everything that Mr Birling said was completely wrong. This was the prefect time for the inspector to enter to show that Mr Birling was totally wrong. I liked the chain of events used in killing Eva Smith. Mr Birling was just thinking about his business when he sacked Eva smith from his company She wanted 25 shillings a week instead of 22 and six pence you made her pay a heavy price for that and now shell make you pay a heavier price still. Shelia also helped in her suicide, she got Eva smith sacked form her last job because she was having a bad day and Max McKenzie-cook 25 November 2000 An Inspector calls by J. B Priestly Caught Eva smith smiles because the dress didnt suit Sheila and she complained and got her fired. Gerald had an affair with Eva Smith but it was all over and done with last summer Eric got her pregnant and abandoned her along with the baby. I thought it was interesting because the werent directly responsible for her death but they played their part.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Amish :: essays research papers

The Amish Who are the Amish? The Amish is a religious group, which lives in settlements in 22 states and Ontario, Canada. The oldest group of Old Order Amish, about 16-18,000 people live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Amish stress humility, family, community, and separation from the world. Although Lancaster Amish is Pennsylvania Dutch, all Pennsylvania Dutch are not Amish. The Pennsylvania Dutch are natives of Central Pennsylvania, particularly Lancaster and its surrounding counties. Unlike the Amish, they are not all one religion. Instead, their common bond is a mainly German background (Pennsylvania Dutch is actually Pennsylvania Deutsch, or German). They also have Welsh, English, Scottish, Swiss, and French ancestry. What is the history of the Amish? The Amish have their roots in the Mennonite community. Both were part of the early Anabaptist movement in Europe, which took place at the time of the Reformation. The Anabaptists believed that only adults who had confessed their faith should be baptized, and that they should remain separate from the larger society. Many early Anabaptists were put to death as heretics by both Catholics and Protestants, and many others fled to the mountains of Switzerland and southern Germany. Here began the Amish tradition of farming and holding their worship services in homes rather than churches. In 1536, a young Catholic priest from Holland named Menno Simons joined the Anabaptist movement. His writings and leadership united many of the Anabaptist groups, who were nicknamed "Mennonites." In 1693, a Swiss bishop named Jacob Amman broke from the Mennonite church. His followers were called the "Amish." Although the two groups have split several times, the Amish and Mennonite churches still share the same beliefs concerning baptism, non-resistance, and basic Bible doctrines. They differ in matters of dress, technology, language, form of worship, and interpretation of the Bible. The Amish and Mennonites both settled in Pennsylvania as part of William Penn's "holy experiment" of religious tolerance. The first sizable group of Amish arrived in Lancaster County in the 1720's or 1730's. Why don't the Amish accept modern ideas and innovations? The Amish seem stuck in history.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Republic Day In India Essay

If there is any year more important in Indian history than 1947, it is 1950, the year in which India became a Sovereign, Socialist, Democratic, Republic. India obtained its independence on 15 August 1947 as a constitutional monarchy with George VI as head of state and the Earl Mountbatten as governor-general. The country, though, did not yet have a permanent constitution; instead its laws were based on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935. On 28 August 1947, the Drafting Committee was appointed to draft a permanent constitution, with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as chairman. A draft constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 November 1947. The Assembly met, in sessions open to public, for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution. After many deliberations and some modifications, members of the Assembly completed drafting of the deepest and the most detailed constitution of the world on 26 November 1949, which is celebrated as the law day, but it was enforced on 26 January1950 in order to honor the pledge of â€Å"PURNA SWARAJ† taken at the Lahore session of Indian national congress. Now, I would like to discuss about the fact that Why a Country Needs a Constitution? It is said that, if men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, no controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government of men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place oblige it to control itself. Just as we have civil laws to restrain men in society, so we have constitutional laws to restrain men in power. Our Constitution is not just a mere set of fundamental laws that form the basis of governance of our country but it embodies and reflects certain basic values, philosophy and objectives that were held very dear to our founding fathers. These values do find expression in various articles and provisions of our Constitution and mostly, the Preamble to our Constitution embodies the fundamental values and the philosophy on which the Constitution is based. Our Constitution has made unity in diversity possible. But unfortunately, today’s scenario is not the one which our constitution makers must have thought of. In present times, people have lost the feeling of patriotism, they quarrel on small issues and have ruined India’s potential, which could make India a super power. Today people are not proud of being an Indian, and thus it is our duty, my friends, to instinct the feeling of patriotism in every person we meet and thus, every year we celebrate Republic Day on 26th January to show respect and honor to our nation and the leaders who sacrificed their lives for the sake of INDIA. So, on this special day, let’s promise our motherland that we will do everything to enrich and preserve our heritage, our ethos and our treasure, Happy Republic Day.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

