The Role of External Auditing in Public Sector free essay sample

First and foremost I want to extend my primary obligation to the Lord Almighty for the strength He gave me to persevere with this project as indeed â€Å"the going did get tough† but within Him nothing is impossible. I would also like to acknowledge all those who helped me make this project a success, many thanks to my supervisor Mr. A. Mpofu . thank you very much for your invaluable guidance and your hard work you were very patient with me from the inception of this project to its current state I wouldn’t have produced this master piece without your support, Thank You!!!!!Special Appreciation goes to all those professionals who helped me with my primary research special mention to the Deloitte Bulawayo Audit team your assistance was of great importance to the success of this project. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to my family ,without the your financial support and encouraging support I wouldn’t have gotten this far. We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of External Auditing in Public Sector or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page A special note of appreciation also goes out to the following individuals for their unwavering support through out the preparation of this project Mr. P. T . Nyamuvhurudza Mr. T Mukono Takudzwa Nyuke Tapiwa Magunda Mildred PepukaiYou gave me priceless assistance guys May the Lord continue to bless you and your families. We are living in a dynamic world characterized by spontaneous changes happening in the twinkle of the eye brought about mainly by changes in Information Technology. Information Technology is slowly changing the manner of our daily living and our jobs. This research was set out to identify the changes that Information Technology has brought about specifically on the auditing profession. The research was prompted mainly by the observations that the researcher witnessed during their industrial attachment experience within an audit firm.The choice to focus on the implications on the auditing profession was due to the fact that the researcher has interest in the changes that are occurring in the audit profession in the past decade due to Information Technology. A review of literature with information pertaining to changes that have occurred to the accounting process which affect auditing was carried out extensively this assisted to identify the general trend in the changes happening in the profession. The findings highlighted that they was a drastic change in the manner in which auditors execute their duties due to Information technology.Information was gathered from both primary and secondary sources and it was analyzed in order to give the researcher an understanding of what exactly is happening on the ground i. e. within the industry. The research indicated that the Information Technology brought so many advantages to the profession compared to the traditional manner of carrying out audits. Chapter one of this research project is a brief summary highlighting the purpose of the study as well as the approach taken by the researcher to address the research questions, it also includes the detailed definition of terms that were used in the r esearch project. Chapter two is the literature review which highlights what various authors have written pertaining to Information Technology and auditing. The information gathered was collected from a wide range of authors, the observations that these authors made are highlighted in the second chapter. Chapter three shows the research methodology and how the information used was collected; it also highlights the drawbacks faced by the various methods of collecting information that were used. An analysis of the information that was collected was then done in Chapter 4.

The Meaning Behind West African Kente Cloth

The Meaning Behind West African Kente Cloth Kente is a brightly colored, banded material and is the most widely known cloth produced in Africa. Although kente cloth is now identified with the Akan people in West Africa, and particularly the Asante Kingdom, the term originates from the neighboring Fante. Kente cloth is closely related to Adinkra cloth, which has symbols stenciled into cloth and is associated with mourning.​ History Kente cloth is made from thin strips about four cm thick woven together on narrow looms - typically by men. The strips are interlaced to form a fabric which is usually worn wrapped around the shoulders and waist like a toga - the garment is also known as kente. Women wear two shorter lengths to form a skirt and bodice. Originally made from white cotton with some indigo patterning, kente cloth evolved when silk arrived with Portuguese traders in the seventeenth century. Fabric samples were pulled apart for the silken thread, which was then woven into the kente cloth. Later, when skeins of silk became available, more sophisticated patterns were created - although the extortionate cost of the silk meant they were only available to Akan royalty. Mythology and Meaning Kente has its own mythology - claiming the original cloth was taken from the web of a spider - and related superstitions - such as no work can be started or completed on a Friday and that mistakes require an offering to be made to the loom. In kente cloth colors are significant: Blue means loveGreen means growth and energyYellow (gold) means wealth and royaltyRed means violence and anger,White means goodness or victoryGrey means shameBlack means death (or old age) Royalty Even today, when a new design is created, it must first be offered to the royal house. If the king declines to take the pattern, it can be sold to the public. Designs worn by Asante royalty may not be worn by others. Pan-African Diaspora As one of the prominent symbols of African arts and culture, Kente cloth has been embraced by the broader African diaspora (which means people of African descent wherever they might live.) Kente cloth is particularly popular in the United States among African-Americans and can be found on all types of clothing, accessories, and objects. These designs replicate registered Kente designs, but are often mass-produced outside of Ghana with no recognition or payment going to the Akan craftsmen and designers, which Boatema Boateng has argued represents a significant loss of income to Ghana. Sources Boateng, Boatema, The Copyright Thing Doesnt Work Here: Adinkra and Kente Cloth and Intellectual Property in Ghana. University of Minnesota Press, 2011.Smith, Shea Clark. Kente Cloth Motifs, African Arts, vol. 9, no. 1 (Oct. 1975): 36-39.

