Unit 6 Eco-accounting

The Guardian has a fascinating article on the future role of accountants
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/28/accountants-hope-ecosystems
The comments are particularly relevant.

Lots of great  language that you can adapt for discussing sustainable accounting; following on from the exercise in Unit 6 on page 60/61

Unit 6/7 Ethics and Transparency

The BBC Learning English have a great news link on the latest Transparency International Report; you can read, watch and listen
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2010/10/101027_witn_corruption_page.shtml

We can discuss this in class and  use the relevant vocab to talk about Costa Rica.

Review Unit 2 Language of Financial performance

The listening Exam may have  short reports on a company's financial performance.
Look at the link and note the significant figures. Try to listen to very short news reports to practise this task.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20101028/tts-uk-shell-ca02f96.html

CPA Accounting/Audit Glossary

Here is a link to the  USA CPA audit and accounting glossary.
Use it to check unfamiliar words on your English for accounting and audit vocab wordlists.
http://www.ais-cpa.com/glosa.html


Try to activate 5-10 new words daily!

Unit 9 Insurance, Ethics and Costa Rica

Reporting from the BBC:

Former PWS executive Julian Messent jailed for bribes

A former chief executive at a City firm has been jailed for 21 months after admitting paying bribes to win contracts overseas.

Julian Messent, 50, resigned in 2006 as chief executive officer (CEO) at insurance company PWS - founded by former UKIP leader Lord Pearson.
Messent had helped funnel £1.2m in corrupt payments to officials in Costa Rica between 1999 and 2002.
His pay was linked to the amount of business he won, the court heard.

The payments were made while he was a director of the company's international property division. He became the company's CEO in 2003.

Sentencing him for his part in authorising 41 corrupt payments in exchange for the contracts, Judge Geoffrey Rivlin told him his offences justified a four- to five-year prison sentence.
But he had taken into account his early guilty plea and that he was a family man of previous good character, he said.
The judge added: "It is plain, Mr Messent, that you were deeply involved in the decision making and the process of these crimes. You orchestrated them."
He also barred Messent, of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, from serving as a company director for five years.
In addition he was ordered to pay the "people and government of Costa Rica" £100,000 in compensation within 21 days or serve an additional 12 months in prison.

I look forward to your comments in class.

Social Lending

An interesting article from Ana:

This is an article about what social lenders do (http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/filling-the-gap-between-farm-and-fair-trade/). It talks about Root Capital, a well known lender in the region and some of the producers I work with.  

Unit 6 Accounting abbreviations

Check the definitions on Investopedia and prepare a one minute oral summary.
Investopedia explains Accounting Rate of Return - ARR
ARR is an accounting method used for purposes of comparison. The major drawbacks of ARR are that it uses profit rather than cashflows, and it does not account for the time value of money.
What Does Internal Rate Of Return - IRR Mean?The discount rate often used in capital budgeting that makes the net present value of all cash flows from a particular project equal to zero. Generally speaking, the higher a project's internal rate of return, the more desirable it is to undertake the project. As such, IRR can be used to rank several prospective projects a firm is considering. Assuming all other factors are equal among the various projects, the project with the highest IRR would probably be considered the best and undertaken first.

Ethical Business - Pineapples in Costa Rica

This posting follows up the article on pineapples and Costa Rica
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/datablog/2010/oct/19/costa-rican-pineapple-investigation-industry-profits
Note the phrases to explain ethical practices.

Assessment - Speaking Test

This quiz focuses on understanding the criteria of how you are assessed during the Speaking Test.
Look back at the posting on September 20th on Splendid Speaking Tips for the ICFE Exam for useful phrases.
http://www.splendid-speaking.com/exams/speaking_assessment.html
You could also look at their daily word/phrase exercises and sign up for their free newsletter.

Unit 6 Corporate Accountability: A Summary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

The simplest summary I could find. See if you can find  similar keywords in the extract  on Page 63 and make a note of them so you are able to use them effectively in a one minute oral summary on this topic.
http://www.legalzoom.com/business-law/corporate-law/corporate-accountability-summary

Enron, Arthur Andersen, Worldcom, and Tyco. When corporate names become synonymous with scandal and greed, public confidence wavers. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed into law on July 30, 2002 in response to corporate scandals.

