Auditor Independence Essay -- Auditing

1. Introduction 1.1 The objectives of audit Under the regulatory, directors are required to produce financial statements annually which give a true and faire view of the affairs of the company and its profit and loss for the period and accountable to shareholders. Auditors have a responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance to the shareholders and other stakeholders of a company on the financial statements. The objective of an audit of financial statements is to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, thereby enabling the auditor to express an opinion on whether the financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with an applicable financial reporting framework; and to report on the financial statements, and communicate as required by the HKSAs, in accordance with the auditor’s findings. (HKSA 200.11) In order to maintain the auditor’s integrity, objectivity, and independence, auditing standards have been issued for measuring of the quality of the auditor’s performance. Auditing standards are general guidelines to aid auditors in fulfilling their professional responsibilities in the audit of financial statements. They include consideration of professional qualities such as competence and independence, reporting requirements and evidence. (Soltani, 2007) 1.2 Code of ethics for auditor independence Audit independence is a very critical component if a business wishes to have an audit function that can add value to the organization. The audit report and opinion must be free of any bias or influence if the integrity of the audit process is to be valued and... ...to aid auditors in fraud detection and increase emphasis on professional skepticism. 4. Recommendations Since professional independence and skepticism are more important for an auditors on audit engagement. It is recommended that auditors should enhance professional skepticism to the financial statement audit. It includes increase the ability of auditor to detect fraud by training, enhancing ability through experience and paying more effort in audit plan. In order to enhance auditor independence, directors should disclose the audit and non-audit services fee to investors and let investors to evaluate the independence of the auditor. By separating of auditor duties for audit and non-audit services, it can be help to maintain auditor independence. By enhancing the internal control system and corporate governance, it can be help to reduce fraud risk.

Baroque and Impressionism Essay

Baroque art refers to the style that would be found in Europe and North and South America during the 17th and 18th century. The Catholic Church heavily influenced their art, as well as the Protestant rising up during this time. There was an emphasis on unity and harmony in all of the visual arts that often had themes from the Bible or stories. There was realism and more attention was paid to physical details in portrait paintings, there was more light contrast, landscapes were more expansive and there was use of more deep, rich colors. In architecture there were structures that expressed humans longing for spirituality and there was extreme presentation and in the grand scale it was reflected theatrically (Mindedge, 2013). In the Baroque period the art would depict a play, that it was not just a picture but every figure would have meaning, the art was meant to be read just not looked at as decoration. Figures would be drawn with realism, they have depth in the art, and they are almost falling off the page. They used dark shades and lights to show realism in their paintings. This was brought on with the further discovery of how our universe was formed, how we are not the center of the universe and also with that discovery, we discovered that Europe is not the middle of the Earth as well. Each painting had a story, told about us, about real people and there was more realism than before. Sculptures were made to be experienced, they were made not as standing men but men in action, they told a story in each sculpture that was made in this period. The social conditions that contributed to the Baroque period began with the rebirth of people, the Catholic Church had overcome the Protestant rising. There was new life and new water brought in to Rome and other major cities. We made discoveries that had shown us that the Earth was not the center of the universe like we had previously thought, also the discovery that the Earth was not flat. We had explored across the Atlantic and discovered the Americas as well. This was a time of great growth and triumph, and this was all shown in our paintings, which told their stories, and the sculptures that shared their tales. Impressionism which would be found in France in the late 19th century, took a fresh bold approach to painting. Impressionism did not paint pictures of the past, or historical figures but instead they painted pictures of their reaction to now. There were pictures of current landscapes, current people and the painting was often done very vividly using lights and colors and were very over simplified, often leaving out many details. Many artists focused on the interactions between sunlight and color and the way that the light would be interpreted by the eye. Storing paint in tubes at this time allowed artists to paint outside the studios, they could take their canvas, put it down in front of a scene and paint it in the natural light and see how it impacted the landscape (Mindedge, 2013). In the Impressionism era the opera house in France was completed, there was a time that new classes of people came forth and they felt they should be able to enjoy themselves. Paintings were painted at events, they were treating the world as a spectacle, there would be people enjoying themselves, going about their everyday lives and that was depicted in their paintings. It would be open air, mostly simple art, visible brush work and no form that made their work look sloppy. There was much interest in painting outdoors and each artist would put their own vision on the landscape. The relationship between the Baroque and the Impressionism periods were few, the stylistic similarities between the eras were using lighting to make the paintings come to life, they would paint in a way that it would tell a story, the Baroque period there would be large canvas that would go from one story to the next, and in the Impressionism period artists would paint a party, a gathering and show what it was like, or give the current mood and story behind the event. The differences between the periods is the detail in the art. The Baroque period paid large attention to detail in the art, there was blending and lighting differences and the art was life like. The Impressionism period the art was often like a draft, there would be paint brush marks on the painting still, there would be blotches lines and there would be details missing from the paintings. Baroque and Impressionism do have similarities with their subject matter. Ordinary objects and people were used as subject matter in the Impressionism time. This was also used in the Baroque period since the painters did not create art just for the upper class, and it was painted for the merchant class as well which led them to use ordinary people and objects in their art. Impressionism deviated from the Baroque period in details, the Realism period was before the Impressionism period, and it still contained many details from the Baroque period, but with the Impressionism art there were many details and stories that were lost. The pictures didn’t depict life like characters, there was often sloppy work with less than ideal lighting, and the art was also made outdoors, often with the painters taking the canvas to their location, in the Baroque period you went to your canvas or painted in a workshop because the paint was not portable like in the Impressionism period. Impressionism was the end of conventional art, the Baroque period showed life like sculptures and paintings, Impressionism went away from that. Impressionism gave the artists freedom to break away from the usual art that was photo-esc, they would paint how they wanted, they left brush marks and would give little details compared to the Baroque period. The specific work of art I chose from the Baroque period is The Abduction of Europa by Rembrandt van Rijn and from the Impressionism period I chose the Houses of Parliament by Claude Monet. The comparisons between the two paintings are their attention to details, The Abduction by Rembrandt van Rijn is a very detailed picture of a lady on a horse that is running into the water, there are people on the shore trying to get her to stay there but she is being abducted across the river. The Houses of Parliament is a picture of a dark castle type building that appears to be on a river or lake, there are clear brush marks on the picture and it is not very detailed, the strokes are very rough unlike in The Abduction of Europa where it is a very fine line, it is almost hard to tell what you are looking at because of this. Impressionism changed how the world saw art, artists were no longer constrained to painting indoors, and they could move their canvas to any scene that they wanted to paint, carry their paint tubes and then paint. Artists were liberated from what art was, there were no rules or technique that they had to follow, and they were free to paint how they wanted and what they wanted. There are brighter color used in art now which is a direct influence from Impressionism times, and it is widely considered that Impressionism is the root of all modern art (Alan Oz, 2012). Alan Oz (2012) Retrieved from http://www.impressionism.org/finis.htm Mindedge (2013) Baroque and Impressionism. Retrieved from http://wgu.mindedgeonline.com/content.php?cid=19779