International Classification of Accounting Systems

Classification of Accounting Systems Critically evaluate to what extent past research into classification of accounting systems has become irrelevant because of international harmonization efforts. Let us remind that IASC was replaced in 2001 by IASB (International Accounting Standards Board). We are going to start this paper with the different classification researches, taking for example Hofstede and Gray’s studies. Then we will draw the main differences between GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). We will also speak about the Americanocentrism problem. To finally dealing with the differences and harmonization. *Two Main Example*s* of Past Studies*: *Hofstede’s* societal dimensions and Gray’s accounting values Different Classification Researches The first one is the deductive or judgmental method. Environmental factors are identified and they are linked to national accounting practices. Then, international groupings and development patterns are proposed. The second one is the inductive or empirical approach where individual practices are analyzed; the grouping or development patterns are identified, and where the explanations are based on economic, social, political and cultural factors proposed. In the deductive approach, Mueller developed four approaches to accounting development. Macroeconomic pattern: where business accounting is tied to national economic policies (Sweden, France, Germany) Microeconomic pattern: where accounting is a branch of business economics (Holand) Independent discipline pattern: where accounting is a service function derived from business practices (US, UK) and where accounting is considered to be capable of developing its own conceptual framework from business practice. Uniform Accounting pattern: where accounting is an efficient mean of control and administration. It takes into account that culture and historical roots are very important. Hofstede define four societal dimensions: individualism versus collectivism, large versus small power distance, uncertainty avoidance: degree to which a firm is ok with ambiguity, masculinity: preference for achievement, assertiveness, material success. Now let us focus on Gray who has developed the following pairs of contrasting accounting values: Professionalism VS Statutory Control: there is a preference for individual judgment, self regulation. Uniformity VS flexibility: there is a preference for enforcement of uniform practices. Conservatism VS Optimism: there is a preference for cautious approach. Secrecy VS Transparency: there is a preference for confidentiality. There are a lot of international pressures like the growing international interdependencies and the harmonization of the regulatory framework. But also the new opportunities, joint ventures and alliances. *GAAP/*IFRS Let us start by an analysis of the GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). Financial accounting relies on certain standards of the GAAP. Principles of GAAP derive from tradition. There are seven main principles: regularity or consistency, sincerity, permanence of methods, non compensation, prudence, continuity, and periodicity. In any report of financial statements (audit, compilation, or review), the auditor must indicate to the reader whether or not the information contained within the statements complies with GAAP. The convergence of accounting standards, that the majority of the industrialized countries support is advantageous for the companies in the Stock Exchange: they should not have to produce several financial statements and thus save important sums of money. The financial risk is reduced. The investors, for their part, can better compare and examine the financial data of companies wherever they are established. Their decision making is thus improved. This international harmonization is a process making it possible to arrive to a basic bringing together various accounting standards One big advantage can be seen when we face a merger or an acquisition. Decisions are much easier to take. However, the experience of convergence IASB/FASB shows that many years are necessary to ensure the convergence of two reference frames however based on the same Anglo-Saxon culture of the businesses. This is due primarily to an existence of an opposition between an approach by the rules in the case of FASB and an approach by the principles which follows IASB. IASB is at the center of the convergence movement. The IFRS are described like founded on principles, which means that they leave a big freedom of action to the companies about the evaluation of the accounting data. The US GAAP are described like founded on rules and they aim to regulate all the possible aspects of the presentation of the accounts. These standards thus require very detailed information on behalf of the companies. In the case of convergence between IASB and FASB, the harmonization of the IFRS and US GAAP is currently working and common solutions have already been found. That do not prevent from the divergence of several points of view, among the principal aspects to be solved one we think about the financial instruments and the presentation of the performances. Some of the differences between US GAAP and IFRS are embodied in the standards themselves. They are intentional deviations from US requirements. Americanocentrism Some countries adopted some international standards coming to replace their national standards or to supplement them. Some stock exchange places, first of all the London one, admitted companies of which accountancy is in conformity with standards IAS and more than 200 great groups (majority domiciled in Canada, in France and Switzerland) produced a second set of accounts established according to these standards. SEC even conceded at certain foreign companies the right to observe certain rules IAS as the standard relating to the table of financing (IAS 7), to currencies (IAS 21), companies (IAS 22) and inflation effects (IAS 29). Within the European Union, some harmonization efforts about accounting methods were undertaken. Those however knew the same fate than others and must still produce tangible effects. Moreover, European countries have adopted the principle of mutual recognition of the standards. In spite of the creation of an ad hoc work group in 1990, the accounting harmonization is not a priority anymore, no proposal nor declaration has been made since. It is use consider American standards as the reference. That does not imply their superiority that just reflects economic and political reality. Unless standards IAS are not accepted by the SEC, the companies which follow them do not meet the conditions to be allowed