Literature Review of Business Coaching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literature Review of Business Coaching - Essay Example In order to go through a brief overview, books, published articles, journals, and online sources have been consulted and an attempt has been made to discuss various coaching models to identify the competencies of Human Development Model as best practices for business coaching. 2. Coaching Clutterbuck & Megginson, (2005:7) defines that â€Å"Coaching is an opportunity to call halt to the frenetic pace of doing and to re-focus on being. It enables people to challenge their routines, to take a critical look at what they are doing and why, to identify and commit to new performance goals and to work out how to overcome the barriers that prevent them being more effective in their work roles". Executive coaching is an interim interactive course of action associated with a coach and a manager to enhance the efficient leadership capabilities through the process of self-awareness and execution of new behaviors. This coaching wires the managers to develop their knowledge, skills, tools, and pe rspectives in the course of assistance, encouragement, and response in the organizational perspective. According to Hall, Otazo, & Hollenbeck (1999), clarity, honesty, and innovations play the key role in successful coaching process but Pilette and Wingard (1997) had different assertion. They mentioned that perception styles, behaviors, and insight for change were the main elements of executive coaching. In literature, coaching and mentoring have been used by many writers interchangeably however there are many scholars who have differentiated them with respect to activities (Burdett 1998; Minter and Thomas 2000). King and Eaton (1999) have described the role of coaching as to support the employee in terms of his or her emotional state and remedial of short term personal problems which are hazards to his or her job performance while Burdett (1998) and Hansman (2002) have taken the mentoring as a long process that emphasizes on the career progression and issues related to different as pects of the whole life. Pearson (2001) agreed with King and Eaton (1999) and distinguished the two processes mainly on the basis of time. For him, mentoring has broad perspective and deals with long term arrangements while coaching (may be some external support and not be part of same organization) is a short term discipline with limited role for the instantaneous performance improvement of organization. He deduced that mentors council whereas coaches instruct their recipients. 3. Coaching: A Literature Review 3.1 Coaching Competencies, Skills, and Responsibilities: Competency is basically an ability of managers to do work at workplaces. Meyer (1996:34) defines competency as the â€Å"integration of knowledge, skill and value orientation, demonstrated to a defined standard in a specific context†. Smit and Cronje (2002:18) were agreed with Meyer and referred to a competency as the related skills, knowledge, and value orientation which a manager is supposed to do. For Weiss (2 003:10) a majority of managers who fail to perform well in a particular business environment, struggle not on account of less knowledge or technical expertise somewhat they struggle due to having a low level competencies. He further defines the competency

