Bmw case free essay sample

SEARS: ACCOUNTING FOR UNCOLLECTIBLE ACCOUNTS Sarah Simons picked up the 1999 Annual Report for Sears, Roebuck and Co., which had just been delivered to her office. As an analyst for a major brokerage, she was responsible for providing investment advice regarding companies in the retail industry, including Sears. She looked over the income statement, noting that net income grew by 39 percent over the previous year, despite a slight decrease in revenues (see Exhibit 1). Before long, however, she turned her attention to the Company’s credit card receivables and allowance for uncollectible accounts (see Exhibit 2). In recent years, Sears had suffered heavy write-offs from uncollectible credit card accounts, as well as an expensive scandal caused by illegal collections procedures. These problems had depressed Sears’ stock price substantially from its peak in mid-1998. Had Sears overcome their credit card problems? BACKGROUND Sears, Roebuck and Co. was founded in 1886 as a retail mail-order business and grew rapidly by providing a wide range of products to people in rural areas who did not have access to large, well-stocked stores. We will write a custom essay sample on Bmw case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Company began to diversify into financial services in 1931, when it established Allstate Insurance Company. This diversification continued in the 1980s, as it acquired Dean Witter Reynolds and Coldwell Banker, and launched the Discover card. By 1990, however, Sears was struggling and the investment community was critical of its business strategy, which was derisively characterized as â€Å"socks and stocks.† Shareholder discontent drove the Company to a massive restructuring to refocus on its retailing roots. According to former CEO Edward Brennan, 1992 was a â€Å"disastrous year† in which the Company lost $3.9 billion, of which $3.1 billion was a charge related to the restructuring. By 1995, Sears had divested its financial services businesses and largely restructured its merchandising operations. The transformation of Sears was largely credited to Arthur Martinez, the former chairman of Saks Fifth Avenue, who joined the Company in 1992 as head of the merchandising group. His actions were swift and decisive. He immediately closed the unprofitable Sears Catalog, shut 113 Research Associate David Hoyt prepared this case under the supervision of Professor Karen K. Nelson as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  © 2000 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, email the Case Writing Office at: [emailprotected] or write: Case Writing Office, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5015. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mech anical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. This document is authorized for use only by XUEYONG LIU in Financial Accounting taught by Yonca Ertimur from August 2013 to October 2013. For the exclusive use of X. LIU Sears, Roebuck and Co. A-165 p. 2 unprofitable stores, cut 50,000 jobs, and launched a five year, $4 billion capital investment program to renovate and update the stores. In 1993, he initiated an intensive marketing campaign, â€Å"Come See the Softer Side of Sears,† which was a hugely successful move to call attention to changes in the apparel division and attract women to the stores. Sears made a remarkable turnaround. From its massive 1992 loss, it recovered to post net income of $1.8 billion in 1995. Martinez was named Sears’ CEO in 1995 and was also recognized as Financial World’s CEO of the year. The stock price responded accordingly, increasing more than seven-fold from 1991 to mid-1997.1 By the late 1990s, however, problems had surfaced and the financial press had become critical. They questioned whether some components of the Martinez turnaround had backfired, most notably his strategy related to the Sears’ proprietary credit card, the Sears Card. THE SEARS CARD AND CREDIT CARD RECEIVABLES Prior to 1993, the only charge card that Sears accepted was the Sears Card. In order to attract new customers and prop up sagging store sales, Sears began accepting other major charge cards in 1993. While this helped improve sales, Sears lost the opportunity to collect interest on purchases made with other cards. To avoid a drop in profits from its own credit operations, Sears aggressively marketed the Sears Card, mailing out pre-approved card offers, hawking the card at tables positioned at store entrances and paying incentives to sales clerks for opening new accounts. Between 1993 and 1996, Sears issued 24 million new credit card accounts. In his Letter to Shareholders in the 1996 Annual Report, Martinez commented on the importance of the credit card program, stating that the â€Å"Sears Card is one of the most important ways we form an alliance with our 50 million customer households. The availability of credit is critical to the ability of moderate-income families to finance the purchases they require. Despite rising delinquencies in the industry, we have a very strong and profitable credit portfolio.† However, the new Sears Card users were not necessarily the best credit risks. Sears’ marketing of their credit card tended to attract customers that had trouble paying their bills. Those that could get cheaper credit elsewhere used bank cards with low â€Å"teaser† rates and incentives. These factors, combined with an increase in delinquencies and average balances, were cause for concern (see Exhibit 3). By late 1997, the average Sears Card balance was more than three times that carried by J.C. Penny Co. cardholders and delinquencies exceeded the industry average by two percentage points. Sears’ drive to issue more cards, and the lax credit policies that were needed to increase cardholders at such a rapid rate, eventually caught up with them. Uncollectible receivables and charge-offs started rising in 1995. The Company responded by increasing the interest rate to a hefty 21 percent while at the same time lowering the minimum required monthly payment. This  let cardholders continue to ring up purchases on their Sears Cards and also increased interest revenue on outstanding credit balances. To offset the impact of delinquencies, Sears raised late fees and other charges. However the quality of their credit card receivables was still questionable, as by 1997 Sears was a creditor in about one-third of U.S. personal bankruptcies. 1 This case was prepared using public documents, including Sears Annual Reports and a variety of news accounts, including: Debra Sparks, â€Å"Arthur Martinez: Financial World’s CEO of the Year,† Financial World, March 25, 1996; John McCormick, â€Å"The Sorry Side of Sears,† Newsweek, February 22, 1999; Joseph Cahill, â€Å"The Softer Side: Sears’s Credit Business May Have Helped Hide Larger Retailing Woes,† Wall Street Journal, July 6, 1999. Neither Sears nor any current or former employee participated document is authorized for use only by XUEYONG LIU in Financial Accounting taught by Yonca Ertimur from This in preparing this case. August 2013 to October 2013. For the exclusive use of X. LIU Sears, Roebuck and Co. A-165 p. 3 The problems went further, however. In January 1997, it was discovered that Sears had illegally coerced payments from cardholders who had sought bankruptcy protection. This resulted in a criminal conviction as well as restitution payments to 187,000 customers. In the end, the scandal cost Sears $475 million in fines, refunds, interest, and legal fees, which the Company charged against income in 1997. ACCOUNTING FOR UNCOLLECTIBLE ACCOUNTS Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) require that accounts receivable be recognized in the balance sheet at net realizable value—that  is, at the amount the company can reasonably expect to collect from its credit customers. Moreover, Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 5 (SFAS 5) requires that an estimated loss from a contingency, such as uncollectible receivables, be accrued by a charge to income if two conditions are met: (1) it is probable that a loss has been incurred; and (2) the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. According to their Annual Reports, Sears reported credit card receivables net of an allowance for uncollectible accounts. The allowance was based on â€Å"impaired accounts, historical charge-off patterns, and management judgments.† Until late 1998, â€Å"uncollectible accounts were generally charged off automatically when the customer’s past due balance was eight times the scheduled minimum monthly payment, except that accounts could be charged off sooner in the event of customer bankruptcy.† In 1998, Sears began phasing in a new system in which accounts were charged off â€Å"automatically when the customer fails to make a required payment in each of the eight billing cycles following a missed payment.† In the fourth quarter of 1998, 12 percent of accounts were converted to this system, with the balance being converted in the first and second quarters of 1999. This new system was intended to help Sears better manage its collection efforts by identifying delinquent accounts earlier and enabling better control of uncollectible expenses. It also had the affect of charging off balances earlier than under the previous system. ARE THE PROBLEMS IN THE PAST? As she read the Letter to Shareholders in the 1999 Annual Report, Sarah noticed Martinez’s comments regarding credit: â€Å"In our credit business, we worked tirelessly to strengthen our portfolio quality, reduce our losses, and improve our collection processes.† Sarah knew that the credit business was important to the overall performance of Sears (see Exhibit 4) and that the Company’s stock price had been affected by credit-related issues (see Exhibit 5). Had Sears truly put its problems behind it? Was the allowance for uncollectible accounts adequate? What should she say to the investment community?