Sarbanes-Oxley has been called by many the most far-reaching U.S. securities legislation in years. Now, all companies required to file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have new duties for reporting and corporate obligation. Non-compliance comes with significant penalties.
Within this article, we'll take a closer look at six main areas of the Act:
 (1.) the oversight board
(2.) increased auditor independence
 (3.) greater financial disclosures
 (4.) conflict of interest disclosures for analysts
(5.) corporate and criminal fraud accountability and
(6.) sharpened responsibilities for attorneys.

Oversight Board:The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board was created to oversee the audit of public companies. This board sets standards and rules for audit reports. All accounting firms that audit public companies must register with the Oversight Board. It also inspects, investigates, and enforces compliance from these registered firms.
Auditor Independence: Auditors now have a list of non-audit services they can't perform during an audit. The Act also imposes a one-year waiting period for audit firm employees who leave an accounting firm to become an executive for a former client. In addition, the former firm must wait one year before performing any audit services for the new employer.
Greater Financial Disclosures: Transactions and relationships that are off-balance sheet but that may affect financial status now must be disclosed. Personal loans from a corporation to its executives are now largely prohibited. Annual reports must include a report stating the management is responsible for the internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting.

Sarbanes-Oxley has been called by many the most far-reaching U.S. securities legislation in years.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures for Analysts: Conflict of interest disclosures now need to be made by research analysts who make public appearances or offer research reports. These disclosures need to contain certain information about the company that is the subject of the appearance or report. The analyst has to report whether he or she holds any securities in the company or received corporate compensation. Brokers and dealers have to disclose if the public company is a client.
Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability:Altering, destroying, concealing or falsifying records or documents with the intent to influence a federal investigation or bankruptcy case is subject to fines and up to 20 years imprisonment. New audit workpapers must be retained for five years. Any person who knowingly defrauds shareholders of publicly traded companies is subject to fines or imprisonment.
Attorneys' Responsibilities: There are now minimum standards of professional conduct for attorneys representing public companies before the SEC. These include a rule requiring an attorney to report securities violations to the CEO.
Securities laws like Sarbanes-Oxley are complicated and confusing. But failing to follow the Act's new restrictions and procedures can result in severe penalties. For a copy of the Act and for more information on the SEC, go to http://www.sec.gov/

Watch Executive Vision Season 2 on cnbc

I stumbled upon this  on cnbc and highly recommend watching the programme on philanthropy.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/39383235/CNBC_PRESENTS_SEASON_TWO_OF_EXECUTIVE_VISION_A_FIVE_PART_PRIMETIME_GLOBAL_SERIES_EXPLORING_LEADERSHIP_IN_ACTION

Extensive business vocabulary

Lots of American business idioms to look at on this blog

 http://www.businessexpressions.blogspot.com/

Pronunciation -ed verb ending Quiz

The BBC site has lots of great quizzes to practise grammar and pronunciation.
Take the Challenge:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1413_gramchallenge26/page2.shtml

Please let me know if you find any other quizzes online to reinforce our classwork

Unit 7 Fraud

Watch, read and listen and note vocabulary related to fraud which we will be studying in  unit 7
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2010/10/101006_witn_societe_generale_page.shtml

The risk in managing risk

Read this short article from Accountancy Age and try to identify the key points for discussion.

Les Clifford explains why co-ordination of risk management and compliance strategies across an organisation must be addressed by FDs

Accountancy Age, 18 Oct 2010

In today’s business environment, conditions remain challenging for many, and risk retains its position high on every organisation’s agenda. Businesses themselves are changing, which brings new risk horizons. At the same time, they are grappling with the changes brought about by a post-downturn economy and differing geo-political situations in many of the markets in which they operate. The ability to grasp opportunities, anticipate threats, respond and continually adapt is as critical a part of the risk management process as it ever has been.

Some recent research suggests that the most important business risks for 2010 are concentrated in the areas of regulation and compliance. In fact, in my many interactions with CFOs and audit committee chairman this area of risk is having even more prominence as a topic of debate and specifically addresses how the organisation should align its assurance functions. In most companies, the governance, risk and compliance functions can be compared to the evolution of a modern airport: demand grows, regulations change and each time the airport gets enlarged, a new part is added; in the end, the whole building is far more complex and less efficient than it would have been had management taken the opportunity to build from scratch.

