Saturday, May 16, 2020

How Are We Really Doing - 1828 Words

How Are We Really Doing? The question of how many children are abused and neglected each year in the United States is seemingly simple, but it does not have an easy answer. Because several national and state agencies collect and analyze different data using different methods, the statistics vary. In addition, not every suspicion or situation of abuse or neglect is reported to child protection services (CPS) agencies. As a result, the number of reports likely underrepresents the number of children who actually suffer from abuse or neglect. One of the most reliable and extensive information sources is the yearly Child Maltreatment Report by the Children’s Bureau, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration on†¦show more content†¦Where Do We Get Our Information? Reports of suspected child maltreatment come from multiple sources. In 2005, over one-half of reports (61.7 percent) were from professionals who are considered â€Å"mandated reporters† (USDHHS, 2007). Mandated reporters are required by law to report suspected abuse and neglect. The most common mandated reporter referral sources in 2005 were social services personnel, legal professionals, law enforcement, criminal justice personnel and medical and mental health professionals (USDHHS, 2007). Types of Maltreatment Children Suffer Maltreatment can take many forms, and some children can suffer from more than one type. Since 1999, the majority of children confirmed to be victims of child maltreatment experienced neglect. The following are the percentages of children who experienced maltreatment in 2005 (USDHHS, 2007): Neglect 62.8% Physical abuse 16.6% Sexual abuse 9.3% Emotional/psychological abuse 7.1% Medical neglect 2.0% Other 14.3% The ‘Other’ category listed above includes abandonment, threats to harm the child, congenital drug addiction and other situations that are not counted as specific categories in NCANDS. The percentages here add up to more than 100 percent because some children were victims of more than one type of maltreatment. Demographics of Child Victims Boys and girls are equally likely to suffer maltreatment. In 2005, 47.3 percent of child victims were male, and 50.7 percent were

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

can money buy happiness Essay - 688 Words

In today’s materialistic world, the phrase that ‘money can’t buy happiness’ is tending to be proved hence otherwise. Social research and surveys have shown results based on an individuals income, health and the political scenario which is dominant in his or her region. It is quite obvious that the gap between the privileged and the not so is growing into a great divide giving rise to different class and status, thus defining ones social circle. It should therefore be understood how an individuals economic status affects their personal happiness throughout all aspects of life. Many tend to refer to this age-old quote especially when they tend to belong to sector of people who can’t afford the modern day luxuries of life. What they do not†¦show more content†¦Of course, that is just one viewpoint. All the things mentioned above have no relation to contentment in present conditions as even the bare necessities of life are not enough to fulfill the needs of today’s generation, as everything has a price. The reality itself is cruel yet unavoidably true, that you cannot be fed, educated, sheltered, and you cannot have even have any enjoyment or entertainment without some kind of economic support. The modern world has given a price tag to everything, and thus, for many, wealth is indeed the root and ultimate happiness. It should be highlighted that money may allow one to get all the temporary comforts of life, but it must also be considered as to which type of person benefits from money as well. For example, an individual dying from an incurable illness, cannot be satisfied while being in possession of a great deal of money, when they are not even able to spend and enjoy it to its fullest content. Furthermore, someone with vast riches may be considered lucky by many, but the individual himself only realizes that if there is no one to share the bounties with, there is indeed no sweetness, no matter how ripe the fruit may be. Then again, if you happen to pick out someone from the opposite end of the upper class and elite, someone who belongs to a third class community, having a large family, loving spouse and even the beloved pet, he orShow MoreRelatedCan Money Buy Happiness?1324 Words   |  6 PagesCan money buy happiness? It’s a philosophical question that has been discussed for centuries and there is no simple answer. For example, Graham Hill in â€Å"Living with Less. A Lot Less† gives his input on this highly debated topic through a multitude of short anecdotes. She asked herself not if â€Å"Money can buy happiness,† but if money could â€Å"help buy happiness† (Rubin 293). She also brings up the idea of modest splurging and spending out as methods of using money to help one buy happiness. Rubin describesRead MoreCan Money Buy Happiness?1637 Words   |  7 Pages Does Happiness Come With A Price? Malcom Williams Can Money Buy Happiness? Abstract In this paper, I argue and show various sources addressing the correlations between money and happiness through subjects such as pro-social spending, materialism, the pursuit of spending on others, and the effects of homelessness on physical and mental health. Much of the time, cash can have a negative impact on both, particularly the. Now and again, in any case, cash may positively affect satisfactionRead MoreCan Money Buy Happiness?1110 Words   |  5 PagesCan Money buy Happiness? Money is people’s number one priority. It enables them to purchase food, clothing, and shelter. Money can buy anything with a price on it, but can it buy happiness? Happiness is not an item you can buy, it is something you can feel. Money cannot bring you happiness, only satisfaction. We learn growing up not everything in this world is free. Money can only give you a short term of happiness. When you buy everything you want, you do not have anything to look forwardRead MoreMoney Can Buy Happiness1523 Words   |  7 PagesHappiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy†. Notice that happiness is within the range of contentment to intense joy. Every single thing in the world which brings contentment or joy costs money and therefore, it is money which brings happiness. Nothing can be yours without money being spent either by the person experiencing this happiness, or by others spending money so that they can be happy. For example, even peopleRead MoreCan Money Buy Happiness?948 Words   |  4 PagesHappiness can stem from many different emotions, accomplishments and you’re overall well-being, but what has been debated for years is can money buy you happiness? It can buy you material items and even a way to see the world if desired however, true happiness cannot be bought by the dollar as this version of â€Å"happiness† is temporary. In today’s society there is no level of satisfaction as we are constantly innovating and getting newer and better in short periods of time. In the article â€Å"Can MoneyRead MoreMoney Can Buy Happiness : Happiness1653 Words   |  7 PagesMoney Can Buy Happiness Happiness, has long been an estate that huge numbers of individuals endeavor to create a path, that seeks to find it. Extensive research, surprisingly enough, does not have definitive answers on the concept of what makes one happy. As a matter of fact; there are as many attempts to define happiness, as there are the many scholars, theologians, psychologist and philosophers, curious enough to research it. Many ¬Ã‚ ¬; are unsuccessful in comparison to the ready definition ofRead MoreMoney Can Buy Happiness945 Words   |  4 PagesCan money buy you happiness? It is a classical debate, sparked by the left-wing communists and religious leaders who suggest that a person can live a full life without the pursuit of money, and instead one must look to a more spiritual existence above the material desires. It is perhaps conceivable in a century gone by where people grew all their food and believed in witches, that a human could forge a fulfilling existence without the need of money to sa tisfy our desires. However in today’s societyRead MoreCan Money Buy Happiness? Essay1321 Words   |  6 PagesThere is More Than One Path to Happiness (2D) Growing up in a family where both my parents came from poor immigrant backgrounds always made financial success a priority and when there was no need to be frugal, my parents did seem happier. But did money buy my parents’ happiness or did money lead to their happiness? Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener attempt to answer that question in their excerpt â€Å"Can Money Buy Happiness,† where they claim that â€Å"[m]oney can be a help in attaining psychologicalRead MoreCan Money Buy Happiness?891 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Can money buy happiness?† has been a cliche question for centuries, and there have been numerous studies and debates on this topic. Yet, no one seems to have a definite answer. In the video Money and Happiness, Michael Norton states explicitly that money does bring people happiness if you spent it on other people rather than on yourself. Although his interesting and novel answer is contrary to people’s natural instinct, it makes me refl ect on my past experience of spending on others, and helps meRead MoreCan Money Buy Happiness?1646 Words   |  7 PagesCan Money Buy Happiness? Happiness is a positive emotion which all humans experience but which cannot be defined through a monetary value. Money is the symbol of greed and desire. It leads to overconsumption allowing for us the consumers to forcibly satisfy all of our desires in life instead of on spending our money on our needs and on the essential things in life that people need in order to survive and maintain a well-balanced lifestyle. Although some people may say that money can buy happiness

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Current Development In Thought Accounting †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Current Development In Thought Accounting? Answer: Introduction The present paper presents there short critical essays related to the contemporary issues in accounting. In this context, the first essay aims in demonstrating the knowledge of the qualitative characteristics of accounting as mentioned in conceptual framework. The next essay demonstrates knowledge of normative theories in accounting and the last essay is about discussing the building blocks of conceptual framework. Define CF in accounting As per the IASB, a non-profit organization responsible for developing global accounting standards has developed and implemented conceptual accounting framework for improving the quality of financial reports of business entities. The conceptual framework determines the concepts that help in preparation and presentation of financial statements to end-users (IFRS Conceptual Framework: About, 2017). The main purpose of developing conceptual framework is to provide guidance to the IFRS in developing future financial reporting standards and assisting national standard-setting bodies in developing accounting standards. The conceptual framework assembles the interrelated concepts on different accounting theories for developing standard-setting and consent accounting principles (Deegan, 2014, p.214). The four major qualitative characteristics of useful financial information as per the conceptual accounting framework are relevance, reliability, comparability and understandability (Internationa l Accounting Standards Board [IASB] 2010, p.xxx). Link CF to the objectives of general purpose financial reporting The objectives of general purpose financial report provide a basis to the development and foundation of conceptual framework. The major objectives of the general purpose financial reports are to provide useful and credible financial information to the present and future investors of a business entity. These objectives are linked with the conceptual framework principles of relevance, reliability, comparability and understandability that aim at enhancing the decision-making usefulness of financial statements (IFRS Foundation, 2015). Link the objectives of general purpose financial reporting to intended