Wife of Bath-Maistrie Essays

Wife of Bath-Maistrie Essays Wife of Bath-Maistrie Paper Wife of Bath-Maistrie Paper Bath bursts onto the scene taking the entire pilgrimage by surprise. Her agenda is to engage in the medieval debate on marriage, confronting the scholarly authority of the church from the standpoint of common experience. Her main emphasis is on mastitis and believes that women should have the upper hand in marriage, making winning and retaining magistrate their main objective. She also refutes canon law which says you are only allowed one husband, distorting and manipulating carefully selected parts of the bible and mythology to support her argument. Justification for having more than one husband, the wife argues, can be found In several Instances In the Bible and argues this point throughout the prologue. She brings up Abraham and Jacob who C]headed wives more then two, slang this as evidence of the consonance of multiple marriages. She also mentions Solomon who had over seven hundred wives and uses this In support of multiple marriages being permissible. These men flare all accounted wise holy men, yet all were married many times without incurring any stigma. She cannot see where God expressly forbid marriage or ordered people to be chaste. Even Saint Paul merely advises those to remain single and chaste who could live happily married, That is to be wedded is no seine; Bet is to be wedded than to brine. She points out that when he spoke of virginity it was only his opinion anyway and Cloistering is no commandment, he was not speaking with divine authority. The way the wife is very selective with information from the Bible and manipulates it to her advantage is typical of her narrative style and she omits parts that contradict her viewpoint. She does not mention that Abraham and Jacob were permitted to marry more than once due to special resistances and that Solomon turned away from the Lord and followed strange gods. She also uses the Samaritan woman who had Evolve husbanded to support her point, contradicting and dismissing the words of Jesus claiming That that he Monte thereby, I Kane Nat seen when he said That Like man that now hath thee is night than housebound. The wife does hold virginity in high regard, Overindulgent Is greet perfection, but admits that It is not for her and it was not intended for everyone, The spas to hem that would live partially; And lordliness, by youre level, that am Nat l. She continues to use religion In her support of sex and marriage as God told Adam and Eve to Go forth and multiply and that is exactly what she Is doing, the world must be populated. She adopts a common sense approach whilst admiring the form of sexual organs. Taking the view that they cannot have been made for nothing, she lists their uses such as Tot known a female from a male and concludes that they were made for both practical and physical purposes, They make Ben for bother. If men and women were provided with different sexual organs It must have been so they can have sex gather as well as the necessary functions such as purgation of urine. Having standalone Tanat sex Ana marriage, multiple marriages In particular, are acceptable, she embarks on her discussion of mastitis. She believes That man shall yelled to his . Ref hire date and this must be true as men Din hire books settee. The wife thinks that this duty should be paid in sex, Noon wherewith should he make his pavement if he en used his sell instrument? She reveals how she obtains mastitis within marriage by using sex as a weapon, Din whoop I wool use my instrument as freely as my Maker hath sent it. She is deliberately confrontational in her further explanation of the concept of mastitis as the Bible says differently, 01 have the power during al my elf upon his proper body, and night he. Manipulating a biblical reference and taking it out of context she supports her opinion, the Apostle Bad our husbanded for to love us well, omitting the section that states wives must obey their husbands. Despite using religion and subverting texts constantly to suit her needs she hypocritically dismisses the Apostles saying After thy text, en after thy rubric, I wool Nat writhe as Michel as a gnat. Through the account of her previous lovers and husbands the wife continues to demonstrate how she has achieved mastitis in her relationships and her motives behind them. Her primary motive for marrying her first four husbands was to secure marital wealth and social status as they were all very wealthy. She wanted them to do their marital duty to her all the time despite the fact that the first three were clearly Detour and Thrall. She admits that having secured their marital wealth she felt no need to DOD longer diligence to wine hire love. She had power over her husbands as he refused to have sex with them unless they did what she wanted and bestirred a lot of pain on them, The penny I died hem and the woo. She complained when she was the guilty party and made their lives unbearable, For as an hors I exude bite and whine. When she eventually marries The Jolly clerk Jacking she is sufficiently wealthy to no longer need to gain anything from the marriage and gives him her possessions. For once the wife does not have mastitis within a relationship as it is Lankan who has the upper hand and he reads her stories from his book to show her owe inferior women are, Oho headed a book that gladly, night and day, for his disport he would red away Yet she managed to gain mastitis and Made him Brenner his book. She got back her independence and control over her husband and Dafter that day they Deaden never debate. The marriage was improved by Jinnis acceptance of his wifes sovereignty. On the basis of Jinnis book she argues the misogyny of scholars and writers, Tit is an impossible that any clerk wool Spike good of wives. She points out that they cannot write objectively and so can dismiss what they say in favor of her own pragmatic doctrine. The knight in the tale is more willing to find out what women want and goes about giving it to them. Having been enlightened by the old woman that Omen desire to have sovereigns as well over hire housebound as hire love, and for to been in mastitis him above, he actually gives her the power in the marriage he is forced into. Convinced of her wisdom he gives her mastitis by letting her decide whether she remains old, ugly and faithful or beautiful with all the shortcomings that accompany it. When she asks the question Ethane have I getter of yow mastitis he accepts that seen Joey s seen Decodes Delightful Ana remains true to ml as teeny Don live In apart ever after. The wifes prologue and tale suggest that there is nothing wrong with multiple marriages and sexual intercourse, however her authority for this is questionable due to the way she distorts and perverts texts in order to prove her point. Marriage is like a battle of the sexes, although the wife clearly does not intend to accept the subordinate position as wives should retain mastitis. It suggests that to give sovereignty to wives is good for both partners in a marriage, although this view may be reached with the bias of self-interest.

