Engagement Letter Apollo Case Essay Example for Free

Engagement Letter Apollo Case Essay Anderson, Olds and Watershed (AOW) will audit the balance sheet of Apollo Shoes as of December 31, 2011 and the related statements of income, retained earnings and cash flows for the year then ended. Our audit will be conducted in accordance with the Standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Our audit will include examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used ad significant judgments and estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. An audit includes obtaining an understanding of internal control sufficient to plan the audit, including making risk assessments, and to determine the nature and extent of audit procedures to be performed. An audit is not designed to provide assurance on internal control or to identify control deficiencies. However, we are responsible for communicating to the Board of Directors of Apollo Shoes significant deficiencies and material weakness in internal control that come to our attention during the course of our audit. AOW is required to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatements, whether caused by error or fraud. However the audit does not guarantee the accuracy of the financial statements. Even though the audit is properly planned and performed in accordance with the PCAOB standards, an unavoidable risk exists that some material misstatements may not be detected due to inherent limitations of an audit, together with the inherent limitations of internal control. Consequently, our audit is not designed to detect errors or fraud that is immaterial to the financial statements. At your request, but pending approval by your Board of Directors, we will prepare all required federal tax returns and the state franchise tax returns. We will also provide your staff with a list of schedules needed by our staff during the audit. The delivery dates have been discussed and mutually agreed upon. We understand that your staff will prepare all schedules in the package, all financial statements and notes thereto, and the Form 10-K for our review. The scope of our services however, does not include preparation of any of these statements. GA-1.2 Fees Our billing for services set forth in this Engagement Letter, which we have estimated will total $750,000 discussed with you on October 18, 2011. For the services rendered the due date of the audit report will be February 15, 2012. Matters that can cause work in excess of fee estimate We want you to receive the maximum value for our professional services and to perceive that our fees are reasonable and fair. The following matters explain what issues arise most frequently: Changing requirements Although we attempt to plan our work to anticipate the requirements that will affect our engagement, three types of situations make this difficult. Sometimes, these new requirements are not communicated in time for us to anticipate their effects in our preliminary planning. Secondly, in spite of our anticipation and planning, the work necessary to comply with new requirements may be underestimated. Finally, in some instances, you may decide that it is advantageous to you to have them applied immediately. Incorrect accounting applications or error in your records We generally form our fee estimates on the expectation that your accounting records are in good order so that our work can be completed based upon our normal testing and other procedures. Should we find numerous errors, incomplete records or disorganized bookkeeping methods, we will have to do additional work to determine the necessary corrections have been made and properly reflected in the financial statements. Lack of audit facilitation or timely preparation To minimize your costs, we plan the means by which your personnel can facilitate the audit (e.g., what schedule they will prepare, how to prepare them, the supporting documents that need to be provided). We also discuss matters such as availability of your key personnel, deadlines and working conditions. Therefore, if your personnel are unable, for whatever reason, to provide these materials on a timely basis, it may substantially increase the work we must do to complete the engagement within the established deadlines. Unforeseen events Even though we communicate frequently with clients and plan our engagement with management and their staff, unforeseen events can occur. Examples include the following: accounting problems, litigation, changes in your business or business environment, contractual or other difficulties with suppliers, third-party service providers, or customers, etc. when those circumstances occur, additional time is needed to provide you with assistance and complete our engagement in accordance with professional standards. GA-1.3 Authorization This Engagement Letter sets forth the entire understanding between Apollo Shoes and Anderson, Olds and Watershed regarding the services described therein. Please confirm your acceptance of this Engagement Letter by signing below and returning one copy to us in the enclosed self-addressed envelope. We appreciate the opportunity to continue to work with Apollo Shoes and ensure you that this engagement will be given our closest attention.

