Gabon :: essays papers

Gabon ECONOMY Gabon has a PCI (per capita income) that is two to four times greater than that of most sub-Saharan African nations. The average income in Gabon is about $6,400 compared to the $1,200 of some other countries. The higher PCI has helped in the decline of extreme poverty but because of a high income inequality many families still remain poor. High income inequality makes it hard for families to move up in society, they remain where they are at. In 1992 there fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of there GDP and they did not settle the arrears on the bilateral debt which lead to the cancellation of all the official and private creditors. Fluctuating prices in the oil, timber, and uranium, plus poor fiscal management has also hurt the economy. Gabon’s GPD (gross domestic product) is estimated to be around 7.7 billion dollars. The GPD is divided into three sections the first being agriculture making up 8%. Gabon’s agriculture consists of cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, cattle, and fish. The second section, industry, contributes 67% of the nations GPD. Gabon’s industry includes textile, lumbering and plywood, petroleum, cement, manganese, uranium, gold mining, and chemicals. Oil was located of the coast of Gabon in the 1970’s. Petroleum alone now makes up 50% of the GDP. The last section of the GDP is services, making up 25%. Ship repair supplies the most to this category of the GDP. Gabon exports about $2.1 billion a year and imports an average of $890 million. The US, China, France, and Japan are there leading partners for exports. The US receives 67% of Gabon’s exports a year. Machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, petroleum products, and construction materials are included in Gabon’s imports. France imports about 38% followed by the US, Cameroon, and the Netherlands. The CFAF (Communaute Financiere Africaine franc) is Gabon’s currency. The CFAF started of as the French currency the Franc. The exchange rate for every US dollar is 577.61 CFAF’s. The inflation rate for the CFAF is about 2% as of January 1999. Gabon’s labor force works in three sectors, agriculture, industry and commerce, and services. Even though agriculture supplies only 8% of the GDP it makes up 65% of the labor force. Workers raise foods such as; cassava, plantains, sugarcane, corn (maize), peanuts (groundnuts), bananas, palm oil, and cacao. Gabon :: essays papers Gabon ECONOMY Gabon has a PCI (per capita income) that is two to four times greater than that of most sub-Saharan African nations. The average income in Gabon is about $6,400 compared to the $1,200 of some other countries. The higher PCI has helped in the decline of extreme poverty but because of a high income inequality many families still remain poor. High income inequality makes it hard for families to move up in society, they remain where they are at. In 1992 there fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of there GDP and they did not settle the arrears on the bilateral debt which lead to the cancellation of all the official and private creditors. Fluctuating prices in the oil, timber, and uranium, plus poor fiscal management has also hurt the economy. Gabon’s GPD (gross domestic product) is estimated to be around 7.7 billion dollars. The GPD is divided into three sections the first being agriculture making up 8%. Gabon’s agriculture consists of cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, cattle, and fish. The second section, industry, contributes 67% of the nations GPD. Gabon’s industry includes textile, lumbering and plywood, petroleum, cement, manganese, uranium, gold mining, and chemicals. Oil was located of the coast of Gabon in the 1970’s. Petroleum alone now makes up 50% of the GDP. The last section of the GDP is services, making up 25%. Ship repair supplies the most to this category of the GDP. Gabon exports about $2.1 billion a year and imports an average of $890 million. The US, China, France, and Japan are there leading partners for exports. The US receives 67% of Gabon’s exports a year. Machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, petroleum products, and construction materials are included in Gabon’s imports. France imports about 38% followed by the US, Cameroon, and the Netherlands. The CFAF (Communaute Financiere Africaine franc) is Gabon’s currency. The CFAF started of as the French currency the Franc. The exchange rate for every US dollar is 577.61 CFAF’s. The inflation rate for the CFAF is about 2% as of January 1999. Gabon’s labor force works in three sectors, agriculture, industry and commerce, and services. Even though agriculture supplies only 8% of the GDP it makes up 65% of the labor force. Workers raise foods such as; cassava, plantains, sugarcane, corn (maize), peanuts (groundnuts), bananas, palm oil, and cacao.