My Theory of Literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Theory of Literacy - Essay Example Computer skills are needed in education as well as in the job. What good an individual that can just read and write do in the contemporary organization in which manual work has been replaced with mechanical work? In the past, individuals with an ability to write and read were considered literate because these two skills sufficed to be employed in any organization, but contemporary organizations are way more demanding. The contemporary definition of literacy is incomplete unless the significance of computer skills is acknowledged and set as one of the criteria for judgment of an individual literacy. Charles Bazerman defined literacy in these words, â€Å"Literacy does not require or inexorably lead to any particular development, but it is a powerful tool available for organizing, extending, providing resources for, and transforming all of our social endeavors† (Bazerman cited in Goggin). Writing is conventionally associated with creativity. Every piece of writing has to be orig inal or it would be considered as plagiarized. Thus, writing is essentially a creation and the writer is an inventor, but Bazerman does not consider such a person necessarily literate. His definition of literacy requires a literate person to be able to organize, promote, support and transform his/her social efforts using his/her literary skills. All of these functions are achieved with a computer these days. Computer helps organize the data. Programs like Microsoft Excel help not only organize the data, but also perform different kinds of functions upon it. Programs like Corel Draw transform imagination into reality. An in-depth analysis of the computer skills suggests that use of computer does a lot to improve a person’s social and critical analysis skills. â€Å"Many contemporary perspectives on literacy view scripted text as one component of complex acts and practices of written communication that occur in social contexts† (Goggin). Modern age is characterized by so cial media. Today, writing has evolved so much that it encapsulates a lot of linguistic styles that were unknown to the writers of the past. Old literature is characterized by formality. Modern literature is informal to the maximum limits. In the past, there used to be abbreviations for long words. Nowadays, there are abbreviations for phrases. For example, â€Å"also known as† is written as â€Å"aka†, â€Å"laughing out loud† is written as â€Å"lol†. These are only two of the hundreds of abbreviations that chatting on social media websites has given birth to. Today, an individual who is able to write but does not understand or use these abbreviations in the scripts is as illiterate as anyone in the past who could not write. These abbreviations and such other modifications of literature are a result of the time-based modification in the assumptions and values of people. Robert Scholes had realized the importance of modern and emerging linguistic pattern s in the writing back in 1985. He expressed his realization in these words: What students need from us . . . now is the kind of knowledge and skill that will enable them to make sense of their worlds, to determine their own interests, both individual and collective, to see through the manipulations of all sorts of texts in all sorts of media, and to express their own views in some appropriate manner. (Scholes cited in Schwartz). Of the two texts, Schwartz has presented a more rational analysis of the concept of literacy by emphasizing upon the need to

Kottak presents the concept of the feminization of poverty Essay

Kottak presents the concept of the feminization of poverty - Essay Example These include (1) the growth and emergence of female/women-headed households, (2) inequalities between households and discrimination against girls and women and, and (3) economic policies that lean heavily towards neo-liberalism, including structural changes and transitions in post-socialist markets (Kottak 82). Kottak argues that increasing visibility of poverty among women is deeply rooted in political economies, cultural trends and demographic patterns. He states that there are huge regional variations in the financial and economic status of women-headed households, and this is primarily influenced by women’s access to property and employment, political regimes and social policies. Kottak also states that inequalities between households have been found to worsen the state of women’s rights in terms of their vulnerability (105). This manifests in form of inequalities in resource allocation to households and a lack of decision-making in important spheres like legal codes, public policy and development. Inadequate access to property rights (in land), employment, illiteracy, poor wages, childbearing, early marriages have also proved detrimental to the empowerment of women and the realization of their rights. The expansion of female/women-headed households has been found to be influential in the exacerbation of women’s poverty, and although this has not been proved in most parts of the world, the United States offers a stark example of what may eventually be the situation in a majority of countries. In the US, feminization of poverty is closely linked to the growth of female-headed households especially among low-income females in terms of insufficien t social support (Kottak 74) It has been established that neoliberal economic policies have a tendency and potential to induce poverty and hence have adverse effects on girls and women.

Portfolio Assessment and Revision Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Portfolio Assessment and Revision Plan - Essay Example One of the most immediate changes I see to my writing is an improvement in the organization. In my first essay, there was not necessarily a logical flow from one point to another. I essentially used two disconnected paragraphs that both spoke about the article in question, without actually combining together to form a cohesive argument. This can be seen very clearly by the topic sentence of my second paragraph, where I stated that â€Å"Also tackled in this article is the use of â€Å"Framing theory† as a guide in differentiating the media practices in China.† While this did describe a thing the article did, it did not actually connect that well with what I had done in my previous paragraphs. In my later essays, however, I paid much more attention to organization. I believe that one of the things that were most helpful to me was segmenting my essay into various sections, such as a â€Å"literature review†, â€Å"comparison between languages and so forth†. I did this in each of my two later essays. This forced me to structure my essay in a more cohesive way, with each particular subject having a clear relationship to the thesis or main point I was trying to make and kept each part of the paragraph clearly related to a specific aspect of that argument. I believe I will not have to use these types of headings as much in the future, but they were still certainly useful in keeping me on track in terms of organization. I believe the second major change that I made in my writing is the development of a simpler, clearer style. My first essay had some relatively vague language in it, especially in the introduction. The opening of my first essay, which stated that â€Å"with great power, comes great responsibility† worked well as a hook, but did not tell the reader anything about what I would be writing about. In my subsequent essays I became much more direct, launching immediately into my topic of discussion, and keeping my sentences short, precise, and to  the point.   

