Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Performance Of The Sime Darby Berhad Example For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2086 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The company which will be discussed here is The Sime Darby Berhad, the world largest listed plantation company based in Malaysia.Sime Darby is a government link company whereby its majority shareholder are the Permodalan Nasional Berhad,the state investment arm. It businesses consists of plantation,property,industrial,motors,energy utilities and healthcare. The world leading conglomerate has just celebrated its 100th anniversary when it has become center of controversy due to losses of RM 2.1 billion in may last year. The market was in shock when this news where announced since Sime Darby is a giant mutinational conglomerate involved in five core sectors with a total turnover of RM 33 billion. The company has removed Ahmad Zubir Murshid as the CEO after cost over runs in four projects including the Bakun hydroelctric dam project, the Qatar Petroluem project(QP project),the Maersk Oil Qatar(MOQ) project and the Marine Project. Sime Darby is a government linked comp any whereby its majority shareholder are the Permodalan Nasional Berhad which is the state investment arm group. Sime Darby may need to book RM 964 million in losses due to this projects. Sime Darby was two years behind schedule for this projects and will have to reverse its revenue of RM 200 million booked in its 2009 financial year. A losses of RM 526 million is expected to due to the cost over runs at Maersk Qatar Oil project. An another Qatar project may also results in RM 155 Million losses which construct some vessels. The first project that incurred losses are the Bakun hydroelectric project. Bakun hydroelectric dam project is located on Balui River,Sarawak,Malaysia was delayed since the approval of the project in 1992. Once built, the bakun dam would be the largest dam in asia outside China. The dam is expected to generate 2400 megawatt electricity to Peninsular Malaysia. The electricity will be supplied via submarine cables across the South China sea to Peninsular Mal aysia. The Bakun hydroelectric dam project is being built by Malaysia China Hydro Sv consortium led by Sime Engineering Berhad,a subsidary of Sime Darby. It is reported that the Bakun Dam project has incurred about RM 1.7 billion in cost over run of which the government of Malaysia has agreed to reimburse around RM 700 million, leaving Sime Darby with with 964 million losses for the second half of the financial year. Sime Darby has incurred the cost over runs from carrying out civil works for the project. In an research report by an investment bank, it remained negative on this project since Sime Darby did not disclose the cost over runs in the past financial report. It has been indicated that the cost to Sime Darby could arise from RM 1.8 billion to RM 3.2 billion due to future claims by the mechanical and engineering contractors. It has added that Sarawak Hydro, the owner of the project could claim up to 20 percent of the original cost from Sime Darby due to late delivery. The maximum amount for late delivery will be around RM 360 million for Sime Darby. In total it is been estimated that the losses from the project could arise an additional RM 1 billion but the losses could be reduced if the additional RM700 million claims from the government for the losses is approved and all other claim were dropped. The handover could be delayed until june next year. The Quantum of losses for Sime Darby largely depends on government wilingness to reimburse the additional cost uncovered by the group and waivement of all the late delivery charges. There is an indication that Sime Darby is only wiling to absorb 15 percent of the total overuns which is around RM 300 million. But since the new cost over runs are due to poor management of the project, the government will unlikely to absorb all the cost over runs. Sentiment in stocks and shareholder could diminish as investor are remained corcerned over the issue. The next big project that has caused losses are the Sim e Darby oil and gas project in Qatar. The Qatar Project was awarded in August 2008. Loss exceedes RM 500 Million because of the project delays and cost over runs. The sector was a very unknown venture, where by the group core business are plantation and real estate. There is a very high risk of failure from beginning of the project. To make things worse, the Sime Darby has failed to explain the situation to the board and shareholders. In the suit against the former directors it was stated that despite no prior experience to undertake a project at such scale, the Sime Engineering unit has extended its operation to Qatar witthout any knowledge with marine transport and instalation,subsea pipe laying work, labour rates and yard facilities in Qatar. At the time, Sime Enginering top executive post were helmed by former managing director Datuk Mohamed Shukri Baharom, Head of oil and gas Abdul Khadir Alias,Chief financial officer Abdul Rahim and General Manager Zaki Othman are all direc tly