Aesthetic Response to Only Justice Can Stop a Curse :: Only Justice Can Stop a Curse Essays

Aesthetic Response to Only Justice Can Stop a Curse Reflecting back on the piece that I have just read, I can only think of the extremity of desperation that the two authors were going through to make them feel the way that they did: that suicide would possibly be better than living in a "white man's world". If these powerful documents were not enough to let people come to the realization of how bad African-Americans had it (and still do to a degree) then I do not know what could possibly be more convincing. I cannot stop thinking about the atrocities that the woman in the first writing was calling upon to spite the whites in which had caused her so much pain. Though seemingly extreme, I can clearly recall an instance in history where tactics such as these denouncements and curses actually worked. In Egypt, Mosses did the same thing in order to lead his people (the Jewish slaves) out of bondage so that they could find their own land in which to dwell freely. The curses, though wishing pain and suffering upon their offenders, were not unlike the ten plagues that Moses called upon the Egyptians, the last of the ten being the death of the youngest son of all the families. It was then that the Jewish people were given the permission to leave Egypt in search of a new life. These documents remind me much of that because, like the Jews, these blacks are searching for their freedom in a white world in which it does not exist. They feel as if their last resort and the one that will finally bring about results in these denouncements and prayers to God. The second document alludes to a statement that I remember from the movie The Matrix. The author states that it is the whit mans goal not only to dominate the country, but the planet and universe as well. In the movie, one of the men stated that the human race (and in this case, the white race) are like viruses, they multiply and then move on to consume every natural resource in an area until it is time to move on once again and multiply and then the cycle of destruction continues on.

Psychology Paper; How Stress Affects the Human Mind

My topic of choice is stress. My first article informs you about the effects stress can have on your body and what you can do to avoid stress to keep your body healthy. (http://www. webmd. com/mental-health/effects-of-stress-on-your-body). The Effects of Stress on Your Body Stress is the body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life that happens to you and many things that you do yourself put stress on your body.You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. How Does Stress Affect Health? The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive, keeping us alert and ready to avoid danger. Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges. As a result, the person becomes overworked and stress-related tension builds. Stress t hat continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress — a negative stress reaction.  Read also Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder  (PTSD).Distress can lead to physical symptoms including headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and problems sleeping. Research suggests that stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases. Stress also becomes harmful when people use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to try and relieve their stress. Unfortunately, instead of relieving the stress and returning the body to a relaxed state, these substances tend to keep the body in a stressed state and cause more problems. Consider the following: * Forty-three percent of all adults suffer  adverse health effects from stress. Seventy-five percent to 90% of all doctor's office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints. * Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asth ma, arthritis, depression, and anxiety. * The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) declared stress a hazard of the workplace. Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually. * The lifetime prevalence of an emotional disorder is more than 50%, often due to chronic, untreated stress reactions.My second article below, talks about the myths of stress. What we should believe and the other factors of stress that are simply not true or unrelated to stress. (http://www. apa. org/helpcenter/stress-myths. aspx). Six myths surround stress. Dispelling them enables us to understand our problems and then take action against them. Let's look at these myths. Myth 1:   Stress is the same for everybody. Completely wrong. Stress is different for each of us. What is stressful for one person may or may not be stressful for another; each of us responds to stress in an entirely different way.Myth 2:   Stress is always bad for you. According to this view, zero stress mak es us happy and healthy. Wrong. Stress is to the human condition what tension is to the violin string: too little and the music is dull and raspy; too much and the music is shrill or the string snaps. Stress can be the kiss of death or the spice of life. The issue, really, is how to manage it. Managed stress makes us productive and happy; mismanaged stress hurts and even kills us. Myth 3:   Stress is everywhere, so you can't do anything about it. Not so. You can plan your life so that stress does not overwhelm you.Effective planning involves setting priorities and working on simple problems first, solving them, and then going on to more complex difficulties. When stress is mismanaged, it's difficult to prioritize. All your problems seem to be equal and stress seems to be everywhere. Myth 4:   The most popular techniques for reducing stress are the best ones. Again, not so. No universally effective stress reduction techniques exist. We are all different, our lives are different, our situations are different, and our reactions are different. Only