The Portrait of Dorian Gray Critical Analysis Essay

The Portrait of Dorian Gray Critical Analysis - Essay Example The story can be read as a depiction of transgressive love between men, but it contains also some very deep messages about morality which are surprisingly close to the strict, Victorian values of the time. This paper explores the contention that The Portrait of Dorian Gray is a cautionary tale intended to uphold Victorian family values and warn against the extremes of any kind of passion. Judging by the title of the novel, Dorian Gray is the central character in the book. The artist Basil’s infatuation with him is based on Dorian’s physical appearance, since he is described as â€Å"a young man of extraordinary personal beauty† (DG, p. 2. He is likened to a Greek god – such as Adonis, or the mythical boy who fell in love with his reflection, Narcissus (DG, p. 3). It is no coincidence that he is likened to these pre-Christian icons. The artist, Basil, declares to Dorian â€Å"As I said to Harry, once, you are made to be worshipped† (DG, p. 130). Basi l is an idealistic person, devoted to his work, and celebrated in wealthy circles because of his talents. In every respect he represents a classically educated, admirable person, who lives out his dreams of beauty in his painting activity. At the beginning of the novel Dorian is morally neutral, and he evidently has little experience of love relationships, because he struggles to understand Basil’s idolatrous kind of love, and wonders himself if he will ever experience such a feeling in his life. He remonstrates with Basil, urging him not to talk of worship since the two men are friends, but this shows that Dorian has not fully grasped what it means to be consumed with admiration for a person of great beauty. Basil unwittingly corrupts the innocent Dorian by turning his head with extreme flattery. Another possible role model for Dorian is the older, cynical figure of Lord Henry Wotton. This character deals with the restrictive morality of the time by reinterpreting it as some thing inferior, that holds back human beings from realizing their full potential. Lord Henry Wotton takes an opposite line of argument by undermining notions of deep love, and recommending a lifestyle that revels in promiscuous relationships. He maintains that â€Å"The people who love only once in their lives are really the shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either the lethargy of custom, or their lack of imagination† (DG, p. 55). This character corrupts Dorian by giving him immoral reading material and encouraging him to experiment with habits that break social conventions. Faced with these two conflicting views of the world, Dorian is perplexed, and so he sets out on a journey of discovery, planning to work out things for himself. His gravest sin is not the impulsive wish to remain youthfully beautiful, but it is desire for knowledge, the original sin of Judaeo-Christian tradition: â€Å"The more he knew, the more he desired to know. He had mad hungers that grew more ravenous as he fed them† (DG, p. 145). Following the aesthetic tastes of Basil and the pleasurable habits of Henry leads Dorian to confuse evil with beauty: â€Å"There were moments when he [Dorian] looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realise his conception of the beautiful† (DG, p. 165). Somehow Dorian blends the opposite examples of his friends into a monstrous combination that creates within him an irresolvable tension: â€Å"The unresolved conflicts in the plot of the novel reflect deep division in his own identity†

Summary and Critical Reflection of a Talk Essay

Summary and Critical Reflection of a Talk - Essay Example This makes the people supporting convicted mothers’ right to live with their children in prison raise questions about equality rights and if the government and law really cares about the natural rights of guilty women at all. The desire to keep a child close to look after him/her is a natural right of a parent regardless of his/her criminal background. This approach forms the bedrock of the female lawyer in the audio link who interestingly contemplates the validity of rights of imprisoned women to keep their children close. She establishes herself as an enthusiastic supporter of imprisoned women’s rights believing many of them are really confronted with unfortunate challenges. The lawyer who is also a shrewd women’s rights activist calmly asks that in absence of a good rehabilitation program, where is an unfortunate child supposed to go? The presence of a father or a guardian is one option, but what happens to a large population of children who in the absence of a thoughtful child protection group have nowhere to go when not allowed by the state to stay with their unfortunate mothers? It is stressed by her that in many instances, a mother despite her felonious record is fit to handle the chores of a regular mother but she is still denied the right to hold custody of her child. This rejection is only made emphatic by the fact that she is incarcerated, has committed some crime in the past, violated the law, and lost all reputation. However, it should be pondered here by opponents of â€Å"children inside prison† ideology as suggested by the lawyer that does any of these factors really make the desire of an imprisoned woman to live with her children any less overwhelming? Does the ministry’s decision to take children away from their guilty mother to help them grow up in a nontoxic atmosphere also snatch this will of the mother to see her children on routine basis? Such concerns are open to multiple interpretations as claimed by t he lawyer and implementing decision based on analysis of only one side of the picture is not a smart talent strategy. When there is not enough evidence suggesting a mother is physically, mentally, or behaviorally capable of looking after her child, creating barriers between mother and child is empty mockery of natural human rights. It is claimed by the highly concerned lawyer speaking for all incarcerated mothers that the importance of creating more mother and baby units in jails where cannot be stressed enough. It should be safely assumed by governments everywhere that the best place of all for a child to stay is with his/her parent provided the parent is not disadvantaged mentally. The issue of imprisoned women’s rights picked up momentum and made headlines in Vancouver, Canada when the provincial program got cancelled in 2008 which allowed babies to stay with their mothers. It is claimed in one report that this negative step taken by the law enforcement agencies and state not only negatively interfered with the infant’s right to a mother’s care, but also raised valid questions about discrimination against female prisoners and inequality of rights. It is compellingly stated by Peter Hough that â€Å"the lives of far more people in today’s world are imperiled by human rights abuses than by terrorist or conventional military attacks† (cited in Darian-Smith, 2013, p. 257). The report further reveals the