Pushing Boundaries in Film and Literature

Pushing Boundaries in Film and Literature Assessment Task: Identify and discuss how literature and film are tools of transgression in Tropic of Cancer (novel), Lolita (novel) and Modern Times (film). To discover the complete horizon of a societys symbolic values, it is also necessary to map out its transgressions, interrogate its deviants, discern phenomena of rejection and refusal, and circumscribe the silent mouths that unlock upon underlying knowledge and implicit. ~Marcel Detienne, Dionysos Slain (cited in Oberoi 1992, p.363) Pushing boundaries have always been a major concern in art, whether it is literature, film, music, or painting. This paper will focus on two of the major art forms which are literature and film. They are used by two of the greatest authors of the twentieth century, Vladimir Nabokov and Henry Miller, and one of the most significant figures in the film industry, Charlie Chaplin, as tools of transgression that interrogate the boundaries and constraints created by society. According to Julian Wolfreys (2008, pp.1-3) transgression is the very pulse that constitutes our identities. Transgression is the act of breaking a law, committing a crime or sin, doing something illegal, or otherwise acting in some manner proscribed by the various forms or institutions of Law in societies, whether secular or religious, all of which have histories and which themselves are mutable, self-translating. Additionally, Wolfreys explains that the transgressive actions or attitudes of a character can frequently be worked out not through the characters identity solely, but also in the form (or let us call it identity) of the literary text in question. In Vladimir Nabokovs novel Lolita and Henry Millers Tropic of Cancer, sexuality is used as a tool of transgression to challenge the limits of socially accepted convention. In Charlie Chaplins film Modern Times, the industrialization is used to emphasize the danger that modern technology brings upon people by transforming them into working units, and that machinery is used solely for profit. The conflation of Millers sexually saturated novel, Nabokovs seductive composition, and Chaplins instigative film form the perfect study object to explore the nature of transgression, which is perceived in both novels and the film not as intentionally morally corrupt, but as an opposition to social convention. The tools used by Miller, Nabokov, and Chaplin, in order to convey their visions, are the language and the power of imagery. In Lolita (1955), the readers are tempted, seduced, and simultaneously threatened by Humberts manipulation and aesthetic transcendence where he has only words to play with (Nabokov 1980, p.32). Humberts story is a confession composed of words that are able to seduce the reader in the same way as he seduces Lolita. The threat of Humberts words is that, unconsciously, the reader may fall for his confession which, as Vanity Fair (LA Times 1998) argues, is the only convincing love story of our century. Moreover, the readers can take part in the novels action through its imagery when Humbert invites them to participate in the scene (Nabokov, p.56) where he is about to seduce his nymphet. Lolita nonchalantly places her legs across Humberts lap while showing him an image of a surrealist painter relaxing, supine, on a beach, and near him, likewise supine, a plaster replica of Venus di Milo, half-buried in sand (p.58). As Humbert perceives everything through the lens of art, including and esp ecially his Lolita, she can be associated with Venus di Milo who is Humberts ideal of beauty; not as a mature woman though, but as a young girl whom Humbert loves so much that he desires her sexually. Karshan (Boyle Evans 2008, p.98) argues that Lolita exposes the sinister potential of the cult of the child in post-Romantic art: that it protects children by making them lovable, but by making them too lovable risks making them desirable, and so places them in danger. While Lolita sits in his lap, Humbert cannot resist the urge to masturbate, himself admitting that he was in a state of excitement bordering on insanity (Nabokov, p.58). Although no explicit language was used to portray the actual scene, it should not be forgotten that the reason of Humberts delicious distention (p.59) is a twelve year old girl. Humberts assertion that he had done nothing to her [Lolita] [and that] Lolita had been safety solipsized (p.59), moreover, that nothing could prevent him from repeating the scene, comes in direct opposition to Karshans observations that children who fall prey to adults pervert desires, are in great danger. Wolfreys (p.14) points out that the novels, plays or films seek to work through the paradox that one transgresses because ones survival is threatened by what, to many, is convention or normative behavior. That which is considered to be an important feature of the nature of transgression is the way in which it affirms the limitlessness into which it leaps (Foucault 1977, p.35), in this instance, of seducing the reader and the viewer where, if [they] do not watch out, the real murderer may turn out to be, to [their] disgust, artistic originality (Nabokov 1980, p.311). In Lolita, originality is the one that annihilate convention therefore artistic originality can be referred to as destroyer of convention. AlthoughHumbert is a murderer and a paedophile who, besides words, uses also physical violence to subjugate Lolita: In fact [I] hurt her rather badly (ibid, p.203), and rapes her countless times, he is identified with artistic originality. Through originality and artistic innovation, Humbert succeeds to project his techniques of rhetorical seduction not only on Lolita, but on the reader too: I faked interest by bringing my head so close that [Lolitas] hair touched my temple and her arm brushed my cheek as she wiped her lips with her wrist (p.57). The affiliation of originality with criminality can be seen as a tool of transgression. Furthermore, the reader is invited to raise ethical questions, though, at the same time they are rejected through parody in the same way as physical comedy is used and parodised in Humberts struggle to open the pharmacys door: [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] in front of the first drugstore, I saw with what melody of relief! Lolitas fair bicycle waiting for her. I pushed instead of pulling, pulled, pushed, pulled, and entered (p.204), as well as romanticism and romantic love is: [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] my Lolita [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] stretched towards me two bare arms, raised one knee: Carry me upstairs, please. I feel sort of romantic tonight (pp.205-206). The role reversal of the seducer it actually blindfolds Humbert into following Lolitas machinations for their second journey. In this scene, Lolita is empowered hence she transforms into a twelve year old girl-temptress and thus putting an entirely new spin on the nightmare of child rape (Winchell 2002, p.329). At this stage, Lolita holds complete power not only over Humberts lustful body, but over his imagination too. In his mad love for Lolita, Humbert, a thirty-seven year old adult does not realize that not the role that she played in the school play has trained her into certain affectations, but Humbert himself and her longing to escape from him. Millers Tropic of Cancer (1934)breaks with the English literary tradition (Shapiro 1961, p.xii), its tools of transgression being the obscene language as well as the imagery used to portray the chronicle of a man who is happy (p.xi), who reaches his aspiration of becoming an artist. The novel is considered an important milestone in the development of the autobiographical novel (Shute 2002, online) from the point of view that the artist who, through the power of graphic descriptions, can shock and push the reader out of the literary complacency (ibid). Frequently, at a first glance, the ideas presented in the novel may seem trivial: We have evolved a new cosmogony of literature, Boris and I. It is to be a new Bible-The Last Book. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] After us not another book (Miller 1961, p.26), though through a close reading the depth of their meaning have a tremendous impact with a new sort of understanding. The suggestion that a whole new world could be created through the power of t he written word signifies the idea of an apocalypse and the rebirth of the world itself. As Foucault (1977, p.30) argues, Profanation in a world which no longer recognizes any positive meaning in the sacred-is this not more or less what we may call transgression? The creation of a new Bible which instigates to rape, to murder (Miller 1961, p.27) may appear as a criminal offense to the humanity itself, though it is rather a direct affront to the contemporary way of life. Miller does not write about the world, Miller is showing the world as it exists (Bursey 2015, p.164). The sacred was and still is considered to be that which the profane should not reach. On the whole, sacred is associated with religion, therefore sacredness [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] denotes religiosity (Jenks 2003, p.29). However, in a world where the form of the sacred has become more diluted thus less recognisable, transgression as the nature of the social reaction is just a mere attempt to restore the common values and n ormative constraints. In Tropic of Cancer it is more than obvious that obscenity which most often connotes excess, violence and transgression (Mavor cited in Mey 2007, p.5) is used as a violation of the aforementioned normative constraints, thus obscenity can be seen as a violation of the societal boundaries. In Tropic of Cancer Miller reveals and implies sexual purity not as real eroticism rather he divulges sexuality just as it is: a bone in [his] prick six inches long [to] ream out every wrinkle in [Tanias] cunt (Miller 1961, p.5). Throughout the novel Miller does not try to conceal the events that take place in his life, contrariwise he writes his real life experiences of how he walks the streets, how he tries to find money, food, how he meets his friends, how he sleeps with whores, and even getting an erection looking at the dumb statues (p.16). Millers literature juggles on a string between sexuality and civilization, his literature it transgresses the limits of decency and it takes the freedom to s ay that which is considered to be taboo. Society does not allow openly expressed sexuality through words, as such expression of freedom might undermine the societys authority and thus societys structure itself. Although there have always been huge controversy on the sexual topics of Tropic of Cancer, the relationship of its author with the traditions of literature and art cannot be denied. The development of the artist is one the novels major themes, thus art is implied as being the artists way of living, and if sex and sexuality smoothes the artists path to fulfilling his destiny, then so be it, Nabokovs (p.257) words that sex is but the ancilla of art might be the a reasonable solution when trying to understand Millers world. Modern Times (1936), with the foreword: A story of industry of individual enterprise ~ humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness (min. 1.07) is considered to be a comedic masterpiece written and directed by Charlie Chaplin. Although it is a fusion of slapstick, which is comedy based on deliberately clumsy actions and humorously embarrassing events:slapstick humour (Oxford Dictionaries), and satire, the film deals with major themes that encompass the turmoil of the 1930s American society, such as The American Dream, the effects of the Great Depression, mechanization and mass production, anarchy and rebellion, poverty, food, and hunger. By 1936Chaplin was already well known for his film directing, some of his most important films are The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), City Lights (1931), though Modern Times is Chaplins first overtly political film with dangerously meaningful (Nugent 1936) intertitles and imagery. Chaplin is using intertitles, the sound being substituted by the exaggerated character of the gesture and the reliance on miming that leads to an emphasis on acting. The opening scene of the film is showing a flock of white sheep being guided by an unseen force (min. 1.20) towards an unseen location, with a single black sheep among them symbolising The Tramp, the anarchist of the society who resents control. The scene is complemented by the marching music that leads to the next scene of the film showing a mass of people going to work (min. 1.30), driven by the same unseen force. The metaphor implemented by the association of people with domesticated animals that obey their master has a great impact on viewers, its statement being that people are controlled by industrialization and mechanization therefore they must accept, obey, and let themselves be controlled by the ruler, and that is the minority of the system that creates the rules. On the concept that, in order to provide for a living, humanity is forced to adjust to mechanization and machines, in the same way the tyranny of the technology is forcing people to become robotic machines themselves. The theme of mechanization that enslaves the man is emphasised in the first section of the film where the workers are being monitored (min. 2.39) by the President of the Electro Steel Corp. factory through giant monitors. Furthermore, the people must work at a pace imposed by nothing else than a machine, though the one who commands the speeding up of the working pace is the factorys Director: Section five, speed her up! 401 (min. 2.59). The working scene is filled with comedy, though when The Tramps tool gets stuck on a nut he cannot manage to release it on time, thus his coworker, by mistake, hits The Tramps hand with the hammer. At this point the whole working process must be stopped, the supervisor intervenes, and when The Tramp reports his bulky colleague, the latte r kicks him as a punishment. It is worth mentioning that The Tramp does not show any fear, contrariwise he hits his colleague back (min. 4.35), his gesture signifying him fighting not only his coworker, but the whole system too. Once again the Director orders the speeding up of the working pace (min. 4.46) which results in The Tramp having a sort of a breakdown and begins to screw everything he sees, from the secretarys skirt buttons to even the comic scene when he chases a woman who has buttons on her dress, on the street (min. 16.15). Bibliography Primary sources: Modern Times,1936 [film]. Directed by Charlie CHAPLIN. USA: United Artists MILLER, H., 1961. Tropic of Cancer. USA: Grove Press, Inc. NABOKOV, V., 1980. Lolita. England: Clays Ltd. Secondary sources: BURSEY, J., 2015. Cartography of the Obscene. In: DECKER, M. J. and I. MÄNNISTE, eds. Henry Miller: New Perspectives. (p.164). New York: Bloomsbury Publishing Inc. [online] [viewed: 27 Dec 16]. Available from: https://books.google.co.uk FOUCAULT, M., 1977. A Preface to Transgression. In: FOUCAULT, M., eds. Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected Essays and Interviews. (p.30). USA: Cornell University Press. [online] [viewed: 22 Dec 16]. Available from: https://books.google.co.uk JENKS, C., 2003. Transgression. (p.29). London: Routledge KARSHAN, T., 2008. Vladimir Nabokovs Lolita and Free Play. In: BOYLE, E. and A.-M. EVANS, eds. Reading America: New Perspectives on the American Novel. (p.98). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. [online] [viewed: 22 Dec 16]. Available from: https://books.google.co.uk MEY, K., 2007. Art and Obscenity. (p.5). London: Tauris Co. Ltd. [online library] [viewed: 02 Jan 17]. Available from: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/solent/reader.action?docID=10178014ppg=11 OBEROI, H., 1992. Popular Saints, Goddesses, and Village Sacred Sites: Rereading Sikh Experience in the Nineteenth Century. JSTOR (p.363). USA: The University of Chicago Press. [online] [viewed: 19 Dec 16]. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1062800?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents ONLINE OXFORD DICTIONARIES. [viewed: 3 Jan 17]. Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/slapstick WOLFREYS, J., 2008. Transgression: Identity, Space, Time. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. [online] [viewed: 19 Dec 16]. Available from: https://books.google.co.uk/books Online articles: NUGENT, F. S., 1936. Heralding the Return, After and Undue Absence, of Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times. The New York Times. [online] [viewed: 3 Jan 17]. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9403E3DE153FEE3BBC4E53DFB466838D629EDE SHATTUCK, R., 1998. The Alibi of Art: What Baudelaire, Nabokov and Quentin Tarantino Have in Common. Los Angeles Times, (p.4). [online] [viewed: 20 Dec 16]. Available from: http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/26/books/bk-42992/4

