The Middle Ages During History And Medieval Law Essay

The Middle Ages The middle ages were the worst period in history – I 100% agree The Middle Ages was the worst period in history because of the: Black death and how it killed millions of people, the worst jobs in history because of the almost punishing jobs some people had to do for a living, and how mediaeval law and order forced people to stick by the rules. I am going to be focusing on – The Black Plague, Worst Jobs in History and Medieval Law and Order The Black Plague affected people by making them sick which caused people to brick up their doors and windows to stop the plague spreading to them. people even abandoned loved ones or close friends to avoid the disease, and some fled to the countryside but they still got the disease. â€Å"in a panic, healthy people did all they could to avoid the sick. Doctors refused to see patients; priests refused to administer last rites. Shopkeepers closed stores. Many people fled the cities for the countryside, but even there they could not escape the disease: It affected cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens as well as people. In fact, so many sheep died that one of the consequences of the Black Death was a European wool shortage. And many people, desperate to save themselves, even abandoned their sick and dying loved ones.† - http://www.history.com/topics/black-death. The black death caused a European wool shortage. There were 3 types of the black plague: bubonic – It caused fis t sized swellings. This type was the most common. PneumonicShow MoreRelatedComparing and Contrasting the Role of Women during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages1564 Words   |  7 PagesInvestigation This investigation strives to compare and contrast of the role of women during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. The inquiry is significant because in order to understand the culture and ethics of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages it is crucial to understand the importance of women. The issues that will be addressed include: the role of women in the Roman Empire, the role of women in the Middle Ages, and the similarities as well as the differences of the two major time periods. ThisRead MoreTo What Extent Did Feudalism Affect the Societies in the Middle Ages?1518 Words   |  7 PagesTo what extent did feudalism affect the societies in the Middle Ages? Plan of Investigation The investigation assesses the significance of the feudal system in the middle ages. In order to evaluate the feudal system’s significance, the investigation evaluates each role of the social classes in a Middle Ages society. This includes the kings, nobles and lords, knights, and peasants and serfs. Articles and secondary sources are mostly used to evaluate the feudal system’s significance. Two of theRead MoreThe Roman Catholic Church in Medieval Times Essay1295 Words   |  6 Pages In the Medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church played a great role in the development of England and had much more power than the Church of today does. In Medieval England, the Roman Catholic Church dominated everyday life and controlled everyone whether it is knights, peasants or kings. The Church was one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval England and played a large role in education and religion. The Churchs power was so great that they could order and control knightsRead MoreThose Horrible Middle Ages !1433 Words   |  6 PagesAs indicated by the sarcastic title of her book â€Å"Those Terrible Middle Ages!† French historian Rà ©gine Pernoud addresses this commonly held misconception. She argues this time in history spanning approximately a thousand years as well as the image of the Church, have been irresponsibly represented. Her examination of this time period reveals that it is not the Church, but modernism that generates a return to the classic al ideology of antiquity. These ancient pagan beliefs of the distant past are notRead MoreIslamic State And Boko Haram1664 Words   |  7 Pagesand medieval version of Islam, these individuals are not wrong in a sense, but rather they are failing to notice that no ancient religion is peaceful or nonviolent. It is true that the beliefs that are held by members of terrorist groups are archaic, but it isn’t because the culture and system of modern Islam is medieval in itself, but because the terrorists that are perpetrating these are attacks are modern fanatics of the olden days. If one were to look at another major religion’s history, suchRead MoreThe Decline Of The Middle Ages1392 Words   |  6 Pages The Middle Ages was a period that lasted for over 1000 years, beginning in 400 CE and ending in 1500 CE. This era is known as the period of time between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. The medieval era is split up into three sections; early Middle Ages (400-900 CE), High Middle Ages (900-1250 CE) and the late Middle Ages (1250-1500 CE). Medieval Europe was a time of key advancement in society and a period where a distinct cultural unit emerged. This was influenced by differentRead MoreHistorical And Philosophical Movement Of The Renaissance1596 Words   |  7 Pageswritings and concerns of