The Economic Globalization

The Economic Globalization The economic globalization in terms of international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI) and outsourcing has gained more significance these days due to market liberalization and technological improvement. In this essay, we reveal on the possible effect of economic globalization on Nestle. The emphasis is on whether Nestls internationalization strategy fit in to the observation that we are living in a globalize world in which differences and distances across countries no longer matter. Introduction: The company that we chose for our assignment is Nestle which is one of the worlds biggest global food and nutrition corporations; it has more than five hundred factories in more than eighty countries, and vends its products in more than hundred and ninety nations. Nestle is one of the oldest multinational corporation which was originated in 1866 in Switzerland by Heinrich Nestle. The Nestle firm from its very initial days, looked to different countries for development opportunities and Nestle started its global business by setting up its foremost foreign offices in London in 1868. The Nestle got merged in 1905 with Anglo Swiss Milk Corporation to extend the companys product line and by the late 1990s the Nestle Company had more than five hundred factories in different countries almost operating its business in each country of the globe. There are certain corporate business principles that Nestle follow in all the countries in which it operates its business activities, taking into account local legislations, cultural and religious practices of each country. These principles are: 1. Nestls basic intend is to enhance the quality of consumers everyday lives by offering tastier, healthier and hygienic food and beverage choices that encourages a healthy lifestyle. 2. Secondly Nestle gives quality assurance and product safety all over in the world as well as the company name Nestle basically symbolizes a guarantee to the consumer that the product is harmless and high of standards. 3. Nestle also make sure that they are committed to accountable and trustworthy consumer communication that gives power to consumers to use their rights and give any kind of feedback about their products. 4. Nestle also feels that they are highly committed to do their business practices in such a way that are environmentally sustainable like at all phases of the product life cycle they make sure that they use natural resources efficiently. 5. Last but not the least Nestle is highly committed to the sustainable use of water and tries to improve constantly in water management as the whole world facing a mounting challenges of water and for this Nestle convey messages to all people to use water as a complete necessity. The word globalization usually refers to the opening of international borders to trade, information and technology and the foreign direct investment (FDI). Globalization has caused remarkable changes to the business practices around the world. Nestle outsource professionals from different parts of the globe, causing job shifts and changes in company structures. Nestle believes that expanding business internationally guides to voluntary exchange of capital and employees as well as goods and services, which in turn provides overall universal growth. On the other hand the detractors of globalization argue that more might be done to help out people in poor countries attain the living standards of those in richer countries. Nestle follows a decentralization and all the responsibilities of operating decisions is pressed down to local units, which typically enjoy a high extent of independence with regard to decisions relating to pricing, distribution, marketing, human resource etc. Nestle can be called as a regional organization because the company divides the globe into five major geographical zones Europe, North America and Asia that are responsible to develop regional strategies, as Nestle operates in more than eighty countries it is a wise decision of dividing a globe into geographical zones so every zone would easily look after that every country follows developed regional strategies and maintain same quality standards throughout the world. There are certain effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the home country of the company. Within the host countries multinational firms like Nestle almost always pay higher salaries than the locally owned firms the main reason behind this is their presence usually increase the pay level in the host countries. These multinationals usually have higher productivity than local firms. The major role of FDI is to support the growth of host country exports and associations to outside the world and also the conversion of host economies from being exporters of food to relative high technology manufacturers. Nestls impact of FDI is the great knowledge of world markets and of different ways of fitting into international production networks. Technology: A multinational company like Nestle can attain technology infrastructure investments, along with improved business aptitude and good control over worldwide operations with a single global instance of its activity resource planning system, but the essential combination of databases and application servers can be technically and managerially difficult. Nestle uses web based technology to administer worldwide transportation. The Nestle Research Center is the focus of global research area, internally, with best scientists from all over the world and outwardly, in collaborations with key international research universities. The basic role of Nestle Research Center is essential in helping the company to fulfill its vision of GOOD FOOD FOR GOOD LIFE. The entire network of Research and Development and the Nestle Research Center carry out timely research on nutrition, health and wellness issues, and therefore using research findings to produce new product ideas keeping in mind consumer health and wellness needs. The research ideas from Nestle Research Center are transformed into product applications and processes through Nestls international network of Product Technology Centers and Research and Development. The Product and Technology Center exist for each specific product category that includes Dairy, Beverages, Chocolate and Coffee, Biscuits, Ice cream, Pet care and food services. The Product Technology Centers also gives plan for product innovation and packaging. The global network of Product