Review Of Koren Zailckas s A Drunken Girlhood

Question 1: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas takes after Zailckas from her first drink as a fourteen year old to her last, not more than 10 years after the fact. The piece serves as a story for young adult carefully readrs, especially young ladies. While Zailckas claims that she is not a (person with a strong desire to drink alcohol), that she simply (treated or used as a part of a very mean, out of line route) liquor for more than ten years, the carefully readrs are tested to settle on a choice. She says that she was brought up in a totally ((usual/ commonly and regular/ healthy)/generally and consistent/sound), loving gang. She guarantees that she doesn t drink to (ignore/not notice) herself, rather to end up herself.†¦show more content†¦She later discovers that she went out on a dock wrecked she could call her own repeating/vomiting, not able to recover awakeness. Question 2: A) they never suspected my companions and I scratched alcohol from their alcohol (government agency/chest of drawers). They never understood what my closest companion and I truly did when we escaped an inn in the middle of a family trip. They didn t (understand/make real/honest/accomplish) how much and how often she was drinking in school, in the range of five hours and three hundred miles far from them. An amazing inverse. As a young person, my guardians felt very display. They felt (existing all over the place). It only goes to point to/show what a disgusting sneak she was around then. What s more, it also/and identifies with how much underage drinking happens under the front of mystery. At last, she supposes my guardians did all that they could think about/believe to keep me (usual/ commonly and regular/ healthy) and sound and safe. she had a will to drink, so she figured out how to drink. B) Yeah, I m permitted by my companions because of the fact that they drink in gatherings and I don t drink so I feel tiny bit (like nothing else) in relation to them so this brought on me at times to drink however I controlled myself. Question 3: She defends/expresses that she doesn t drink to (ignore/not notice) herself, rather to wind up herself. On the inverse, most ever young lady I ve referred to drank as a

trueblood Essay - 878 Words

In the aftermath of corporate scandals and the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), the audit committee is vested with greater authority to oversee ï ¬  nancial reporting and the appropriation of assets. As a result, the audit committee is responsible for adequate supervision and reporting and for responding to: †¢ fraud in a ï ¬  nancial statement audit; †¢ actual, perceived or potential conï ¬â€š icts of interest; †¢ anonymous tips and complaints; and †¢ through interaction with general counsel, compliance matters such as those that relate to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Attachment II. Required: †¢ Was the scope of the independent investigation sufficient? Why or why not? †¢ If the audit engagement team†¦show more content†¦The chameleonlike nature of fraud requires a customized response to the highest-risk areas of individual and organizational fraud. Efforts to mitigate the risk of defalcation, for example, may differ from efforts to counter the risk of management fraud. 1 Institute of Internal Auditors, American Institute of Certiï ¬  ed Public Accountants and Association of Certiï ¬  ed Fraud Examiners, Managing the Business Risk of Fraud: A Practical Guide (2008), 5 2 Institute of Internal Auditors, The Professional Practices Framework (Altamonte Springs, FL: IIA, 2009) 2 Managing fraud risk: The audit committee perspective Fraud in a ï ¬  nancial statement audit From the auditor’s perspective, the Auditing Standards Board of the AICPA describes fraud in this way: Fraud is a broad legal concept and auditors do not make legal determinations of whether fraud has occurred. Rather, the auditor’s interest speciï ¬  cally relates to acts that result in a material misstatement of the ï ¬  nancial statements. 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Strategy of Qantas Airways Limited-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Qantas Airways Limited. Answer: Introduction Qantas Airways Limited (QAN) is a well-known Australian air transportation company. Qantas is a listed company on ASX which operates on both international as well as domestic routes with revenue almost equally divided between the two. The strength of the workforce is nearly 28,000 who are predominantly working in Australia. The Chairman of Qantas Airways Limited is Mr. Leigh Clifford and Chief Executive of the company is Mr. Alan Joyce. The main headquarters of Qantas is located in New South Wale Australia. In the year 2016, the total revenue of Qantas Airways Limited was $16,490 million (including other and sales revenues). Till now, the company has owned fleet of 299 aircrafts which includes 11 fulltime freighters aircrafts. The main airlines brands of Qantas are Jetstar and Qantas. However, company also operates other businesses and airlines such as Q-Catering, Qantas freight, Qantas frequent flyer (Qantas, 2016). Jetstar Domestic and internationals routes mainly in Australia, Japan and New Zealand. Approximately, 4000 flights in single week to more than 60 destinations across 17 countries (IBIS, 2017b). Qantas Huge network of domestic and international flights with four travel classes. Full domestic network makes it more of a regional airline in Australia. Nearly, 2000 flights in a single week (IBIS, 2017b). Q- Catering Snap fresh and Q- catering which run nearly five catering and food service/production centres in Australia. (IBIS, 2017b). Qantas frequent flyer One of the imperative program of Qantas which is based on loyalty of more than 10 million users (IBIS, 2017b). Analysis of Financial Statements There are three main financial statements namely the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement which need to be analysed in order to provide a glimpse about the overall financial position and operational performance of the selected company. Income Statement Based on the income statement of the last five years, it is apparent that the revenue growth has been rather muted due to which there is negligible top line growth. This may be attributed to the fierce competition that the company faces in both domestic and international flights. In domestic flights, the company faces high competition from Virgin Australia and hence the company has actively focused on increasing flight capacity and market share. Going forward also revenue growth is not expected in this sector. In international travel, the company faces competition from various international players particularly Emirates which is responsible for muted topline (Qantas, 2014). With regards to operating profits, it is apparent that 2014 was a particularly difficult year for the company since the company reported huge losses and also asked for government support. However, the EBITDA margins of the company have continuously improved which augers well for the business especially when toplin e growth is absent. This improvement in topline may be attributed to the transformation program undertaken by the company to rationalise costs and because of the declining fuel costs. After reporting a net loss of $ 2.84 billion in FY2014, the company has turned around to report a profit after tax of $ 0.58 billion and $ 1.03 billion in FY2015 and FY2016 respectively (Qantas, 2016). Balance Sheet With regards to balance sheet, a noticeable trend has been the decrease in short term and long term borrowings over the years which augers well for the company especially at a time when the company is upgrading the fleet to increase capacity and improve services. Also, it is noticeable that in FY2016, there is a decrease in the share capital caused due to the share buyback announced by the company (Qantas, 2016). Further, owing to a huge loss in FY2014, the retained earnings of the company even in FY2016 continue to be negative, however with high earnings in both FY2015 and FY2016, the losses have been largely nullified and it is expected that in FY2017, a positive retained earnings should be reported (Qantas, 2016). Cash Flow Statement Over the last five years (barring FY2014), there has been an increase in the operating cash flow which is a positive trend for the company. The cash outflow in investing activities has shown significant jump in FY2016 as compared to the previous years and $ 778 million is on account of aircraft refinancing which augers well for the company going ahead (Qantas, 2016). With regards to financing, it is a good sign for the company that the cash flow from financing activities is negative in all the last five years except in FY2014. This indicates commitment on the part of the company so as to reduce the debt through various refinancing arrangements and better earnings (Petty et. al., 2012). Ratio Analysis The key ratios of the company over a five year period are indicated below (IBIS, 2017a). The critical observations with regards to key financial ratios are as indicated below. The ROR for the company has significantly improved from a negative value in FY2012 to a significantly positive value in FY2016. The turnaround from FY2014 is quite apparent which augers well for the company. The ROSF has also seen significant improvement from a negative value in FY2012 to a high positive value in FY2016 which is again attributed to the high profits that have been generated. Infact the value in FY2016 is significantly higher than the industry average of 18.46% which provides a context to the stellar performance of company in FY2016. The ROA of the company has also undergone significant improvement and at 6.2% in FY2016, the value exceeds the industry average which highlights the superior performance of the company which may be attributed to the top management team. The profit margin has also shown similar improvement as the other parameters highlighted above. The profit margin for the company in FY2016 is superior to the industry average of 6.06%. The company has been able to rationalise the workforce so as to significantly improve the net profit per employee which in FY2016 stands at $ 38,100 and is significantly higher in comparison to the industry average of $ 25,340 which highlights the higher efficiency of processes and productivity of employees. Gearing ratio of the company is an indication of the capital structure. The gearing ratio peaked out in FY2014 when the company took a debt in order to restructure and bring about a turnaround which has led to future savings which have been reaped in FY2015 and FY2016. In