Internal Control Essay Example for Free

Internal Control Essay (1) If the LJB Company should decide to become a publicly traded company, a few internal controls should be implemented to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). * Management will need to provide periodic quarterly reports to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of LJB’s internal controls over financial reporting procedures. * Management should certify the accuracy and fairness of presentation of their financial statements. * Independent auditor(s) outside of LJB will need to attest to management’s assessment of said internal controls. Additionally, non-audit services between these two parties (LJB and said independent auditor) are prohibited. (2) There are a few internal control measures that LJB already has in effect and are better for it: the use of pre-numbered invoices by the accountant and your (the President’s) involvement in the approval and hiring process of new employees. I also recommend the purchase of the indelible ink machine as per the accountant’s request. As this applies to the Internal Control Principle of Physical Control, future check fraud will be more difficult to be accomplished. 3) There are several internal control weaknesses that I assess LJB currently has. Following each weakness I list below is a recommendation from myself to rectify these internal control weaknesses. * One is risk is the accountant who serves as Treasurer and Controller. Although I understand this is to streamline many processes, it possesses a risk where an opportunity is created for this employee to commit fraud. This also violates the Segregation of Duties Principle of Internal Control Principles. I recommend that these two responsibilities be segregated 2 different employees. * When the accountant in charge of payroll leaves employees’ checks in his office unsupervised and unsecured, it presents an opportunity for theft. This violates the Internal Control Principle of Physical Control, as though checks are not constantly kept in the accountant’s office safe prior to pick up. I recommend that these checks remain physically secured at all times (by the accountant, or by delaying delivery to the accountant until he reaches his office). Due to the unorthodox honor system of dealing with petty cash, any single employee can withdraw a substantial amount of petty cash in relative anonymity. This violates two Internal Control Principles: Physical Control and Establishment of Responsibility. It violates the Physical Control Principle because the petty cash is easily accessible with no form of physical protection of theft, and it violates the Establishment of Responsibility Principle because no single person is in charge of the Petty Cash Fund (rather everyone is). This can be remedied by assigning a custodian to be responsible for the fund, as well as creating a secure area to store said funds. * These previous points additionally bring up another weakness, though not actually part of the Internal Control Principles. Though it seems to be LJB’s unofficial policy to trust long-term employees, when a desirable opportunity to commit fraud/theft arises, it becomes at the discretion of the employee to commit these acts for their personal benefit. Another weakness is LJB’s lack of individual passwords which allows personnel to anonymously use the company computers and databases. This lack of individual accountability will prevent most attempts to track suspicious employee activities on company computers and databases. This instance violates the Internal Control Principle of Physical Control. I recommend assigning employees individual accounts and passwords, as well as creating a form of digital control to prevent future unauthorized activities, such as viewing pornography on company computers. Lastly, because LGB unknowingly hired a convicted felon, it can be deduced that LGB’s Human Resource Department may be lacking, due to the fact that a background check should have caught his criminal history. This may violate the Human Resource Control Principle of the Internal Control Principles. I recommend that the Human Resource Department reevaluate their policies and staffing procedures to prevent future incidents from happening. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and please consider my recommendations before going public with the LGB Company.