Case 1.12:Madoff Securities

Case 1. 12: Madoff Securities Questions: 1. Research recent developments involving this case. Summarize these developments in a bullet format. 2. Suppose that a large investment firm had approximately 10 percent of its total assets invested in funds managed by Madoff securities. What audit procedures should the investment firm’s independent auditors has applied to those assets? 3. Describe the nature and purpose of a â€Å"peer review. † Would peer reviews of Friehling & Horowitz have likely resulted in the discovery of the Madoff fraud? Why or why not? 4.Professional auditing standards discuss the three key â€Å"conditions† that are typically present when a financial fraud occurs and identify a lengthy list of â€Å"fraud risk factors. † Briefly explain the difference between a fraud â€Å"condition† and a â€Å"fraud risk factors,† and provide examples of each. What fraud conditions and fraud risk factors were apparently present in the Mad off case? 5. In addition to the reforms mentioned in this case, recommend other financial reporting and auditing-related reforms that would likely be effective in preventing or detecting frauds similar to that perpetrated by Madoff. Answers: 1.Recent developments involving the case Madoff Securities: †¢Bernie Madoff’s son, Mark Madoff committed suicide on December 11, 2010. His suicide may have been influenced because there was an investigation on Mark’s children on grounds that Bernie transferred funds to their accounts. †¢Peter Madoff pleaded guilty to his involvement in the Ponzi scheme run by his brother. Peter Madoff served as the chief compliance officer. †¢Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of liquidating Madoff’s assets, has asked a New York court for approval to distribute an additional $1. 5 billion to investors who lost money in Madoff’s fraudulent investments.It is estimated that Picard has already recovered $9. 1 billion but has only been able to distribute $1. 1 billion so far. †¢In May 2010, about 720,000 Madoff investors outside the United States settled with their banks, receiving about $15. 5 billion in all, according to law firms representing them. †¢In June 2012, the Supreme Court said it would not take up a dispute over how the claims of victims of Mr. Madoff’s huge Ponzi scheme should be calculated. Without comment, the high court declined to hear an appeal from lawyers for investors who got back all the cash they had invested with Mr.Madoff before his December 2008 arrest. 2. If a large investment firm had approximately 10 percent of its total assets invested in funds managed by Madoff Securities, the audit procedures that the firm’s independent auditors should look very closely are some procedures that will help the auditor to identify inherent and control risks that contribute to misstatements in balance sheets. He/she should make sure that the detection risk is as lo w as possible and the key transactions are confirmed for its accuracy.By addressing issues of materiality, the auditor will eliminate misstatements to overstate the investment on the balance sheets. PCAOB AU Section 329A states that understanding financial relationships is essential in planning and evaluating results of analytical procedures and generally requires knowledge of the client industry. The auditor, by understanding the nature of the business can identify and categorize the types of risk that can be assessed. The auditor will have to do research about the business and how transactions are handled and processed.Knowing about the client’s business the auditor will better obtain sufficient, reliable, and relevant evidence to achieve his audit objectives. Analytical procedures are used as a substantive test where the auditor considers the level of assurance he/she wants from the substantive test for audit objective. The independent auditor main goal is to be able to es tablish the accuracy of major accounts and confirm that the assets the firm has recorded actually exist. For instance, the auditor should to take key transactions of the assets and make sure that those transactions are accurate and recorded properly.Also he may conduct bank reconciliations on pertinent accounts to make sure no discrepancies or misstatements are found. The auditor should also perform vertical and horizontal analysis for the income statements and balance sheets by the use of ratios. Moreover, the auditor should preform test for effectiveness of internal controls. He may interview management by asking questions on the process of the transactions and operational activities. He may discuss with management the process of some transactions from beginning to end and then test it by using sample testing.Also he/she should make sure that there is proper control of activities; policies and procedures for adequate segregation of duties are met. 3. A peer review is a process of subjecting research methods and findings to the study of others who are experts in the same field. The purpose is designed to prevent dissemination of irrelevant findings, unwarranted claims, unacceptable interpretations, and personal views. It relies on colleagues that review one another’s work and make an informed decision about whether it is legitimate, and adds to the large dialogue or findings in the field.A peer review of Frieshling & Horowitz would result in the discovery of the Madoff fraud because questions would have been raised about the resource capability of the firm to handle such a large account given that it only had one accountant. Moreover, the Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews Section 1000 states that purpose is to provide standards for administrating, planning, preforming a good monitoring of the CPA firm’s accounting and auditing practice to promote good quality to serve the public interest. 