Medical Causes of Obesity Essay -- Health, Diseases

Close your eyes and picture this, you are outside of a favorite cafe looking for a table. You are just about to sit on the patio to enjoy a steaming hot cup of coffee, when you look to over and see the most disgusting sight ever. He looks absolutely mountainous; there are rolls upon rolls suffocating his body. Food is flying everywhere, lettuce is being launched through the air, and there are pieces of meat all over the table and floor. You are astounded to see that he is trying to snag his third burger. You then walk away utterly shocked that someone can let their dog get that fat. That is right what I was describing was about a canine, not a human being, which is what I bet you thought while reading the description. Society and the media have put this picture into our heads that obese people sit at restaurants all day stuffing their faces with food, and are extremely lazy. As it turns out, this depiction of obese people is wrong, and there is more involved in obesity than you think. There are a hundred causes as to why a person is obese, but thanks to society and the media we only think of the one reason. In fact, some of the common causes of obesity are diseases. There are many syndromes that could cause obesity but the most common ones are hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease, Prader-Willi syndrome, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. As society frequently passes judgment on obese people they do not stop to think that a disease could be the cause for their obesity. The first genetic disorder that is involved in causing obesity is called hypothyroidism. This disease is fairly common as it affects more than forty percent of Americans (Lowrance, 2009). In order to explain how this disease causes obesity, I will first explain what t... ...ypothyroidism, which is caused by an underactive thyroid gland. Fifteen million have a disease called Cushing’s disease, which happens when the body is overexposed to cortisol. Prader-Willi affects thirty thousand, and it caused by a bad fifteenth chromosome. Fifty percent of women who have polycystic ovarian syndrome are obese. This condition is caused by â€Å"insulin resistance and biochemical signaling.† All of these people affected by these disorders are obese because of something that they could not control, genetics, not overeating and laziness. So please, next time you see an overly obese person think first before you judge them. The quote said by Adelle Davis perfectly sums up my argument, â€Å" To say that obesity is caused by merely consuming too many calories is like saying that the only cause of the American Revolution was the Boston Tea Party,† (Davis, n.d).

Black Rock Essay

Steven vidler, director of Blackrock use a number of cinematic techniques to the theme of risk. Teenagers are notorious for risk tasking behaviour which can have devastating consequence for the future. Blackrock is a 1997 film tells the story of Jared, a teenage boy who witness a rape and murder at a teen party, and must risk his social status (and safety) by coming forward. Vidler explores the theme of risk using film techhiguc such as montage, costuming, dialog, Montage: A montage in the film’s opening credits shows teenagers surfing and having fun on the beach. Shots of teens surfing successfully are mixed in with scenes of people falling off their boards and ‘wiping out’. Part of the appeal of surfing may be the risk involved; the teenagers are rejecting the safe, over-protective world established for them by their parents. Costuming: Jade arrives to meet her friends dressed in baggy, conservative clothes, but takes them off to reveal her party, clothes underneath. Jade is defying her mother’s orders, instead choosing to go to the party and have fun with her friends. By ignoring the wishes of her mothers, jade is taking great risk-teenagers often takes risks to be accepted by their peers, at the risk of upsetting their loved ones. Dialogue: Rachael’s father tells her â€Å"you’re not allowed to go (to the party†). Rachel’s father insists that she stay at work, and so she respects his decision (reluctantly). Risks often involve teens ignoring their responsibilities; by doing what she is obliged to do, Rachael avoids risk. Tracking shot: A series of tracking shots show Ricko ‘surfing’ on the bonnet of a fast car, as a crowed watch on. Ricko is loved by his friends for his willingness to take wild risks like this; being ‘wild’ makes him popular. The greatest the risk a teenagers is willing to take the greater the respect that they often get in return. Contrast: While the teenagers are seen drinking and partying, the adults including Jared’s mother; are shown at a local pub. The risks taken by Jared and his friends, including violent and sexual behaviour, are contrasted with the financial risk taken by the adults as they gamble their money. While adults discourage teens from risk-taking they too are guilty of taking similarly large risks, only in different ways. Silence/slow-motion: As Jared watches Tracey being raped, the scene plays in slow motion and the sound fades into the background. This helps the viewer feel Jared’s shock and confusing, as he feels helpless and unsure of what to do. This is the first scene in the film to show that risk-taking behaviour can have severe consequences Characterization: Jared’s father, Len, abandoned his family and is confronted by Jared’s mother at the gym where he works. Len is an older example of the same kinds of reckless and irresponsible behaviour that can be seen in the film’s teenaged characters. Parent’ attitudes to risk-taking and responsibility can be passed down to subsequent generations. Alliteration: Jared sees â€Å"dobbers die† spray-patting in large capital letters at his school. Obviously, the boys who murder Tracey are threatening anyone who knows about it to stay quiet and not informal the police. Jared now must take another, less enjoyable risk this time to his personal safety if he decides to come forward. Montage: A later montage shows Jared surfing alone; the scene is slower, quieter and darker than the previous surfing scenes. This reflects Jared’s changing emotional stat, as the rape and murder has changed his feeling about his friends and himself. The negative outcomes of risk-taking are not limited to physical danger, but can also include guilt, stress and regret Repetition: Talking to his girlfriend, Jared repeats, â€Å"I didn’t do anything†. Jared feels guilty about the fact that he did not step in to save Tracey as she was being attacked. The negative outcomes of risk-taking are not limited to physical danger, but can also include guilt, stress and regret. Flashbacks: Jared has a series of flashbacks to the night of the murder throughout the movie. This shows that Jared continues to feel guilty and conflicted about his role in Tracey’s death. Negative consequences of risks are a main deterrent from fisk taking behaviour.

