Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Management Accounting Case Study - 2102 Words

Management accounting systems Case Analysis: HSBC Bank Student Name: Course: Academic Year: Module: Date of Submission: Executive Summary Management accounting over the years has really emerged very significantly in the field of banking and finance. There are numerous objectives and significance that has been reflected in numerous literatures mentioning the primary strategic and management significance management accounting has brought to the table in the field of international finance. As mentioned by many academic and financial scholars, management accounting has today emerged as the most important financial tool which helps them attain a strong position in the market by making sound and strong strategic decisions. This report†¦show more content†¦2.1 Comparing Management accounting with Financial Accounting Characteristic | Financial Accounting | Management Accounting | Monetary Vs. non-monetary | Information is much more monitory in nature and deals with financial figures and values | This includes both financial and non financial information relating to the business. | Relevance Vs. precision | This more precision focused | This is focused on relevance | Format | This is structured and is compelled to operate on the guidelines and formats acknowledged by International Accounting Standards (IAS) | No such standards or formats are to be followed and are bespoke to the business concerned. | Planning and control | Guides to make investment decision based on elements like credit ratings etc | This helps the management to make strategically sound decisions that are based on the various elements of cost, volume, revenue. | External Vs. Internal | This is focused to provide information to parties that are external to the business like investors, shareholders etc | This is internal to the bu siness to help management, employees and other internal players to analyse the current position of the business and make the required decisions. | Focus | Past oriented and measure historical information | Future oriented, used for budgeting and forecasting | GAAP | GAAP is compulsory | Not required | Time span | 12Show MoreRelatedCase Study for Management Accounting36912 Words   |  148 PagesCASES FROM MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING PRACTICES Table of Contents Case 1: Case 2: Bal Seal Engineering Robin Cooper Bill’s Custom Planters William Stammerjohan Deborah Seifert Dublin Shirt Company Peter Clarke in assoc. with in assoc. with Paul Juras Wayne Bremser ECN.W William Lawler Endesa Gary M. Cunningham Scott Ericksen Francisco J. Lopez Lubian Antonio Pareja Kincaid Manufacturing Jon Yarusso Ram Ramanan Osram.NA John Shank Lawrence Carr William Lawler Pleasant Run Children’s Home Brooke E. SmithRead MoreCase Study for Management Accounting36918 Words   |  148 PagesCASES FROM MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING PRACTICES Table of Contents Case 1: Case 2: Bal Seal Engineering Robin Cooper Bill’s Custom Planters William Stammerjohan Deborah Seifert Dublin Shirt Company Peter Clarke in assoc. with in assoc. with Paul Juras Wayne Bremser ECN.W William Lawler Endesa Gary M. Cunningham Scott Ericksen Francisco J. Lopez Lubian Antonio Pareja Kincaid Manufacturing Jon Yarusso Ram Ramanan Osram.NA John Shank Lawrence Carr William Lawler Pleasant Run Children’s Home Brooke E. SmithRead MoreCase Study Questions On Management Accounting1670 Words   |  7 PagesAssessment 2 – Management accounting written assignment NEXT Plc Case Student ID Number: 1423839 May 2016 Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Background 3 3. Review of management accounting 4 4. The key management accounting techniques and methods for NEXT Plc 5 4.1 Planning and Budgeting: 5 4.2 Balance scorecard 5 4.3 Cost-volume-analysis 5 5 The analysis’s strengths and weaknesses 6 5.1 Strengths 6 5.2 Weaknesses 6 6 Conclusion 7 References 8 â€Æ' 1. Introduction Management accounting in the recentRead MoreIntermediate Management Accounting Portfolio Case Study793 Words   |  4 PagesACCT5000 Intermediate Management Accounting Portfolio Case Study Background: Gouna Limited Gouna Limited is a company that grew from humble beginnings. Its original shareholders consisted of a collection of cooperatives in the Highlands of New Guinea, whose main source of income was from growing Arabica coffee on their small plots of land. Following a period of high coffee prices, the company expanded their business interests significantly to include the following: poultry farming, coffee processingRead MoreAn Appraisal of the Application of Cost and Management Accounting Techniques in Nigerian Manufacturing Companies: a Case Study of Benue Breweries Company Limited2637 Words   |  11 PagesTHE APPLICATION OF COST AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING TECHNIQUES IN NIGERIAN MANUFACTURING COMPANIES: A CASE STUDY OF BENUE BREWERIES COMPANY LIMITED TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page - - - - - - - - - - i Approval Stage - - - - - - - - - ii Dedication - - - - - - - - - - iii Acknowledgement - - - - - - - - iv Table of contents - - - - - - - - - v Abstract - - - - - - - - - - vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1. Background of the study - - - - - - - 1 2. StatementRead MoreCase Study : Quickbooks Software, Company Management And Tax Preparation Solutions For Personal Finance And Small Business Accounting1365 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction QuickBooks software is created and developed by Intuit Inc. which is a developer of financial management and tax preparation solutions for personal finance and small business accounting. QuickBooks is one of the most widely-used small business accounting information systems in the world. QuickBooks accounting software lets people manage their business with little or no experience. QuickBooks is designed to facilitate financial division in creating, recording and tracking business transactionalRead MoreRole Of A Strategic Management Accounting Essay1317 Words   |  6 PagesGoddard 2008) investigating the role of strategic management accounting in an organizational setting? The role of strategic management accounting (SMA) is a relatively new concept especially within organizational settings (Juras, 2014). In addition to being new, it posits as an interesting field of study since existing literature evidences that conducting management accounting in relationship with strategy is problematic (Endraria, 2015). Accounting managers endure challenge of aligning functionalRead MoreEthics in Earnings Management Essays1320 Words   |  6 Pages With that goal in mind, management must continually report sustained or improved earnings to stakeholders to ensure constant and new investments in the company’s future (Geiger van der Laan Smith, 2010). The pressure to report positive results can lead management to engage in earnings management activities to alter short-term results to meet the goals set forth (Geiger van der Laan Smith, 2010). In addition to the pressures on company management, broad accounting principles introduce ethicalRead MoreEssay on Annotated Bibliography1285 Words   |  6 Pages1997, ‘Accounting and the Construction of the Governable Person’, Accounting, Organizations and Society, vol.12, n.03, pp235-265. Main Argument In this article, Miller et al. concern about the understanding of the historical foundation of accounting practice by investigating how theories of costing and budgeting were constructed in the first thirty years of the 20th century. In addition, the authors suggest several radical factors of theoretical understanding of accounting in relationRead MoreThe Effect Of Management Control On Family Firms1491 Words   |  6 Pageshave been the talk of various studies across different fields such as accounting, finance, and management. This is most probably due to the fact that family firms account for the majority of business and employment worldwide (Tharawat, 2014). At the same time, most family firms have specific characteristics and practices that studies have yet to dwell on. While these and other considerations have recently led to more research on management accounting and management control in family firms, research