on the American stock exchange places. To be allowed, a German group like Daimler-Benz must satisfy the regulations and specifications of the Stock Exchange where its shares will be exchanged and to match the regulations imposed by the SEC, slightly amended for the foreign transmitters. SEC requires in particular that foreign companies present either their accounts in conformity with the US GAAP or a table showing together the US GAAP rules and the accounts drawn according to the accounts chart of their own country (Germany in the case of Daimler-Benz). Few companies choose the first method; nevertheless, even the second method is expensive. If the American Stock Exchange remains one of the more world significant markets, standards IAS non in conformity with the American rules will become obsolete. But if the SEC persists in its exclusive attitude, the domination of the American Stock Exchanges could be compromised. Can we solve the problem? Is harmonization the answer? Then harmonization in accounting standards shall serve many of the following benefits: Decrease in the costs of data collection Increase in the comparison of the information, Development in the capital markets, Facilitation in the fund movements Provision of competition advantage in favor of the firms Decrease in the audit costs and increase in the efficiency of the audit For multinationals, the advantages of harmonization are much more important. The impacts are cultural and social, on the employment and consumption pattern for example which are significantly influenced. The SEC made understand that any international reference moving away from philosophy and specificity of the American standards would not be acceptable. It profits from the support of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), insofar as generalized acceptance of standards IAS could compromise the credibility of standards FASB. *Why do the differences persist? And w*hat is *mainly *stopping* the harmonization*? Let us take another example. In Japan, Keiretsu is a group of companies undertaken with cross participations which maintain very close relations of customer-suppliers type. Similar systems exist in Korea. The relations between these companies are not comparable with those which bind a holding and its subsidiary companies; this system is running in United Kingdom and the United States. Moreover, no economic argument could be brought to justify the regulation of the accounting standards. Why the practices differ o clearly from one country to another? We can for sure think about culture, tradition and history. Then, external environment, legal systems (Common law & Codified Roman law), taxation, the level of inflation, accidents and external influences (such as the framing of law in response to economic or politic events for example) are the main causes of international differences. Also, liabilities, consolidation, segment reporting and foreign currency translation can be big issues in international accounting. However, the economists privilege the explanations relating to factors such as the legal system and the legislation on the property rights, even if, in the final analysis, these factors themselves form part of each culture intrinsically. Conclusion While convergence and harmonization are admirable goals with a lot of benefits, that may not easily or quickly achieved. The success will not depend only on the ability of the FASB and IASB to work together, but also on the willingness of national regulators to cooperate and to avoid issuing local interpretation of IFRS. In April 2005, SEC published the road map. This is an article by then Chief Accountant discussed the possible elimination of the US GAAP reconciliation for foreign private issuers that use IFRS. This Road map laid out a series of milestones which if achieved would result in the elimination of the US GAAP reconciliation by 2009, so quite soon. It is often noted that the process of IASC standards are influenced by Anglo-American approach, which partly explains the reserve of certain countries to adopt the international accounting standards. The difference between Anglo-American philosophies and European ones can be explained by the importance attached to two essential characteristics of accountancy: reliability and relevance. To conclude, despite the existence of many convergence points, this research show several major differences between two countries supposed to follow relatively similar rules. This thus tends to catch our attention on the difficulty of international harmonization. This study seems to illustrate perfectly (unfortunately? difficulties of the international accounting harmonization. It could be interesting to carry out a reflection on other ways of making accountancies comparable in order to avoid a fundamental opposition. However, new laws gave (or will give) to companies of several countries, including France and Germany; the possibility of presenting their group accounts according to the international standards, in particular those of the IASC and USGAAP, rather than the national rules. Almost all th e companies having a world activity do it already, or will probably do it soon. BIBLIOGRAPHY †Evolution of research on international accounting harmonization : a historical and insitutional perspective â€Å", Socio-Economic Review, October 2007 Bosco T. , Corporate Accounting Information Systems Cook D. Connor L. , UK/US GAAP Comparison Wolk H. , Dodd J. , Accounting Theory, 7th edition Elliott B. and Elliott Jamie, Financial Accounting and Reporting, 8th edition Ernst & Whinney, L’Impact de la septieme directive: la consolidation des comptes en Europe, ETP, 1985 Heem G. t Aonzo P. (2003),  « La normalisation comptable internationale: ses acteurs, sa legitimite,ses enjeux  », Revue d’Economie Financiere IASC, International Accounting Standards Explained, Wiley, 2000 Ortiz E. (2005),  « GAAP choice by European companies  », European Business Review POWER Michael, La Societe de l’audit, La Decouverte, 2005 Price Waterhouse Coopers ; â€Å"IFRS 2005 divergences France /IFRS† ; Editions Francis Lefebvre Street D. L. and Gr ay S. J. et Brayant S. M. 1999),  « Acceptance and observance of International Accounting Standards  », The International Journal of Accounting â€Å"Trends in research on international accounting harmonization â€Å", The International Journal of Accounting, September 2007 Weetman P. E. , Jones A. E. , Adams C. A. and Gray S. J,  « Profit measurement and UK accounting standards: a case of increasing disharmony in relation to US GAAP and IAS’s â€Å". Websites: www. wikipedia. fr www. lesechos. fr www. focusifrs. com www. fasb. gov www. investopedia. com www. ey. com www. authorstream. com