Correct Use of the Adjective Reincarnate

Correct Use of the Adjective Reincarnate Correct Use of the Adjective Reincarnate Correct Use of the Adjective Reincarnate By Maeve Maddox The word reincarnate used as an adjective is extremely popular with writers who comment on politics and entertainment. Many of the ways in which the word is used, however, are questionable. First, some definitions. Incarnate is related to the Latin word for flesh (caro). To incarnate is to enter into a fleshly body. The Incarnation is the Christian doctrine that God inhabited a human body as Jesus. Pre-Christian belief included the belief that a god could walk the earth in human form. The religious concept of reincarnation is the belief that when a human body dies, the spirit that inhabited it is reborn into another body. As an adjective, incarnate often follows a noun and means in the flesh. Ex. Some regarded Hitler as the devil incarnate. Like incarnate, the adjective reincarnate is almost always placed after the noun it describes. Ex. Many believed that John the Baptist was Elijah reincarnate. As an adjective reincarnate means reincarnated. Here are some examples of reincarnate from the web. Some are used incorrectly. 1. Palin may well be Dick Cheney’s reincarnate. 2. The big question: Is G.W. Bush the reincarnate of our lord and savior? 3. Look at GOP’s embrace of Sarah Palin – a Bush reincarnate – as its future savior. 4. Bush essentially describes himself as a reincarnate of Harry Truman. 5. But what if shes pregnant with the Michael Jackson reincarnate? 6. I dont know anyone, liberal or conservative, that thinks Michelle Obama is some kind of Jackie Kennedy reincarnate. 7. Hoping in vain to be perceived as John F. Kennedy reincarnate, in the summer of 1999 Bill Clinton†¦ 8. From the beginning I have said that this hot young man must be Elvis reincarnate. 9. If Bush pardoned someone who re-offended, the Times would run 47 front page stories on the person and act like he was Son of Sam reincarnate. 10. Bush’s agenda to reincarnate NATO, inspired by the Wolfowitz document, is key to this oil strategy. Comments Items 1-5 use reincarnate as if it were a noun. The noun form is reincarnation. Corrections: Dick Cheney’s reincarnation (the possessive calls for a noun) the reincarnation of our lord and savior (the article the calls for a noun) a Bush reincarnation (the article a calls for a noun) a reincarnation of Harry Truman. (ditto) the reincarnation of Michael Jackson (see number 2.) NOTE: Strictly speaking, for a person to be somebody else reincarnate, the somebody in question should be dead. We can suggest that someone is Truman reincarnate, or Michael Jackson reincarnate, because Truman and Jackson are dead. In the case of the living, like Cheney and Bush, a play on the word clone might be more apt. To suggest that someone is a living person reincarnate conjures up the spooky idea of two spirits inhabiting one body. Items 6-8 use the adjective reincarnate correctly. Item 9 is iffy. In one sense Son of Sam is still alive in the person of lifer David Berkowitz. On the other hand, the murderer Son of Sam is presumably dead, i.e., off the streets. Son of Sam reincarnate works, but the writer could have come up with a murderer who, like the Wicked Witch of the East, is not only merely dead, but really most sincerely dead. Item 10 uses reincarnate as a verb. The questionable use here is not that NATO is not a fleshly body inhabitable by a spirit. Reincarnate and its forms are often used figuratively. Whats wrong here is that NATO never died. If NATO had been dissolved and then a new organization formed under a new name to include the old Soviet bloc, reincarnate would be appropriate. ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), for example, is busily reincarnating under various new names in the different states. Bottom line: dont confuse the post-positional adjective reincarnate with the noun reincarnation. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Synonyms for â€Å"Leader†Select vs. Selected10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for â€Å"Leader† or â€Å"Official†