Monday, May 18, 2020

Gender Identity Essay - 964 Words

Gender Identity After reading through my gender log, during the past few weeks, I observed that many people are trained to determine their gender by their biological sex. Some of the people that I have observed and written about would probably never have doubted their sexual orientation. Others have definitely examined their sexuality. Whether this sexuality is male or female is entirely up to them. This is their true sexual identity. Still others that I noticed have actually convinced themselves, whether it is true or false that their biological gender is not, their true gender. The people who seemed that they were completely sure that their gender was solely based on their biological sex, were easy to identify for me. These†¦show more content†¦Ill call him Joe. Joe was a very good looking male, biologically speaking. When Joe was a small child, I notice growing up with him that he had more female friends and that the boys did not like him very much. Many of the boys would often call him homo, or say go play with your girlfriends. He was very damaged by all of this. He would usually sit with the girls at lunch, but never the boys. He was often picked on in class with taunts and under the breath innuendoes. He did very well in all subjects in school but did best in art class and theater. His general body language was feminine, the way his hands moved and the way in which he would walk, talk, and even carry his books. I notice that he never tried to change his behavior to please others, which seemed to be gender assigned feminine behavior. He would also state I am not gay. His mother actually was going to sue the school to put the responsibility on the school to prevent the students from harassing her son. Joe never conformed, to his biological sexual identity being male. He was who he was and everyone believed he was gay. I dont know if he is or isnt gay because he went to art school in the city. I think he was having an identity crisis. The third type of person is a person who biologically without a doubt is male of female due to societys guidelines of gender. However, this type of person may want to be the opposite sex. They either are kidding orShow MoreRelatedGender And Gender Identity And Development1303 Words   |  6 Pagesthroughout the years. However, gender identity and development is something that has been both misunderstood and misconstrued by people for quite some time. The differences between â€Å"gender† and â€Å"sex† is quite vast. According to John Carl: Gender is defined as the personal traits and position in society connected with being male or female. For instance, wearing high heels is associated with the female gender, while wearing combat boots is associated with the male gender. Gender is different from sex becauseRead MoreGender And : Gender Identity Disorder1287 Words   |  6 PagesGender Dysphoria, formerly known as Gender Identity Disorder, is described by the DSM-IV as a persistent and strong cross-gender identification and a persistent unease with ones sex. However, gender identity is not diagnosed as such if it is comorbid with a physical intersex condition. Gender dysphoria is not to be confused with sexual orientation, as people with gender dysphoria could be attracted to men, women, or both. According to an article written by, Australasian Sciences there are fourRead MoreThe Concept of Gender and Gender Identity1223 Words   |  5 Pages I am interested in the concept of gender and the deeper meaning of being considered a transgendered person. I feel that a lot of people do not know or care to know about these topics on a more in depth level. People who close their eyes to the idea that a person could be born with the physical aspects of a male yet have the psychological aspects of a female and vice versa, tend to be the ones who say that those people are going against nature or god. Discriminating against people on the principlesRead MoreGender And Gender Identity Disorder2178 Words   |  9 Pageswe re born, our gender identity is no secret. We re either a boy or a girl. Gender organizes our world into pink or blue. As we grow up, most of us naturally fit into our gender roles. Girls wear dresses and play with dolls. For boys, it s pants and trucks.† (Goldbur g, A.2007) However, for some, this is not the case. Imagine for a moment that you are a two year old boy drawn to the color pink, make up, and skirts. If this is the case than most likely, you are experiencing Gender Dysphoria, otherwiseRead MoreGender Identity Essay965 Words   |  4 PagesGender Identity Society should be more open minded with the topic of gender identity. Our society does not like rapid changes when they are publicly made; there is always a dispute or an opposition against those unexpected changes. The LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) community is the â€Å"rapid change† that society finds difficult to deal with. Although, this community has always existed, but it has never been publicly recognized like it is today. Gender IdentityRead MoreGender And Gender Identity1648 Words   |  7 PagesIn light of performativity, political transformation via hegemonic cultural practices continues to advocate for gender parody. Overall, the recent exploration of alterity ethics complements performativity politics by exploiting the subversive potential of gender identity as well as female identity. For the oppressed individuals, power should be subverted via political strategy guided by the consequences and punishment with the o bjective of maximizing the good in the society. In other words, performativityRead MoreEssay Gender Identity1902 Words   |  8 PagesGender Identity Gender identity is an extremely relevant topic today. Many people have their own ideas on what is right and what is wrong for each gender to act, and these people are very vocal and opinionated about their ideas. One recent controversial story about gender identity was when a couple refused to tell anybody whether their child named Storm was a boy or a girl. Their oldest child, Jazz, who was originally born male, â€Å"always gravitated to dresses, the colour pink and opted for long hairRead MoreExploring Gender Identity And Gender Roles1809 Words   |  8 PagesEXPLORING GENDER IDENTITY, GENDER ROLES HOMOSEXUALITY Abstract Gender identity display people’s understanding of themselves according to cultural definitions of female and male. In this essay I will attempt to enhance our understanding by exploring different aspects of gender identity, gender roles sexual identity issues. Relying mostly on my research that is conducted in the U.S. EXPLORING GENDER IDENTITY, GENDER ROLES HOMOSEXUALITY Exploring Gender Identity, Gender Roles HomosexualityRead MoreGender Identity : Gender And Masculinity Essay1509 Words   |  7 PagesGender plays an enormous role in every society around the world. There are debates about whether gender is defined by strictly biological characteristics or social attributes. Others argue that gender is a spectrum, rather than the dichotomy of male and female. Masculinity and femininity are sets of attributes, roles and behaviors that are associated with men and boys and girls and women, respectively. Both masculinity and femininity have specific traits that are both biologically and socially definedRead MoreRacial Identity And Gender Identity879 Words   |  4 Pagesdons a pink bow on his head to become â€Å"Erica.† Meanwhile, Randy Marsh (as known as Lorde to most and Stan’s dad) must battle with his gender identity and that of his music as women at his work are uncomfortable with sharing a bathroom with him, therefore he must rece ive his own against his wishes. While both Cartman’s and Randy Marsh’s struggles with their gender identity revolve around the use of a bathroom, through the juxtaposition of the actions of shooting a school and becoming transgender, the

Friday, May 15, 2020

Edward’s Restaurant and Sir George’s Catering Case...

