Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Foundational Accounting Principles and Terminology Essay Example for Free

Foundational Accounting Principles and Terminology Essay We all know how important the accounting aspect of any business/organization is. It is basically the most important way to manage finances. Without proper accounting for all expenses and finances, a company and/or organization will definitely have a hard time being financially stable. In this paper we will discuss some foundational accounting principles and terminology that are basic but quite essential to the accounting practice. Now let’s discuss some accounting terms beginning with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is a codification of how CPA firms and corporations prepare and present their business income and expense, assets and liabilities on their financial statements. GAAP is not a single accounting rule, but rather the aggregate of many rules on how to account for various transactions. GAAP are more like accounting standards (Wikipedia, 2009). Next we have Contra-Asset Accounts, which is defined as an account which offsets another account. A contra-asset account has a credit balance and offsets the debit balance of the corresponding asset. A contra-liability account has a debit balance and offsets the credit balance of the corresponding liability (InvestorWords, 2009). Let us move on to Historical Cost, which is a measure of value used in accounting in which the price of an asset on the balance sheet is based on its nominal or original cost when acquired by the company. The historical-cost method is used for assets in the U. S. under generally accepted accounting principles (Investopedia, 2009). Okay, now there is the Accrual Basis vs. Cash Bonus Accounting. This is the difference between the two. In Accrual basis accounting, income is reported in the fiscal period it is earned, regardless of when it is received, and expenses are deducted in the fiscal period they are incurred, whether they are paid or not. Basically, you record both revenues and expenses when they occur. In cash basis accounting, revenues are recorded when cash is actually received and expenses are recorded when they are actually paid (Ward, 2009). Last but not least, there is the Accounting Standards Codification. Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) is a major restructuring of accounting and reporting standards designed to simplify user access to all authoritative U. S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) by providing the authoritative literature in a topically organized structure. ASC disassembled and reassembled thousands of nongovernmental accounting pronouncements (including those of FASB, the Emerging Issues Task Force [EITF], and the AICPA) to organize them under approximately 90 topics. The ASC are those that oversee that all accounting and reporting standards are adhered to (Wikipedia, 2009). It is now time to move on to discuss and describe three sets of financial statements that are part of financial statements of companies /organizations. The three sets of financial statements we will be describing are The Balance Sheet, The Income Statement and The Statement of Cash Flows. The balance sheet also known as the â€Å"Statement of financial position† reveals a company’s assets, liabilities and equity (net worth). The balance sheet is divided into two parts that must equal each other, or balance each other out. The formula of the balance sheet is: Assets= Liabilities + Shareholder’s Equity. What this formula means is that assets, or the means used to operate the company, are balanced by a company’s obligations along with equity investment brought into the company and its retained earnings (Investopedia, 2009). Next we have the income statement, which measures a company’s financial performance over a specific accounting period. The financial performance is assessed by giving a summary of how the business incurs its revenues and expenses. It also shows the net profit or loss incurred over a specific accounting period, which is typically over fiscal quarter or year (Investopedia, 2009). Moving on to the last one, which is the cash flow statement. The cash flow statement allows investors to understand how a company’s operations are running, where its money is coming from, and how it is being spent. The cash flow statement is also a mandatory part of a company’s financial report, and has been so since 1987 (Investopedia, 2009). Now I will describe which is more useful, Net Income or Cash from Operating Activities? I believe that Cash from Operating Activities is more useful to companies because they can generate cash in several different ways. Three different ways to be exact, they are cash flows from operating activities, from investing activities, and financing activities. Cash from Operating Activities, in my opinion is the most useful because it paints the best picture of how well a company’s business operations are producing cash. After looking over the annual financial reports for Samsung, RTL Group and Lockheed Martin, I make the prediction that each company will continue to improve its net income as well as see a significant spike in their cash flow. As far as relevant information in regards to conglomerates, such as the IDOLS segment of the Fremantle Media North America, I was not totally sure how to get this information but I eventually continued to read the investor portion on the RTL Group website where I found out more information. All in all, I learned some new definitions when it comes to accounting and decision making. I thought this assignment was intense due to a lot of reading and research, but I believe I got through it well. I look forward to learning more about how accounting and decision making come together. References http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/033104.asp http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/031004.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/incomestatement.asp http://www.investorwords.com/5476/contra_account.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_Accepted_Accounting_Principles

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Melvilles Trimurti Essay -- Moby Dick Herman Melville Literature Essa