4.The SAS 99 describes three conditi ons of fraud: incentives/pressures to commit fraud, opportunities that circumstances provide opportunities to commit, and attitudes/rationalizations which is an attitude, a character or set of ethical values exists that allows management or employees to commit dishonest act. Some of the fraud risk factors in Madoff Securities case include: Incentives/Pressures Greenness- Madoff always wanted more. He wanted to maintain a rich lifestyle for him and his family, as well as to stay as one of the top investment firm.Opportunities Madoff firm did not have proper monitoring controls as well as the ineffective accounting system, internal audit and information technology staff. Attitudes/Rationalizations No one understood his strategy; no one could communicate with him about investments SAS 99 requires the auditor to assess whether fraud risk factors exist. Fraud risk means that the likelihood of committing the fraud is high. For instance based on case some of fraud risk factors are: †¢ high degree of competition or market saturation, accompanied by declining margins. assets, liabilities, revenues, or expenses based on significant estimates 5. Other reforms recommended are for the victims of the fraud would be that the victims need to be more aware of whom they are investing their money with. The victims should perform more research the company in which they would like to invest their money. They should ask them self-questions if the business owner has a good reputation, is he/she have a criminal record, and if he/she has experience in operating a business. Also, today the economy is hard and if a return on an investment seems too good to be true probably here is something wrong going on (fraud class, prof. Edward Mann). Moreover, the other ways that would effectively prevent or detect fraud similar to Madoff are: †¢organizing the enforcement division that will monitoring unusual investment returns, †¢improving fraud detection procedures for examiners, â € ¢recruiting staff with specialized experience, †¢expanding and targeting training to improving internal controls procedures, †¢introduce firms with whistleblower program †¢increasing educational request for specific licenses †¢oversight management and employees

Framework for end-of-life decisions - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1667 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Analytical essay Level High school Tags: Act Essay Did you like this example? Consider how well the European convention of Human Rights provides an adequate framework for the making of end-of-life decisions. ANSWER Introduction The European Convention on Human Rights[1] has been accorded force and effect in the United Kingdom legal system by means of the Human Rights Act 1998[2]. The Act permits claims for a breach of a Convention right to be raised in UK courts, without necessitating a direct application to the European Court of Human Rights itself. The 1998 Act has exercised far reaching and profound consequences throughout the UK legal order as new rights across a multiplicity of different contexts have been conceded and enforced by the courts.. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Framework for end-of-life decisions" essay for you Create order This paper examines the matrix of law established by the ECHR concerning the making of end-of-life decisions and draws conclusions as to its adequacy. End of Life Decisions at Law The Hippocratic oath[3] taken by every Doctor provides as follows: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"I will prescribe regimen for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgement and never do harm to anyone. To please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug nor give advice which may cause his death.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢[4] This is the inviolable principle under which all doctors operate in theory. In addition the ECHR enshrines, in Article 2, the most fundamental human right of all: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Everyones right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ It is submitted that the highly sensitive and emotive issue s of the right to life and end-of-life decisions[5] individually constitute highly fertile areas of law and in combination it can come as no surprise that there have been many cases on the issue. It is pertinent to discuss some of the most prominent cases in analysing the adequacy of the position of the ECHR on end-of-life decisions[6]. In the case Pretty v United Kingdom (2002)[7] the applicant was suffering from a degenerative, incurable illness and was paralysed.. She alleged that the Director of Public Prosecutionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ refusal to grant an immunity from prosecution to her husband in the event that he provided her with assistance to commit suicide and the prohibition in UK law on assisting suicide contravened her rights under Articles 2, 3, 8, 9 and 14 of the ECHR. The applicantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s disease was in an advanced and worsening state of almost complete paralysis.. It was asserted that her life expectancy was poor but that her intellect and capacity to make decisions had been left entirely unimpaired. It was claimed the applicant was terrified of the notion of the long, painful and undignified terminal stages of the disease and that she had a very strong desire to be able to choose and control exactly how and when she died so as to be spared the suffering and indignity of a slow death. However, given that she was paralysed her disease prevented her from committing suicide by her own actions, which is otherwise legal under UK law. The applicant therefore requested that the UK government undertook not to take out a prosecution against her husband if he assisted her in committing suicide, which would constitute a crime under UK law. The application was refused, and that refusal was upheld by the House of Lords. The Court found that the Applicants case should be considered under the terms of Article 8 of the ECHR. Article 8 provides that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"(1) Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, h is home and his correspondence. (2) There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Coupling Article 8 with Article 14, which contains the basic non-discrimination principle, the applicant claimed that she was being denied the freedom to exercise a right enjoyed by other individuals who could end their lives unilaterally and without the need for assistance in that regard because they are not prevented by any disability from so doing. She argued that the complete UK ban on assisted suicide was responsible for causing this discrimination and that the discrimination could not be justified given that the appli cant was a member of the class of vulnerable people subject to the protection the law. The European Court reiterated that the concept of discrimination, in terms of the ECHR, constitutes the: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"disparate treatment of people in very similar conditions or similar treatment of people in vastly different conditions. The member states, however, enjoy a margin of appreciation in drawing the line.