03/13/2013 Edward’s Restaurant and Sir George’s Catering Case Analysis General Environment Demographic: Industry: Demographic factors are favorable to the restaurant industry. Approximately 52% of the 1993 population in the area was 60 years of age or over. This was considered the restaurant’s main target market. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the number of people taking up permanent residence in the valley increased dramatically for various reasons. The climate was attractive for growing population of seniors. Land prices, housing, taxes, and utilities were affordable. With the average cost of an acre of industrial land in the Penticton area at $45000 in 1991, businesses were attracted to the area. Between 1984 and†¦show more content†¦Level of tourism was declining after 1991, campgrounds in the area were planning to close due to tax increases, and one waterslide had already shut down. Demand for accommodation and related services in Penticton had declined (1994). Fast food was particularly popular with younger customers. Many of fast food restaurants were parts of large chains that provided the financial strength of giant corpo rations and relatively standard menus and layouts familiar to traveling customers. The restaurant industry had an unusually high number of failures. According to Ed Gowe (1993), the average lifetime of new restaurants in the Penticton region was about two years. The number of restaurants in the area remained high. The industry standard suggested that, on the average, about 1 restaurant for each population unit of 1,000 would leave well-managed restaurants viable. The 1993 Penticton population of about 27,000 seemed to indicate that 27 to 30 would be an appropriate number of restaurants for the city. At the time, however, there were about 100 eating establishments in Penticton. Firm Position: Economic factors are unfavorable to Sunoka. Restaurant located about 64 km from U.S. border. To the north lies Okanagan Lake, home of the legendary aquatic monster Ogopogo, it attracted many tourists to that area. Attraction such as campground, waterslides, and two ski sites alsoShow MoreRelatedEdwards Restaurant and Sir Georges Catering Case Study15360 Words   |  62 PagesEdward’s Restaurant and Sir George’s Catering Case Analysis General Environment Demographic: Industry: Demographic factors are favorable to the restaurant industry. Approximately 52% of the 1993 population in the area was 60 years of age or over. This was considered the restaurant’s main target market. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the number of people taking up permanent residence in the valley increased dramatically for various reasons. The climate was attractive for growing population

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Fiscal Deficit - 2588 Words

Fiscal deficit In a system of indicative planning reliance, fiscal policy plays an instrumental role in the economy of any country. Planning Commission of India had pointed out in the Seventh Five Year Plan that, the â€Å"Fiscal policy has a multi-dimensional role† which â€Å"particularly aims at improving the growth performance of the economy and ensuring social justice to the people. However, when a fiscal policy is not used discreetly, it is likely to create a fiscal mess.....A fiscal imbalance requires immediate corrective measures because a large fiscal deficit is non-sustainable.† The Emergence of Fiscal deficit (or Budget Deficit): On account of growing burden of non-development expenditure, the fiscal situation deteriorated throughout†¦show more content†¦Capital expenditure is made by the establishment to consistently maintain the operational activities. In India, the fiscal deficit is financed by obtaining funds from Reserve Bank of India, called deficit financing. The fiscal deficit is also financed by obtaining funds from the money market (primarily from banks). Revenue deficit: Revenue deficit is the difference between the revenue expenditure and the revenue receipts (the recurring income for the government). When a country runs a revenue deficit it means that the government is unable to meet its running expenses from its recurring income. To put it simply Revenue expenditure is the expense incurred for the normal running of the Government’s various departments and services, interest charged on debt incurred by Government, subsidies etc., whereas Revenue receipts consist of tax collected by the government and other receipts consisting of interest and dividends on investments made by Government, fees and other receipts for services rendered by government. Capital expenditure: It is the fund used by an establishment to produce physical assets like property, equipments or industrial buildings. Capital expenditure is made by the establishment to consistently maintain the operational activities. For example money spent on building of hospitals, dams, roads, etc. In India, the fiscal deficit is financed by obtaining funds from Reserve Bank of India,Show MoreRelatedThe Budget Deficit For Fiscal Year1019 Words   |  5 Pagesall the money borrowed from other countries. Budget deficits, budget surplus, national debt, deficit spending all have pros and cons. The federal government collects fees, taxes and certain revenues every year while spending in other fields. Deficits happen when total expenditures in a fiscal year outweigh the total revenues, when this happens; the government borrows money from foreign countries to pay the difference. The budget deficit for fiscal year (Oct 1 2015- Sept 30, 2016) is projected toRead MoreFiscal Deficits And Government Debts3391 Words   |  14 PagesFiscal deficits and Government Debts. The growth of government debt can have disastrous consequences for an economy in the long-run. How can one explain these occurrences and how, if at all, can they be stopped or prevented? When federal revenues and government spending are equal in a given fiscal year, then the government has a balanced budget. When the revenues are greater than spending, the result is a surplus. But if government spending is greater than tax collections, the result is a deficitRead MorePresident Obama Administration : The Fiscal Policy1480 Words   |  6 PagesGiven the critical circumstances the United States economy faces today, the current fiscal policy, in addition to the changes that will be made in the future, is under intense scrutiny. During the Obama administration, which will soon come to an end in about six months, a variety of policies were created in attempts to create employment, raise our GDP, and boost the state of the economy, among other ideas. The fiscal policies created by Congress and the President demonstrate success in some areas,Read MoreBudget Deficit1183 Words   |  5 PagesBudget Deficit For many decades, there has been a concern for the deficit within the United States. Many politicians, authors, newscasters, and citizens have expressed their distress in order to resolve or control the issue. Keynesian economic theory states that running a budget deficit is okay, as long as the deficit is not exorbitantly large and is not carried for a long period of time. Even though many experts agree with this notion, having a deficit at all is important to the present andRead MoreThe Fiscal Policy and its Impact on the GDP Essay1109 Words   |  5 PagesFiscal Policy Often when one thinks of the scope of business, running a country rarely enters into an individual’s mind. However; that is what the country is, a large business conglomerate for an entire country. Citizens entrust their government to maintain this feat. There are many intricate details in maintaining the nation’s financial and economic health. In the United States, the President and Congress govern the financial and economic health of the nation. The United States employs theRead MoreThe Strong Performance Of Public Finances1198 Words   |  5 Pageshigh employment rate during the current crisis is the Swedish fiscal policy framework, which was established after the banking crisis in 1990s. The following analysis will explain how the fiscal framework can affect the Swedish public finances. 