Pride And Prejudice :: essays research papers

Pride and Prejudice is a story about two married couples who do not respect each other. Mrs. Bennet business is to get her five daughter's to marry the most richest man in England. She is willing to take on any obstacles that get in her way. Mr. Bennet is a very outspoken and sardonic person. If there is anything he dislikes about mrs. Bennet or about what she is doing, he let her know. He love to criticize his wife. "I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley might like you the best of the party." I chose this quote because it shows how Mr. Bennet criticize his wife. Mr bennet plays around with Miss Bennet not like a husband should. "My dear Mr. Bennet," said his lady to him one day, "have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?" Mr.Bennet replied that he had not, which he has. Mrs. Bennet is a greedy and arrogant woman. Her business is to get all her daughter to marry the most richest man in England, and she is willing to take on any obstancles that stand in her way. "Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!". This quote shows how she believes in marrying for money instead of love. The percipient woman would rather her daughter's to die than not marrying. Quoted: Had she found Jane in any apparent danger, Mrs. Bennet would have been very miserable; but being satisfied on seeing her that her illness was not alarming she had no wish of her recovering immediately, probably remove her from Netherfield. I picked this quot because it shows she is a bad mother, because a mother should care about her daughter. The woman is malcontent until all her daughter's is married. Mr. Bennet and his wife do not talk to each other with respect. Mr. Bennet favor Elizabeth and Mrs. Bennet likes Jane and Lizzy the most. "Lizzy is not a bit better than the others; and I am sure she is not half handsome as Janes, nor half so good humoured as Lydia". But you are always giving her the preference.