reports to the Ceo,Ahmad Zubir. Sime has decided to bid for the engineering,instalation,construction and commisioning contract to be commisioned by Qatar Petroleum for its Bulhanie project which is also known as MOQ project which among other includes modification to 34 existing platform,17subsea lines between existing and new plarforms. This was Sime Darby first major engineering contract as a main contractor outside malaysia. Sime went ahead despite no marine capabilities to carry out transporting,instalation and pipe laying work and appointed Iran Offshore Engineering.Despite Qatar rejection,Sime Darby carried away the project with targeted completion on August 2008.There were many delays due to Sime Darby inability and incompetence to finish the project.Sime Darby has also failed to record Qatar Petroleum alleged promise to compensate Sime Darby in event of delay.Delays were not informed to the board directors by and instead they falsified and reduced actual cost over runs such that damage recorded in the book were recognised later than it should be. Costing Rm 102 Million, the unit has appointed seven consultant to put the project back on track and add value. But these consultant instead has offered service renderd illegal in Malaysia,acts which could damaged Sime Darby reputation.Sime Darby has taken the marine project to transform itself into major marine vessel player in the oil and gas industry but it went wrong since the wrong shipbuilder were picked.The marine project is the extension of MOQ project concerning construction of two tugboats and a barge in the MOQ project.Losses of about Rm 155 Million being reported since the barge has not been delivered.The strategy was to build a derick lay barge,a pipe laying ship and an anchor handling towing supply,a tug boat that could supply to offshore oil rigs. Failing to carry out due deligence,the former CEO and ex wise president Datuk Mohd Shukri has been sued by Sime Darby.They have also ignor ed findings of accountancy firm KPMG on the deals with MLC shipping group and Puteri offshore limited.Sime Darby in a statement said that Datuk Mohd Shukri proposed for ship building contract with MLC for the consruction and sale of four units of anchor handling towing supply at cost of $ 92 Million.He have also proposed another deal with MLC to the board for construction of derick for cost of USD 95 million. Sime Darby in the same statement have said that eventhough Datuk Mohamed Shukri has attended the risk management committee meeting and presented the paper and proposal to the board of directors, He did not disclose the deals with MLC and puteri offshore to the board. All these conflicts has tarnished the Sime Darby group reputation. To overcome this situation Sime Darby has taken some action including filing a civil suit against former CEO,Managing Director, Head of Oil and Gas,Chief Financial Officer and the General Manager for wrongful payment to consultants in Qatar Petro leum priject,wrongfully waiving Performance Bond in MOQ proec,wrongfull payment of consultancy fees in MOQ project,failure to deliver 3 vessels in Marine Project,wrongfull payment to Sinohydro and wrongfull payment to Northwest Investigation Design Research Institute. The total suit filed is around RM 500 million. Sime Daby has established a Board Work Group in October 2009 to review its four projects in Qatar including Qatar Petroleum Project, MOQ project, Marine Project and Bakun Project. To improve efficency of management and internal controls, Board Work Group has pursued some aggressive actions including sacking of the group CEO. In order to make sure the conflict do not arise, Sime Darby should implement corporate governance in its conglomerate since from the conflict it shows that Sime Darby has poor corporate governance in its organisastion. Performance and accountability to shareholer and stakeholder is good governance main emphasis. This includes performance of the board in acquiring different talents among directors and communication with senior management to ensure decisions are made in best interest of company and its shareholder. Necessary skills and competence are important for Sime Darby directors to understand their role comprehensively. Ineffective board, weak internal controls and poor risk management, lack of adequate disclosures, poor audits and unreliable financial reporting are poor corporate governance. This poor corporate governance is heavily effecting the minority shareholder since Sime Darby is a listed companies with concerntrated shareholder who will exercise greater influence over corporate affairs such as nominating the board and making an agreement with third party. Sime Darby should provide accurate and timely information to enable shareholder to review the performance of the company and directors.To address issues of risk and setting direction,Sime Darby should provide information about future looking and indepth aspects of business,governance and system.This will enable shareholders to respond accurately on basis of the information.To improve timelines,Sime Darby should publish its annual report and account in its