Melville's Trimurti Throughout Moby Dick, Herman Melville offers his reader a mà ©lange of foreign curiosities and exotic points of interest that add both depth and texture to the narrative. The abundance of such exotica, however, can prove overwhelming, and many of the novel's briefly noted yet remarkably important cultural signposts get lost in the mix. Often overlooked, Melville's use of Hindu imagery not only lends a sense of mysticism to the novel, but also helps to define the dynamic that operates between Ishmael, Ahab, and Moby Dick. Understanding this dynamic offers insight into Melville's efforts at defining the novel as an art form as well as his attempts at casting the roles of author, reader, and novel in relationship to each other.i The reader's initiation into Hindu culture begins sublimely, and in the most Christian of settings, in a chapel. Deeply moved by the cold, stone tablets commemorating those who have died at sea, Ishmael goes on to invoke the foreign religion: Oh! ye whose dead lie buried beneath the green grass; who standing among flowers can say--here, here lies my beloved; ye know not the desolation that broods in bosoms like these. What bitter blanks in those black-bordered marbles which cover no ashes! What despair in those immovable inscriptions! What deadly voids and unbidden infidelities in the lines that seem to gnaw upon all Faith, and refuse resurrections to the beings who have placelessly perished without a grave. As well might those tablets stand in the cave of Elephanta as here. (64) As well might those tablets stand in the cave? As well might we! Here, the power of the written word is such that Ishmael can transport the reader from the domestic tranquillity ... ...al Sources for the Study of Hinduism. New Jersey: Barnes and Noble, 1988. Organ, Troy Wilson. The Hindu Quest for the Perfection of Man. Ohio: Ohio UP, 1980. Sharma, Brijendra Nath. Iconography of Sadasiva. New Delhi: Abhinav, 1976. Notes i Although H. Bruce Franklin argues against Melville's use of Hindu mythology in Moby Dick, favoring instead Egyptian mythology, H.B. Kulkarni thoroughly answers each of Franklin's objections, suggesting that "Moby Dick has room enough not only for Hindu and Egyptian myths, but many more" (Kulkarni 6). ii That is, Ishmael shapes the course of the drama as it exists on the page. To suggest that Ishmael shapes events as they occur on the ship would cast doubt on his veracity as a narrator. iii Indeed, "Call me Ishmael" invites the reader to engage in a fairly intimate relationship with the narrator.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Trail of ghenus khan

Mr.. Genesis Khan not being civilized, I believe that the Mongol Warrior (Adam) helped bring out the fact that Mr.. Khan was Indeed innocent of this accusation. This Mongol warrior brought forth the fact that they did indeed give the civilizations a chance to surrender to the Mongols. The Mongol warrior also acknowledged the laws that Mr..Khan had made, (This was backed up by the Historian Javelin (Rachel) and the research that was done by that errors). He also brought forth the fact that, many people thought that there warfare, was part of being civilized, but when we asked the prosecuting witnesses, (the ones before the Mongol Warrior was called up), what the deflation of being Cleveland was, many of the prosecuting witnesses did not Involve warfare Into their definition of being civilized.The Mongol warrior also helped us when the other prosecuting attorneys tried to ask him questions that were related to warfare, Instead of being elated to the main question, â€Å"Is Mr.. Khan c ellared, we then brought them to a dead end, with us (the defensive attorney's) putting objections towards their questions, because their question's had nothing to do with the main topic of the trial. The prosecuting side then ran out of questions to ask, due to irrelevance of the questions that they were asking.On the opposing side, the Mustangs, caliph of Baghdad (Harrison) presented the most convincing evidence, to go against Mr.. Genesis khan. This witness was a victim f the torment, this man was, I believe, rolled up in a carpet drug around beaten and trampled until dead. This man also had answers for most of our questions, and was ready for almost anything. In this simulation, I liked that we all worked together as a group, and we each had an important part in the trial. When we work as a group, the work seemed to go faster.For instance, my partner and I were both defensive attorneys, and when it came to looking for questions to ask our witnesses, we were both able to come up tit many different kinds, and when we were up there asking the questions we both took turns asking them and retrieving the answers. With the work going faster, and being divided up, it made it easier to develop a better understanding of what we were studying. I believe that the simulation was Just fine, but I feel that we should have had more time to debate about the topics, and maybe a little more time to get things prepared and ready for the trial.BY erne indeed innocent of this accusation. This Mongol warrior brought forth the fact that caked up by the Historian Jiving (Rachel) and the research that was done by that before the Mongol Warrior was called up), what the definition of being civilized was, many of the prosecuting witnesses did not involve warfare into their definition of attorneys tried to ask him questions that were related to warfare, instead of being related to the main question, â€Å"is Mr.. Khan civilized? â€Å", we then brought them to a dead end, with us (th e defensive attorneys) putting objections towards their questions,