the medieval times through the emergence of humanism and free will, the revival of antiquity, natural philosophy and enlightment of knowledge. To understand why the Renaissance played a significant role in this transition, it is important to first consider how the medieval times differed from it. The medieval times lasted from the 5th to the 15th century and marked its beginning with the collapse of the western roman empire. The history of the medieval times has often been associatedRead MoreThe Effects of Feudalism Essay1161 Words   |  5 PagesIn Medieval times during the 10th and 13th centuries, a form of political and social organization called feudalism was a way of life that had great effect on people of the time and on the modern world. Feudalism was developed because of the weakness of Europe and its kings. The word feudalism comes from the word fief, which was the land held on condition of feudal service, similar to an estate (English). The fiefs bound together lords and vassals. Feudalism was a structure in which a lord dividedRead MoreMedieval Period in European History1575 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction The medieval period in European history begins after the fall of the Roman Empire around 500 C.E., and continued until the early modern period beginning around 1500. The medieval period is split into the sub-categories of early medieval (500-1000), central middle ages (1000-1300), late medieval (1300-1500), and followed by the early modern period (1500-1800). At each of these periods of time important political, economic, social, cultural, religious and scientific changes were beingRead MoreHow Truth Was Defined By Medieval Europeans1696 Words   |  7 PagesEric Green Urban British Literature 1st 3 December 2015 How Truth Was Defined By Medieval Europeans In life majority of people believe telling the truth is the correct way of living. Truth has endured the world throughout time and is seemingly unanswerable to those who do not understand it because this subject appears in every culture. Truth goes along with universal questions such as what is beauty, justice, and power. And love but none have a direct answer because they are all dependent on

The Powerful Effect of Fake News Essay - 2860 Words

The Powerful Effect of â€Å"Fake News† Introduction From the beginning days of the printing press to the always evolving internet of present day, the media has greatly evolved and changed over the years. No one can possibly overstate the influential power of the new media of television on the rest of the industry. Television continues to influence the media, which recently an era of comedic television shows that specialize in providing â€Å"fake news† has captivated. The groundbreaking The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and its spin-off The Colbert Report have successfully attracted the youth demographic and have become the new era’s leading political news source. By parodying news companies and satirizing the government, â€Å"fake news† has†¦show more content†¦But with the events of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal, reporters switched to â€Å"watchdog journalism† as they scrutinized nearly everything politicians said (Sabato 19). Finally, this brings the old media up to the present move ment of â€Å"junkyard dog journalism† where almost anything goes (Sabato 19). New Media The old media’s dominance and the old media’s traditional role of public service died out with the realization of the looming economic considerations involving the profitability of the news in the 1980’s. The new media, originally with nonpolitical origins, developed political roles because of potential profitability covering the news (Davis 7). Although some of the new media does use old media technologies, that common usage is as close as they get. The new media—which includes talk radio, television, electronic town meetings, television news magazines, MTV, print and electronic tabloids, and computer networks—separates itself from the old media by â€Å"[enhancing] the public’s ability to become actors, rather than merely spectators, in the realm of medial politics† (Davis 7). The new media does not share the â€Å"sense of obligation to cover governmental affairs,† but rather functions as a source of entertainment that i ncludes political issues once politics becomes entertainment (Davis 18). Television Television in the new media hasShow MoreRelatedNegative Effects Of The Negative Media1401 Words   |  6 PagesThe Negative Media â€Å"The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses† (X). The Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press clauses in the First Amendment of the Constitution’s Bill of Rights protects citizens’ rights to obtain and publish information and their opinions. This is done without any government censorship or fear of punishment. 