a comprehensive program tailored to the individual works.Myth 5:   No symptoms, no stress. Absence of symptoms does not mean the absence of stress. In fact, camouflaging symptoms with medication may deprive you of the signals you need for reducing the strain on your physiological and psychological systems. Myth 6:   Only major symptoms of stress require attention. This myth assumes that the â€Å"minor† symptoms, such as headaches or stomach acid, may be safely ignored. Minor symptoms of stress are the early warnings that your life is getting out of hand and that you need to do a better job of managing stress.My articles presented facts on stress I was unaware of. Such as how a little stress can be good for you, because it keeps you alert and well managed. An individual with too much stress could have quite the opposite effect and become severely depressed and even eventually, lead to death. Another thing I came across is that everybody can have stress; however, everybody deals with stress in different ways. The stress I have most likely isn’t the same kind of stress that my parents have, and that means we all cope with stress with different techniques.The stress that I most often experience has to do with school, work and dealing with my addict mother. From what I’ve read, school and work are some of the most frequent stressors that a person my age has to deal with. However, living with a severe drug addict has increased my stress in work and school exponentially. My articles also explain the negative and harmful effects that stress can have on a person’s body. If someone is too overwhelmed with stress they then start experiencing a condition known as distress.Distress is followed by headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pains and problems sleeping. When I’m stressed and have a lot on my mind, I find that I have difficulty sleeping. Th e lack of sleep then results in more stress and it becomes a vicious cycle. Also, seeing how people become stressed from being overworked, some people turn to substances to compensate and relieve stress. However, research has shown that substances can worsen the effects of stress tremendously. Substances such as alcohol keep the body in a stressed state and eventually cause more problems.Any form of stress that you may be experiencing should be brought to attention. Covering up stress with medication and not treating the source could be damaging in the long run. The minor symptoms of stress are signs that your life is getting somewhat out of hand, you need to make necessary adjustments for your mental and physical well-being in order to avoid further stress. This is what is recommended anyways, but this is said so much easier than done. It’s insane how many people do not take these precautions and let their lives slip through their fingers.Some Forty three percent of adults s uffer health effects from stress and seventy five to ninety percent of doctor office visits are stress related, and if stress is camouflaged or ignored it can lead to an emotion disorder. Fifty percent of emotional disorders are the result of untreated stress. As I said earlier, everybody experiences stress differently, therefore, not everybody will have the same exact regiment to treat stress as others have. Stress not only affects you, but also affects the people at home and in your work environment. Stress can cause even the closest of relationships to diminish.Stress is also present in your work atmosphere. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration declared stress a hazard of the workplace. Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually. Reading several articles pertaining to stress and my knowledge from class has presented me with different outlooks on how to avoid stress and more importantly how to handle stress in every task. By doing so, I can prevent myself from harming my body, mentally or physically. It’s imperative for people to realize that stress is an inevitable factor of life and that there are ways to cope with it.

Critically Analyze The Diversity Management At Multicultural Organizations Business Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1922 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? This literature review is aimed to critically analyze the diversity management at multicultural organizations. Existing theories, studies and research regarding diversity management at workplaces are intended to be explored and their effectiveness evaluated. The implementation of various diversity management practices will be examined with the help of literature to determine; the significance of diversity management at both large and small scale organizations, its benefits, chief factors contributing to diversity management and the issues and challenges pertaining to successful diversity management implementation. A part of the review will be focused on how diversity management can be successfully implemented. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn from the literature review highlighting the key elements assessed and learned. In todays dynamic, overly complex and ever changing societal structure, diversity has hit almost every small and large organization around the world . Constantly shrinking societies post-colonialism and the modernity being infused in such organizations have added to the complexity of how these diverse populations at workplace can be managed effectively. How diversity is perceived by various researchers differ to some extent. This difference is explained by their narrow and broad scope of diversity. To some, diversity deals with issues including but not limited to classism, racism and sexism (Cross, Katz, Miller, and Seashore, 1994) while for others it concerns more broader meanings like understanding, acknowledging and valuing age, gender, ethnicity, race and spiritual differences among people (Esty, Katharine, Richard G., Marcie S. (1995) and Black (2001). From an