The Era of Enlightenment - 1074 Words

The Enlightenment was an era of major social and political change in 18th century Europe. The Enlightenment was centered in France, which at the time was a dominant force in Europe ruled by an oppressive government. During this era, many intellectuals began to question some of the norms and customs of European society, such as monarchy and religious discrimination. These intellectuals helped spread new ideas about human rights and democracy, which helped inspire the revolutions that followed. As stated by Immanuel Kant in his essay, What is Enlightenment?, enlightenment is the realization of people to think for themselves. He believed that most people were too afraid and too lazy to use their own judgments, and instead relied on the teachings of their superiors. During the time period surrounding the enlightenment, the overwhelming influence that monarchs and the church upon the citizens of Europe shaped their lives. At the time, people perceived free thinking to be dangerous. Kant believed the lack of freedom given to citizens of European society to be an obstacle to enlightenment. In his essay, Kant states that, â€Å"After the guardians have first made their domestic cattle dumb and have made sure that these placid creatures will not dare take a single step without the harness of the cart to which they are tethered, the guardians then show them the danger which threatens if they try to go alone†. Essentially, he is comparing the relationship between the elite andShow MoreRelatedThe Contribution Of The Enlightenment Era1725 Words   |  7 PagesThe Enlightenment era was a significant time period in which many advancements were made in the understanding of science and philosophy. Through science and philosophy the idea of human rights was first introduced. Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke wrote articles regarding the role of the individual and the role the individual plays in society. They elaborated on how governments are sup posed to respect and honor the inalienable human rights attained during birth. The ideas that wereRead MoreThe Theories And Beliefs Of The Enlightenment Era1168 Words   |  5 Pagesdifferent theories and beliefs of philosophers contributed to our current understanding of the world. During the different eras philosophical beliefs influenced events and documents of the time. The Enlightenment Era, often called the Age of Reason, brought about many astonishing works deliberating the nature of human beings. As times progressed to the age of Enlightenment the different ideas surfaced changing the way humans thought of themselves. Philosophers of the time believed in the essentialRead MoreThe Romantic Era Of The Age Of Enlightenment890 Words   |  4 PagesThe Romantic Era was a literary movement that occurred in the late 18th century and the early 19th century. During this movement, artists and authors alike rebelled against the established order and classism of the time, and the va lues once believed in during the Age of Enlightenment (The Romantic Era ). While the people of the Age of Enlightenment valued reason, and focused on the new and original (The Enlightenment), the people of the Romantic Era focused on the emotions of the individual, natureRead MoreThe Candide : An Era Of Enlightenment Philosopher Essay1355 Words   |  6 PagesAlexander Luna English 5 M/W I. Sperry October 1, 2014 Word Count: Franà §ois-Marie Arouet, also known as Voltaire after his writings exiled him from france, was an Era of Enlightenment philosopher that focused on social oppression, Government corruption, and fanaticism; i.e, optimistic philosophy and religion. Voltaire s writing style was indignantly satirical to the late middle ages system, but despite exile from France because of his writing, he became popular among the masses for his philosophyRead MoreThe Enlightenment Era Of 1620 And 1789910 Words   |  4 Pages Enlightenment Era of 1620 and 1789 The European politics, communication, science and philosophy were radically reoriented between 1685 and 1815, during a time that was referred to as the Age of Reason, or in other words, the Enlightenment Era. The European thinkers from Britain, France and throughout Europe started questioning the traditional authority and developed the idea that humanity could be made better through rational change. As a result of the Enlightenment, there was production of numerousRead MoreThe Great Minds Of The Enlightenment Era1042 Words   |  5 Pages Atifete Jahjaga, the fourth President of Kosovo states, â€Å"When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions. When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation.† At the beginning of the Enlightenment the free market of ideas was open, opinions were appreciated, but most of all, the basic human rights of all people were safe. That all changed at the beginning of the French RevolutionRead MoreThe Greatest Effects Of The Enlightenment Era2374 Words   |  10 PagesThe Enlightenment era spanned the late 16th and 17th hundreds and it was a movement in which thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Thomas Pain, and Adam Smith sought to make advances in a similar manner to the occurrences in this period with scientific achievements/improvements. Two of the greatest effects of the Enlightenment era were the American and French Revolutions, which gained their foundation from the revolutionary ideas brought forward by the Enlightenment thinkers. The leaders ofRead MoreJohn Locke And The Enlightenment Era2187 Words   |  9 PagesThe Enlightenment Era was an era of brilliance skepticism and innovation for the world we humans live on. Ranging from Thomas Hobbes to Rousseau, the Enlightenment Era has revealed many brilliant minds, including the best philosopher of the said time, John Locke. A philosopher and a physician, John Locke was introducing ideas that to others, seemed ridiculous; however, these ideas and beliefs are the ideas that have led our society to the current state we live in. The influence and principles ofRead MoreEducation And The Intellectual Era Of Enlightenment1398 Words   |  6 PagesThe educational system that we have today was built in the intellectual era of enlightenment. Our educational system hasn’t changed since then and no one has complained about it before or made a new educational system to propose. Our educational system today is mainly about math and English which limits the creativity for a student to want to do something else with his life then count numbers or read books. When children are placed in kindergarten they tend to have more creativity then older onesRead MoreThe Classical Era And The Age Of Enlightenment1123 Words   |  5 Pagesthat knowledge is power. They called this the age of enlightenment because instead of relying on superstitions and beliefs they relied on scientific knowledge to show the way. Before this era was the medieval era and with Beethoven’s appearance in the world it soon became the romantic era. Although before the romantic era was the classical era. In the classical era the music was known as clearer with cleaner and more distinct parts. His whole era was very much revolved around all kinds of arts, but

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Ethic Groups and Discrimination †Scottish-Americans Free Essays

Running head: ETHNIC GROUPS AND DISCRIMINATION – SCOTTISH Ethnic Groups and Discrimination – Scottish Americans Axia College Ethnic Groups and Discrimination – Scottish Americans People from Scotland first came to the new world in the 1600s. There is some evidence of Scots coming to what is now considered America with the Vikings as slaves. This would be one of the first occurrences of mistreatment they endured (Gormley, 2000). We will write a custom essay sample on Ethic Groups and Discrimination – Scottish-Americans or any similar topic only for you Order Now Like other ethnic groups who migrated to the United States looking for a better life they were burdened with stereotypes and misconceptions about what kind of people they were. Over the course of their history people of Scottish decent have been a major force in the building of our country. They were instrumental in the creation and establishment of our current way of accounting, not just our country. History In America the Scots were stereotyped by the English, Dutch and Germans who also immigrated to this country. These groups stereotyped the Scots as uncivilized, not orderly and not interested in working hard to improve themselves. They were viewed as excellent fighters and were used in the western frontier as a first line of defense against Indian attacks. It did not take long for the Scots to squash the undeserved images of them by the colonists. Two Scotsmen names are on the Declaration of Independence and have been some of the most influential political figures in the history of America (Akins, 2010). The features and characteristics of the Scots would continue in the following centuries to come. After the revolutionary war period Scots would continue coming to America. Many of these immigrants possessed a higher than average education level when compared to other immigrants of the same period. Scotsmen were merchants, professionals, educators, doctors, and clergy (Landsman, 2006). With the exception of the latter, it can be presumed that this group, the Scots, was probably the faction doing the discrimination and stereo-typing now. It stands to reason because of their social status and place in society they may have looked down on other ethnic groups. Something that has happened throughout history in America and in other supposed civilized societies. At the same time, the Scots who mixed in with the Irish immigrants and were known as Scot-Irish did not always fair as well as those with an education. These persons scattered out across the mountain country of Appalachian Mountains and the western states. They were considered lazy and dirty, similar to those who came over originally. They toiled at menial jobs and lived in squalor in the mining communities. Like other ethnic groups, they were grouped together and were excluded from bettering themselves. This appears to be because of one’s education level and not as much emphasis on ones ethnic background. Especially since the Scots who had an education and/or profession had little trouble assimilating to American life. While the one’s without the above credentials had to work harder to be accepted by the ruling groups. One has to wonder