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A connection to family and friends is notRead MoreThe Effects Of Social Media On Society892 Words   |  4 Pageshad 845 million users, revenue was $3.7 billion, and the estimated value of the company is $100 billion. There are negative and positive effects of social media since the launched of Facebook in 2004. The great debate is: have Facebook plays a positive or negative impact in society? To answer the question, a person needs to analysis the negative and positive effect that Facebook has on society. There are several negative points regard to Facebook. One negative point is that a person can get addictedRead MoreVisual Media Influence1226 Words   |  5 Pagesmedia, such as reality shows, news media, and commercials negatively affects young adults. Among the many negative aspects of visual media that affects young adults, reality shows would be right at the top. Reality shows are young adult’s top entertainment, because it’s full of fun, partying, fighting and drama which can lead to negative behavior. However, it’s been indicated that, young adults have a difficult time differentiating between what is real and what is fake, and tend to imitate the absurdRead MoreSymbolism Of The Novel The Assault 1413 Words   |  6 PagesSymbolism has a powerful effect on both the conscious and unconscious mind. Conspicuous symbolism engages the conscious mind, making one think about the many clever connections the author has made. Symbolism of the more subtle variety can have just as much of an effect on the reader; even though the reader may miss an intentional connection made by the author, they are likely to detect it subliminally. This can have a profound impact on the reader’s understanding and impressi on of a work. InRead MoreSymbolism and the Concious and Uncounsius Mind in The Assault by Harry Mulisch1190 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism has a powerful effect on both the conscious and unconscious mind. Conspicuous symbolism engages the conscious mind making one think about the many clever connections the author has made. Symbolism of the more subtle variety can have just as much of an effect on the reader; even though the reader may miss an intentional connection made by the author, they are likely to detect it subliminally. This can have a profound impact on the readers understanding and impression of a work. In his novelRead MoreGucci, Louis Vuitton and Vertu860 Words   |  4 Pagesconvey a personality that the customer can relate or aspire to. Q1: What are the key success factors in creating an exclusive product/service? Using the brands discussed in the case. (a) Gucci * Gucci’s products grabbed the attention of many powerful celebrities including Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. These women represent elegance and style, which enhances the prestigious aura of Gucci. * Another key success to maintain its exclusive status is to never compromise intoRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Mackleore1366 Words   |  6 Pagescomplex topic of consumerism through a telling of his life experience with brands and the after-effects of their power. With this Rhetorical Analysis, I hope to address the message of the song, the rhetorical situation that makes the message so important, and how Macklemore used every appeal to make the song so powerful. Wing$ is, as mentioned before, a song about consumerism, and the negative effects that it’s power can have on people in society. He tells this message through the topic of shoes

Regulatory Context and Counterfactual Assumptions - Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Regulatory Context and Counterfactual Assumptions. Answer: Introduction System is indicative of separate parts that are interrelated to each other and which works towards reaching a common goal. Systems thinking can prove to be useful in dealing with problems relating to sustainability as it helps to look at things from a macroscopic viewpoint as compared to that of a short picture. Systems thinking has been made use of by academicians along with practitioners to resolve issues relating to sustainability.Sustainability is the unique property pertaining to the biological systems and it is characterized by pursuit of common ideal. Healthy ecosystem is necessary for the survival of the organisms on earth. The specific term, sustainability refers to the target of humanity to reach a state of human- ecosystem equilibrium (Haines 2016). This essay talks about deforestation which is a problem in Australia and how systems thinking can help in developing solution to that of sustainability development challenge. Australia is the sixth largest country in the world and it can be said to be one of the developed countries. It is known for the harsh climates along with that of poor soil fertility but the social success of the place are on account of the sound environmental policies. The sound environmental policies have helped in preventing large-scale disaster. It has been suggested that habitat loss through that of vegetation clearing is an important driver pertaining to decline in population. The highest clearance rates are in those areas where the soil was suited to that of agriculture which was generally in the coastal area (Molderez and Ceulemans 2018). The forests in South Australia were mostly cleared during that of early 20th century. The woody vegetation of Australia is an important carbon store that can help in removing gas house emissions. With the growth of vegetation, carbon can be sequestered in that of the plant tissue that can result in