4.2. The Swedish Fiscal Framework The Swedish Fiscal Policy Framework was established in response to the earlier banking crisis in 1990s. The main objective of the fiscal framework is to attain fiscal stability. It consists of four main parts, (i) a balanced budgetRead MoreBudget Wars : Debt And Sequestration1029 Words   |  5 Pagesissue of national debt. Although, there are many driving forces behind the U.S. fiscal problem, mandatory spending programs, and publicly held debt pose daunting threats to the nation. Thus, there have been various strides made in the past few years in order to address the long term fiscal challenge within the United States. The United States must create a sustainable, long term solution to address the current fiscal problems, in order to avoid a sovereign debt crisis. Budget Control Act In 2011Read MoreFiscal Policy And Fiscal Policies1560 Words   |  7 PagesFiscal Policy Brooks (2012) defines that fiscal policy is adjusting government revenue and spending in order to influence the direction of the economy and meet the economic goals of the country. The two main tools in fiscal policy are taxes and expenditure. Fiscal policy is set by the government and parliament and often used a combination with monetary policy, which set by Reserve Bank of Australia as an example. Furthermore, this essay discusses the Australian government fiscal policies during theRead MoreItaly : Public Debt Will Not Drop Despite Low Deficit1239 Words   |  5 PagesITALY: Public debt will not drop despite low deficit The country’s budget deficit is likely to decrease, while public debt is not Italy’s public debt will not start decreasing this year, despite the good momentum of the domestic economy, due to the legacy of past governments, geopolitical factors and delays in implementing the public spending review. A recent Constitutional Court ruling [http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/actionSchedaPronuncia.do?anno=2015numero=70] on the 2012 pension reform showsRead MoreJamaicss Economic Downfall1444 Words   |  6 Pagesreducing the external account and fiscal deficits. Policy makers hope by focusing on such issues that it would create an environment that is conducive to increasing production and exports. Characteristics of the Programs In general, the design of stabilization programs places emphasis on reforming the tax system, making the exchange rate more competitive, liberalizing the trade regime, increasing privatization and reducing the external account and fiscal deficits. By focusing on these issues

Over-dependence on Technology Essay - 855 Words

Regina Fleck has an iPhone 7 and she admits, â€Å"I no longer feel frustrated or impatient. That emotion now manifests in me as a desire to check my e-mail. (Tran). All around the world, technology has taken over the lives of many, especially children. Each year younger children are being introduced to new technology to help them learn and grow, but the effects of this may be different from what is expected. Rather than seeing growth, the overuse of technology is leading to many issues, including a decline in creativity, less active lifestyles, and difficulty falling asleep. The growing overdependence on and overuse of technology is affecting young children both mentally and physically. Throughout the world, but in America especially,†¦show more content†¦Also, the parents are the ones who are buying the games and the food that the children eat, so it can’t be blamed on the children. Others believe that the ads and commercials are nearly irresistible to children, and parents are just trying to keep their children happy. Whatever the case, the major cause of it is the technology (Browning). Another source of the overdependence of technology in children is school. At school, they are introduced to technology at a very young age, sometimes even in preschool. Children are introduced to calculators at a very young age, helping them with math problems they should be able to do in their heads. The teachers are encouraging it so the students don’t take the time to learn how to do it out and then struggle when they have no calculator. Also, children today are proven to have much worse handwriting than in the past. They are now expected to type English essays and in elementary school; many aren’t taught cursive but rather how to use computers. For example, in 2009, 97 percent of teachers had at least one computer in their room, and out of that, 93 percent of the computers were connected to the Internet (Gray, Thomas, Lewis). Intelligence is continuously decreasing due to all of the shortcuts children now are able to take advantage of. In some aspects, the advanceme nts are really aiding students. They have almost any information they can imagine wherever they go, just by going to Google. Typing is neat andShow MoreRelatedPeoples Overdependence on Technology1467 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Introduction The relevance of technology in the modern world cannot be overstated. However, there have been concerns that the world is becoming over-dependent on technology as it seeks to embrace technological advancement and innovation going forward. Indeed, the question many keep asking is; is our reliance on technology going too far? This text concerns itself with peoples over-dependence upon technology. Peoples Over-dependence upon Technology It is important to note from the onset thatRead MoreFahrenheit 451 Technology Essay1263 Words   |  6 Pagesthe ubiquitous presence of technology, it would be difficult to believe that is wasn t always around. Today, everything is incorporated with technology, from entertainment to communication, from travel to skin care, and newly, from surveillance to control. In his science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, published just as technology was beginning to make its appearance in people s everyday lives, author Ray Bradbury describes a distant future and the omnipotence of technology in it. Ray Bradbury was anRead MoreAddiction to Technology1174 Words   |  5 Pageslose sleep because you log in late at night? If you answered â€Å"often† or â€Å"always,† technology may be taking a toll on you (Parker). Technology is merely a way of life to society today. It is fused into everyday life and is constantly linked to basic human affairs. Technology impacts other topics such as consumption, the environment, popular culture, education, and the media. Although the world needs certain technology devices to handle difficult tasks that humans alone cannot; cellphones, televisionsRead MoreTechnological Advancements Have Created New Opportunities For Individuals, Organizations And Societies1567 Words   |  7 Pagesorganizations and individuals by the advances of the new technologies creating new and advanced computer hardware and software. With these advances, human beings are becoming increasingly over-dependant on the use of the computers. Many tasks that people used to perform in the past before the invention and widespread use of computers cannot be performed today. Almost all aspects of human life are affected by computers. The over-dependence of the use of computers by individuals and societies in theRead MoreFossil Fuels : The World s Primary Energy Source952 Words   |  4 Pagessustainable future not just for the American people, but to lead and set an example for the rest of the world. America will have to lessen its dependence on fossil fuels, and eliminate it all if possible. To achieve this, the U.S. will have to further invest and expand in technologies such as Solar, Wind, Biomass, and Hydropower in order to lower its dependence on fossil fuels. Solar energy is a one of the alternative renewable sources that can help offset fossil fuel up. Setting up solar systemsRead MoreStrategic Information Systems Planning1347 Words   |  6 Pagesinformation systems planning, information technology, information systems, and how they affect competitive advantage, business planning, and drive change. The paper will also discuss how internal, external, and environmental factors influence strategic information systems planning and the development and use of IT and IS. According to Kearns and Lederer, information technology has assumed a critical role in many organizations, despite failures and setbacks. High dependence on IT for core business activitiesRead MoreCell Phones And Its Impact On Society929 Words   |  4 PagesNevertheless, it is indicated in the analysis that technology has greatly influenced phone use and the resourcefulness of technology has majorly underlined the use of phones in US institutions. Overdependence on phones is built on an important understanding of addiction and the relative effects of addictive characteristics. Just as compared to the TV in the late 1960s and also the internet at end of 1990, mobile phone technologies are the defining technologies of the 21st century. Cell phones are havingRead MoreAlternative Energy Resources and Human Dependence on Oil Essay1016 Words   |  5 PagesAlternative Energy Resources and Human Dependence on Oil Introduction The modern world is fuelled by oil (Youngquest, 1998). This reality has brought tremendous changes and developments that is continuously transforming the modern period, changing its lifestyles and economies in the last 