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

European History Essay

European History Essay European History Essay The Irish Unrest An Irish rebellion in 1798, led to Ireland becoming incorporated into the United Kingdom. This meant that Ireland was now dominated by English rule. The constituents of Ireland divided into two main groups; the nationalists, who supported an independent republic, and the conservatives, who favored the union. The Act of Union of 1801 sparked discrimination against religions, controversy over English influence, and rebellion from inhabitants that favored an independent republic. Religion was a main issue that came to a head when the Act of Union of 1801 was integrated. Protestants that originally settled in Ireland began to out lash at the government for not incorporating religion into the constitution. Document 2 references Protestants claiming inheritance of the constitution due to their ancestors fight for a Protestant government. Even though Protestants claimed a Protestant government, Document 9 references four provinces that are mostly dominated by Roman Catholics. Protestants did not only claim the constitution, but reflected hostility onto Catholicism. The Nationalist journalist, William Bulfin, in Document 10 believed that with a Protestant government, Catholicism would cease to exist in the country. Contrary to believers of Protestant rule, Document 11 references that others argued that since Protestants were not the majority they were not more influential than other minorities. Once the union formed, English influence and rule become a huge part of Ireland and how the country operated. The conservative party, although the minority, believed that home rule would ultimately lead to the destruction of the country and put the disloyal, dishonest, and thriftless people in charge. As Documents 7 and 12 reference the consequences of home rule, Document 1 plainly states that Ireland’s success rests in the hands of English rule. John Wilson Croker, in Document 5, believed that all civilized and successful aspects of Ireland were direct effects of English’s influence on Ireland.

Monday, October 21, 2019

politics 17th century europe essays

politics 17th century europe essays The two journals that I chose to use for my reviews were History and Theory: Studies in the Philosophy of History published at Wesleyan University, and Renaissance Forum. I will be looking at two reviews of historical Books written about two very different places and themes. The first Book entitled Marxist Historians and the Question of Class in the French Revolution by Jack Amariglio and Bruce Norton, looks at life before during and after the French revolution tries to explain the causes and Dynamics of the Revolution itself. The article evaluates the importance of the Classes in defining the revolution. The reviewer says that the book while taking care consideration to explain the nature of the revolution could have used a much more respectable and justified foundation for its research than Marxist theory. The reviewer states that the complexity of their explanations while admirable causes much confusion throughout the book. This complexity stems from their loose, multiple, and often contradictory notions of class influenced partly by Joseph Barnaves stage theory of pre revolutionary France and by Vulgar Marxism. This review would be useful in deciding whether or not the book is worth reading. It does not however, provide enough background or synopses of the book itself to be used as a research tool. The review of the Book Political Culture and Cultural Politics in Early Modern Europe, takes quite a different approach to the task of criticism. It gives a lengthy background on the book itself and provides in detail many of the theories upon which the book is based. The review breaks the book down almost by chapter and theory discussing each one for validity. The author of the review Mark Stoyle of University of South Hampton takes a fresh approach to the often-monotonous task of Book reviewing. His opening line Whenever I hear the word culture...I ...