since there were people of the group who â€Å"made it†; it was beneficial to those who needed the help. â€Å"One thing that particularly distinguished Scots and Scots-Irish immigration from that of most ethnic groups was their relatively easy adjustment into American society as white, English-speaking Protestants from the United Kingdom† (Landsman, 2006, p. 199) This gave them a step-up when it came to assimilation into the new country. This was an advantage that many other ethnic groups did not enjoy or experience. It is probably this and their solid work ethic that allowed them to go has far as they have. Presently, the members of this group are the ones complaining of reverse discrimination and other inequalities. It is interesting how the Scots have came around full-circle in America from the times of the Vikings, when they were enslaved to being pioneers of the country and ending with a type of institutional discrimination placed upon them and other light-skinned individuals for the advancement of the ones they held back. Conclusion I would like to think that I posses the best traits of the Scots; strong work ethic, strong sense of family responsibility and a high regard for education. When that is mixed with a sturdy patriotic belief in ones country it can only be a formula for success. Even the symbol of America, Uncle Sam was based on a Scottish-born businessman from NY (Scot-Amer, n. d. ). References Akins, S. (2010). Scots emigration/immigration to the US. Retrieved January 29, 2010, from http://www. siliconglen. com/Scotland/11_24. html Gormley, M. V. (2000). Migration patterns of our scottish ancestors. American Genealogy Magazine, 4(1). Retrieved from http://www. genealogymagazine. com/scots. html Landsman, N. (2006). Immigration and immigrants: scots and scots-irish. In P. Finkelman (Ed. ), Encyclopedia of the new american nation. Retrieved January 29, 2010, from Gale Virtual Reference Library  via  Gale:   http://find. galegroup. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/gps/start. do? prodId=IPSuserGroupName=uphoenix Scottish Americans. (n. d. ). Retrieved January 28, 2010, from Wiki Project – Ethnic Groups: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Scottish_American How to cite Ethic Groups and Discrimination – Scottish-Americans, Essay examples

Financial Crisis The Accounting Sphere

Question: Describe about the Financial Crisis for The Accounting Sphere. Answer: Introduction The representation of financial audit has jurisdiction outside the accounting sphere involving the followings apart from the knowledge in accounting: informatics, mathematics, knowledge of financial analysis, knowledge of economics, judicial information, and ethics. The financial audits pluridisciplinarity can be explained in the following way: there must be verification of the financial audit in relation to the financial statements compliance with reality as well as the observation of the rules, principles, and the criteria established for presentation and registration related to the accounting information. In the time of financial crisis, a number of issues cropped up questioning the jurisdiction of the auditors role that were subjected to high level inquiry (Christodoulou, 2011). It is the time that is featured with the financial and economic reform process, the objective of which is implementing and promoting methodologies that are harmonized with good practice. The purpose of this paper is making the audit firms aware of the liabilities that are in place in the time of the financial crisis. The accounting standards are also addressed and changes required are recommended. The report is prepared for Sally Smith to narrate the auditors liabilities with special mention of Lehman Brothers case. Background In the times of financial instability, the logical step can be followed that has been necessary in understanding the crisis concept. The difficulties in the form of social, political, economic etc are manifested featuring testing, disorder, and tension in the society. The economic crisis takes place because of the economic activities difficult conditions, decline or stagnation in the economic activity, or a slowdown portending change. The financial crisis is a sign of economic crisis reflecting financial system that has been involved in mistrust (Clinch et al., 2012). This has been a drop in the stock exchanges transactions, characterized by the market mechanisms disorder. There is need for the financial systems for higher transparency with respect to a number of aspects. Firstly, there have been certain players in the financial market, in the likes of hedge funds having an important role in the mediation. However, this does not have the bindings of strict rules related to the reporting (Blume and Voigt, 2010). Their activities regulation can be established as to the way report would be reducing the volatility in the time of worsening of the market condition. The financial instruments being developed makes it a difficulty in determining price for them. However, the questions are raised at the same time related to the investors bearing the risk. The possibility related to the correct assessment of the risk and identification of the origin bearing the risk can be a helping hand