Beauty and the Beast

We have discussed before a question whether art necessarily has to improve us morally and concluded that not all art has moral impact, or is morally relevant. But think about the following questions, please explain each in detail: 1) Is a work with a moral message a better work because of this, than the work without any moral relevance?I believe that on general terms a work is better with a moral message than without one, meaning that its having a moral message is not the only measure of a work of art but that it is better because it reflects a consciousness, a responsibility on the part of the artist, of trying to make a statement, of sharing his stand to all the eyes that will look at the art work. An artist will eventually die, a work of art has more chances of surviving through the years, and it will be his testament.If it will survive then it would be better if it can show the coming generations a grain of truth on the human condition. 2) Could an immoral work be praised as arti stically successful? Personally I do not believe that an immoral work could be praised as artistically successful. Should art have no meaning but simply satisfy aesthetic taste? Could we look past the effect of a work of art and just choose to look at aspects of it and not its wholeness including the statement it makes?An immoral work goes against the goodness that we recognize as beautiful – and in this it seems that human nature is innately good, as we associate what is good with what is beautiful. It is only when we disassociate with what our emotions and our instinct tells us that we take a calculating look and examine a work based on rigid standards. 3) Are goodness and beauty in any way related in real life? I believe that in goodness we see beauty, but not all things beautiful truly have goodness.We know of beautiful faces but have evil hearts, but we also know of good hearts but may not come in what society brands as beautiful. However, when there is goodness in heart and spirit, we feel safe and good about ourselves and others as well, and we see the beauty in things. After all, all things have beauty and goodness in the – as long as we look for it – and what is good is the beautiful in them.

Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking Introduction Human trafficking involves recruiting and forcefully transporting individuals to foreign countries with the aim of exposing them to do forced labor. Human trafficking is different from traditional smuggling of people in that the relationship between the victims and he traffickers continues after their transportation. In most cases, they are passed from one trafficker to the other.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Human Trafficking specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It takes place because of the demand for cheap labor and the presence of individuals willing to move from their homes in search of better economic opportunities. It is further enhanced by the financial gains that the traffickers get. Many governments have started dealing with the problem through programs and policies designed to prevent and protect the victims, and take legal actions against the traffickers and smugglers. Although the phenomenon has been highlighted in every part of the world, knowledge about its consequences is still limited. Owing to its secretive nature, details on the characteristics of its victims and what they go through as well the trafficker’s and smuggler’s characteristics are hard to get and often difficult to generalize. The available data is obtained from different nongovernmental, governmental and few academic sources. Due to its negative impacts, there is need to look for ways of preventing it. This essay will look at some of the ways that can be used to prevent and stop human trafficking. Preventing Human Trafficking Despite the fact that preventing human trafficking is the most effective long-term method of reducing or eliminating the practice, many governments have not been using the method. Part of the failure to use prevention methods emanates from the fact that there are no mechanisms for measuring the impact and success of prevention programs in attaining the anticipated g oals. Nonetheless, partly due to the increase in advocates of anti-trafficking and service providers, both NGOs and governments have embarked on the development of stronger practices and policies for prevention strategies. These prevention policies are classified into supply-based, demand-based and reduction of financial gains (Prevention of Human Trafficking 4).Advertising Looking for essay on ethics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Supply-based Policies These prevention policies are interested in the supply of persons who are vulnerable to human trafficking. Their focus is on the vulnerable populations and channels of recruitment and transportation of trafficked victims. The programs are subdivided into four main areas. Awareness-Raising Raising awareness is one of the most common activities in human trafficking prevention (Prevention 10). It assumes various forms and does not only target the public at large and cr itical policy makers, but also individuals who are likely to fall victims in the future. Non-governmental organizations are used to carry out awareness raising campaigns among the homeless and other groups of individuals deemed susceptible to human trafficking. Such groups include prostitutes, youths and migrant farm employees. During the campaigns, they are familiarized with possible scams and the strategies applied by human traffickers. The awareness raising programs comprise of the establishment and promotion of hotlines which provide information on national trafficking, local television, poster campaigns, radio and education materials that tackle human trafficking (Rosenberg 14). Legal Alternatives Migrant advocates have raised the issue of availing legal means of moving into other countries as a means through which the various forms of exploitation that affect transnational migration could be prevented. With reference to this argument, there is a stable number of individuals wh o think that it is necessary for them to look for job opportunities abroad, regardless of whether they migrate legally or not. Making it hard for individuals to migrate in accordance with the law, therefore, compels potential migrants to engage themselves in risky activities in order to look for work abroad, potentially leading them into the hands of traffickers and smugglers. By doing away with the requirement for migrants to take such risks of crossing borders illegally, the provision of legal alternative avenues for migration or temporary work abroad is considered one method through which the role of, and opportunities for, trafficking could be diminished.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Human Trafficking specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the meantime, safe programs of migration are comprised of one method of providing vulnerable groups with the right information to enable them make informed decisions regarding the jobs they concede to, and of empowering them to safely migrate to other countries and look for help in case of troubles. However, it is assumed that there is adequate information available to make judgment regarding the safety of the jobs offered. Reducing â€Å"Push† Factor Conditions Long-term efforts of dealing with human trafficking are geared towards reducing the push factor conditions such as gender, poverty, inequality and lack of economic or educational opportunities. It is estimated that these factors compel people to engage in risks that eventually lead to human trafficking. Some countries have been sponsoring programs that are involved in reduction of poverty, domestic violence, assistance programs and shelters, job training, integration programs and initiatives that prevent prostitutes against HIV/AIDS infection. USAID has also been involved in sponsoring programs aimed at fighting corruption in governments on the basis that reduction of corruption among gove rnments improves state resource distribution making it possible for larger groups of people to access opportunities. In Europe, prevention of human trafficking is interpreted to mean both awareness raising and active prevention activities that ideally look into the primary causes of human trafficking. Most countries continue with efforts of preventing human trafficking by concentrating on prostitution, migration and organized crime. Despite debates about the importance of having comprehensive prevention approaches, awareness-raising is the common prevention instrument in many countries. Demand-based Prevention Policies Despite the unending debate concerning the causal and enabling factors of human trafficking, research has shown that exploitable workers are highly demanded in many countries. Many industries require such workers with the need being fulfilled through trafficking (Belser 35).Advertising Looking for essay on ethics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Demand-based programs operate on the assumption that instituting legal actions against consumers, making services of trafficked people socially unacceptable, educating consumers about trafficking and its victims, or providing information to potential traffickers and beneficiaries about human rights, gender violence and prostitution reduces the demand of trafficked individuals. Reducing the Financial-Gains from Trafficking Advocates have started coming up with policies that limit the financial gains traffickers, smugglers, and corrupt individuals enjoy, which in turn enable criminal operations to survive. Governments have been working towards imposing costs at the individual and national levels. Sanctions are imposed against countries that are ranked among the most notorious in human trafficking. The sanctions may withhold non-humanitarian, non-trade-related help or, if a country is denied such assistance, the funding for taking part in cultural and educational exchange programs is w ithheld. The countries might also be barred from applying for assistance from international financial institutions. At the individual level, traffickers may be forced to compensate the victims (Women, War and Peace 5). The aim of these initiatives is to make human trafficking unattractive by increasing its cost relative to its would-be gains. It is envisaged that with the increasing arrests followed by prosecutions, traffickers will be compelled to conduct an evaluation of the benefits they earn from trafficking. Countries have also been considering the possibility of giving the victims an opportunity to demand compensation from their traffickers. They do this by requesting a compensation order after being convicted and starting litigation against the traffickers in civil courts. Capacity Building Capacity building is an important method of preventing human trafficking. Education and outreach efforts in law enforcement, justice and tourism help in fighting human trafficking. Differe nt officers, who hold positions in governments have been targeted for further training in order to equip them with skills on how to identify, rescue and provide the right referrals for human trafficking victims. In countries like the US, experts have been involved in training local judges, law enforcement agencies, lawyers and community watch groups on how to enhance witness protection programs (Rosenberg 20). Other European countries have adopted the same initiatives in order to improve their capacity to detect and prevent human trafficking from taking place. They also assist the countries of origin to prevent the practice. The above outlined capacity building methods are important in preventing human trafficking. Conclusion Anti-trafficking campaigns have been on the increase in the recent past although the global progress against human trafficking has been inconsistent and hard to measure. To date, most of the work that has been done on human trafficking portrays the emphasis on prosecuting the traffickers. However, prevention might be the most effective way of combating the practice in the long-run. It is important for governments to devote more energy and resources in preventing the practice rather than dealing with it after it takes place. Belser, Patrick. Forced Labour and Human Trafficking:Estimating the Profits, New York: ILO, 2005. Print. Prevention of Human Trafficking 2011. Web. Prevention 2012. Web. Rosenberg, Ruth. Best Practices for Programming to Prevent Trafficking in Human Beings in Europe and Eurasia, New York: Development Alternatives Incorporate, 2004. Print. Women, War and Peace. n.d. Web.