Structuration theory

Anthony Giddens was born on January 8, 1938. He is a British sociologist who is known for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern sociologists, the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29 languages, issuing on average more than one book every year. In 2007, Giddens was listed as the fifth most-referenced author of books in the humanities.He has served as Director of the London School of Economics in 1997 until 2003. Structure is defined by Giddens as rules and resources, organized as properties of social systems. The theory of structuration is a social theory of the creation and reproduction of social systems that is based in the analysis of both structure and agents without giving primacy to either. In other words, when we communicate with one another, we create structures that range from large social and cultural institutions to smaller individual relationships.As communicators act strategically according to rules to achieve their goals, they do not realize that they are simultaneously creating forces that return to affect future ction. Structures like relational expectations, group roles and norm, communication networks and societal institutions affect social action. But these variables may also both affect and are affected by social action. These structures provide individual with rules that guide their actions, but their action in turn create new rules and reproduce old ones. Figure 1: Variables of the theory. 2.ORIGINS OF STRUCTURATION THEORY Sociologist Anthony Giddens adopted a post-empiricist frame for his theory, as he was concerned with the abstract characteristics of social relations. This leaves each evel more accessible to analysis via the ontologies which constitute the human social experience: space and time and thus, in one sense, ‘history'. His aim was to build a broad social theory which viewed basic domain of study of the social science s neither the experience of the individual actor, not the existence of any form of societal totality, but social practices ordered across space and time.His focus on abstract ontology accompanied a general and purposeful neglect of epistemology or detailed research methodology. Giddens used concepts from objectivist and subjectivist social theories, discarding bjectivism's focus on detached structures, which lacked regard for humanist elements and subjectivism's exclusive attention to individual or group agency without consideration for socio-structural context. 3.DUALITY OF STRUCTURE Structuration theory may be seen as an attempt to resolve a fundamental division within the social sciences between those who consider social phenomena as determined by the influence of objective, exogenous social structures and others who see them as products of the action of human agents in the light of their subjective interpretation of the world. Giddens attempts to square this circle by proposing that tructure and agency be viewed, not as independent and conflicting elements, but as a mutually interacting duality.Social structure is therefore seen as being drawn on by human agents in their actions, while the actions of humans in social contexts serve to produce, and reproduce, the social structure. Structure is thus not simply an exogenous restraining force, but is also a resource to be deployed by humans in their actions, it is enabling as well as disabling. More specifically, Giddens identifies three dimensions of structure, which are signification, domination and legitimation. The three dimensions of interaction are described as communication, power and sanctions.The means by which structures are translated into actions are called modalities, which are interpretive schemes, facilities and norms as shown in Figure 2. These modalities can explain why and how interaction is affected. Figure 2: Dimensions of the duality of structure, Giddens (1984) For example, as humans comm unicate, they use interpretive schemes to help them make sense of their interaction; at the same time these interactions change or reproduce the same interpretive schemes that are embedded in structures as signification.The facility used to allocate resources is manifested in the wielding of power, which in turn produces and reproduces facilities influencing social structures of domination. Norms on the other hand, referred to also as moral codes; provide both understandings and sanctions for human interactions, ultimately also producing legitimation within structures. 4. APPLICATION OF THE THEORY Donald Ellis (1999) shows how ethnicity is entailed in structuration. Ethnicity is a structural arrangement created over time as a result of many local practices throughout the world.Yet, once created, ethnicity has a life of its own, so that it ecome almost impossible not to see and act in accordance with ethnic experience in some way or another. Well intentioned people acting in their ev eryday live create unintended categories of social structure, which is limit what they can do in future interactions. these structures are not necessarily bad, but they can limit the ability to see a range of possibilities for acting in future situations 4. 2 Communication : Decision making Marshall Scott Poole (1985) and his colleagues have been working for several years on her structurational theory of group decision making.This theory teaches that group ecision making is a process in which group members attempt to achieve convergence or agreement on a final decision and in so doing structure their social system. By expressing their opinions and preferences, group member actually produce and reproduce certain rules by which convergence can be achieve or blocked. However, good decision making depends on three set of variables that are objectives task characteristics, group task characteristics and group structural characteristics.Figure 3 : Variables of the theory in term of Group Decision Making.   Adaptive structuration Theory Desancns and Poole (2011) adapted Structuration Theory to study the interaction of groups and organizations with information technology, and called it Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST). Adaptive Structuration Theory is formulated as the production and reproduction of the social systems through members use of rules and resources in interaction. This theory criticizes the technocentric view of technology use and emphasizes the social aspects.Individual interaction with technology and in the incorporation personal experiences can dictate outcomes and structural change as well as eventually change the design or use of the technology. The theory could be used to analyze the advent of various innovations such as the printed press, electricity, telegraph, mass transpirations, radio, telephone, TV, the Internet, etc. , and show how the structures of these innovations penetrated the respective societies, influencing them, and how the socia l structures of those societies in turn influenced and modified innovations ongtnal intent. Social media networks were create to provide interpersonal connectivity to its users. Users began utilizing the technology to drive trends through the sharing of xperiences with good or bad regarding brands and products or rallying behind the Large organizations began tollowing these trends and implemented t cause. technology used for themselves. This alteration of the technologies use resulted in social networking site adjusting their design to also meet the need of organizations to connect with consumers. . CRITICISM John B. Thompson (said that Structuration theory needed to be more specific and more consistent both internally and with conventional social structure theory. Thompson focused on problematic aspects of Giddens' concept of structure as â€Å"rules nd resources,† focusing on â€Å"rules†. He argued that Giddens' concept of rule was too broad. Thompson claimed that G iddens presupposed a criterion of importance in contending that rules are a generalizable enough tool to apply to every aspect of human action and interaction.Waldeck et al. concluded that the theory needs to better predict outcomes, rather than merely explaining them. Decision rules support decision-making, which produces a communication pattern that can be directly observable. Research has not yet examined the â€Å"rational† function of group communication and decision-making (i. . , how well it achieves goals), nor structural production or constraints. Rob Stones argued that many aspects of Gidden's original theory had little place in its modern manifestation.Stones focused on clarifying its scope, reconfguring some concepts and inserting new ones, and refining methodology and research orientations. Strong structuration are: 1. Places its ontology more in situ than abstractly. 2. Introduces the quadripartite cycle, which details the elements in the duality of structure. T hese are: – External structures as conditions of action; – Internal structures within the agent; Active agency, â€Å"including a range of aspects involved when agents draw upon internal structures in producing practical action† and – Outcomes (as both structures and events). 3.Increases attention to epistemology and methodology. Ontology supports epistemology and methodology by prioritising: – The question-at-hand; – Appropriate forms of methodological bracketing; – Distinct methodological steps in research; and – The specific combinations of all the above in composite forms of research. 4. Discovers the meso-level of ontology between the abstract, philosophical level of ntology and the in-situ, ontic level. Strong structuration allows varied abstract ontological concepts in experiential conditions. 5. Focuses on the meso-level at the temporal and spatial scale. . Conceptualises independent causal forces and irresistible causa l forces, which take into account how external structures, internal structures, and active agency affect agent choices (or lack of them). â€Å"Irresistible forces† are the connected concepts of a horizon of action with a set of â€Å"actions-in-hand† and a hierarchical ordering of purposes and concerns. An agent is affected by external influences. This aspect of strong structuration helps reconcile an agent's dialectic of control and his/her more constrained set of â€Å"real choices. As a conclusion, in structuration theory, neither micro nor macro focused analysis alone are sufficient. The theory most significantly in the constitution of society, which examines phenomenology, hermeneutics, and social practices at the inseparable intersection of structures and agents. Its proponents have adopted and expanded this balanced position. Though the theory has received much criticismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Pagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software