organizations perspective, some authors have put it simply as recruitment, retaining and establishing suitable workplace relationships of people belonging from different backgrounds whilst putting all possible efforts in admonishing any anti-social behaviour at workpl ace (Thomas, 1991). Kelly and Dobbin (1998) as noted by Tatli (2011) were amongst the very first scholars to explain this long existing crucial discourse of diversity subsisting in different capacities. The study along with its assumptions according to modern society were based on the Litvins (1997) concerns over the aforementioned complexity of workplaces and how managers can effectively deal with them by adopting different approaches. Conventional study of managing diversity would be one approach to understand the complexity of different practices in existence (Lash, 1999) but there are limitations to what and how much theory and literature can be practically useful to manage this ever changing architecture of diversity. Bauman (2001) opposes Lashs (1999) idea by bringing forth his findings on the uncertain and unpredictable nature of human and their actions under different capacities. According to Bauman (2001) conventional modes of studying human interaction would just not su ffice. The rapidly changing demographics have been put forward by some authors as the primary reason for diversity related concerns and its management awareness in general including Foster and Harris (2005). On the other hand, the perception of diversity management and how much importance it is given can be country specific. This phenomenon can be proved by Miller and Rowneys (1999) study on diversity initiatives in multicultural organizations in Canada where it was suggested that almost 50 percent of the organizations there do not even consider diversity management to be an issue. Reason being the countrys history of accepting and especially promoting cultural differences at both small and large organizations, therefore any diversity related management initiatives would be totally unneeded. What benefits organizations seek from diversity is a diverse workforce which constitutes to the factors like rich cultured skillful manpower but managing this workforce pose greater challe nges to the managers (Greenberg, 2004). Wrench (2007) explained two factors leading to these challenges for managers which are; to ensure a fair and correct treatment of every employee and ensuring effective management of workforce to promote greater rewards for the organization which would ultimately add to its competitive edge. Furthermore, cost advantages attained through lower costs on training is also highlighted by Robinson Dechant (1997) at one separate occasion while analyzing the value in appreciating diversity. Others complimenting these benefits cared to mention that organizations with best practices to manage diversity have a better potential of attracting the best talent from different backgrounds consequently promoting a rich flow of creative ideas and perspectives throughout the organization (Tsui, 1999 and Gutek, 1992). A major focus in both theoretical and practical perspectives regarding the management of diversity at organizations has been the cultural influen ces on their initiatives. Cultural clashes and globalization go hand in hand with the former being a keen focus of many authors and researchers as to better understand the factors contributing to it. Assessing different concepts of culture existing till date, various perceptions have been foregrounded over the passing years. DuPraw Axner (1997) classify culture simply as a tag to distinguish differences between people belonging from different backgrounds while others put culture in its more precise form mentioning it as a set of beliefs, attitudes and values shared by a specific group of people (Scarborough, 1998). While these authors more or less agree with one another on the predominate accounts of culture differences, DuPraw and Axner (1997) believe that people belong to many cultures at once, backing their statement by foregrounding the increasing globalization and diverse societies. Scarborough (1998) disagree with this notion by arguing that; employees learn most of the organ ization culture from their superiors while on individual level people learn about cultures from their parents and their beliefs being reinforced every time set them apart from other cultures, hence both the statements contradict at this point. Furthermore, culture differences at a typical workplace may refer to several types of cultures. This can include the culture of the workers, the managerial culture, and the organization culture itself (Gourlay Soderquist, 1998). These cross-cultural differences can constitute to a whole new set of dimensions for work values and beliefs about work-success, competition, communication between staff, decision making and authority power. As mentioned before in the review, diversity management includes appreciating and promoting values and beliefs, countering prejudice and discrimination and streamlining various positive attributes of diversity for the better workforce output but managing these differences can be a challenge for managers. Esty, Katharine, Richard, and Marcie (1995) mentioning the importance of these attributes for healthy relationships, good moral and productivity at workplace while also warning about the consequences in the cases if and when they are mismanaged. Another notable challenge for the managers while implementing diversity management is relaying on the limited literature and research data available and trying to put the theory into action (Foster and Harris, 2005). Lack of experience on the managers part is found to be an equally major contributor as well. Gender diversity and its effective management is another issue that has also played a vital role in the corporate diversity management. Cox (1994) points gender as a prominent cultural category and a