These risk functions have evolved due to organisational development and external factors such as regulatory change, corporate scandals, as well as the economic crisis and the accompanying general request for more sustainability. Consequently, the risk and compliance functions in most companies operate in up to seven different areas. If not properly coordinated, and few are, companies can find that they are investing excessively in risk functions that cover some risks more than once, while missing other risks altogether – especially those in areas that fall between organisational activities. This also increasingly leads to reporting efforts which do not satisfy the requirements of major stakeholders.

This does not mean that all risk activities should be brought together into one department – indeed, there are significant downsides inherent in separating risk management from the business. Rather, it requires that an organisation explicitly recognises where the risks fall, identifies who in the organisation is addressing the risk areas, and how the whole scope of activities works together, providing greater transparency and ownership of risk within the business rather than delegation to a single function.

Les Clifford is partner and CFO programme chair at Ernst & Young.

Read more: http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/comment/2271687/risk-managing-risk#ixzz12itJRhSt

Unit 6 Ethics

A super summary of Business Ethics
http://www.tutor2u.net/business/presentations/strategy/business-ethics/player.html

Money Quiz

Next week we will be looking at how money is compared to a fluid in  business idioms and this quiz has some money phrases  for you to try.
Here is a link to the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1751_money

Try and personalise the phrases in the quiz.

Unit 5 Report writing task

Here is a link to help you plan the report on setting up an internal auditing department.

http://www.articlesbase.com/business-ideas-articles/great-tips-on-establishing-an-internal-audit-department-2681821.html

You can send me the report as a word document attachment to my email address before Thursday 21st.

Mid-course review

This week I would like you to review all the handouts that we have used so far and to organise them efficiently!
It is very important to file the Sample tasks for the ICFE exam so that you can review them easily.
Please look at the useful phrases for writing a formal letter from unit 2 Page 28 and unit 3 Page 38 as we will be practising an Exam Sample task in class this week.

Extended listening video

http://tv.accaglobal.com/#
Watch the video on ICFE and ACCA in Pakistan and we will discuss and compare the situation there for young people.

Ad Astra article and language analysis

 Here is a link to an article in Tico Times which mentions Aldesa. The business articles are always interesting to read.

http://www.ticotimes.net/Business-Real-Estate/Rocket-Company-Launches-Stock-Offering_Friday-October-01-2010

Note down useful phrases regarding stock options.
Look at how  the journalist sets the tone of the article- note the use of metaphors such as : boost,fuels,propel,radar to reinforce the rocket concept.
Find the prepositions that collate with: according,possibility,committed.relying,aim,arrive,embark.
Try to write a personal statement for each word and preposition to reinforce the collocation.

Business Metaphors

Business English uses different vocabulary and metaphors from everyday speech. Metaphors are word pictures that help explain a situation by comparing it to something else. In business, metaphors are borrowed from other disciplines.

Why are metaphors so challenging for ESL learners to understand? It is because they are not literal and you can't find out what they mean by looking up individual words in a dictionary.

"The company is sinking," is an example of a metaphor used in business. It uses an expression that makes it clear that the company is in trouble financially. If you had never heard this expression before, it could be quite confusing because it cannot be taken literally. It compares the company to a ship that is floundering.

A good way to learn about Business English is to read the business section of a newspaper. Read through articles and have a pencil handy to identify metaphors and non-literal language. 

Why not test yourself to see how many business words, phrases or metaphors you can find in one article? Then try to use some of these expressions in your own writing and speaking.

Here are some metaphors that are used in business. Can you tell where they come from?

1. "We are living in turbulent times." 

2. "We're having a bumper crop of sales." 

3. "There is a surge in interest in our products."

4. "We need to float a loan." 

5. "The recent market crisis will cure some people's addiction to debt." 

