The Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 2002 - 1044 Words

I. The Regulatory Backdrop Over the years Congress has acknowledged and agreed that more needs to be done to incentivize and protect whistleblowers. In the early 2000s, following major accounting scandals, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (â€Å"SOX†). Then several years later, following more major financial scandals and plummeting of the United States economy into the Great Recession of 2008, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act. This section will briefly describe each of these Acts as they provide background for the dispute. A. Round One: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Following the massive Enron and WorldCom scandals, Congress enacted SOX. SOX’s purpose is â€Å"[t]o protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of†¦show more content†¦Whistleblowers who meet these criteria must state a prima facie case, which must first show that they â€Å"engaged in a protected activity.† However, SOX limits protected activity to an employee who â€Å"provide[s] information . . . regarding any conduct which the employee reasonably believes constitutes a violation of section 1341 [mail fraud], 1343 [wire fraud], 1344 [bank fraud] or 1348 [securities fraud], any rule or regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any provision of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders.† If an employee can prove that they engaged in a protected activity, then they can then proceed through the rest of the required elements to make their claim. To file a claim, whistleblowers must first file with the Secretary of Labor. The Secretary of Labor has 180 days to make a decision, and only if that time lapses can the whistleblower file their complaint directly with the court. Regardless of which way the case is filed, if the plaintiff succeeds relief includes â€Å"all [that is] necessary to make the employee whole.† Thus, relief includes â€Å"reinstatement with seniority, back pay with interest, and costs.† It is important to point out that while SOX provides protection for whistleblowers, it does not provide any kind of incentives for employees to blow the whistle in the first place. B. Round 2: The Dodd-Frank Act However, SOX was not the end of the story. 2008 ushered in, what is now

How to Improve Reading Comprehension Free Essays

Tony Sandoval III American Military University Coll 100 Derrah Q. Cassidy How to Improve Reading Comprehension How to improve one’s reading comprehension? First, one must know what reading compression is, plain and simple it is the act of understanding what is being read. â€Å"Learning how to read is probably one of the most important skills that a child will acquire in his/her lifetime† (Pardo, 2011). We will write a custom essay sample on How to Improve Reading Comprehension or any similar topic only for you Order Now Though it may sound easy, many people have difficultly remembering and understanding what they read. To become a successful reader, a child must be able to decode the individual words on the page and must be able to comprehend the text† (McNamara, 2007). To read effectively pick a subject that will be interesting, try to figure out what you and the book have in common. Then, concentrate on the material being read and develop a discipline approach to the reading. Preview the material by looking over it and determine what the most important parts of the text are. Pause after each paragraph to reflect on what was just read so the brain can comprehend it. Next focus on the reading speed one has. Once this is done, test yourself over the material to ensure it is being comprehended. This will get your brain working to paying attention most of the time. When reading, one must be willing to push their self beyond where they are at. â€Å"Reading is an extraordinary achievement when one considers the number of levels and components that must be mastered. Consider what it takes to read a simple story. The words contain graphemes, phonemes and morphemes† (McNamara, 2007). Most people will not even understand half of what was just said or written. Even though the reading material might be hard, little by little the words will make since once they are pieced together in a way that could be understood better. Also, try to think ahead and concentrate on certain parts to get your brain working on paying attention to what is being read. While reading, highlight what might be the most important part of the text. This will help to determine what is being said in the reading. Some readers might want to ask questions while reading. This will help them when piecing parts of the main point of the article together to make more sense. While reading, stop after each paragraph to help reflect on the meaning of what was just read. â€Å"Proficient readers don’t just plow ahead through text when it doesn’t make sense – they stop and use â€Å"fix-up† strategies to restore their understanding. One of the most important fix-up tools is rereading, with teachers demonstrating to students a variety of ways to reread text in order to repair meaning† (Zimmerman Keene, 2007). This will help gather thoughts about the material and shine some light on the subject. While reading concentrate on what information is being put out in the article. At times readers will have questions come to mind and the reader must find the answers. If they have sticky notes to jot down things, the reader will be able to recall the information. â€Å"A reader’s successful comprehension of text material is evidenced by the representation that, at a minimum, is coherent enough to account for all the information explicitly presented in the text† (McNamara, 2007). The reader should then sort through and prioritizes information from the sea of words that is in the text. This will help indicate that comprehension can be recalled and be understood by the reader. The reader should frequently summarize the reading. This forces the reader to reorganize the information in a way that is sensible to them. Though reading can be fun, it can also be time consuming. The success of reading comprehension depends on the factors of what information is being entered into the brain and what the brain is able to do with it. It is also important to understand what you are reading to help improve your speed. This skill is acquired through years of learning. If speed reading is not the best, do not worry because there are many tips that