in improving the supervision and the regulation of the financial system. The additional problem lies with the review model with respect to the performance of the investment portfolio and the identification of the ways in preventing risks. ISA 200 talks about the general principles and the objectives that govern the financial statements audit. The objective of the financial statements audit is enabling the auditor in expressing opinion on the extent of the preparation of the financial statement. This is according to the applicable framework of the financial reporting. The conduction of the process of audit should be according to the procedures pertaining to the professional and legal standards (Riksrevisionen, 2010). The report of the auditor is being signed and transported to the shareholders and the owners of the company. The professional can have the responsibility to issue an opinion on the entitys financial statement. In this respect, the auditor is responsible, although it is subject to substantial liability. In the time of performance of audit mission, there is assuming of considerable responsibility by the financial auditors as rendering the professional services nature and the audit engagement (Riksrevisionen, 2010). The initial assumption related to the liability of the auditor has been the audit engagements wordings. During the financial crisis 2010 and 2011, the audit became a high profile political issue. In the US, Brussels, and UK, the worldwide financial crisis has led to the making of series of inquiries that are of high level and related to the audits effectiveness (Larsson, 2011). In other countries, such as Singapore, regulators engage actively with stakeholders in accessing the way of enhancement of the audit. The Green Paper on audit that belongs to the European Commission was subject to debate in Brussels in 2011. This ultimately led to the legislation in relation to the auditing profession of Europe (Larsson, 2011). The Financial Services Commissioner of EC, Michel Barnier, at a high level summit gave a warning in Brussels that status quo cannot be maintained. The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee in UK conducted an inquiry, which is highly critical in nature and into audit competition (Jackson, 2009). The Office of Fair Trading requires the complexity of the issues to be under examination by a body that is better resourced compared to the Parliamentary committee. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in United States examined the needs in relation to the changes of the auditor reporting model that was pursued with the consultation of various stakeholders (Jackson, 2009). The senate of United States has taken hearing where the standard setters and the regulators have been asked to provide evidence related to the accountancy professions role to prevent another financial crisis. The dominance of the Big Four in the audit market in Lords enquirys directly focus and one of the EC Green Papers key issues. This oligarchy pose a systematic risk and fear related to the turning into three drove of the four and its consequences that both enquiries sought answering. It is hard to find the solution. The FRC (Financial Reporting Council) in the register of the UK City have set out for the audit firms, companies, and investors, a Market Participants Group. FRS in June 2010, in the Progress Report made admission that till date the evidences are limited that there is major impact with recommendations on the market concentration and the arising of the risk from that concentration (Vandervelde et al., 2009). In fact, there was admission from the FRC that there was increase in the concentration. There is agreement of ACCA regarding the fact that greater market competition could be beneficial. In the banking sector, the institutions exist that are so big that they hardly can fail. This is seizing to be a healthy sign. There is no reason to believe that it is appropriate with regards to this kind of regulatory action. Neither it is appropriate that in the market; there would be artificial intelligence, such as to put caps on audits in terms of numbers that is allowable to any firm to be carrying out (Dijkman, 2010). The companies are possessed with the rights of appointing any firm of their choice and this kind of regulatory intervention that tries in bucking the market is not supportable. There is lack of involvement and apathy among the shareholders in the companies owned by them, which points towards the long term answer that must persuade them with the outlook that the serving of their best interests is through the audit marketplace which is healthy and competitive, and not an oligarchy (Gorton and Souleles, 2005). Albeit, the global companies that are the largest, requires inevitably the large global firms services, the shareholders and the directors of other listed companies must be considering whether or not servicing of the other audit firms can be as effective. Discussion In case of liabilities, auditors have a duty of care towards their audited entities. This has the involvement related to the lawful responsibility in carrying out the work with competence and skills, which the end users and society is liable to be expecting (Elder et al., 