Nursing admission guide Essay

Nursing admission guide Essay Nursing admission guide Essay Table of Contents Overview of Nursing Program and Tracks ..................................................................................................... 1 Background Check, Fingerprinting, and Drug Screen ................................................................................... 1-2 Important Dates ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Minimum Admission Requirements ..................................................................................................................... 3 Information Sessions ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Admission Testing ................................................................................................................................................. 4-5 Selection Procedures ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Calculation Sheet ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Program Costs ...................................................................................................................................................... 8-9 Additional Information and Resources ............................................................................................................. 10-11 Overview of Nursing Program and Tracks Thank you for your interest in the nursing program of Oakland Community College (OCC). The nursing program at OCC is rigorous and incorporates a variety of experiences. A typical week for a student might include 3-4 hours of theory lecture on Monday, two 8-hour clinical shifts in an agency setting (day or evening; some weekend rotations may be required), and three hours of lab on another day of the week. For detailed information regarding the nursing program (including policies, clinical sites, and immunization requirements) please see the Nursing Student Handbook, which is available on the nursing website. Oakland Community College offers an associate degree nursing program, which contains three tracks: The traditional track (ADN), the RNE ladder, and the transitional LPN to ADN track (TPN). Tracks Degree Nursing Background License Eligibility* Campus ADN Traditional Track Associate in Applied Science, Nursing None RN Highland Lakes RNE Track (offered in even years only) TPN Track Associate in Applied Science, Second Year Nursing Completion Modified Career Ladder Associate in Applied Science, Transitional LPN to ADN Track OCC PNE program RN Southfield graduate and Michigan LPN Licensure Non-OCC PN graduate RN Southfield and Michigan LPN Licensure *Upon successful program completion, must pass licensing examination to become licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN). Students interested in nursing should meet with a counselor for an unofficial checklist (at the Highland Lakes or Southfield Campus) and attend an information session (see page 4) as early as possible. Each program or track includes minimum admission requirements that must be completed in order to be eligible to apply to the program. Because there are typically more applicants each year than seats available, applicants who meet the requirements are not guaranteed admission. Applicants are considered for admission based on the selection processes outlined in this guide. The nursing department does not maintain a waiting list. Therefore, students who are not accepted must reapply. Background Check, Fingerprinting and Drug Screen ADMISSION After selection is completed, those students who have been invited to the nursing program will be granted conditional admittance

The legal requirements to starting a small business in Arizona Research Paper

The legal requirements to starting a small business in Arizona - Research Paper Example The fact that it is placed 39th in the country with respect to per capita income with an average person earning about $40,830 proves the support entrepreneurs enjoy in this part of the country. Therefore, the legal requisites to be satisfied while setting up a new business are designed to support new business ventures while ensuring safe and smooth transactions (â€Å"CIA – The World Factbook†). Basic business structures: Sole proprietorship vs. partnerships: An important question to be answered before setting up a new business is how the enterprise is to be structured. Based on the specifics of the business, one can choose to be the sole proprietor or include a number of partners in the business. Sole proprietorship, as a model of business, can be efficient when the enterprise is in its initial stages and the responsibilities within the organization are equally distributed among the staff. However, irrespective of how well-organized an enterprise is, a single owner has too much at hand and this overload of work can seriously hinder the growth of the enterprise in the long term. The owner has to take care of all aspects of the business and manage them alone. Hence, in such cases, business partnerships are more suitable compared to sole proprietorship in many ways. One does not have worry too much about debt liabilities, legal compliance and different responsibilities since every burden is now distributed among the partners. While partnerships are a great way to raise capital, they too come with disadvantages. As the saying goes, two people can be company whereas three becomes crowd. Hence, as the number of partners increases, so does the difference in opinions and disagreements. Therefore, it requires a patient and strong character to manage a partnership with minimal disagreements (â€Å"Business formation†). Corporation: A corporation takes a different approach in forming a business. Legally, it is a unique entity and is separate from the owners. It can enter into contracts and is taxable. The owners normally own a number of shares in the company. A board of directors chosen by such shareholders is responsible for every policy and decision taken on behalf of the corporation. A unique characteristic of this business model is that a change in the ownership does not affect the corporation. Moreover, in this model, every shareholder has a limited liability towards the debts of the corporation and any legal action taken against the corporation. Raising capital is relatively easy since it can be accomplished by selling the stock. However, forming a corporation needs more time and monetary resources. The tax too is higher than other business models. And since a number of federal, state and local bodies monitor these corporations, extensive paperwork is required in order to ensure that all regulations are followed (â€Å"Business formation†). LLC: An LLC (Limited Liability Company) is a hybrid business model which in corporates the best features of a corporation and those of a partnership. It combines the limited liability concept of a corporation with the tax efficiency and the ease of operation of a partnership. However, forming an LLC is more formal and complex compared to a partnership. The owners are also treated as members and the lifetime or duration of an LLC is normally fixed when the papers are filed. This duration can be extended on an as-required basis with the vote of members during expiration. An LLC is also limited in its inclusion of the characteristics of a corporation. At any time, it cannot incorporate more than two of the following four features which define a corporation: Centralized management, Limited Liability, extension of life, and the ability to transfer ownership

Data Mining for Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Data Mining for Auditing - Essay Example However, with increased use of databases, comes a new challenge: how to make sense of the abundant data Auditors are overwhelmed with massive collection of data. Omnipresent personal computers, low cost multi-gigabyte disks, ubiquitous electronics and new generation database languages have made it very simple for companies to capture data and save it without any worries of loss of space, time or computing power. This benefit of databases to companies is also the bane to auditors. However, the effective utilisation of one robust technology will bring sense to the chaos generated by databases: Data Mining. Data Mining aims at converting data to sensible information. It intends to extract information from the data repositories in a manner as needed by the auditor. The auditors, with the help of data mining techniques can 'mine' for the relevant information needed to perform their assessment without having to bother about the irrelevant data. This report aims at analysing the benefits brought about by applying data mining technologies to auditing. As a part of the process of analysing the benefits, the paper also presents the technological overview of data mining, the problem faced by auditors and the tools and techniques data mining provides to alleviate the problems. Auditing: An Introduction to the Problem Domain Auditing is commonly defined as the process of accumulating and analysing information to detect the degree of conformance of the information with the pre-set criteria (Arens & Loebbecke, 2000). During its inception, auditing was an activity performed only to check financial compliance with the goals set. However today, it is an activity that is carried rigorously across all the domains of an enterprise. Auditing involves analysing the information from all departments including manufacturing, operations, human resource, finance and other verticals. Generally, companies hire independent auditors from outside the company to ascertain whether the statements of the company are in conformity with the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). However auditing is facing very tough challenges. The demise of major companies such as Enron and Anderson are live examples to limn the depth of negative impact that can be brought about by improper auditing. The complexity of business transactions coupled with investor's complex business practises to gain more profits makes the job of an auditor very challenging (Vijayalakshmi, 2003). To ensure that an objective assessment is reached, an auditor must be presented with data at all levels. The company creates huge databases of statements, records and other data that an auditor is expected to analyse. However due to timing and cost constraints, auditors can not examine every detail behind the stacks of records. With massive improvements in technology such as the development of Supply Chain Management Systems and Enterprise Resource Planning applications, the amount of business transactions performed everyday has grown exponentially. Since, in most cases, a company hires an