websire within a specified period.Managerial compensation should be in line with the performance of the management to overcome problems due to lack of mutual interest between shareholders and management.Exessive payment that are being paid to directors should be regulated and should be wholly determined by firm performance. The Malaysian code on corporate governance had adapted the principles that directors remuneration packages should be suitable enough to attract and retain people whom have the capacity needed to succesfully manage the company and package should be tied to corporate and individual performance. Linking directors packages to corporate performance is vital to the shareholders since it is based on their individual and corporate performance.A company board of directors functions as the highest internal corporate governance.In order for the board of directors to be effective,independence is an important value to be implemented.Financial fraud are less likehood with board independence to solve agency problems inherent in managing any organisation,board of directors play vital role of internal governance.The board will asses and monitor vital decisions and has the power to fire,hire and compensate the top level decision managers.This is why they are an important mechanism for evaluate the performance of management and protecting shareholders interest. To establish best practice,the entire board of Sime Darby directors should have taken lead role in good corporate governance.Larger number of Non Executive Directors is argued by agency theory with regard to independence of board of directors.This is due to that non executive director could establish role in monitoring and control actions of executive directors.This means non executive d irector is considered as check and balance in enhancing Sime Darby board effectiveness.The expertise and knowledge of non executive director could make the company more transparent.With such hugh responsibilities,they should avoid becoming rubber stamp to the management.Studies shows that voluntary disclosure is greater when associated with board independence. The audit comitee is comitee of the board.In order to function smoothly,independent of audit comitee is vital as it allows both the internal and external auditors to remain free of undue influences and inteference from the management.This is important in order to perform its financial reporting oversight more effectively.Audit comitee needs competant and experienced directors particularly in financial aspect to monitor financial reporting in an organisation.Better earning is associated with audit comitee in an empirical evidence.Incidents of accounting errors,irregulaties and illegal acts are fewer with audit comitee indepe ndence.Overstatement of profit by Sime Darby could be hindered with an independent audit comitee. In conclusion, good corporate governance is essential for a large listed companies such as Sime Darby to continue performing in near future. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Performance Of The Sime Darby Berhad Example For Free" essay for you Create order

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Argumentative Essay On Peer Pressure - 1532 Words

Peer Pressure: An Epidemic We all have been young adolescents before and experienced all the things junior high and high school has to offer. Being a teenager is something everyone has or will experience in our life times. Teenagers go through a crucial time in their lives where they really figure out who they are and how to make more adult decisions. Peer pressure has always been a regular part of teenage life. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry states â€Å"Peers play a large role in the social and emotional development of children and adolescents. Their influence begins at an early age and increases through the teenage years. It is natural, healthy and important for children to have and rely on friends as they grow and†¦show more content†¦Statistics prove that 30% of teenagers have shoplifted at least once due to peer pressure. Over half of teenagers will experiment with alcohol. About 40% of teenagers have tried drugs, states Jeanie Lerche Davis author of Teenagers: Why Do They Rebel. The fact there is a new found freedom gives these adolescents opportunities to get pushed into doing the wrong thing. It begins with one person who is more rebellious than others to create the domino effect. When a child is a toddler, they are impressionable, they follow the lead of the adults in their lives. If they hear their parents say a curse word they will repeat it. Teenagers are impressionable in a very similar way and they’re stuck in the middle of learning who they are and who they want to be. If one friend shoplifts, they can easily get pressured into it, the same goes for alcohol and drugs. These things become cool, and when youre a teenager thats all that matters. In reality though doing these â€Å"cool† things are actually incredibly harmful, leading these teenagers down a wrong path. There are 3 different types of peer pressure, the first one is direct. Direct peer pressure is when other teenagers pressure an individual into making a choice. The second type is indirect peer pressure, which is when a teenager is exposed to something negative like smoking, but they arent directly told to participate. The last type is individual, which is when an individual feels theShow MoreRelatedArgumentative Essay On Peer Pressure1091 Words   |  5 Pages Peer pressure is always seen with negative outcomes and it’s seen everywhere. From little kids in preschool to teens in high school even adults. Although there is negative peer pressure, there can also be positive peer pressure. How can peer pressure be seen as positive you may ask? 