can help a reader. One good tip is called the hand trick. The reader should place the palm of their hand flat against the reading surface. Move the hand so that the first line of text being read is above the side of the hand. Slowly move the palm to revile the words of the text at a regular speed so the reader can see the words that are being exposed. Next, is the finger trick with this method the reader should place the index finger on the first group of words that is about to be read. Move the finger in an irregular manner from the beginning of the sentence to the end. This helps the reader to focus on reading groups of words instead of individually. Another good tip to become a better reader is the card trick. Get an index card and place it over the first sentence. Then slowly begin moving it in a downwards, covering what was just read. This helps the reader to pay attention on what was just read since they will not have the opportunity to revisit the words. After the reader has finished, determine what was learned. Give the reader a chance to share what they have read in pairs or small groups. Then have them quiz themselves on the main points of the material. Tell a friend about it. By doing this, the reader should try to recall the important information in their own words. This will help them to remember and give a deeper insight into the topic. If both people have read the same material, the friend could give good feedback to ensure that the reader comprehends what was being read. The goal of having them discuss this is to involve more people so they can all make sure they can comprehend the reading. This process will solidify the knowledge in the mind and give the reader a better recall of the information. Also include any thoughts that might have popped into your mind and discuss the information. The evidence that reading comprehension can be taught and learned is convincing. â€Å"Teachers need to make sure that children are familiar with all of the reading strategies and that they are given plenty of opportunities to use them† (Pardo, 2011). You’ll achieve the best results using the set of strategies in this paper. This will help encourage the reader to anticipate what is to come, pay close attention to whether they are understanding and frequently pause to summarize, going back to fill in gaps in the information. The reader should consider using the methods mentioned above. Reviewing these individual skills of comprehension can quickly help the reader see, that the skills require higher thinking and an ability to view the material that has been read. Bibliography McNamara, D. S. (2007). Reading Comprehension Strategies : Theories, Interventions, and Technologies. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Pardo, L. (2011). Increasing Reading Comprehension Through The Explicit Teaching Of Reading Strategies: Is There A Difference Among The Genders? Project Innovation, Inc 13. Zimmerman, S. , Keene, E. (2007). Retrieved September 30, 2011, from Waht Are the Seven Reading Comprehension Strategies? Retrieved from http://www. choiceliteracy. com/public/144. cfm How to cite How to Improve Reading Comprehension, Papers

Financial Analysis for ERM Electricity Limited- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theFinancial Analysis for ERM Electricity Limited. Answer: Cash conversion cycle (CCC) is the time taken to convert the investment tied up in inventory into cash. The cash conversion cycle for both the companies is as below: 2015 2016 EPW -7.8 days -5.02 days MCY -10.2 days -5.43 days (Morningstar, ERM Power Limited) We see that EPW has a negative cash conversion cycle for the years 2015 and 2016. This shows working capital efficiency as a negative cycle is desirable. The company has more days of payables outstanding than the combined days of inventory and receivables outstanding. This means ERM is taking more time to pay its suppliers and it is giving a credit of lesser period and also its inventory is fast converting into sales. However, the cycle has increased from 2015 to 2016. This has been majorly on accounting of an increase in the receivables as the days outstanding receivables increased from 33 days to 43 days. The receivables have increased due to an increase in loan in both Australia and US. Mercury NZ Limiteds CCC is also negative for both the years because the days payables outstanding are more than the days inventory and receivables outstanding. However, the CCC has reduced in 2016 due to a higher increased inventory and receivables costs as compared to payables cost. There was an increase in inventory of Consumables stores to $31 million (2015:$22 million) and Meter stock to $14 million (2015: $22 million). The receivables were high due to a decrease in cash flow from sale of electricity and metering services by $20 million as compared to 2015. Capital Structure is the mix of debt and equity in the companys invested capital. The ratios used to measure the same are debt to equity ratio and debt ratio. 2015 2016 2015 2016 EPW MCY Debt to Equity ratio 76% 47% 35% 36% Debt ratio 65% 62% 46% 46% (Morningstar, Mercury NZ Limited) ERM has more of debt as compared to equity in 2015 and more equity than debt in 2016. The equity has increased in 2016 as a result of the cash flow hedge reserve recognised as part of equity. The company uses cash flow hedges to hedge price exposures in electricity industry in Australia (Limited E. P., 2016) Also there has been a reduction in debt by 8% as the company has repaid part of its long term debt. The debt ratio has remained more or less stable in both the years. A debt ratio of 65% means that the company has more liabilities than assets and hence can be considered as risky. The ratio is high as compared to industry average of 45% which means the company has more liabilities than assets. Mercury has a lower debt ratio and equity to debt ratio. With regards to the equity to debt ratio, the company has higher equity than debt and the ratio has remained more or less the same in both the years. The debt ratio has also remained stable at 45% in both years and is as per the industry average. The company has more assets as compared to liabilities and the assets have further increased in 2016 by $27 million due to revaluation of the generation assets a capital expenditure of $72 million. This shows the company is less risky as compared to ERM. DuPont analysis is an analysis of the profitability of a company focusing on the return available to