Politics of Global South Essay

Africa continent is currently facing huge transitional moments. The colonization process never stopped after the imperial western governments that ravaged these continent, African countries are still struggling with the adoption of the western systems and ideologies of governance and politics away from their traditional forms of socio-political ands socio-economic lives. This shift has caused wars, tensions, drifts, disagreements, alienations, political instability among other untold disasters in the continent. ( David Seddon & Leo Zeiling), in his report on the protests in Africa between the working class struggle and popular protests over the last forty years argue that the form and content of class relations that developed in the period of nationalist struggle and early national development have been fundamentally restructured by the process of globalization. The nationalist struggle was fighting for freedom dictatorial forms of government. The late 1979’s saw greater wave of wide s[read popular protests and resistance around the world including Africa. These strikes, marches, demonstrations and riots were characteristic of a wave of protests and resistance which usually involved a variety of social groups and classes. This did not always take place under a working class or trade unions banner or working class leadership such as experienced in Kenya in the early 90s while fighting for the multi-party system of governance. According to ( David Seddon & Leo Zeiling) these protests were of greater political scheming and direction and were increasingly aimed at governments and regimes and economic policies. Governments’ failure to ensure communities welfare and safeguard material welfare and rights of the citizens led to growing demands for democracy and political change. This movement coincided with increasing deployment by major capitalist states and international agencies of a discourse of democratization and good governance as necessary for economic and social development. However, this intervention opened door for the neo colonial imperialism after promising the removal of regimes that accommodated dictators and autocrats. It was like jumping from a flying pan to boiling pot. This new order became pronounced in the 1990s and grew through the decade and was manifest in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This provoked a third wave of protest involving greater degree of international organization while at the same time social movement with a notable ‘anti-capitalist’ politics emerged from north America countries spreading even to Africa. This period also saw the birth of an oppositional movement of a deeper and more threatening kind with the foundation of deep rooted pursuit and anger, frustrations, prepared to use violence to achieve its objectives. These groups are parts of radical Muslims like the al-Qai’da. The relationship between the social forces representing the interest of capital and those that opposed the actual pattern of development in Africa was not given much attention in the debates that touched on the transformation of Africa. Global adjustment shifted the focus of African nations from concentrating on development to reform agendas that facilitated the foreign capital investment and easier access for these international agencies to acquire raw materials and markets. This was done at the collaboration of some politicians but also there were cases of forced collaboration. This is evident in Zimbabwe where international aid and trade barriers had been imposed because the president/ government refusal to cooperate with the western interests. This was aided further by the weak social structures which were affected by conflicts, wars and complex political emergencies, HIV/AIDS and misguided intervention of the non governmental organizations (NGO’S). The popular forces include the urban and rural working classes who are stripped of the control and ownership of means of production, peasant and tenant farmers, retailers and petty commodity producers who sell their labor in the informal or formal sector. Their preoccupation is survival and putting food on the table. These share a consciousness of their interdependency and common vulnerability and constitute the relative surplus population looked upon as a reserve of an army of labor. The diversity of classes has never been the cause of political decay but is a mark of the normal condition in the context in which capitalism evolves. The cynism expressed by post-modernists towards political change goes to political activism and liberation. The post-modernist conception power no longer denotes coercion and oppression, resistance and struggle but it also becomes a fluid, pervasive yet contingent force derived from the interplay of different discourses. For example Cameroon had a comprehensible political economy but still had chaotic plurality where no purposeful liberation and resistance. ]as the waves and protests ravaged Africa , popular classes especially in urban areas were severely affected by the adjustments but they did not suffer quietly but they struggled, resisted and protested. The World Bank at the time said that Africa did not need less government only but also a government that concentrates its efforts less on the direct interventions and more on enabling others to be productive. The role of NGO’s in governance and poverty alleviation has been identified as critical in building of Africa, meeting the millennium development goals and the sustainable development goals. However, these non state actors backed by the United Nations and other powerful development partners; the relationship between the developing countries and the western was coined to mean partners in development. These NGOs and other right groups check on the governments’ accountability although their role has been questioned. They represent the values and interest of the funding agencies and do not touch on the real issues that ravage the common people in Africa. Despite increased role of NGOs, there is an increase rate of poverty and no tangible development that has occurred inmost parts of Africa. The involvement of civil societies most of which borrow their values from neo-liberalization movements may have contributed more to the wave of violence experienced in the continent rather than calming such waves. References David Seddon & Leo Zeiling. â€Å"Class & Protest in Africa: New Waves. † Review of African Political Economy. 2005.