John is the Man essays

John is the Man essays Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, has had many achievements in his life, but life wasn't always good. Growing up in a poor trailer park in Warren Mich. He failed out of ninth grade, which led to him dropping out of high school. He tried to go back but couldn't do it, he just wanted to rap and to be a star one day. Over the years he freestyle in some local clubs and participated in some competitions. It wasn't until 1997 that he was recognized, he won the Wake Up Show Freestyle Performer of the Year from L.A. Djs Sway and Tech and earned second place in Rap Sheet magazine's Rap Olympics, an annual freestyle rap competition. Then in 1998 he released The Slim Shady LP, his first known record. Slim Shady is the evil side of me, the sarcastic foul-mouthed side of me, Eminem says during and interview with the Source. In 2000 he released his second cd, The Marshall Mathers LP. Eminem has been known as one of the most provocative, controversial rappers in contemporary pop music. A l ot of people think he can get away with this because he is the first legitimate white rapper. I'm white in a music started by black people. I'm not ignorant to the culture and I'm not trying to take anything away from the culture, he said in his defense. But no one has a choice where they grew up or what color they are. If you're a kid or a ghetto kid you have no control over your circumstance. The only control you have is to get out of your situation or stay in it. There have been several attempts to keep Eminem from playing certain shows in his tour, because they think that his lyrics violate harassment categorically on the basis of sexual orientation and sex within the state or school. Don't take everything I say literally, Eminem said shortly after the album's debut, when furor over his lyrics mounted. I might say some things that are kinda left field, but that doesn't mean that every single thing I say, I mean. I may tend to push a lot of buttons and ...