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The first key point that I can use in my essay would be that children, especially teenagers, are judge by their peers based on their fashion choices. This claim supports my argument by showing that teenagers that are judged harshly, often feel forced to dress a certain way to be accepted. The secondRead MoreInfluences On My Identity Essay1630 Words   |  7 Pagesidentity, typically in response to culture influences around them. In his essay â€Å"Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender,† author Aaron Devor notes that young children â€Å"will often make such ascriptions on the basis of role information such as hairstyle, rather than physical attributes.† (529) This suggests that our gender identity is formed on a much broader basis than simply anatomy. In an essay exploring what it means to be a man, sociologist Michael Kimmel describesRead MoreShould School Uniforms Be Banned?920 Words   |  4 PagesEffiong, Mfonabasi Professor Platt English 101 ADO4 April, 10 2016 Argumentative Essay Individualism is an important part of every society. Most people believe in the right to express themselves without fear of punishment. However, this value is coming under fire in an unlikely place like public high school classroom. This issue is school uniform. Should public high school students be allowed to make individual decisions about clothing, or should be required to wear a uniformRead MoreDrug Testing Essay1328 Words   |  6 Pagesabuse go unnoticed. In the article â€Å"Drug-Testing Reduces Students Drug Use, Study Says.† It is statistically proven that drug testing reduces students drug use. â€Å"Students involved in school random drug testing reported less substance use than their peers in high school, that didn’t have drug testing programs.† (Samuels). If students want to be involved in extracurricular activities, they will stop the drug abuse if a drug test was mandatory just to be able to do so. Extracurricular activities is aRead MoreWhat Do You Think About The Juvenile Death Penalty? Many1622 Words   |  7 PagesWhat do you think about the juvenile death penalty? Many sides are against this kind of thing. They believe that juveniles are not fully matured and give in too easily to peer pressure. Juveniles are smart enough to know wrong from right even if they are getting pressured to do something. This essay is pro for death penalty for juveniles, because they can make their own decisions in their life. For starters this paper is going to give some information from people who think there should never beRead MoreWhy Fingerprint Analysis Is Used For The Sake Of Forensic Analysis1647 Words   |  7 Pagesforensic analysis for over 100 years, and has perpetually been considered the most reliable technique of analysis. However, in recent years, its reliability has begun to crumble due to certain standards set in the United States of America. In this essay, fingerprint analysis will be briefly described, along with the framework of ACE-V in which analysts work from- looking primarily at its weaknesses and criticisms. The Daubert standard will be outlined and a how a primary assumption of fingerprintRead MoreSociety s Problems, Broadly Speaking Essay2514 Words   |  11 Pagesreading stories and articles about another person’s life, it told me that there are so many worse situations than what I have seen. The difficult part of the 4 essays was coming up with different topics while still staying in the same genre. But because there were so many varieties and articles about people changing their looks for their peers. Another difficult section of the W.O.W. project was the informative. This is because the informative is full of facts however, I was not sure on how to provide

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Development in Accounting & Thought-Free-Samples for Students