the recent years, there has been a decrease in the gearing ratio as a result of which this value for the company is close to the industry average of 0.78 as on June 30, 2016. This implies that the balance sheet of the company is not overleveraged and in this aspect, the company is comparable to the peer group which is critical considering the outstanding debt concerns in the past (Petty et. al., 2012). The interest cover has also improved significantly in the recent years which provide greater comfort to the lenders that the company would be able to meet the interest obligations (Petty et. al., 2012). The interest cover as on June 30, 2016 is significantly higher than the industry average of 4 which implies that the company could avail incremental debt at lower interest rates compared to the peer group. The trend in current ratio seems worrisome as there is a declining trend which raises issues over the short term liquidity. Additionally, when seen in the context of airline industry also, it is apparent that the companys current ratio as on June 30, 2016 is inferior to the industry average of 0.62. Thus, it clearly highlights the need to improve for the company in this regard (IBIS, 2017a). Future of the business In order to understand the future of the company, it is imperative to briefly describe the huge turnaround that the company has witnessed in fortunes since 2014. In 2014, the company was reeling under debt and was at the verge of closure which forced the company to approach the Federal government to consider a bailout package which was turned down (Sandilands, 2014). As a result, the company embarked on an ambitious turnaround plan which involved cutting down on jobs, dropping unprofitable routes, retiring the old fleet of aircrafts and deferring the purchase of aircrafts along with cost rationalisation (Park, 2017). This plan has helped the company to turn around and reap $ 2.1 billion in savings in 2017 alone. Also, the lower fuel costs contributed immensely to the turnaround for the company (Sheedy, 2016). Going forward, it is expected that the fuel prices in the short to medium term would be low only which augers well for not only Qantas but the airline industry as a whole. Also, the competition between Virgin Australia and Qantas has eased in the recent years owing to excess capacity generation by both players (Freed, 2016). Further, low cost subsidiary of Qantas i.e. Jetstar is performing well both in terms of revenue and profitability and going forward better results may be expected (Chung, 2016). Also, going forward, the company should look at improving the topline which has been stagnant. Further, the key aspects of the turnaround strategy must be continued so as to reap cost savings going ahead as well. Besides, the company must look at improving the services so as to build on the market share and the brand. Political competitive environment impact The political environment tends to have a significant impact on the operation of airlines and Qantas is no different. One of the recent ways in which the government is impacting the airline industry is through various environment related taxes owing to the airline emissions (Kenny, 2014). In Australia also, the scrapping of carbon tax in 2014 has proved to be positive development for Qantas. Introduction of green taxes can adversely impact the profitability of the airlines especially against international players based in geographies where such taxes do not exist (Freed, 2015). Another way in which the government impacts the airline industry is through the means of taxes which are not only limited to corporate profits but also on the fuel and the other services. Most of this tax burden is passed on to the consumers and determines the final cost to be borne by the customer. A lower tax structure would not only mean higher profitability for the company (Qantas) but also would lead to h igher growth in passengers (Qantas, 2016). Also, considering that Qantas derives about 40% of the revenue from international flights, hence the currency rate is also a critical factor which tends to impact the overall competition (IBIS, 2017b).. Offlate there has been a decline in the value of Australian dollar which has favoured Qantas and thus it has been able to witness lower competition from international airlines. Thus, various government policies tend to impact the currency rate and in turn the consumer decisions as explained above (Pash, 2017). Thus, it would be fair to consider that political factors tend to have a significant impact on the competitive environment of the company (Qantas, 2014). Relevant Ethical Considerations It is well known that insolvency has legal considerations but it also has ethical considerations. This is because it tends to adversely impact the industry credibility in the eyes of not only the shareholders but also the suppliers and lenders. In most of the bankruptcies, the role of the management is pivotal and in most cases there is a fraud with the collusion of the management especially in case of failure of big companies. This tends to enhance the agency costs for the remaining firms and dampens the sentiment. If every firm starts acting in this manner, the participation of these key stakeholders would dwindle and hence even genuine businesses would face issues (Lubben, 2011). From a utilitarian perspective