The Sarbanes Oxley Act And Enron Essay - 1565 Words

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed into law in 2002 and it was ment to ensure that publicly traded companies complied with policies that made their financial records honest and not distorted to make them look better or to make them look worse. This was supposed to cut down on the corporate fraud with accounting. This all started because some companies such as, Enron and WorldCom. Enron was reporting inaccurate trading revenues by acting as a middle man in partnerships and selling back and forth these partnerships and crediting Enron for the profits (Britannica). The government stepped in and investigated their accounting practices and while the investigation was occurring, their accountants started destroying evidence (Britannica). WorldCom, through their accounting records improperly stated $3.8 billion in five quarters (cbsnews). WorldCom should have showed a net loss but WorldCom’s records showed otherwise. WorldCom’s accountant company was the same as the Enron scand al and they claimed that they â€Å"complied with professional and Securities and Exchange Commission standards† with WorldCom. In both companies, the result of their wrongdoing made their stocks completely crash and their top executives in trouble with the law. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act makes companies create an oversight board or in case of the company not making one, by law, the board of directors is the board. The board is responsible to oversee that the financial records of the company is incompliance with theShow MoreRelatedEnron Of The Sarbanes Oxley Act Essay1358 Words   |  6 Pages Enron was a U.S. based energy-trading company. At its height of operation in the early part of 2001, it was booking revenues of about $140 billion (Enron Ethics). At the end of 2001 it declared bankruptcy. The Enron bankruptcy was the largest corporate economic failure at that time, and still remains an example of how corrupt practices magnify in the long run. What led to Enron’s fa ilure was primarily a lack of ethics, and poor accounting practices. This scandal was one of the reasons that new regulationsRead MoreAfter Effects of Enron Scandal and Sarbanes-Oxley Act on the American Market784 Words   |  3 Pages2005). This is particularly true when one adds the necessity of ethical responsibility from business professionals. The Enron Scandal, for instance, became a global call for accounting reform and clearly reduced the publics confidence in the corporate environment. Briefly, Texas-based energy company Enron used one of the nations most prestigious accounting firms, Arthur Anderson. Enron employed over twenty-thousand people and had revenues over $100 billion. Forbes magazine called the company one ofRead MoreCorporate Scandals And The Implact Of The Sarbanes Oxley Act1472 Words   |  6 PagesA LOOK AT CORPORATE SCANDALS AND THE IMPLACT OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002 I. INTRODUCTION An economic boom filled with fraud, collapsed in the early 2000s with the unravelling of Enron in October 2001 followed by the implosion of WorldCom and many others big corporations. The downfall of these major companies led to a wide spread crisis of confidence in the financial markets. A crisis caused by executive greed was able to be magnified when the gatekeepers, the auditors, lawyers and analystsRead MoreEvents Leading Up to the The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Essay examples1203 Words   |  5 PagesThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted on July 30, 2002. It was enacted by the 107th United States Congress. It is named after sponsors U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes and U.S. Representative Michael G. Oxley. It is also known as the ‘Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act’ in the Senate and ‘Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act’ in the House. The main purpose of this act was to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosuresRead MoreThe Collapse Of Enron Corporation1547 Words   |  7 Pagesdownfall of the Enron Corporation and how the collapse of Enron Corporation consequence affected the United states financial market. Enron Corporation was the seventh largest company in the United States, and had the biggest audit failure. In this Research paper, it describes the reason of Enron Corporation collapse, including details of the internal/ external management, accounting fraud, and conflict of interest. Enron is the largest bankruptcy in America history! The Collapse of Enron CorporationRead MoreThe Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 20021563 Words   |  7 PagesThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was enacted to bring back public trust in markets. Building trust requires ethics within organizations. Through codes of ethics, organizations conduct themselves in a manner that promotes public trust. Through defining a code of ethics, organizations can follow, the market becomes fair for investors to have confidence in the integrity of the disclosures and financial reports given to them. The code of ethics includes the promotion of honest and ethical conductRead MoreThe Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 20021614 Words   |  7 PagesThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was enacted to bring back public trust in markets. Building trust requires ethics within organizations. Through codes of ethics, organizations are put in line to conduct themselves in a manner that promotes public trust. Through defining a code of ethics, organizations can follow, market become s fair for investors to have confidence in the integrity of the disclosures and financial reports given to them. The code of ethics include â€Å"the promotion of honest andRead MoreThe Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 20021525 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Cheeseman, 2013). Congress ordered the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX Act) to shield customers from the fraudulent exercises of significant partnerships. This paper will give a brief history of the SOX Act, portray how it will shield general society from fraud inside of partnerships, and give a presumption to the viability of the capacity of the demonstration to shield purchasers from future frauds. History of the SOX Act Congress established the Sarbanes-Oxley ActRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act Paper934 Words   |  4 PagesRunning Head: SARBANES OXLEY ACT Sarbanes Oxley Act Introduction Sarbanes Oxley Act is focused towards identifying accounting frauds in different public companies. This paper discusses about various reasons for the introduction of Sarbanes Oxley Act and causes that has been overlooked. Causes for Sarbanes-Oxley Act Sarbanes Oxley Act is US federal law, which is established in order to set out the some standards for accounting firms, public company boards and managementRead MoreAcc403 Assign 1-Sarbanes Oxley1057 Words   |  5 PagesSarbanes-Oxley Act Student Name Professor Name ACC 403 – Auditing 8/19/2012 Sarbanes-Oxley Act The Effectiveness of Regulations. There used to be a time in the United States when there were no regulations in place to protect the public from corporate greed and deceit. Publically traded companies used the auditors they had on retainer to audit their financial statements. There was no reason to believe that such large corporations would allow their share holders to fall. That fairytale