Technology Centers and Research and Development works closely with Nestle Research Center as well as with nestle Strategic Business Units to provide scientific support for the entire nestle product range and the outcome is the Nestle products are tasty, healthy, conveniently available. Nestle believes that the Nestle Research center is a basis of Nestls international success in promising safe and high quality products. With the advance technologies and scientific expertise Nestle carefully analyze their raw materials and finished products and assure that they provide safe and healthy product to all consumers in every part of the world and also believes that it is their responsibility to protect consumers and maintain their trust in Nestls products and brand. It is important for any company to upgrade its technology time to time to maintain a competitive within in the industry. Nestle just in five years from nineteen ninety four to nineteen ninety nine spent approximately five hundred and seventy five million dollars to seven hundred and fifty million dollars a year on its information system. These costs were mounting when the company was facing a loss. Geography and Distance: As a multinational company Nestle operates in more than eighty countries with more than two hundred and sixty five thousand employees. Although Nestle is a Swiss company but generates only two percent or even less than two percent of their sales in Switzerland which is a home country of Nestle. Nestle always believes in decentralization and also believes that it is beneficial for any company to think globally and act locally. The people of Nestle believe that in spite of globalization the food business remains a local business which is based on local cultures, tastes and habits. This thinking of Nestle helped a lot in making a Nestle so renowned and successful all over the world. Therefore well get a different taste of Nestle products in each of the countries where Nestle sell its products. Nestle may be recognized for its chocolates, coffee, pure water, milk and infant formula, but it is a lot more multifaceted and large than that, it is the worlds biggest food company with almost seventy billion dollars in annual sales. Nestle operates five hundred factories in some two hundred nations including those places as well that are not part of the United Nations yet. Nestle earn more sales by selling small items like Kit Kat chocolate which is the largest selling chocolate bar internationally. As we have just described above that every country has its own tastes and habits so for Nestle nothing is simple as it operates in more than eighty countries. The coffee Nescafe which is a global brand and more than hundred billion cups of it consumed each year in different countries and for just one product Nescafe the Nestle Company has two hundred formulations, to go with local tastes. In all the Nestle corporation produces almost hundred and twenty seven thousand different varieties and ranges of products. Brabeck , a chief executive officer (CEO) of Nestle since nineteen ninety seven, wanted to maintain some discipline in terms of how the company is operating the businesses throughout the world that sustain marketing of its enormous range of brands, products and factories. For Nestle operating business maintain same quality standards in so many different countries with enormous range of products is very difficult and also to keep control of its thousand of supply chains with respect to each country and each product variety, along with that predicting demand for different products in different countries and the uncountable different of ways of charging customers and collecting payments is more difficult. Home and Foreign Government Policies: Administration control is a serious issue for multinational corporations that operate in international markets (Geringer and Hebert, 1989; Groot and Merchant, 2000). On hand indication suggest that multinational firms like Nestle transfers their managerial practices from their country of origin which is also called home country to the country of operations which can be called a host country (Child et al, 2000). Firms operating in more than one country like Nestle go through pressures to incorporate their international business. Nestle incorporate their business internationally through methods of standardization that could attain either on the basis of home practices or any best global practices. The degree to which the host country affects multinationals like Nestle depends on two factors the first one is the institutional distance between the home country and the host country. The more the institutional difference among the host and the home country the easier it is to identify the host country effect. Secondly the power of national institutional law is important. Nestle or any other multinational corporations are under more pressure to meet the terms in more strongly regulated business systems than in weaker institutional system environments. There are certain government incentives as well like economic, financing and other incentives that play an important role in attracting multinational investments. These government incentive policies are usually joint with performance necessities, for instance increase in exports, technology advancement, innovation enhancement and environmental friendliness. If multinational corporations investments meet all these government necessities they would be able to get special treatment. Conclusion: As Nestle is a principle based company it believes that by creating shared value is how they do business, which states that in order to create long term value and maintain a good relationship with consumers they have to create value for society. All the strategies that Nestle follows from product development to the delivery of products to their consumers clarifies that we are living in a globalize word in which differences across the countries no longer matter. If we talk about the products that Nestle offers like chocolate, coffee, biscuits, drinking water, and milk etc, everybody in the whole world consume all of these products. So if everybody is consuming same kind of products with just little differences in terms of taste verifies that we are living in a globalize world where the distances and differences no longer matter. Nestle is one the most successful company who caters more than 192 nations of the world and maintains the same quality standards of its brands and products th roughout the world.