200 years. However, these changes do not only paved for modernization and development, but it has also paved for the environmental crisis that the world is now facing (Bodley, 2008). Environmental crisis refersRead MoreFinal Project Milestone1746 Words   |  7 PagesIs Technology Affecting the Developmental Progress of Children? Patrcia Odani Mukuka Southern New Hampshire University Increasingly, there is a large dependence on technology today as opposed to ten or twenty years ago. Technology has changed a lot of how life is lived today. It affects shopping, job seeking employment opportunities, entertainment and academics. There is no doubt that technology has set its foundation and is here to stay. One area in which the effects of technology can be clearlyRead MoreThe Problem Of Internet Addiction1221 Words   |  5 PagesIn the modern day, technology surrounds every human in one form or another. Whether it be from televisions, phones, or computers, it is clear that technology affects the lives of the human population as well. This effect from technology has in some ways crippled humanity since we need technology more as a crutch than as a tool. A prime example of dependence on a source of technology is the use of the internet. People from all over the world depend on the internet for their everyday needs ranging

Management Accounting Recognized and Assessed Business

Question: Describe about the Management Accounting for Recognized and Assessed Business. Answer: Business Risk and inherent Risk Assessments Business is associated with many risk factors which need to be recognized and assessed properly. The major problem with HIH Insurance is that the risks were not identified and reviewed in time by the directors which lead to a loss amounting to 5.3 billion and effectively causing the company to collapse. So the assessment of HIH insurance will be on the operational and financial risk. Operational risk occurs from the companys own in-house actions of the business. It analyses other risks such as legal, physical and environmental (Rose, 2013). A proper evaluation on the companys work procedure and operations will assist in discovering the errors and rectifying it as and when required for it to develop and grow (Adams Borsellino, 2015). Financial risk is linked with the companys financial activities and transactions and the outcome of financial operations involved in companys work process (Bobtcheff et al., 2016) Proper identification of financial risk will safeguard the company from adverse financial situation and debts. HIH insurance succumbed due to non-assessment of risks in proper time as it is imperative on a companys part to identify, manage and reduce risks properly through proper managerial control (Betta, 2016). HIH insurances risk was broad enough to cause a severe damage. There are several inherent risk factors effecting HIH at the financial report level like poor financial results, overcooking of cash and debtors figure and underpinning of creditors and bad debt amount to consolidate the position of balance sheet. HIH insurances poor financial result was due to the overstated sales figure which was done to show high profitability when the real story was something else. Inherent risk of HIH included the continuation of solvency margins, statement of sufficient premiums and the liquidity factor. HIH insurance entered areas which were prone to high risks such as marine insurance whose work practices differs logic than the normal insurance profession. The internal control system of HIH failed to identify or detect the material error. The detection risk is mainly associated with different auditing actions depending on performance which fails to recognize the material errors (Tricker Tricker, 2014). HIH needed to plan good and in proper time to lessen the chances of not being able to detect material misstatement. In HIH insurance, the internal audit documents are lacking performance in its substantive measures which will ensure proper settlement in future income tax benefits and goodwill of the firm. Legal Liability The limited knowledge of auditors failed to identify the inherent risks with changes that took place the previous year. The focus is on the auditing reports signifying the concerns related with the HIH practices for increased risks. The cases are linked with adequate measures in auditing procedures with intended managed auditing risks. The issues are related to the inadequate auditor independence linked up with the presentation in the non audit services. For clients: The focus has been on presentation to show up the inadequate preparation that relates to goodwill next to the deferred acquisition cost and income tax benefits. If the client company is thinking of hiring the prior auditors, then its going to directly affect the independence of external auditing. The present auditors are hold in good position because of the power they possess. For creditors: The creditors need to focus on the bare minimum solvency requirement which is based on the firm being solvent at the time of declaration of the director. The HIH desires to focus on the cash position where the extensive analysis is based on operational and financial activities. There is a need for prudential margins leading to the policy of reservation depending on the handling of the company. The negligence action of HIH insurance is related to the acceleration of changes in the legislation. The crisis has been related to prices and the availability of insurance. These are mainly connected to law of negligence. The major issues which are related to charges are politically reinforced associated with the direct liability pattern of government and re-insurance. The non executive directors lacked freedom in their work as it is evident from the structure of HIH insurance. Arthur Andersons secretarial firm boasted of five members and the same were holding the board of directors position in HIH insurance. For non-auditing services the company did expend $1.671 million and $1.7 million for auditing purposes. Fees arising from auditing services caused a great deal of distraction to the independent company directors (Tricker, 2015). The corporate governance was the guilty party in the negligence of the company. -insurance companys process is greatly subjected by the risk management of the concerned group. HIHs investment failed badly as witnessed in the presentation of risk management (Damiani et al., 2015). The directors negligence played a role in the decision strategys setback which eventually led to the collapse (Carnegie and OConnell, 2014). -inadequate independent information was negligence on the part of the management as they did not provide relevant information to the non executive directors which have to be focused on. The non-executive directors did not enjoy the liberty in forming the view concerning the companys financial statements. Ethics The main spotlight has been on the lack of evidence in the alteration that have been made in different accounts before the release of the audit reports. The refusal to pay the increased auditing fees is based on the close relationship with non-auditing services. The company wants to hire prior members of its external audit team for various reasons: The auditors are habituated enough to work with the company They seem to have good knowledge about different financial matters The management has decided on working with a proper process of audit and developing a strong bond with the auditors The auditors need to uphold a professionalism approach that maintains proper goodwill of the company. The auditors should be able to put their faith on the client executives to that extent which do not paralyses the work procedure of external auditors. Most of the times the auditing companies do provide non-auditing services too with proper management consultancy and recommending in tax matters. The objective is based on conducting a report where a particular clients information relies on his source of income. The auditors are always in the habit of holding reports and the changes for the different reports about the financial status of a company with maximum profits. Difference has been noted in the profitability margin of non audit services with those of traditional auditing. Traditional auditing has always been viewed as a service necessary for regulatory purposes which incurred a downward slide of the fees, whereas the growth of non-audit services activate the struggle for authority and control of the management. Using the same firm for both the auditing and consulting services helps the client in putting a check on the extra expenses and time, as the firm does not need to spend any extra moment or charge extra to get