Simple Dîner Verb Conjugations in French

Simple Dà ®ner Verb Conjugations in French Among the French verbs related to food, you will use  dà ®ner  often because it means to have dinner. Its an easy word to remember, though you do need to watch the spelling because the letter I uses an accented à ®. Beyond that, you will also want to conjugate it in order to say had dinner or am having dinner. Conjugating the French Verb  Dà ®ner Dà ®ner  is a  regular -ER verb, and it follows a very common verb conjugation pattern. You will find these same endings in related words like  dà ©jeuner  (to have lunch),  cuisiner  (to cook), and countless other verbs. In order to conjugate  dà ®ner, begin with the verb stem of  dà ®n-. To this, we add a new infinitive ending for each tense as well as each subject pronoun. For instance, I am having dinner is je dà ®ne, and we will have dinner is nous dà ®nerons. Its true that there are many words to memorize here, and practicing these in context will help tremendously. Luckily, you can use it every evening when you eat dinner. Subject Present Future Imperfect je dà ®ne dà ®nerai dà ®nais tu dà ®nes dà ®neras dà ®nais il dà ®ne dà ®nera dà ®nait nous dà ®nons dà ®nerons dà ®nions vous dà ®nez dà ®nerez dà ®niez ils dà ®nent dà ®neront dà ®naient Present Participle When we want to use the  present participle, the ending -ant  is added to the verb stem. This leaves us with  dà ®nant, which can be an adjective, gerund, or noun as well as a verb. Past Participle and Passà © Composà © The imperfect and the  passà © composà ©Ã‚  each express the past tense had dinner in French. To form the latter, you will begin by conjugating the  auxiliary verb  avoir  to match the subject pronoun. After that, attach the  past participle  dà ®nà ©. For example, I had dinner is jai dà ®nà © and we had dinner is nous avons dà ®nà ©. Simpler Conjugations to Learn When having dinner is not guaranteed, the subjunctive verb mood can be used. And when that dinner relies on something else happening, use the conditional form. When reading French, you will likely encounter the passà © simple or the imperfect subjunctive. While not essential to your studies, being able to recognize these is a good idea. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Passà © Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je dà ®ne dà ®nerais dà ®nai dà ®nasse tu dà ®nes dà ®nerais dà ®nas dà ®nasses il dà ®ne dà ®nerait dà ®na dà ®nà ¢t nous dà ®nions dà ®nerions dà ®nà ¢mes dà ®nassions vous dà ®niez dà ®neriez dà ®nà ¢tes dà ®nassiez ils dà ®nent dà ®neraient dà ®nà ¨rent dà ®nassent The imperative verb form of  dà ®ner  is relatively simple. The point of these statements is to make it quick, so we drop the subject pronoun. Rather than saying tu dà ®ne, simplify it to dà ®ne. Imperative (tu) dà ®ne (nous) dà ®nons (vous) dà ®nez