also, the businesses should try to extend benefit to the greatest number of stakeholders through business decisions which is possible when the company is operational and is professionally managed. Winding up tends to be detrimental to the interest of the various stakeholders and needs to be avoided. These arguments are further true for a company such as Qantas which acts as the national carrier of Australia. However, businesses that are not sustainable due to the faulty business model or inefficient operations must not be given support by the government and other stakeholders and it is best that these are shut down as they tend to act as a drag for the resources which could be deployed elsewhere (Sandilands, 2014). External factors to be considered One of the external factors that is pivotal with regards to consolidation is competition. In a competitive industry such as airlines where there are frequent price wars for customer acquisition, profitability can be wafer thin especially when the oil prices are high. As a result, it is imperative to keep the costs down so as to ensure higher profitability margins even when the topline growth is muted (Posh, 2017). This typically requires economies of scale whereby the scale becomes pivotal. Further, it is not feasible for too many players to survive in such a competitive industry as only a few would make profits. Thus, Qantas can potentially look at the players that are making losses but have potential to be turned around as possible acquisition targets. Further, the industry dynamics is such that an airline business has various verticals and usually a particular company does not have strong presence in each of these. Hence, it makes sense for a company like Qantas to make acquisition in one of these verticals in order to increase market share. For instance in the airline catering business, Qantas has a paltry market share of 4% and thus can potentially acquire bigger players in this segment so as to enhance the overall share and reap synergies (IBIS, 2017b).. However, the regulatory environment would also need to be considered which would be particularly relevant if for instance Virgin Australia and Qantas decide to merge as it would create a virtual monopoly in domestic flights and hence may be objected to. Recommendation The above discussion indicates that the company has had a turnaround from FY2015 onwards and it is expected that the company would continue to outperform the industry in the near future especially till the crude oil prices remain reasonably low. Even though from the low price of around $ 1.5 seen in FY2014, the Qantas stock has tripled but considering the sound management in place, increasing tourism in Australia, market leadership in international flight, lower competition in domestic flights and low price of crude oil, it makes sense to invest in the company from a medium term perspective. However, the company performance needs to be carefully monitored since the industry has significant external leverages such as political environment and crude oil prices. References Chung, F. (2016), Qantas posts record $1.53 billion full-year profit, Perth Now, [Online] Available at https://www.perthnow.com.au/business/companies/qantas-just-had-its-best-year-ever/news-story/f19ad5ddc1320591487eec0a5ffab7ab [Available August 25, 2017]Freed, J. (2015). The five reasons Qantas is back in the black, The Sydney Morning Herald, [Online] Available at https://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/the-five-reasons-qantas-is-back-in-the-black-20150224-13nbws.html [Available August 25, 2017] IBIS (2017a), Industry Average Financial Ratios, IBIS World Website, [Online] Available at https://clients1.ibisworld.com.au/reports/au/enterprisepremium/averages.aspx?entid=32 [Available August 25, 2017] IBIS (2017b), Segment Subsidiaries, IBIS World Website, [Online] Available at https://clients1.ibisworld.com.au/reports/au/enterprisepremium/environment.aspx?entid=32 [Available August 25, 2017]Kenny, M (2014), Qantas 'pressured on carbon tax', The Sydney Morning Herald, [Online] Available at https://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/qantas-pressured-on-carbon-tax-20140306-34a8c.html [Available August 25, 2017]Lubben, S. (2011), Corporate Bankruptcy Raises a Question of Ethics, The New York Times, [Online] Available at https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/corporate-bankruptcy-raises-a-question-of-ethics/?mcubz=0 [Available August 25, 2017] Park, K. (2017), Qantas Turnaround Wizard Joyce Has a One-Word Lesson for Cathay, Bloomberg Website, [Online] Available at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-16/qantas-turnaround-wizard-joyce-has-a-one-word-lesson-for-cathay [Available August 25, 2017] Pash, C. (2017), The Qantas turnaround is complete, Business Insider, [Online] Available at https://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-qantas-turnaround-is-complete-2017-8 [Available August 25, 2017] Petty, J.W., Titman, S., Keown, A., Martin, J.D., Martin, P., Burrow, M., and Nguyen, H. (2012) Financial Management, Principles and Applications. 6th edn. NSW: Pearson Education, French Forest Australia. Qantas (2014), Annual Report 2014, Qantas Website, [Online] Available at https://investor.qantas.com/FormBuilder/_Resource/_module/doLLG5ufYkCyEPjF1tpgyw/file/annual-reports/2014AnnualReport.pdf [Available August 25, 2017] Qantas (2016), Annual Report 2016, Qantas Website, [Online] Available at https://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/about/corporateGovernance/2016AnnualReport.pdf [Available August 25, 2017]Sandilands, B. (2014), Qantas strategy runs into political, investor headwinds, Crikey Blog, [Online] Available at https://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2014/02/27/qantas-strategy-runs-into-political-investor-headwinds/ [Available August 25, 2017] Sheedy, C. (2016), Qantas: The most remarkable turnaround in aviation history?, ICAS Website, [Online] Available at https://www.icas.com/ca-today-news/qantas-nine-lives-flying-kangaroo [Available August 25, 2017]