familiar w ith the process. In addition to that will be the service providers best ways of dealing with adverse conditions and situations that may arise accordingly and provide the best solutions from its significant experience in dealing within the same industry. Moreover many clients have restricted themselves in hiring accounting firms who deal with clients of the same industry to evade any loss of priceless information (Healy, 2013). There are other cost benefits too that goes with the theory of assigning a single accounting firm for both auditing and consulting services. For auditors it is not possible to always believe their client executives. The auditors do their work based on auditing evidence Auditors do find it difficult at times when they confront managements who do not disclose everything that is required (Haines, 2013). HIH insurance highlights on different facts to check operations with regards to quantity. The employees need to put their best foot forward while dealing with customers and are set to bring highest ethical standards of behavior (J. Clout et al., 2013). Business should be carried out according to the appropriate laws and regulations with suitable codes and corporate standards that subsist in a country. The employees associated with an organization along with the contractors require meeting the highest level of ethical behavioral standards related to revelation of information in the accounting practices and dealings in Fosters share. The primary recommendations for audit reform proposed by the Ramsay report are: A statement should be included in the Corporations Act that will present the auditors with freedom to work. An auditor should make an annual statement to the Board of Directors that the auditor has retained their liberty in accordance with the act and rules given in the accounting bodies. Outlining proscribed relationships involving the auditor and the client. Only employment related relationships are emphasized on among the client and the auditor and the auditing staff is viable. One relationship that was barred is a situation where a retired auditor partner joins a companys Board of Directors team, something which was witnessed in the HIH insurance. An auditory independence supervisory board is to be set up with the vast majority of the members in such a board will be autonomous of accounting profession. The independence supervisory board will be assisting in recommending and observing of independence issues of auditors. The audit committee needs to make different perceptions about non-audit services, relation between auditor and client, audit fees and independence related to auditors work. The Ramsay report recommendations have found support from the accounting professional bodies. However, the Current Affairs in Auditing April edition exposed that HIHs collapse led many observers of auditing believe that the Ramsay report recommendations did not go the distance. Ramsays recommendation report on independent and consulting services were deemed to be too weak to put into effect. They were totally demanding for a ban on the auditors contribution in providing consulting services to audit clients. The recommendations of audit reform according to auditors liberty and the regulation of auditors was that an auditors independence is directly related to the reliability and consistency of auditors reports (Sirtes et al., 2016). The draft Bill draws on the HIH Royal commission report (HIHRC) and the Ramsay report in meeting upon the magnitude of an autonomous audit in capital market competence. This can be attained through adding importance to financial report by bettering the dependability which in turn should help in lessening the cost of capital by dropping information risk and upgrading the value to capital markets by intensifying the reliability of financial statements. According to CLERP 9 changes there are quite a few other disclosures related to auditors that are required to be made by the listed companies in their annual reports (Carey et al., 2014). A copy of the Auditors independence declaration must be attached with the directors report The listed companies must reveal in their annual directors report the fees charged by the auditor for providing service in each in each non-audit process, explaining in details the nature of the service (Houghton et al., 2013). A statement should be issued in the annual directors report that they are pleased with stipulation made in the non-audit service, as well as explanation of the service and it does not compromise freedom. There are going to be several changes in the practice of auditing due to the recommendations made in the Ramsay Report and CLERP 9. The auditor should be given the required liberty to work freely without being influenced by the client company (Kuan, 2014). It is the responsibility of the auditor to present impartial and truthful professional opinion on the financial statements to the shareholders. The threats that are associated with the audit profession like intimidation threat, trust threat and familiarity threat will be reduced to a large extent if recommendations are put into practice. There is requirement for independence as third parties and client of financial statements do not possess adequate information and facts to recognize the actuals of companys annual reports (Crockett Ali, 2015). These parties depend too much on the assessment made by auditor. Publics confidence on financial markets depends partially on the views and information presented by auditors in tandem with t he financial audits. References: Adams, M., Borsellino, G. (2015). Is there a positive link between corporate governance and board diversity? Lessons from Asia.Journal of Business Systems, Governance Ethics,10(1) Betta, M. (2016). Three Case Studies: Australian HIH, American Enron, and Global Lehman Brothers. InEthicmentality-Ethics in Capitalist Economy, Business, and Society(pp. 79-97). Springer Netherlands Bobtcheff, C., Chaney, T., Gollier, C. (2016). Analysis of Systemic Risk in the Insurance Industry.The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review,41(1), 73-106. Carey, P. J., Monroe, G. S., Shailer, G. (2014). Review of Postà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ CLERP 9 Australian Auditor Independence Research.Australian Accounting Review,24(4), 370-380. Carnegie, G. D., OConnell, B. T. (2014). A longitudinal study of the interplay of corporate collapse, accounting failure and governance change in Australia: Early 1890s to early 2000s.Critical Perspectives on Accounting,25(6), 446-468. Crockett, M., Ali, M. J. (2015). Auditor independence and accounting conservatism: Evidence from Australia following the corporate law economic reform program.International Journal of Accounting Information Management,23(1), 80-104. Damiani, C., Bourne, N., Foo, M. (2015). The HIH claims support scheme.Economic Round-up, (1), 37. Haines, F. (2013). Corporate fraud as misplaced confidence? Exploring ambiguity in the accuracy of accounts and the materiality of money.Theoretical Criminology, 1362480613502069. Healy, J. (2013). The Paradox of Regulation: What Regulation Can Achieve and What It Cannot.Medical Law Review,21(1), 161-165. Houghton, K. A., Kend, M., Jubb, C. (2013). The CLERP 9 audit reforms: Benefits and costs through the eyes of regulators, standard setters and audit service suppliers.Abacus,49(2), 139-160. Clout, V., Chapple, L., Gandhi, N. (2013). The impact of auditor independence regulations on established and emerging firms.Accounting Research Journal,26(2), 88-108. Kuan, K. T. C. (2014). Auditor independence: an analysis of the adequacy of selected provisions in CLERP 9. Rose, H. (2013). How insurance companies can become good corporate citizens.Risk Management,60(5), 38 Sirtes, G., Lo Surdo, A., White, R. (2016). Corporations law and class actions: Court Tricker, B. (2015).Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices. Oxford University Press, USA. Tricker, B., Tricker, G. (2014).Business Ethics: A Stakeholder, Governance and Risk Approach. Routledge.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Cryptography Essay Example For Students