users The general purpose financial reports aims to provide useful and pertinent information to the end-users for enabling them to make investment decisions. The IASB, in this context, has included stewardship under its objective of decision-usefulness. The stewardship approach as aligned the general purpose financial reporting objectives with those of the intended users. The main objective of stewardship is to disclose more information about the past events and future performance of a business entity in financial reporting to support the decision-making process of end-users (Deegan, 2014, p.166). Qualitative characteristics of accounting linked to intended users The qualitative characteristics of financial information as per the IASB are relevancy, comparability, verifiable, timely and understandable. These are linked to the intended users as these characteristics aims to disclose all the necessary and materialistic financial information to the users for protecting their interest. The development of financial statements on the basis of these characteristic will ensure that end-users such as investors and creditors receive all the accurate and realistic financial information for making correct decisions regarding their investment (IASB CF, 2015, p.27-30). Linking the qualitative characteristics to the objectives of measurement As per the IASB objectives of measurement, the financial reports should measure all the assets and liabilities on a uniform basis as per the relevance qualitative characteristics of financial reporting. Also, the fundamental qualitative characteristics of faithful representation have also some implications for measurements as per which financial reports developed must be free from any error. However, this does not imply that measurements should be perfectly accurate but any deviations must be faithful represented during financial reporting. As per the understandability qualitative characteristic, the users of financial report must be able to develop an understanding of the measurements used (International Accounting Standards Board [IASB] 2013, p.xxx). Which is more important: relevance or faithful representation The relevance and faithful representation are the two main qualitative characteristics of financial reporting. However, with the increasing incidents about the fraudulent activities in the organizations due to hiding and concealing of useful information has initiated the debate of determining the most important qualitative characteristic of accounting between relevance and faithful representation. The relevance has been regarded as most important over fair representation as it more impact on improving the quality of financial reports by disclosing all the materialistic facts and figures so that investors realize a true picture of the financial position of a firm (IASB CF, 2015, p.27-30). Is it possible for accounting to ever achieve faithful representation? The financial statements must have completeness, neutrality and free from any materialistic error in order to achieve faithful representation. However, this is not possible in real terms as the business entities are not able to provide accurate value of a reporting firm but only provide an estimation of its value. The financial reports cannot provide all the information required by the potential investors such as about the economic conditions impacting the financial performance. However, the goal of faithful representation in accounting is to accurately represent the general economic conditions it has not achieved faithfulness (Alexander et al, 2007, p.120-121). Define normative theory The normative approach to accounting is used for development of conceptual framework and provides an understanding of the reporting the different entries of the financial statements for attaining the optimum outputs. The theory provides guidance to the policy makers about the future accounting processes to be adopted on the basis of theoretical principle. It provides suggestions to the accounting policy makers on the basis of existing accounting theories and lead to the development of specific accounting policies (Matthews Perera, 1996, p.xxx). Define HCA and briefly discuss its characteristics, strengths and weaknesses The Historic Cost Accounting (HCA) involves developing the accounts of an entity on the basis of historic cost. The historic cost is referred to as nominal or original cost of an asset on the data of its acquisition. The HCA principles states that an asset should be reported at its cost during an accounting transaction that includes all the costs involves in making an asset ready for the use. The main advantage of this approach is that this approach is an easier method of asset valuation. The original cost of an asset is easy to be determined and verified as it already exists and as such cannot be altered. However, its drawback is that the approach does not provide an estimation of the future value of assets and thus does not comply with relevance principle of accounting (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales [ICAEW], 2006, p.xxx). Describe the normative alternatives to HCA and discuss their characteristics, strengths and weaknesses in their attempt to overcome HCA's weaknesses The constant purchasing power accounting (CPPA), capital cost allowance (CCA) and Fair Value Accounting (FVA) are some of the normative alternatives to HCA. The major benefit of CPPA over HCA is that provides reliable financial information to the management for facilitating its decision-making process. On the other hand, CCA method takes into account the annual depreciation on the cost of assets that can be claimed for the purpose of income tax. However, it does not overcome the defects of historical cost approach appropriately as this method also does not help in providing a future estimate of a firm performance. In this context, the FVA is the most useful accounting method that represents the current information about the assets and liabilities value on the balance sheet. The FVA is also subjected to some criticism as it does not provide reliable financial information as it is based on assumptions by the managers thus lowering the reliability of financial