Hamlet Essay: The Unlike Characters of Gertrude and Ophelia

Hamlet -- the Unlike Characters of Gertrude and Ophelia      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet features two ladies who are very unlike in character. Queen Gertrude, denounced by the ghost as faithless to King Hamlet, is pictured as evil by many, while Ophelia is seen as pure and obedient and full of good virtues. Let’s explore these two unlike people.    Rebecca Smith in â€Å"Scheming Adulteress or Loving Mother† presents an unusually â€Å"clean† image of the present queen that is not consistent with that of the old queen presented by the ghost:    Although she may have been partially responsible for Claudius’ monstrous act of fratricide and although her marriage to Claudius may have been indirectly responsible for making a â€Å"monster† of Hamlet, Gertrude is never seen in the play inducing anyone to do anything at all monstrous. . . . When one closely examines Gertrude’s actual speech and actions in an attempt to understand the character, one finds little that hints at hypocrisy, suppression, or uncontrolled passion and their implied complexity. . . . She speaks plainly, directly and chastely when she does speak [. . .]. (81-82)    The biggest difference between the two ladies is perhaps the moral difference. Who can deny that the Queen has done some very serious sinning? Who can deny that Ophelia is a shy, obedient, innocent daughter? Lilly B. Campbell comments in â€Å"Grief That Leads to Tragedy† on Queen Gertrude’s sinful state:    Shakespeare’s picture of the Queen is explained to us by Hamlet’s speech to her in her closet. There we see again the picture of sin as evil willed by a reason perverted by passion, for so much Hamlet explains in his accusation of his mother:    You cannot call it love, fo... ...Shakespeare’s Tragedies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Rpt. from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    Smith, Rebecca. â€Å"Gertrude: Scheming Adulteress or Loving Mother?† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from â€Å"Hamlet†: A User’s Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilson, John Dover. What Happens in Hamlet. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.