Cryptography Essay Cryptography is the science of encoding a message into a form that is unreadable and making sure only the proper people are capable of decoding the message back into its original form. This is usually done by using an encryption algorithm and a decryption algorithm (these two are often the same) and very often a secret key. Some of the early cryptographic systems did not use a key but instead kept the algorithm itself secret. The message sender uses the encryption algorithm and the key to encode the message, and then sends it to the receiver. The receiver then uses the decryption algorithm and the key to turn back the encrypted message into its original form and read it. If the message is intercepted on the way by a third party, they will only have unreadable data and will have gained nothing, unless they can figure out the decryption algorithm and obtain the key. This is why the key is never to be sent with the message, and has to be kept secret at all cost. If the key is compromise d, the sender and the encrypted data is no longer safe. The sender and the receiver then usually agree on a new key to prevent any further damage. In ancient Greece, around 550 Bc, messages were sent encoded to generals and could only be decoded using special staff keys. The key actually consisted of a physical object, which was applied on the message to get the decrypted version of it. In 50 Bc., one of the most simple cryptographic algorithms ever used was the one called the Caesar cipher, that was used by Julius Caesar to send messages to his generals. It consisted simply of switching each letter with the letter that was 3 letters further down the alphabet. For example Stephen would become Vwhskhq. To decrypt the message, the receivers would simply subtract 3 letters from each letter. This algorithm was later improved and called ROT13, where the letters could be shifted to any number between 1 and 25, and the number of letters shifted was the secret key. This very simple algorith m has been used on Usenet successfully to prevent people from inadvertently reading materials they might find offensive. Monoalphabetic substitution is another simple step away from the ROT13 algorithm. In this algorithm, each letter correspond to another letter but in no particular order. For example a = d, d = x, f = e, etc for all 26 letters. This made it much harder to break but also made fairly big keys that couldnt be memorized, since they consisted of 26 pairs of letters. In France during 1585, members of the kings court liked to send romantic or gossip messages to each other and encrypt them for safety, which becomes almost a necessity. Blaise de Vigenere came up with a poly-alphabetic substitution known as the Vigenere cipher. Basically, the algorithm would encrypt messages several letters at a time instead of letter by letter. For example ab = fh, th = sq. To simplify the huge keys it would require, the key was broken into a table and a key, the table was fairly big but the key was small enough to be memorized, and the table was useless without the key. This cipher wasnt totally safe but no t otally sure method to break it was developed before early in the 20th century. During World War I, American troops used native Indians to send messages over the radio, which could only be understood by other native Indians, and absolutely nobody in Germany could understand it. Also in World War I (most cryptographic algorithms are developed for wars), the Playfair algorithm is developed by the Allies, the key, like in the Vigenere cipher, is based on a little table and a short keyword, which were both changed periodically. The rules used with the table were much more complex and made it fairly safe. In World War II, however, the Germans gave up on abstract algorithms and came up with a physical encrypting/decrypting machine called the Enigma. It had different wheels of different sizes which were to be tuned differently depending on the date, the different turnings were listed in a little booklet that came with the machine. It wasnt broken before the Allies finally managed to capture enough pieces of the machine and collect enough data from operating errors by the Germans. Whitfield Diffie and Martin Helbman (1976) come up with the notion of Public Key Cryptography. In 1977, RSA (Ronald L. Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard M. Adleman) develops a Public Key algorithm based on large prime numbers that is theoretically impossible to break in a reasonable amount of time. Digital signatures were also made possible. 1991, PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) reuses an algorithm very similar to RSAs and gets posted on the web. Phil Zimmerman gets sued for both exporting cryptographic data and violating copyright laws. A new version of PGP is quickly developed which is different enough from RSA’s to be marketed. Because of its broadcasting on the web and the fact that it is freeware, PGP becomes one of the most widespread crypto systems. Now, we will quickly go over the concepts of public key cryptography and the global idea of how the RSA algorithm works (or PGP, they are al most the same), as well as digital signatures and â€Å"digicash†. I will also explain the general methods used to break most ciphers. I cannot however explain in detail because I cannot broadcast that kind of information without breaking the law which I will explain later. Public Key Cryptography The main problem with most cryptographic algorithms is that they are vulnerable to having the key exposed, and the key has to be agreed on by the sender and the receiver ahead of time. This means that when the sender and receiver exchange keys the first time, there is an opportunity for a third party to capture the key (or whenever keys are changed, in many cases keys were changed periodically for additional safety). This is exactly what public key cryptography avoids. The receiver of the message sends his public key to the sender. It is a public key, so it doesnt matter if the whole world knows the key or not. The key can only be used to encrypt data, not decrypt it. Then the sende r will encrypt the message with the public key and send it to the receiver. Once the receiver received the data, he takes his private key and uses it to decipher the data. Note that the private key was never transmitted by the receiver to anyone, so it is almost invulnerable to exposure. Also note that the public and private keys work in pairs. There is only one private key associated with each public key and vice versa, and ideally it is impossible to find one key from the other one. If someone intercepts the message he gets only an unreadable encrypted version of it, and using the public key or any other incorrect key used with the decryption algorithm will simply generate another series of numbers. If the receiver wants to reply to the sender, the sender has to have his own set of private and public key as well, and then the whole story goes on again the other way around. Ideally, there is even a phonebook of all public keys so that anybody could send an encrypted message safely to anybody else by simply looking up that persons public key. The RSA Algorithm The RSA algorithm is based on large prime numbers. One very interesting property of large prime numbers is that it is very hard to find out wether a very large number is a prime, and if it is not, finding out what numbers it is a product of can be very hard too. So if we take two (very) large primes and multiply them together, we get a number that is almost prime, and it will be very hard to find what two numbers were originally multiplied to obtain it. These numbers are used as the public and private keys, since it is very hard to find them. Theoretically, if the keys are chosen large enough, breaking the RSA algorithm would take several hundred years using all the biggest computers on the planet put together. RSA has offered a large amount of money to whoever comes up with a reliable and fast algorithm that can break their code. They still have all their money. Digital Signatures There remains one prob lem with passing all these messages: messages can be passed from sender to receiver safely, but the receiver has no means of determining who the message was actually from. For example, Bob could take Joes public key and send the following message to Joe: Youre a wuss. signed: Jack. Now, when Joe receives this message, he has absolutely no way of telling that Bob sent the message, and not Jack. This is where digital signatures come in handy. They allow a person to sign a message in a way that certifies that the message was actually sent by them. This is done by using one other interesting property of the private and public keys in RSA: they can be reversed in the algorithm and it will still work. For example, if you encode something using the private key, it can be decoded with and only with the public key. So when Jack sends something to Bob, he takes signed Jack and encrypts it with his private key (note that this in no way reveals what his private key is) and adds that at the end of his message as a signature. When Bob receives the message from Jack and decrypts it, he will obtain a small encrypted piece of data at the end of the message, which is the encrypted