Answers

1. Aviation  

2. Farming 

3. Electrical engineering 

4. Shipping 

5. Psychology/Medicine.

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/business-english-metaphors-and-meanings-2715671.html#ixzz11sH50Smp
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

Accounting and Audit definitions

Here is a link to -

http://www.businessdictionary.com/terms-by-subject.php?subject=1

Coffee Futures

Thank you Ana for the extremely interesting article on the economics of coffee pricing.
While you read it note down the phrases associated with risk and trends.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-pohl/future-of-coffee-prices_b_751206.html?ir=Business

Unit 5 Financial Audit on You Tube

The presenter who is an ex-Deloitte accountant  is very entertaining to watch and gives lots of memorable financial explanations for students preparing for the USA CPA exam. Watch him and then we will discuss his presenting/teaching style in class.There are also a lot of other related short clips to watch and I welcome any links to share on this blog


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBV82cYd7Y4&feature=related

To prepare for Unit 6 Ethics

Tutor2U have excellent background notes on Ethics.
You might like to read the notes so that you feel familiar with the basic vocabulary and key concepts.

http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/business-ethics-introduction.html

You can also follow the links to their blog on Finance and Accounting.

Test of Reading further practice

BPP media produce an ICFE preparation workbook and allow you to look for free at the reading test tasks.
Follow the link
http://www.bpp.com/learning-materials/our-products/accounting--finance/cambridge-icfe.aspx

It looks very comprehensive and you might like to buy a copy of the book for exam practice.

Dole's press release

Follow the link to Dole's response to allegations made in the Guardian film and article.

http://www.fruitnet.com/content.aspx?ttid=11&cid=8373

Pineapples and economic issues in Costa Rica

Try to watch the video, read the article and comments
 so that we can discuss the issues raised  in the next class.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/oct/04/costa-rica-cheap-fruit
We will be focusing on practising useful phrases to support your opinions.

Financial metaphors from CUP

Green shoots

What is it? Green shoots are the first signs of spring: the shoots of baby flowers, crops and other plants pushing up through the snow or the bare earth after the winter. The term has long been used as a metaphor for the first signs of economic recovery after an extended period of economic difficulty such as a recession. Why is it in the news? In the current economic crisis, journalists (along with everyone else) are looking for the beginning of the end, and have seized on good news stories (such as a rise in house sales or an increase in reported business confidence) as signs that recovery is on its way. A graph in The Economist (Recovery position, see below) shows a dramatic increase in the number of mentions of ‘green shoots’ in news stories in April 2009. Similarly, a search on Google News (http://news.google.co.uk/) will reveal numerous news articles containing the expression. However, another article in The Economist (A Glimmer of Hope, see below) points out the danger of being optimistic too early. Apart from the obvious danger of being disappointed later, optimism may lead to complacency, so business leaders and politicians may be tempted to avoid taking painful but necessary steps. Discussion: Is the global financial crisis coming to an end? What ‘green shoots of recovery’ are you aware of? What are the dangers of early optimism? Is optimism itself good for the economy? Language analysis: The image of ‘green shoots’ relies on the conceptual metaphors of RECESSION = WINTER and BUSINESS = A FARM. Get students to think of more metaphors within these conceptual metaphors (e.g. a bleak outlook, an economic thaw, the chill / dark days of recession, the freeze in the banking system; to nurture an economy, to sow seeds of growth, to reap the benefits of an investment, a cash cow). They could then try to find more such metaphors in the articles they read or they could invent their own. Where can I read about it? Bank of England reluctant to confirm green shoots, Independent, 23rd April 2009. Green shoots will take some nurturing, Times, 23rd April 2009.

Hedge accounting and risk management

http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/analysis/2270257/hedge-accounting-hedging-bets

Read and note useful vocabulary that is used to describe risk management by banks

Currency Trading

The BBC has some very interesting articles related to currency trading and to doing business in real time using software.
See how many useful apps  you can think of  on your mobile phone for doing business in real time and we will compare ideas in the next class when you will be writing a report giving advice on exchange rates.
Please review the format and useful language for report writing for the ICFE exam task.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11148626

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11444051

Wall Street never sleeps!

For more  on hedge funds and movies
 Follow this link:
http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2010-09-30/gross-warns-hedge-fund-and-pension-scheme-reforms-will-shrivel?mod=sectionheadlines-home-AM

Check useful phrases to describe the activities of hedge funds to the vocab handout from the last class.