Brand Strategy for Supermarket Industry in Hong Kong

Brand Strategy for Supermarket Industry in Hong Kong The advent of computers and technological innovation that has faced mankind in the recent past coupled with varied customers need and aspiration has left the business world to be highly competitive. For this reason, there are a number of strategies that organizations have used to cut for themselves a market edge in this competitive business world. The main strategy is branding usually followed by advertisement and publicity. The concept of branding has come out to be deemed by management of any organization as a top priority (Chaudhuri 2001). Additionally, it has been categorized together with human workforce to be the most valuable assets within an organization. It has been argued that brand building is a long process that utilizes a lot of resources and cannot be separated from advertisement and strong marketing strategies. Organizations have resorted to branding with the belief that it will save them from failing as it will enhance the value of the product/organization. However, many of these organizations fail to have prior knowledge that adequate planning is key to successful branding (Kotler 1997). For this reason, long-term promotion prop up for a brand, on the basis of definitions of the distinctiveness of the target consumers is necessary. Additionally, understanding of customers preferences, aspirations and expectations from the brand need to be considered. History and transition of branding Historically, ‘brand’ was though to mean a hot or burning thing and thus associated with marking of animals with unique symbols so that owners can easily identify them (Gregory, 2003). The process involved burning an iron that has been fashioned into a distinct symbol then pressed on the animal skin leaving a permanent mark. Over the years the term has been used in a wider context especially in the field of business to refer to â€Å"name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one selle r or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers (Chaudhuri 2002). One notable example of earlier use of branding in China, where merchants used branding names â€Å"Misty Mountain Tea†, or â€Å"Garden in the Sky Tea† to sell poor quality garden tea to buyers Oscar Wilde wrote that pessimist is an individual that who is a ware of all things but do not know the price of anything. It is only in the recent past that top management have deem brand to be an important asset to their organization. (Davidson 1998; Ward and Perrier 1998) In simple terms, brand is entity that provides end-users with an added value on the basis based functional performance. All these help distinguish the product or service being offered by a business entity. The four Ps of marketing has been used for a very long time to bring about values associated with a brand (Lancaster 1995; Kotler 1997) As time passed, knowledge possessed by the community that engage in marketing has led to managers being brand leaders. There is recognition of branding strategy as source of competitive advantage in domestic markets (Chaudhuri 2001; De Chernatony 2001; Moore et al 2000).

Organised Crime and Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organised Crime and Terrorism - Essay Example It was not long ago that airliners were not allowing people on board who carried toothpaste with them because of the fear that some explosive elements might be contained therein. The same case applies to other ordinary things like clothing. Today there are mandatory strip searches at airports to sniff out even the most hidden explosive or weapon before it gets into the plane. Even shoes and other ordinary things, considering the Reid case, have been used in an attempt to cause terror. Of course in this case it was a shoe bomb. As the terrorists have become adept with their clandestine activities, so have countries and especially security agencies. They have introduced sweeping measures like surveillance on suspicious targets, wiretapping of mobile phones belonging to suspects among other measures. In general, the focus of governments has moved from its previous reactive state to a more pro-active state where the gathering of intelligence is the new battleground between these two foes . These and many others shall be the focus of this paper. There shall be a special focus on the U.K and the legislative options that have been introduced to sniff out this new threat (Campbell 2013). There has been wide ranging legislation that has been introduced in the United kingdom to curb terrorism and organized crime, both of which are very much evolving situations. The rate at which such legislation has been introduced, not only tells of the severity of these crimes but also the extent to which the government is ready to go to ensure that the citizens are safe. Since the Blair premiership the laws that have been introduced include the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Counter- Terrorism Act 2008. This flood of legislation is a reflection of the speed at which this threat is evolving (Hanman 2013). Governments have had to put in place, at times controversial measures to ensure that no terrorist slips through the dragnet. One of these controversial measures is wiretapping. Basically, the police are allowed to listen in on conversations of people that they suspect to have intentions of causing ter ror or any other harm on great scale (Barrett 2013). There has been an assessment of the role and effectiveness of wiretapping in the wake of several terror related activities. This form of intelligence gathering has been found to be very effective. There are several ‘wanna-be’ terrorists in the U.K. Most of them are Muslims of Pakistani origin. Several of them make multiple trips to their native countries to receive training mostly offered by Al-Qaeda, the Taliban among other groups. The credentials of wiretapping therefore are not what is under debate here. There are much more serious issues (The Guardian 19th march 2009). As a case officer, I would recommend wiretapping so as to obtain even more information about these terrorist sympathizers and their intentions. We already have the mobile number (07097911156) of Hector from the from Tinkers mobile phone. Wiretapping is allowed under the anti-terrorism laws as a last ditch measure to ensure national security. The onl y grey area as pertains its use is the fact that until very recently, information obtained thus was not admissible in court (The Guardian 6th February 2008). By listening in on conversations by Hector there is a great likelihood that we shall get even