Inmense Effects of Physical Punishment - 870 Words

In our society today, the quote we hear time and time again is, â€Å"Our children are our future.† So why is it that so many children are being abused? Physical punishment leads to countless consequences. If we truly believe that our children are our future, then we need to first fully understand how physical punishment affects children physically, emotionally, and mentally. It’s important to acknowledge that once a child is hit, the memory of that pain and humiliation remains programmed in the body and the brain for the rest of their lives. Physical punishment has an immense effect on the body, especially those who are still growing and developing. Bruises, cuts, scrapes, broken bones, and other injuries are all effects of physical†¦show more content†¦If we want out children to be our future then shouldn’t we want for them to be able to be able to connect with others and be confident with themselves? Instead, by using physical punishment, children loo se their self esteem and learn that conflicts are resolved with violence. Furthermore, children can become confused by the feelings of love and pain that their parents portray. As Greven states on page 174, â€Å"Sadomasochism provides the most direct evidence for the enduring consequences of early corporal punishment, since the sexual forms that sadomasochism takes mirror the earlier encounter with discipline and pain with remarkable faithfulness.† The associations of love, fear, and pain begin early and remain ingrained in the unconscious mind for the rest of their lives. These mixed and confusing feelings are then carried on into adulthood and may even lead to domestic violence. Everything a young growing child learns about aggression and assault become the models of violence and aggression towards their future romantic relationships. So how does a developing child deal with all this pain and severely intense emotions? In many cases, children use dissociative means to cope with it all. Hysterical personalities and behaviors, as well as borderline personalities are rooted in dissociative processes. In some sever cases; even multiple personalities are created to cope with the emotions of rage, hatred aggression, and depression caused by