reporting (IASB CF, 2015, p. 61-64). Evaluation process for determining the success-levels for both HCA and the normative alternatives to HCA The business entities are required to select the most appropriate measurement basis for valuing its assets and liabilities for protecting the investors interest. It is important to consider the required information to be disclosed in the general purpose financial statements. In this context, a business entity is required to assess the ability of an asset or liability to produce future cash flows and their nature and characteristics. The business entity is required to select a measurement basis that provides the most relevant information in its financial reports (IASB CF, 2015, p.67). Were any of the normative alternatives to HCA successful? There have been the development of different normative alternatives to HCA such as CPPA, CCA or CoCoA but none of the approach was able to provide an accounting standard for measuring the assets and liabilities. However, the fair value accounting method has helped in overcoming some of the drawbacks of HCA and also incorporates the features of CPPA, CCA and CoCoA successfully. The FVA is also associated with some drawbacks and therefore the accounting professionals are considering other methods of measurement such as conservative accounting for maintaining the reliability of financial information (IASB CF, 2013, p.113-116). Description of the key building blocks of Conceptual Framework The key building blocks of conceptual accounting framework are the objectives of financial reporting, the quality of financial information, the elements of financial statements and the recognition and measurement. The objective of financial reporting aims to provide useful and rational information to the potential investors and creditors through financial reporting. The quality emphasizes on usefulness of the financial information disclosed in decision-making. The elements of financial statements are assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, expense, profit and loss that determines the type of information to be presented in financial reports. The recognition and measurement concept assesses the type of items to be disclosed and the measurement method used for measuring the items (IASB CF, 2010). Structured order and relative connections of the key building blocks The key building blocks of the conceptual framework are inter-related with each other. The objective of financial reporting ensures that conceptual framework provides detailed information about an entity resources and obligations. The quality of financial reporting maintains that conceptual framework provides useful information through making it relevant, reliable and comparable (Australian Accounting Standards Board [AASB], 2001, p.xxx). The elements of financial information provide the type of financial elements whose quality needs to be assessed. The recognition and measurement decides the presentation of the elements of financial statements and the measurement method adopted for their valuation (Deegan, 2014, p.216-218). Advantages and criticisms of the conceptual framework The main advantage of the conceptual framework of accounting is that it helps in development of accounting standards and policies to be followed for financial reporting and thus helps in making the financial statements more useful and purposeful for the end-users. However, the main criticism against the conceptual framework is that it is very difficult to be established as it is very expensive and time-consuming (Deegan, 2014, p.256-261). Do you agree with the criticisms of the conceptual framework The conceptual framework though helping in improving the usefulness of financial statements faces criticism of being expensive, rigid and time-consuming. However, in my opinion these drawbacks of conceptual framework are completely outweighed by its benefits of providing reliable, relevant, comparable and consistent financial information to the end-users. It has helped in protecting the investors interest and is also largely helpful in restricting the fraudulent accounting activities sin business corporations (IASB CF, 2010). Conclusion It can be inferred from the overall discussion that conceptual framework has become fundamental to financial reporting for ensuring the transparency in business operations. References Alexander, D; Britton, A. Jorissen, A. (2007). International Financial Reporting and Analysis, 3rd edn., Hong Kong: Thomson. Australian Accounting Standards Board [AASB]. (2001). The Nature and Purpose of Statements of Accounting Concepts (Policy Statement PS5). Retrieved from https://www.aasb.gov.au/admin/file/content102/c3/ACCPS5_07-01.pdf Deegan, C. (2014). Financial Accounting Theory (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill: Sydney. IFRS Conceptual Framework: About. August 2017. Retrieved from https://www.ifrs.org/projects/work-plan/conceptual-framework/#about IFRS Foundation.(2015). Exposure Draft ED/2015/3: Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting, May 2015. Retrieved from https://www.ifrs.org/-/media/project/conceptual-framework/exposure-draft/published-documents/ed-conceptual-framework.pdf Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales [ICAEW].(2006). Measurement in Financial Reporting: Information for better markets initiative. Retrieved from https://www.icaew.com/-/media/corporate/files/technical/financial-reporting/information-for-better-markets/ifbm/measurement-in-financial-reporting.ashx International Accounting Standards Board [IASB].(2010). Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting 2010. Retrieved from https://www.ifrs.org/News/Press-Releases/Documents/ConceptualFW2010vb.pdf International Accounting Standards Board [IASB].(2013). A Review of the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting: Discussion Paper DP/2013/1. Retrieved from https://www.ifrs.org/Current-Projects/IASB-Projects/Conceptual-Framework/Discussion-Paper-July-2013/Documents/Discussion-Paper-Conceptual-Framework-July-2013.pdf Mathews, M. R. Perera, M. H. B. (1996). Theory construction in accounting. InAccounting theory and development, 3rd edn., Melbourne: Thomas Nelson.