considerably potential factor of conflicts at workplaces and high turnover rates. The prominence of the gender factor in the cultural architecture is evidenced by todays socialized world and consequently women. According to Tsui and OReilly (19 89) women possess very different views from men and at numerous it has been agreed that women exhibit better flexibility and the ability to deal with ambiguity and consequently prove to be better managers then men. This phenomenon can raise several concerns for the male employees such as job insecurity, lower self esteem, work depression jealously and negative competition considering the fact that female employees are now getting equal opportunities and importance at work as men. A study by Wharton and Baron (1987) demonstrated these factors in combined work environments. A good question here could be as to why organizations are bothered about managing gender diversity? A possible answer can be because it affects the overall performance, operational efficiency and company image in general (Welbourne, Cycyota and Ferrante, 2007), all the elements that are crucial in determining the success of any organization. The aforementioned gender segregation related concerns steers the revie w to another aspect of how personalities affect diversity. Personality constitutes to a whole range of factors that affect employee interaction within a workplace. Ewen (2003) mentions Goldberg (1993) who presented four characteristics in Big-Five personality model. Briefly, the model helps evaluate human personality traits by highlighting extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness characteristics in a person. Relating the model with the diversity management implementation and practice at any organization it can be concluded that the employee reactions will widely differ. Those falling under these trait categories will be noticeably more tolerant and flexible towards co-workers demonstrating emotions and actions like kindness, sympathy, being socially active, helpfulness, openness to new ideas etc. On the contrary to this, those falling under the counterparts of these trait categories will promote negative influence at the workplace and consequently adv ersely affecting effective diversity management practices. Having reviewed the importance and factors pertaining to diversity management and their relevant literature, for effective management of diversity at organizations suggestions are also available by various authors to help managers implement the best practices. Authors like Koonce (2001) suggest that managers need to first analyze the consequences of all diversity related ill-affects setting aside their own biases and beliefs. This would allow them to make unbiased and fair decisions whenever required. The author emphasizes on the fact that managers need to be pro-active in order to deflect any anti-social behaviour at workplaces by taking necessary measures in advance. Roosevelt (2001) on another occasion suggests that managers should promote and work towards a work healthy environment to facilitate employee communication and encourage casual and business meetings which would help promote cross-cultural competence amongst the workforce. Moreover, it was pointed out that while there are no hard and fast rules or regulations that guarantee a successful diversity management, there are measures that can if not totally prevent will minimize the damage done by outdated practices and procedures. Cox and Beale (1997) acknowledging the troublesome implementation of diversity management produced a model, Diversity competency model (1997), to help guide the managers. A model they thought would reduce dysfunctional behaviour at workplaces. Based on a three stage approach, the model aims to get the managers aware of the diversity related attributes and acknowledge its importance, understand and acquire knowledge through a cognitive learning process and finally put the leaning into action. The characteristics of the model can be linked with Foster and Harris (2005) mentions about lack of information readily available and inexperienced managers. Such managers can benefit from this model. The model itself not re lying on any theoretical knowledge base fosters Baumans (2001) statement about how practical experience in diversity management bears more impact and productivity as otherwise suggested by Lash (1999) earlier in the review. This review can be concluded with a few arguments that research and studies indicate that the effectiveness of diversity management is widely dependant on the theories and knowledge practically put to action and not merely on the conventional modes of learning i.e. literature. Due to the limitation of such type of learning, many researchers have over the period preferred cognitive learning by recommending the use of models like Cox and Beales (1997) diversity competency model to help the management practically implement the acquired knowledge. It is hence suggested that in the cases where conventional learning modes are no longer effective such alternates be put to use. While it was mentioned that most Canadian organizations pay little importance to diversity management, the importance and benefits were also highlighted to compliment various arguments throughout the literature that stressed over the fact that diversity management should not be neglected and instead further improved to promote positive employee involvement at workplace and interaction with co-workers. Considering the implementation of diversity management practices, various challenges were covered from a managers perspective and suggestions were reviewed accordingly to help ensure a healthier workplace that can effectively combat negative diversity influences at a workplace. Total word count: 1962 Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Critically Analyze The Diversity Management At Multicultural Organizations Business Essay" essay for you Create order