Questions: 1.Two Fundamental Qualitative Characteristics of accounting highlighted within the Conceptual Framework are relevance (QC6-10) and faithful representation (QC12-16). Which of these two characteristics do you think is more Important. 2.Briefly describe each of the Normative alternatives to Historical cost. Answers: 1.The conceptual framework helps in determining the concepts and the purpose of financial reporting. It helps the board in the preparation of accounting policies and concepts which are required to be followed consistently. The aim of general purpose financial statements is to highlight information with respect to the companys performance, its cash flow, and its financial position. These principles are in line with the theme of the conceptual framework. They provide assistance by means of policies and concepts which help in the preparation of financial statements. The objective of financial reporting provides the required information to its users so that they can make decisions based on it. The purpose of users is also linked to it. They want to ensure transparency from the end of the companies through their financial information (IFRS, 2017). Consistency, reliability, comparability, and relevance are the qualitative characteristics of accounting. These are the actual expectation of the intended users from the companies preparing financial statements. The objectives of measurement in accounting are to show a true and accurate picture of the companys financial position. Both, the qualitative characteristics and the objectives are connected to each other because their basic aim is transparency (IFRS, 2017). The role of relevance is to make the material relevant which can assist in decision making. It is the interconnection which connects the past data with the future predictions. Faithful representation affirms the business activities as genuine. It speaks for its accuracy with respect to the companys financial position. Faithful representation stands for more level of importance. This is because it is not enough if the information is just relevant. It should vouch for its completeness, neutrality, and error- free course of nature (Bragg, Relevance definition, 2013). Relevance is crucial but faithful representation is an obligation. For example, if a business concern is having debtors of $21,542, it can be cross verified with the help of future forecast and past data. But, if the company fails to fairly represent it in its financial statements, the ultimate aim of the conceptual framework will fail. This is the importance of fair representation which requires the reflection of accuracy. Currently, the companies are failing in fairly representing their financial aspects to its users. Apart from the need for accuracy, it is required to follow the accounting policy with relevant disclosures. The area of faithful representation is quite broad in nature as compared to relevance (Bragg, Faithful Representation, 2014). If a company follows relevance but fails to comply in faithful representation, it fails to achieve the objectives of the general purpose financial statement. Even IAS 1, Presentation of Financial Statements affirms for the concept of fair representation. The aim of the faithful presentation is in line with the purpose of an accounting standard. It asks for accurate information and true disclosures. It is important that the information should be just and fair with proper disclosures and free from error. The same is the basic need of any accounting standard (Charterededucation, 2017). In this era, the need for disclosures has increased. It is due to this information, major decisions are being made by its intended users. Today, the stakeholders are not just interested in the financial information, they do look for non-financial information as well. This is why our accounting standards are being regularly updated as per the needs of the business environment. The importance of faithful representation has increased to such an extent that even the controllers of financial statements disqualify such information in its absence. In our diversified business environment, which is growing and developing, it can be said that faithful representation is now a necessity and not just a part of the conceptual framework (Bragg, Faithful Representation, 2014). Right from the stakeholders to the board and the due compliance of government, all of them expect faithful representation from a companys financial statements. In todays scenario, if the information shared by the companies are not complying faithful representation, such will have a severe question on its survival. Because todays world expect transparency and if the companies are unable to provide that, it will not exist in the long run. So, it is quite crucial, to keep the stakeholders and other connected persons in confidence to survive in the long run (Bragg, Faithful Representation, 2014). It is quite possible for the accounting to achieve faithful representation because the conceptual framework along with the accounting policies and standards supports it. It is still difficult because some fraudulent companies still exist who bypass such framework. But to have a reputed brand image, it is now a necessity to reflect faithful representation in financial information. For this, better compliance rules and procedures are being formulated so that its base becomes stronger (IAS, 2017). 