2009). Where, there is existence of duty, and work is seized to be carried out with respect to the required standard, such as end users are equipped with right of taking legal action against the auditors in seeking compensation with regards to the loss caused by their negligence. This exposure with regards to the liability is generally considered as something good. This is because the concentration of it is directed at the advisers mind driving customer care and quality. If there is no motivation of the advisers with respect to the retribution prospect for work of poor quality, and there is a threat that there would be failing by them in exercising the right level of care and skills. This is the reason that it is not advocated to free auditors from liability related to the sub standard work and mistakes (Elder et al., 2009). However, the example of Andersen is a thought over that collapsed in the scenario of post Enron scandal because of the ruining of its name. This indicates the equality in financial risk and reputational risk that acts as an incentive in giving the advice in best possible manner. There are reasons to believe that in certain cases, the rules pertaining to the liability of the auditors are seemingly unreasonable leading to consequences that are undesirable. The reference here is based on the several and joint liability existing in UK and several jurisdictions based on common law across the world. In this system, the party owing the duty of care and claiming to have the sufferance of loss is allowed in suing any or all parties that are responsible for creating that loss. The point that is important here is that when there is consideration that one of the parties is in a better position making it probable that it will be in a position in paying the claimed damages, while the plaintiff can have the choice of suing that party only with a let off of the others (Blommestein, 2009). There is need for the auditors of having indemnity insurance of professional nature that is considered to be the best targets, which is known as deep-pocket syndrome. The state of affairs like this can lead to a couple of results. Firstly, if there are constraints for the auditors in terms of the threats emanating from getting sued, they will be unwilling of getting involved in works that features innovation producing benefits to the stakeholders. In fact, the profession of auditing is being regularly accused that it very conservative. The couching reports are in legalistic and defensive terms as there is concern of avoiding litigation. In this point of time, when regulatory bodies and the stakeholders are looking increasingly for auditors in providing assurances on newly formed areas, such as the effectiveness of risk management in companies, the auditors are needed to be willingly expanding the work scope that cannot happen without the litigation threat be removed, which can destroy them (Huber et al., 2009). Secondly, with the direct relevance to the competition issue, the threat of suing can be a disincentive to the firms of smaller size getti ng involved with larger companies audit. Even, the firms having resources, experience and skills to be taking on the audit of larger companies, it may be compelled to be refraining from such a commitment if the associated risks with regards to the audit failure is enough of wiping out the company. The role of the audit firm (one of the big 4s), Ernst Young in the collapse of Lehman Brothers cannot be undermined. It is being argued that Ernst Young had the prior knowledge regarding the Lehman Brothers transaction of Repo 105. The Ernst Young had an agreement of paying $10 million to the New York state for settling the lawsuit, where they have overlooked the Lehman Brothers accounting gimmick. Lehman Brothers was accused of hiding billions in bad deals. Lehman Brothers, in 2001, considered a scheme called Repo 105 where they attempted in selling bad debts temporarily. This was under the condition that Lehman Brothers would be purchasing them beck within 10 days. The premium of 5 percent was paid for this service and not the usual 2 percent. In the balance sheet, the worst deals was excluded that made it look like the bank being financially healthy than what it was in reality (Singh. and Aitken, 2009). The Repo 105 was purchased by the corporations such as, UBS of Switzerland, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Bank, KBC Bank of Belgium, and Barclays. However, there had been no law firm in US that recognized this novel technique as true sales. Ernst Young entered the picture at this time as they were contacted by Lehman Brothers for auditing their bank books. The Ernst Young, between 2001 and 2008was paid by Lehman Brothers to the tune of $150 million for certifying the financial statement of the bank as being accurate and true. The bank, however, collapsed in September 2008 that triggered the economic crisis globally. The state attorney general of New York, in 2010, sued Ernst Young because of its failure for reporting the scheme. The Ernst Young, in October 2013, agreed in paying $99 million for settling the lawsuit that the investors of Lehman Brothers brought about (Desmond, 2008). The practice of collection of the third party evidence