Competitive Advantage Essay Example For Students

Competitive Advantage Essay Corporate StrategySources of competitive advantage rarely yield added value that can be sustained over time.The following essay is going to attempt to assess the above proposition and try to find if it is possible to add value continually over a period of time. I will first discuss what competitive advantage is and what it means to a firm. Then I will explain the sources of competitive advantage and how the distinctive capabilities of a firm allow it to sustain added value. The discussion is based on a number of viewpoints from different authors who will be clearly indicated and acknowledged. I begin with explaining what competitive advantage is. So, what is Competitive Advantage? In a number of industries, the average performance of the industry is usually no better than the average performance of industries as a whole. However particular firms or groups of firms manage to do considerably better than average. In this case, the high performing firm or sub-group has something special and difficult to imitate to offer which allows it to outperform its rivals. Porter (1985) refers to such special assets as the firms competitive advantage. A firms competitive advantage are those characteristics that allow it to do well even in the face of mediocre industry wide performance and free entry into the industry as a whole. The firm has certain capabilities which allow it to be different from the other firms in the industry. It has certain distinctive capabilities which cannot be reproduced by competitors. However, it is not enough for that characteristic to be distinctive. It is also necessary for it to be sustainable over a period of time. As Oster (1994) points out, The key success factors in an industry are those assets that allow a firm to outperform its rivals for a sustained period of time.Competitive advantages are always relative. For example, Sainsburys has a very slight competitive advantage over Tesco. These firms serve similar markets and they see themselves as members of the same industry and strategic group. Tesco has a competitive advantage over Argyll. In a paired comparison one firm will have a relative competitive advantage over another. The resource based theory of the firm indicates, If all firms in a market have the same stock of resources and capabilities, no strategy for value creation is available to one firm that would not also be available to all other firms in the market.The theory is implying that a resource must be scarce in order to sustain profitability in the industry. A firms profitability is a function not only of industry conditions, but also of the amount of value it creates relative to its competitors. The amount value the firm creates in comparison depends on its cost and differentiation positions relative to competitors. No business can exist without creating positive value, and to achieve a competitive advantage it must add more value that its competitors. Added value is the difference between the market value of a firms output and the value which its inputs would have in comparable activities undertaken by other firms. Added value can be achieved if customers or suppliers are willing to undertake relationships which they would not make available to other people.The main sources of competitive advantage are architecture, reputation and innovation. It is the ability of the firm in how it utilizes its distinctive capabilities to add value to its competitive advantage. Architecture is the first primary distinctive capability of competitive advantage. It is a network of relational contracts within , or around, the firm. It is a description of relationships held by a firm internally or externally, or with a group of other firms. Architecture can add value and provides competitive advantage by encouraging the formation of organizational knowledge and the development of organizational routines and cooperative ethics. Some firms such as IBM and Marks ; Spencer have a powerful and identifiable corporate culture. Each of these companies has created a structure, a certain style, a set of routines which operates to get the best out of employees.These routines have continued to produce exceptional results and add value. Kay (1995) points out, Architecture depends on the ability of the firm to build and sustain long term relationshipsit is easier to sustain architecture than to set out to create it. More than the other sources of competitive advantage, the sustainability of architecture rests on the level of skills of senior mangers. The first major step for the managers is to recognize the nature of the firms architecture and the function it plays in the markets the firm serves. Kay argues that there are two main types of distinctive capability based on architecture,. Firstly, the firms architecture may generate a flow of innovations which forms a sustainable advantage. Secondly, the architecture of the firm may allow the firm to successfully adopt new technology sooner and more efficiently than its competitors. Joy luck club2 EssayThe architecture of the firm may generate a flow of innovations which forms a sustainable advantage even if individual innovations are unsuccessful. However, as a result of innovation being costly and difficult to manage, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding it. Usually, a great deal of research and development goes into producing innovations which have no guarantee of profitability. So, it can be said that transforming innovation into sustainable competitive advantage which yields added value is very difficult to implement and also unlikely. Competitive advantages which are based on architecture can be sustained over long periods of time. If organizational knowledge is refreshed and replenished frequently then added value can be yielded. To continue to add value a cooperative ethic requires regular reinforcements. Some firms have maintained their advantages by adopting their organizational knowledge and redeploying their relational skills in different market sectors. The sustainability of architecture is the responsibility of the management of the firm. Kay (1995) states, Architecture is certainly not created by, and not much sustained by, the proliferation of identity and communication programmes of the last decade as chief executives and their consultants unveil the expensively orchestrated corporate culture. Here, Kay is implying that management must acknowledge the degree to which architecture grows with and from the organization. If this can be identified by firms then they are in a position to yield added value which can be sustained over time. Reputation advantages are usually persistent and sustainable over time. Kay uses the phrase, living on a reputation, to describe the process of sustaining competitive advantage. However, reputation advantages often fade as the market, in which they were established declines. Therefore in order to sustain added value the market needs to stay constant or progress. Strategic assets fall into three broad categories. The first is that some companies have a natural monopoly in the market. The second, is a firm may benefit from some sort of regulation ruled by the government. The third is the cost structure of the industry, with a substantial component of sunk cost which may confer incumbent advantages. A natural monopoly ensures that there is only one firm in a market. A firm with a modest competitive advantage can easily knock out an incumbent firm whose strategic advantage is natural monopoly. So a natural monopoly on its own may find it difficult to sustain added value over a period of time. Almost all natural monopolies are associated with sunk costs. In a market where costs are substantially sunk are readily sustainable. A natural monopoly becomes a far more sustainable competitive advantage if it is combined with a strategic advantage based on sunk cost. From this, added value can be yielded over time.So, we have seen that the distinctive ca pabilities of competitive advantages do and can yield added value to the firm over a period of time but can only be sustained to a certain degree. However, an interesting conception emerges from Kay. He believes that size, market share, market position and market selection are actually the real sources of competitive advantage. These sources differ from the distinctive capabilities (architecture, reputation and innovation), and those factors are the outcome of a firms competitive success and not the source of it. However, he does point out that his definition of the sources of competitive advantage are not sustainable over time because they are all characteristics which, given time and expenditure, can be imitated and replicated by other firms. Therefore, in answering the proposal, sources of competitive advantage rarely yield added value which can be sustained over time, my answer would be that certain sources do rarely yield added value which can be sustained over time but there are also sources which can continuously yield and sustain added value over time which further strengthen the competitive advantage a firm has in the market. Word Count: 1450 words BibliographyCombined Bibliography for essay an related case study. Firm Resources ; Sustained Competitive Advantage, 1991J. BarneyFoundations Of Corporate Success, 1995J. KayModern Competitive Analysis, 1994S.M. OsterCompetitive Advantage, 1985Micheal Porter Other sources:Exploring Corporate Strategy, 1989G. Johnson ; K. Scholes IBM website on the Internet, http:/www.ibm.comNewspaper articles and CD ROMCombined Word Count: 2500 words