2.A normative theory defines the way of the accounting process. It evaluates various kinds of approaches in order to frame one form of accounting opinion. Historical Cost Accounting (HCA) aims to analyze income on the basis of value and not the cost component. It had its own set of benefits and limitations. Data which used to follow this type of accounting was error free and properly verified. It was the only recognized accounting system which was widely accepted for the purpose of taxation. Its limitations are it works on the principle of the firm monetary unit which ignores the concept of inflation. It also fails to match the current revenue with the same level of cost (Nandwani, 2017). Current Purchasing Power (CPP): This normative alternative to HCA has its pillar on a price index. The utility of such price index is to adjust the prevalent purchasing power. As far as the assets are concerned, CPI (Current Price Index) is considered. For example, if the valuation of an asset is required, a particular price index can be adopted and then CPI is used for the purpose of required adjustments. These consider and have its impact only on the financial items and fails to consider the non-financial items. The same gets reflected in the financial information (Accounting-Management, 2017). Current Cost Accounting (CCA): This form of accounting believes in the replacement cost when it comes to non-financial matters. The end result is that it redefines the value of an asset. The issue is it does not consider the impact of inflation in it while analyzing the profit. For example, a furniture cost $300,000 with a life of ten years and no salvage value and depreciated $30000 every year by straight line method. Now, if its replacement cost is $ 320,000, its depreciation per year will be $ 32000. Thus, this $ 2000 (32000-30000), will be deducted in order to arrive at CCA (AccountingManagement, 2017). Continuously Contemporary Accounting (CoCoA): This principle works on the basis of the current cash price. For example, if any asset has been sold for $ 1300 but its net realizable value is $ 1500, as per this principle of accounting, it will be measured at $ 1500. This method fails to differentiate between the unrealized and realized profits. It adjust the figures of financial information on the basis of general purchasing power (Chambers, 1967). As far as the current purchasing power is concerned, the pillars of accounting cannot work on the basis of the single price index. This is because a single price index cannot justify a true value of all kinds of asset. It cannot compensate its true value in a real way. Plus, it also costly and takes a lot of time. The replacement cost method of current cost accounting fails to highlight the actual selling price of an asset. What it reflects is its buying price which is different in nature. The concept fails to complement the specialized assets. This, in turn, leads to a costly mechanism which requires efforts of extreme nature in order to find out the actual replacement cost (Nandwani, 2017). Continuously Contemporary Accounting (CoCoA) succeeds on the basis of subjectivism but fails to comprehend the practical nature. The problem arises in the valuation of assets because the market price is not available for the specialized ones. The value in use is nowhere recognized in this principle and even does not recognize goodwill on its actual price under the impression that it cannot be sold in an individual form (Chambers, 1967). When it comes to analyzing which one of them was successful, the answer is quite twisted. The purpose of being successful is associated with the compliance of transparency, neutrality, error free, consistency and going concern. As per the current position, the historical cost of accounting is not used much because of the development in the modern concepts. As and when, the principles of accounting has evolved, from time to time, such method has been employed and was successful (Nandwani, 2017). It was Current Purchasing Power which was successful in the absence of Continuously Contemporary Accounting and current cost accounting. In the same manner, current cost accounting and Continuously Contemporary Accounting had their own time period of being successful. Due to its failure in recognizing the importance of neutrality, transparency and other relevant parameters, historical method is not much in use. Thus, the fair value of accounting is being followed at todays time. It measures the actual time with the real value of money. It is the pillar of todays and tomorrows form of our accounting (IASplus, 2017). References AccountingManagement. (2017). Meaning and Characteristic of Current Cost Accounting. Retrieved from Accoutning-Management: https://accountlearning.blogspot.in/2011/06/meaning-features-and-objectives-of.html Accounting-Management. (2017). Meaning and Characteristics of Current Purchasing Power. Retrieved from Accounting-Management: https://accountlearning.blogspot.in/2011/06/meaning-and-characteristics-of-current.html Bragg, S. (2013, March 12). Relevance definition. Retrieved from Accounting Tools: https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/what-is-relevance-in-accounting.html Bragg, S. (2014, September 22). Faithful Representation. Retrieved from Accounting Tools: https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/what-is-faithful-representation.html Chambers, R. (1967). Continously Contemporary Accounting. The Accounting Review, 42(4), 751-757. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/244170 Charterededucation. (2017). Accounting Policies - Fair Representation and Faithful Representation. Retrieved from Chartered Education: https://www.charterededucation.com/ifrs/accounting-policies-fair-presentation-and-faithful-representation-for-ifrs/ IAS. (2017). IAS1 - Presentation of Financial Statements. Retrieved from Ias Plus: https://www.iasplus.com/en/standards/ias/ias1 IASplus. (2017). Conceptual Framework of Reporting. Retrieved from IAS Plus: https://www.iasplus.com/en/standards/other/framework IFRS. (2017, August 27). Conceptual Framework. Retrieved from IFRS: https://www.ifrs.org/projects/work-plan/conceptual-framework/#about Nandwani, M. (2017). HCA - meaning, benefits and limitations. Retrieved from Accounting Notes: https://www.accountingnotes.net/historical-cost-accounting/historical-cost-accounting-hca-meaning-benefits-and-limitations/5454

Monday, December 2, 2019

The Problem Of Knowing Essays - Fiction, Rhetorical Techniques, With

The Problem Of Knowing Consider the meaning of ambiguousness: for something to have two contradictory meanings, with emphasis on the unknown. In, My Kinsman, Major Molineux, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses ambiguity, as well as other writing tools, to tell a pre-Revolutionary war story about a young mans journey from childhood innocence into the adult world of evils and reality. Hawthorne utilizes the power of setting, symbolism, and conflict, to name a few, to help portray the problem of knowing that is ever present through out the stories entirety. Foremost it is important to know the main character of the story: young Robin is on a journey from the country into town to find his kinsman, the Major Molineux. Robins character is round in that it is complex and dynamic. He changes from the innocent youth he is in the beginning to an adult educated in the ways of evil and harshness. On the other hand, Major Molineuxs character, which you never meet until the end of the story is flat: static and yet vital to the story: helping the reader see Robins character more clearly. The other characters in the story are significant, but also flat; you never see too much about any of them, further enhancing the ambiguousness of the work. It is the mystery of these flat characters, such as the waiter at the tavern or the woman with the red skirt, which keeps you questioning what exactly is going on. Robins character is discovered in many ways through the conflicts with each situation he finds himself in through out his journey. Each conflict is carried through a sequence of events that leads to the climax and creates the characters. Robins conflict starts with the elder authority figure that he meets on the street, the conflict between the two characters sparks the conflict that Robin eventually finds within himself. He continues to meet different towns people, asking each for his kinsman, but always creating more and more conflict within himself. Each meeting reveals some small clue about the major, but in parallel creates more questions and ambiguity leading to the climax. It was no mistake that the story of Robins search for Major Molineux was told in the limited-third person narrative. This particular point of view significantly attributes to the problem of knowing; it allows some light to be shed on the questionable sequence of events, but at the same time restricts what is revealed to lead once again to more questions. It is important, though, to not forget the vital role of Hawthornes choice of setting for this work. Adding to the ambiguousness of the story is the dark, evening setting that the story takes place in; darkness represents the unknown and the light represents the truth. Robin starts his journey with a walk through the woods; woods generally symbolize the unknown as well, but in this story they are not the evil unknown, but in fact only the beginning of what is to come. The setting of the town is important to note: from the dark quietness of the streets to the dark smokiness of the tavern, no light is ever shown brightly enough to give the truth away. Perhaps, though, the most significant of all of Hawthornes attributes to this problem of knowing was his use of irony. Language is central to the understanding of Robins journey. For instance, the symbolism he uses is vital to the archetypical pattern of a young mans right of passage. Hawthornes use of symbolism paired with ambiguity and irony leads to the reading of two parallel stories. Without the use of these language tools the reader would read only one story, instead the reader is able to also read the underlying story. The real impact this has on the story as a whole is rooted in the fact that all of the symbolism only leads to more questions, attributing greatly to the problem of knowing that encompasses the story. Although Hawthorne utilizes irony throughout the story as a language tool, it is important to see that the tone of the whole work is ironic. The way that we are looking at Robin is different from the way he is. This particular form of irony is known