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢[8] In Pretty, the Court found that it was reasonable for the state to refrain from establishing different laws for those unable and those able to commit suicide unilaterally.. It was noted that the distinction between the two classes may sometimes be blurred and that to seek to build an exemption into the law for those considered to be incapable of committing suicide would seriously jeopardise the protection of life and significantly increase the risk of abuse of the principle. The Court did not find violations under any Article of the Convention. As sta ted, Article 2(1) stresses that a persons right to life shall be protected by law. It is submitted that it has been held in cases such as Osman v UK (1999)[9] that means that the state must not only refrain from intentionally taking life but also that it must endeavour to take action to safeguard the lives of those within its jurisdiction. Moreover, as the case McCann v United Kingdom (1995)[10] indicates, it should be noted that the state is required to offer appropriate instructions, training and briefings to those of its agents who are charged with responsibility for a situation where death could occur as a consequence of the actions. It could be argued that this right is analogous to a requirement to take proactive and positive steps to prevent suicides of those individuals held in state custody. Keenan v UK (2001)[11] prompted the European Court of Human Rights to conclude that Article 2 should be read as extending to an active duty to prevent self-inflicted deaths in cus tody where the authorities had received constructive notice of a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"real and immediate risk to lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Interestingly, the provision of poor medical treatment or care was found in McFeeley v UK (1981)[12], and in R (Wright and Bennett) SSHD (2002)[13], to amount potentially to a breach of Article 2. This jurisprudence was confirmed in Edwards v UK (2002)[14]. In McCann v United Kingdom (1995)[15] it was held that the obligation on the state to take positive steps to intervene to protect life also dictated that some form of state sponsored investigation should be undertaken in circumstances where death has occurred in manner applicable to Article 2 or 3 of the Convention. It is contended that the absence of such an investigation is likely to prove offensive to Article 2 per se. The European Court conceded in McCann that the use of lethal force by state servants including the police service may be justifiable under Art.2(2) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“where the appli cation of force is based on an honestly held belief that the use of such force was absolutely necessaryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . It is submitted that the Court in McCann could not have held otherwise in the circumstances, given that such would likely put a wholly unrealistic burden on law enforcement officers, perhaps, it is suggested, to the detriment of others in society that the law is charged to protect. Concluding Commentary In sum, it cannot be said that there is a perfect fit between the ECHR and the concerns and demands of society and individuals relating to end-of-life decisions. This is unsurprising, given that when the Convention was drafted in the late 1940s such issues were merely a distant blip on the radar of the evolving legal systems of the UK. Advances in medical science often present moral and legal dilemmas and there is no doubt that the ability of physicians to keep people alive far longer than might otherwise have been the case in past decades has created challeng es of its own. In simple words, the European Conventionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s matrix of principle was not drafted with this problem in mind. This is a moral, legal and jurisprudential minefield touching on religion and the deepest sensibilities and it is submitted that one must proceed with extreme caution. The cases discussed testify that the ECHR is, step by step, slowly establishing a coherent methodological and jurisprudential base for the effective and comprehensive resolution of end-of-life decision cases. However, progress is likely to be slow and, such is the nature of the subject, it is likely that the matter will never be fully balanced and resolved in all contexts. THE END WORD COUNT : 1493 BIBLIOGRAPHY Beauchamp T.L and Childress J.F, Principles of Biomedical Ethics, (2001) Oxford University Press. European Convention on Human Rights: https://www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html Human Rights Act 1998: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998 Parker M., Dicken son D., The Cambridge Medical Ethics Workbook, (2001) Cambridge University Press, Chapter 1 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Decisions at the end of life.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Cases drawn from original law reports as footnoted. 1 [1] For full text see: https://www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html. [2] For full text see: https://www.opsi.gov..uk/ACTS/acts1998/19980042.htm. [3] https://www.intute.ac.uk/healthandlifesciences/cgi-bin/browse.pl?id=97704gateway=medhist. [4] See for insightful comment: Leather T. and Dr Pal R., Death Wish, https://www.nhsexposed.com/patients/euthanasia/death_wish.shtml. [5] See for a useful overview: Beauchamp T.L and Childress J.F, Principles of Biomedical Ethics, (2001) Oxford University Press. [6] For an eclectic study see: Parker M., Dickenson D., The Cambridge Medical Ethics Workbook, (2001) Cambridge University Press, chapter 1 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Decisions at the end of life.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  [7] ECHR Application no.2346/02, Judgment 29/04/02. [8] Ibid. [9] (2002) 29 EHRR 245. [10] (1995) 21 EHRR 97. [11] (2001) 33 EHRR 38. [12] (1981) 3 EHRR 161. [13] (2002) HRLR 1. [14] (2002) 35 EHRR 19. [15] As cited above.