signature Jack put there. Bob can decrypt it with Jacks public key, and if a real message comes out of it, (i.e: not a series of apparently random numbers) then he knows that Jack was indeed the person that sent him the message. Usually, people add the exact time and date inside their signature to make sure each signature can be used only once. That is, once Bob has Jack’s signature at the end of the message, he cant send a message to Tom that says: Youre a BIG wuss, signed Jack and then paste the signature he just got from Jack at the end, because Tom will be able to see that there is a time difference in the signatures data and will therefore know that the message isnt really coming from Jack. Digital Money Digital Money is a form of money that can be used online (or anywhere else for what th at matters), with both safety and anonymity. Most digital money systems out there are closer to prototypes than actual widely used systems. Different digital money schemes probably exist, but this one works and is simple and safe. It is a simple application of digital signatures. The costumer sends a digital signature to whoever he wants to send money to by encrypting the data using his private key. (See the section above for details on digital signatures). In the signature, he/she includes the amount, the time, who the money goes to, a transaction number and whatever data is convenient to include. Very much like a check, really. When the person being paid receives the data, he/she can check it by decrypting it with the payers public key. He/she cannot modify it since it is encrypted, he/she cannot duplicate it since there is a transaction number, and finally the payment cannot be intercepted by a third party because it contains the public key of who the money goes to, which means i t will be worthless to anyone else. To guarantee confidentiality the digital signature is encrypted again before being sent with the receiver’s public key so that no third party can even find out who is being paid how much for what. There are even a little more complicated schemes that will allow total confidentiality. That is, even the person receiving the money will not know who is paying him because the transaction is handled directly through the â€Å"digicash† servers instead of between the buyer and the seller, although usually he will have to know in order to send the purchased product or information to his customer. Once the receiver has received the payment and checked it, he/she forwards the digital signature (encrypted with the â€Å"digicash† servers public key to guarantee confidentiality) to the â€Å"digicash† server, which checks it and transfers the corresponding amount between the two â€Å"digicash† accounts. The payment has been successfully made without ever revealing anyones private key or identity. Breaking Encoded Data Breaking encoded data is not easy, especially when dealing with complex encryption schemes. Here are some of the ways that are used to do it: 1. Stealing the key! (and dont let them know you have it). This is the simplest and most radical way of breaking into someones secret transmissions. 2. Guessing the key. Some people do tend to use their dogs name as a key and things like that, but this method is still much more efficient in movies than in real life. Usually this is more widely used by having the brute force methods test for common words first and then uncommon words. 3. Figuring out what algorithm is used. Knowing this will help a lot to break the cipher. 4. Brute force. This method is basically to try out all the possible keys until a correct result appears. It can be time consuming but even a slow computer can break all of the simpler ciphers instantly. There are smarter versions of this which search first through more likely values, or manage to cut out large chunks of the search space by elimination before actually trying everything. 5. Letter frequency analysis. Some letters appear more often than others in a normal text conversation. (e is the most frequent). So knowing this, if the cipher is a mono-alphabetic substitution, the letters can be found by matching their frequencies. For poly-alphabetic substitution, there are also letter frequency charts for short multiple letter strings. Look for human errors in the encoded transmissions. Often over a long series of messages, the user will make a mistake at least once, and the messed up data usually says a lot about what the key might be (especially people who tend to forget to encrypt a message when sending it, and then correct their error by encrypting it and sending it again, this gives the listening third party an encrypted and a decrypted version of the same text, which is usually very useful for find ing the key.) Note that RSA is very resistant to all of these methods since the keys are always safe and brute force will take several hundred years to work. The only human error that could actually endanger the cipher would be to broadcast the private key by mistake. Being able to encrypt our messages so that no one else can read them is great, but is this something we really need? Most of us do not need to have our transmissions encrypted, for the very simple reason that simply nobody is interested in intercepting and reading our electronic mail. Privacy of this type would be nice, but it definitely would not be worth going through the trouble of setting up everything that needs to be set up unless you have an important secret to keep. However if it came all set up with most operating systems then it would be convenient enough to use on a regular basis. Remember that because of the way the Internet is built, anyone connected to the Ethernet cable can read every single transmission made on the net. Thats not exactly private. Affirmative Action - History EssayBut there are people out there that need to keep important secrets and arent terrorists or criminals or the army. Most businesses will not be able to use the Internet as a means of communication as long as all their online communications are vulnerable to industrial spying. For businesses, the only safe way to communicate through a medium where each single bit they send can be listened to is to encrypt all of their communications with a cipher strong enough to resist breaking attempts from the other businesses. Another use of cryptography applied to business is the one used by the french television channel Canal+, which is broadcasted, but only the customers paying every month for the new keycode that corresponds to their decoder box will be able to decode the broadcasted programs. Without the use of encryption, the whole scheme of having a premium channel broadcasted through airwaves would be totally impossible. Finally, one of the most useful use s of cryptography that we might all find use for is â€Å"Digicash†. Without cryptography it is very close to impossible to implement a successful and convenient scheme for online money. And online money is something most online businesses and shoppers would love to have. Cryptography has its origins in wars and is therefore considered very much like a weapon because of the advantage it can give to one side or the other. Legally, any information about any kind of strong encryption is considered munitions (remember Michael Grubbs T shirt?). What this means is basically that it is illegal to export it to another country in any way. The FBI takes this matter extremely seriously. There are more or less equivalent laws in most other countries in the world as well. Illegal immigrants in France tattooed cryptographic data on their forearms so that it would be illegal to send them back to their country. Since the Internet is worldwide, posting any strong encryption information on the web is the same as exporting it, and is therefore illegal. Which means that right now encrypted Internet communications are more or less illegal as well. Also, the government is now trying to impose the Clipper chip as a standard on all computers, and banning all other forms of cryptography, in order to have a unique crypto system which it has the ability to break. The problem is, is that it is already too late to prevent these crypto systems from being exported. Most foreign countries already have knowledge of them, and there are many foreign business companies which use strong cryptography (including the RSA algorithm). So prohibiting exportation of these materials is purely and si mply useless. Furthermore, prohibiting US companies from being able to export strong cryptography results in loss of marketing opportunities for them. It also means that they wont be able to conduct safe, private conversations when dealing with foreign companies because they cannot use encrypted communications.