Six Essay Writing Tips to Impress Your Professor

Six Essay Writing Tips to Impress Your Professor So, youre a journalism student and you want to know how to impress your brand new professor. Maybe youve never written journalistically before. Maybe youve been writing essays and stories since you were in high school, but you dont know how to make your mark in college. Believe me, Ive been there. And, let me tell you, it doesnt take much effort to make a good first impression. Why? Because youre reading this article, for one thing. That means you care about your career. You care about making your essays count. And that gives you a distinct edge over the competition. By the way, we have essay helper online. But is it enough? After reading this article, Im going to guess yes. Below are six tips to writing better that many college students forget to use. Master all six, and youll be well on your way to making a positive impression. 1. Do more research than necessary Always, always, always do more research than you have to do. Audience members love statistics and so do your professors. It shows that youre willing to do the work. Gone are the days when journalists had to spend their afternoons in the library to find charts that backed up their findings. Welcome to the new age. Log into a computer, type in a few keywords, and youre ready to go. One thing to remember, though, when youre sifting through hundreds of data options. Use .org or .gov sources whenever possible. There are severe penalties when websites of these domains are inaccurate, and youll be able to stand your ground if a statistic you print is proven wrong. Also, keep track of the bibliography you use and be sure to identify them in your story. 2. Include quotes from higher-ups If youre working on a piece for your professor, try to do more than the average student would do. Instead of interviewing students in the choir program, interview the director. Instead of interviewing an employee at a local store, interview the manager or the owner. The higher up youre willing to go, the more promise you show as a reliable, go-getter type journalist who isnt afraid to ask the right questions from the right people. 3. Pay attention to typography I cant even begin to tell you how few journalists take advantage (or even know about) typography. Its all about the font you choose, and how you place it. Unless youre in a graphics course, youre probably going to be faced with limited options. All you really have to do is match your headline, your deck, your captions, and your body copy. I would highly suggest researching the difference between serif and sans-serif. Using sans-serif typefaces in your headlines and decks is usually key, while using serif typefaces in your body copy and your captions makes it easier for the reader to follow along. Again, close attention to this kind of detail will make your work look professional and your stories seem well-considered. 4. Read your pieces out loud before submission Ive emphasized this a hundred times, and Ill push it again. Read your work out loud before you turn it in. Whether youre submitting your piece to an editor or a professor, theyre going to call you out for basic grammar and spelling mistakes. Too many students write a sloppy copy and turn it in. Dont be that person. In fact, I would say not being that person will put you ahead of fifty percent of the kids in your class. And thats just a rough estimate based on my experience in college. 5. Go above and beyond This has pretty much been the theme of this article. Go above and beyond for your work. Interview the higher-ups. Talk to more than one person. Make your story layout interesting and unique. Pay attention to typography. Go the extra mile. All of these things will help you push the boundaries of your work, and theyll also entice you to be a more productive journalist after you graduate. These are all good habits to get into, so make sure you give it a try. 6. Stick to a strict word count Journalism professors hate long, rambling stories that miss the point of being, well, a story. Set a strict word limit for yourself based on the amount of information and interesting quotes you have. A decent word count for a top-notch story is 500-600 words. Sometimes, featured articles can be as long as 1500 or 2000 words. But you arent usually creating major pieces like that for introductory courses. A blurb shouldnt be longer than 200-300 words. This is all going to depend on the column space youre given, especially if youre on a newspaper staff. The point is, make a little space go a long way. Thats what our job is all about. Good luck!