Merit vs Anniversary Pay Rates free essay sample

Performance reviews are an integral part of business. Employees crave feedback, whether it is positive or negative, as it provides motivation and a better understanding of the job requirements. Anniversary Date and Common Merit Date performance reviews each have advantages and disadvantages. It would behoove the human resource professional to choose the approach that best suits their organization’s needs and goals. Some of the factors that should be taken into consideration are; planning cycles, hiring practices, and organizational culture (Koss, 2009, p. 7) Anniversary reviews are commonly used when the organization has a lot of hourly, lower level employees (Koss, 2009, p. 2). This method provides a fair system. â€Å"Every employee receives a performance appraisal and sometimes a compensation adjustment on the one year anniversary of their start in a job, and at one-year intervals thereafter. All employees get reviewed and receive compensation adjustments at the same interval† (p. 2). This method is popular when the organization wishes to evaluate select employee performances against industry established standards, instead of vetting an employee against an alternate employee (p 2). We will write a custom essay sample on Merit vs Anniversary Pay Rates or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page [The Anniversary Date Method can] lighten the managers’ workloads and increases the likelihood that they’ll spend more time on their employee performance reviews, since they’re not caught trying to do them all at once. In addition, they spread out the appraisal-related workload over the year, avoiding processing peaks† (p. 2). Sometimes, Anniversary Date reviews are not the ideal choice. â€Å"An employee’s future is based solely on his/her manager’s subjective opinion of them† (p. 2). When appraisals are conducted annually, and on the anniversary date, usually about half of the staff is in line with prospective organizational objectives (p. ). Another con of this method is that the appraisal date generally does not match with any specific performance period (p. 2). This method can also result in inadequate reporting, and lesser understanding of why objectives were not met (p. 2). Because the manager is evaluating the performance of th e individual, and not the comparative performance of their peers, it can create an unfair environment, and compensation allocations may be unequal (p. 3). Managers tend to try and accommodate the compensation budget, which is directly related to the cyclical ups and downs of the economy. If there is no money left in the budget, an employee with a year end review may receive a lower increase, not because they are less deserving, but because there is no more room left in the budget (p. 3). Common Merit Date Reviews is a procedure where organizations evaluate all of their employees at one specific time (p. 3). â€Å"One of the biggest advantage is that †¦they allow for corporate and individual goals to unite. HR actually spends less administration time on focal reviews because the process typically runs over a few months, rather than an entire year. This allows for†¦everyone in the organization to align their goals appropriately† (p. ). Because everything is done at one time, and each employee’s performance is being evaluated at the same time, managers can compare employees to each other, and provide consistent and fair appraisals, and allow for compensation to be [somewhat] unaffected by changing business cycles (p. 4). â€Å"Another advantage is that if any changes to evaluation criteria have to be made, new forms or processes can be distributed out to everyone at the same time† (p. 4). When the organization is focused on completing appraisals once a year, it can be much simpler to offer training on tools, processes, and skills necessary (p. ). While there are many advantages to the Common Merit Date Review, there are still a few disadvantages. Newer employees will not be permitted a full year of performance for evaluation. If there are a large number of employees, managers will need a significant amount of time to review the process and may have to neglect other tasks until the process is complete (p. 6) †¢Koss, S. (2009). Which is Best? Anniversary vs. Focal (Common Date) Performance Reviews. Koss Management. Retrieved February 26, 2011, from kosshrexpert. com/Article-WhichisBest. pdf