Collegial vs. Collegiate

Collegial vs. Collegiate Collegial vs. Collegiate Collegial vs. Collegiate By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between collegial and collegiate? Both words, and the root word college and the related term colleague, stem from the Latin word collega, meaning â€Å"colleague.† But for the most part, collegial refers to a state of mind, while collegiate is a more concrete adjective. A colleague is one with whom one works or interacts in a profession, a government office, or a religious environment, and though collegial can refer to the sharing of authority or power among colleagues in both religious and secular contexts, the primary connotation is a value-laden one of camaraderie. However, it is sometimes employed as a synonym for a specific sense of collegiate. That word’s primary usage is in reference to college students or their activities; sports contests between teams representing different colleges or universities, for example, are referred to as intercollegiate athletics. Collegiate, however, also refers to a certain type of religious entity mentioned below. College itself usually refers to an institution of higher learning, either in the sense of a building or a campus of buildings and other facilities or in the sense of its students, faculty, and administration. A college may be a traditional liberal arts institution or may specialize in professional, technical, or vocational subject areas, such as a business college. The term is also used to refer to a constituent part of a university, often consisting of multiple departments offering courses of study in the same general area, such as a college of sciences. Often, when colleges expand so much that they are subdivided for administrative and educational efficiency, they change their status to that of a university. (That word derives from the Latin term for universe; meanwhile, varsity, a shortening and alteration of university, is British English slang for university and refers in general to the primary squad on a school athletic team or, occasionally, in another competitive endeavor. Other uses of the term college are for a group of clergy members living and working together, for any body of people with the same interests or goals, or, most familiarly, in the phrase â€Å"electoral college,† referring to a group of people selected to elect a person for a political office. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Addressing A Letter to Two People20 Rules About Subject-Verb AgreementParataxis and Hypotaxis

What would you consider to be the most important socio-technical Essay

What would you consider to be the most important socio-technical issues that should be considered in an analysis of CourseNet - Essay Example (Ropohl, 1999) Computer Based Learning - Internet has revolutionized how we do day to day things, including learning. E-Learning or Web based learning is beneficial for individuals as well as organizations as it has many advantages. It not only provides flexibility & ease of access, but also the performances are improved & are better compared to students studying in traditional schools. A thorough investigation of the CourseNet   case requires grasp of most of these items.Setting sight on the entire system helps to avoid the trap of finding a singl point of blame.If an application is not working as desired , has bugs, fails too often it is easy to afix blame on the software programmer. However, this may not be a far-sighted approach. In an organization that does not have documented policies or procedures, it is easy to shift blame. For a project to be successful it is essential that roles & responsiblites clearly defined.Sufficient attention is given to various management aspects for e.g. Cost Management, Risk Management, Scope Management , Time Management etc. Project Management is an approach of planning, organizing & managing resources to achieve flourishing goals & objectives of specific project. All these aspects define the rate of success of a project. Effective project management pricnicpals & use of IT best practises such as defined by ITIL, SOX etc. are always helpful for project to proceed in an organized, phased manner. In the event of missing procedures or insufficient attention towards one of the procedures it is difficult to be reasonable & determine the breakdown in the work flow. Those belonging to the bottom of the food chain are often held responsible for making mistakes though a decision maker would have commited strategic or a tactical error . In the absence of necessary data points required for evaluation & lack of performance parameters can lead employees as well as