Sunday, January 5, 2020

The History and Archaeology of the Silk Road

The Silk Road (or Silk Route) is one of the oldest routes of international trade in the world. First called the Silk Road in the 19th century, the 4,500-kilometer (2,800 miles) route is actually a web of caravan tracks which actively funneled trade goods between Changan (now the present-day city of Xian), China in the East and Rome, Italy in the West at least between the 2nd century BC up until the 15th century AD. The Silk Road is first reported to have been used during the  Han Dynasty  (206 BC-220 AD) in China, but recent archaeological evidence including the domestication history of a series of animals and plants, such as barley, indicates that trade managed by the ancient steppe societies across the central Asian deserts began at least 5,000-6,000 years ago. Using a series of  way stations  and  oases, the Silk Road spanned the 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) of the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and the mountainous  Pamirs  (the Roof of the World) of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Important stops on the Silk Road included Kashgar,  Turfan, Samarkand,  Dunhuang, and the  Merv Oasis. Routes of the Silk Road The Silk Road contained three major routes leading westward from Changan, with perhaps hundreds of smaller ways and byways. The northern route ran westward from China to the Black Sea; the central to Persia and the Mediterranean Sea; and the southern to the regions which now include Afghanistan, Iran, and India. Its fabled travelers included Marco Polo, Genghis Khan, and Kublai Khan. The Great Wall of China was built (in part) to protect its route from bandits. Historical tradition reports that the trade routes began in the 2nd century BC as the result of the efforts of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty. Wudi commissioned Chinese military commander Zhang Qian to seek a military alliance with his Persian neighbors to the west. He found his way to Rome, called Li-Jian in documents of the time. One extremely important trade item was silk, manufactured in China and treasured in Rome. The process by which silk is made, which involves silkworm caterpillars fed on mulberry leaves, was kept secret from the west until the 6th century AD when a Christian monk smuggled caterpillar eggs out of China. Trade Goods of the Silk Road While important to keeping the trade connection open, silk was only one of many items passing across the Silk Roads network. Precious ivory and gold, food items such as pomegranates, safflowers, and carrots went east out of Rome to the west; from the east came jade, furs, ceramics, and manufactured objects of bronze, iron, and lacquer. Animals such as horses, sheep, elephants, peacocks, and camels made the trip, and, perhaps most importantly, agricultural and metallurgical technologies, information, and religion were brought with the travelers. Archaeology and the Silk Road Recent studies have been conducted at key locations along the Silk Route at the Han Dynasty sites of Changan, Yingpan, and Loulan, where imported goods indicate that these were important cosmopolitan cities. A cemetery in Loulan, dated to the first century AD, contained burials of individuals from Siberia, India, Afghanistan, and the Mediterranean Sea. Investigations at the Xuanquan Station Site of Gansu Province in China suggest that there was a postal service along the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty. A growing mass of archaeological evidence suggests that the Silk Road may have been in use long before Zhang Qians diplomatic journey. Silk has been found in the mummies of Egypt around 1000 BC, German graves dated to 700 BC, and 5th century Greek tombs. European, Persian and Central Asian goods have been found in the Japanese capital city of Nara. Whether these hints ultimately prove to be solid evidence of early international trading or not, the web of tracks called the Silk Road will remain a symbol of the lengths to which people will go to stay in touch. Sources Christian D. 2000. Silk roads or steppe roads? The Silk Roads in world history. Journal of World History 11(1):1-26.Dani AH. 2002. Significance of Silk Road to human civilization: Its cultural dimension. Journal of Asian Civilizations 25(1):72-79.Fang J-N, Yu B-S, Chen C-H, Wang DT-Y, and Tan L-P. 2011. Sino-Kharosthi and Sino-Brahmi coins from the silk road of western China identified with stylistic and mineralogical evidence. Geoarchaeology 26(2):245-268.Hashemi S, Talebian MH, and Taleqni EM. 2012. Determining the Position of Ahovan Caravansary in Silk Road Route. Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research 2(2):1479-1489.Liu S, Li QH, Gan F, Zhang P, and Lankton JW. 2012. Silk Road glass in Xinjiang, China: chemical compositional analysis and interpretation using a high-resolution portable XRF spectrometer. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(7):2128-2142.Toniolo L, DAmato A, Saccenti R, Gulotta D, and Righetti PG. 2012. The Silk Road, Marco Polo, a bible and its proteome: A detective story. Journal of Proteomics 75(11):3365-3373.Wang S, and Zhao X. 2013. Re-evaluating the Silk Roads Qinghai Route using dendrochronology. Dendrochronologia 31(1):34-40.