has been a normal practice. However, there is greater emphasis of the evidence whose origin is from outside, being regarded as stronger compared to the evidence that originates internally. The judge in the Pacific Acceptance case was of the view that if the certificates were not to be ascertained physically by the auditors, there should be ascertainment as the third party systems reliability (Johnson, 2000, pp.62-72). In addition, there should be obtainment of corroborative evidences by the auditors. For example, if a company has invested in another company, the dividends that there may be can be checked with the inspection of cash book entry and dividend warranty. The classic case of Kingston Cotton Mills Ltd (1896) had the judgment that it is the auditors duty in probing into the depth only when there arousing of a suspicion. The statutory auditor brought the weakness to the managing directors notice that alerted the management, which is held judicially to be one responsible primarily for the protection of the company assets. This can be put up as defense against any subsequent claim for the information to be passed on to the management (Aspen, 1981). Recommendations There have been some recommendations in this paper with an intention of allowing the audit market for working more efficiently and, in long and medium term, increasing the choice of audit. The inclusive recommendations are: (a) reduction in the directors perceived risk, which have chosen the auditor that is non-Big four; (b) measures of the demand side to be making the boards with more accountability for the shareholders; and (c) the measures of the supply side having intention of encouraging the non-Big Four offering the services of the audit to the entities of the large public interest. The recommendations that could be forwarded in 2008 to the member states that provide encouragement to all of them to be limiting the audit work liability. However, no evidence have been found that there can be any effect detrimental to the audit work quality, be it statutory cap or means other than that. Conclusion The massive scale of financial crisis pervading the globe and in the several countries and the bailouts of banks with the taxpayers money makes it right that the accountants and the auditors role must be questioned. In spite of the inquiries taking place, there has been no argument with regards to the necessity of the audit. The audit firms that are biggest in the business are best placed for innovation in meeting the needs of the market and a willingness of taking on a superior role, especially if the issue of the corresponding liability is addressed. This profession is often attributed with a defensive mindset with a replacement of pre-crisis mindset by an acceptance that there is desirability and necessity for change. The Lehman Brothers case demonstrates that there is considerable liability on the part of auditors towards the third. The auditors can be sued on this ground and force them to return the benefits they received from their clients having obligations to the third parties. References Aspen, C., 1981. The Cotton Industry. Shire Publications Ltd, Aylesbury. Blommestein, H.J., 2009. The Financial Crisis as a symbol of failure of academic finance (a methodological digression). The Journal of Financial Transformation, Fall. Blume, L. and Voigt, S., 2010. Does organizational design of supreme audit institutions matter? A cross-country assessment. European Journal of Political Economy, 27, 2, pp. 215-229. Christodoulou, M., 2011.U.K. Auditors Criticized on Bank Crisis. Wall Street Journal. Clinch, G., Stokes, D. and Zhu, T., 2012. Audit quality and information asymmetry between traders. Accounting Finance,52(3): 743. Desmond, M., 2008.Lehman Ties Dim Constellation.Forbes. Dijkman, M., 2010. A Framework for Assessing Systemic Risk. Policy Research Working Paper 5282, World Bank. Elder, R. J., Zhang, Y., Zhou, J. and Zhou, N., 2009. Internal Control Weaknesses and Client Risk Management. Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, Vol. 24, no. 4, 543-579. Gorton, G. and Souleles, N., 2005. Special Purpose Vehicles and Securitization. FRB Philadelphia Working Paper. Huber, J., Shubik, M. and Sunder, S., 2009. Default penalty as disciplinary and selection mechanism in presence of multiple equilibria. Cowles Foundation Working Paper 1730, October 2009. Jackson, J. K., 2009. The Financial Crisis: Impact on and Response by the European Union. Congressional Research Service. Johnson, R., 2000. Back to-Back Loans: A Fraud in Transition. Australian Accounting Review, pp. 62-72. Larsson, M. N., 2011. Fiscal policy and financial crises what are the actual effects of fiscal policy? Norges Bank Economic Bulletin, Vol. 82. 24-38. Riksrevisionen., 2010. The Causes of the Global Financial Crisis and their Implications for Supreme Audit Institutions. Swedish National Audit Office, Stockholm. Singh, M. and Aitken,J., 2009. Deleveraging After Lehman-Evidence from Reduced Rehypothecation. IMF Working Paper No.09/42, at 7. Vandervelde, S., Tubbs, R., Schepanski, A. and Messier, W., 2009. Experimental Tests of a Descriptive Theory of Combined Auditee Risk Assessment. Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory, pp. 145 169.