shareholders. The ratio for both companies is as follow: 2015 2016 EPW 29% 11% MCY 4% 5% ERM has a high return on equity in both the years but the return has decreased in 2016. This is as a result of the fall in profit margins. The net income has decreased by 54% due to fall in the revenue, increased operating costs in the form of depreciation and finance costs resulting from the operations in the US. Also there was a reduction in the interest income. The total asset turnover increased marginally as the increase in revenue was higher than the increase in total assets. For every dollar invested in assets, the company is able to generate $2 revenue. The company is well leveraged with capital structure comprising more debt than equity. Mercury has lower return on equity; however, the return has increased by 1% in 2016. This is because of an increase in the profit margin. The profit margin is higher than ERM. The companys profits increased as a result of very high geothermal generation at 2830 Wh. And benefit of replacement of Turbine at Nga Awa Purua. Also there were high impairment costs in 2015 resulting in lower profits. The total assets turnover is below 1 for both years and the financial leverage has also remained at a constant level of 1.85 for both the years. Even though the electricity sales have increased, the assets have also increased in the same proportion. As far as return on equity is concerned, ERM has a better profitability with higher returns for equity shareholders. The returns on equity are high for ERM because they have low equity and more debt in their balance sheet and also they are efficiently utilizing their assets in generating sales. ERM has very low profit margin as compared to Mercury and hence would require working on its profitability to further improve its profitability. The company can do so by increasing their sales and also working on reducing their operating costs. On the other hand, Mercury has an impressive profit margin but they have a very poor total assets turnover. The company has large amount of assets at its disposal but it is not using it efficiently to generate sales. Thus, Mercury should work towards better asset utilisation. The price earnings ratio and market to book ratios are measures of the investment performance of a company. The ratios for both the companies are as below: 2015 2016 2015 2016 EPW MCY Price earnings ratio 0.06 0.04 0.27 0.25 Market to book ratio 1.76 0.44 1.18 1.28 The price earnings ratio for ERM is very low in both the years because the share price is low as compared to the companys earnings. The ratio has decreased in 2016 as a result of a decrease in the share price resulting from decreased EPS. The fall in share price is more than the fall in EPS. The market to book ratio has decreased in 2016. This is because the market value has decreased and book value has decreased. The companys market value has decreased as the price of share has decreased. The share price has fallen due to falling earnings on account of Oakey power station and lower margins as competition increases (Newman, 2016). The company has good future prospects as the price earnings ratio is very low. A decrease in market to book value means that investors do not view the company as profitable The price earnings ratio of Mercury has remained almost stable for the two years at 0.26 as both the EPS and the share price have increased but EPS has increased at a higher rate. The market to book ratio has increased marginally in 2016 due to an increase in the market value. The market value has increased as a result of an increase in the share price. The book value has also increased but at a lower rate. Even Mercury has a low price earnings ratio which means the future prospects are good. Also an increase in market to book value means the investors view the company with good profitability. Based on the analysis of the capital structure ratios and the profitability ratios, it is recommended that a potential investor should invest in shares of Mercury NZ Limited and should refrain from buying or sell the shares of ERM Electricity Limited. This is because Mercury has a debt ratio of 45% which is as per industry standards and also shows the stability of the company, whereas ERM has debt ratio of more than 50% which shows high amount of leverage and this may pose threat to the stability of the company. Mercury uses its strong cash balance to fund its capital expenditures whereas ERM relies heavily on debt. Though the return on equity is higher for ERM as per DuPont analysis but that is because of the high amount of leverage. The profitability of ERM is very low at average 3% whereas the profitability of Mercury is good at approx.10%. Mercury is currently performing poorly as far as the utilisation of its assets for revenue generation is concerned, however the company is in the process of selling off non -core land to improve profitability and the capital investments being made by the company currently are to improve operational efficiency and increase the reliability of the key stations under its technological advancement program (Limited M. N., 2016)Moreover the electricity market of New Zealand is relatively healthy with increasing demands whereas the Australian electricity market has is highly competitive leading to lower margins. The future prospects of Mercury look better than ERM and hence it is recommended to invest in Mercury. Bibliography Limited, E. P. (2016). ERM Power Limited, Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended 30 June 2016. Australia: ERM Power Limited. Limited, M. N. (2016). 2016 Annual Report, Mercury. New Zealand: Mercury NZ Limited. Morningstar. (n.d.). ERM Power Limited. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from Morningstar DatAnalysis Premium: https://datanalysis.morningstar.com.au.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/ftl/company/profitloss?ASXCode=EPWrt=Asy=2007-01-01ey=2017-12-31xtm-licensee=datpremium Morningstar. (n.d.). Mercury NZ Limited. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from Morningstar DatAnalysis Premium: https://datanalysis.morningstar.com.au.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/af/company/corpdetails?ASXCode=MCY-NZxtm-licensee=datpremium Newman, R. (2016, June 20). CRASH! Heres why the ERM Power Ltd share price crashed 22% today. Retrieved September 27, 2017, from The Motley Fool: https://www.fool.com.au/2016/06/20/crash-heres-why-the-erm-power-ltd-share-price-crashed-22-today/