reduced level of that of carbondioxide. It has been found that the forest soil of Australia can store around 44 billion tonne of that of carbon dioxide that represents 80 times of the annual emission of that of Australia (Millon 2015). The clearing of trees paves the path for releasing of large amount of greenhouse gas into that of the atmosphere. Deforestation takes place in Australia owing to various reasons like for development of infrastructure and for that of housing development. According to me, systems thinking can help in dealing with the environmental related challenges. There is significant difference between that of the traditional thinking approach and that of system thinking approach. The world had moved towards the era of globalization. The world has to face several complexities in the coming years and system thinking can be of immense help for developing solutions to that of sustainability challenges (Princiotta and Loughlin 2014). The different organizations can make a meaningful impact by introducing the policy of zero deforestation that can help in cleaning up the supply chain.The suppliers should be held accountable for producing different kinds of commodities like timber along with paper (Barlow et al. 2016). The non-recycled products that are bought by the company should help in ensuring that the virgin fiber that has been used is certified by that of third party certification. Sustainability challenges are also known as adaptive challenges as the protocols that have already been established cannot be applied to the particular situation. However, it can also be stated that no unified approach exists that can help in dealing with the sustainability challenge (Burns, Kick and Davis 2015). System thinking can prove to be of immense help in changing the mental models that can help in dealing with the problems related to sustainability. It comprises of technologies along with skills that can help in removal of a problem. Sustainability challenges require innovative thinking on the part of the environmentalists and it will need innovative research methods to resolve the problems. Systemic thinking can prove to be of great help in resolving the issue of deforestation that exists in Australia. Forests play an important role in relation to ecological role and it can help in cooling the surface of the earth and regulate that of rainfall pattern. Report on that of forest preservation has stated that government along with business invests far more in the sector of agriculture as compared to that of reforestation. It has been found that around $ 777billion were spent on land development whereas only $ 20 billion was spent on that of reforestation (Evans 2016). It will need 10 times more than that of $ 20 billion to create a deforestation free economy (Murray et al. 2015). This however does not indicate that ten times more amount has to be raised. Redirecting the existing financial flow can prove to be of gre at help in dealing with the challenge of deforestation. A perception exists that deforestation is necessary for that of economic development and it is no different from the perception that fossil fuel is required for that of economic development. It is of crucial importance that economic development is decoupled from that of deforestation. This will need a shift in attitude along with that of appreciation of that of natural ecosystem. Law enforcement along with opportunities in relation to economic development can help in dealing with deforestation (Aoc.org.au 2018). A systemic thinking that can help in protecting the forests is that of putting a price on that of carbon. The solutions in relation to saving the forests are economic in nature (Reis and Guzmn 2015). Policies pertaining to putting a price on carbon can help in the creation of economic incentives that can help in preserving the forests. The incentives running in the opposite direction leads to the disappearance of the forests. The right kind of policies can help in spurring ec onomic growth that can increase the agricultural output and stop deforestation. Climate related goals cannot be achieved without reversing that of forest loss. There was little amount of planning at the initial stages however the preservation of the natural ecosystems can help in providing solutions to that of environmentally related challenges. Forests should be put under some kind of protection that can help in protecting them. It has been found that the tropical forests are mostly protected in Australia and no clearing can be noticed in these regions (Evans 2016). It has been seen that deforestation occur before that of protection that suggests that many extinctions will occur in the coming years unless great amount of effort is made in restoring the vast areas. Shifts in relation to environmental policy can help in the process of conservation of forests. There are some arguments that oppose that of system thinking approach. Experts have suggested that the system can help in solving wicked problems and on the other hand there are some researchers who have argued by saying that system thinking cannot work if all the components parts do no t work together (Pavlacky Jr, Possingham and Goldizen 2015). Systems thinking deals with the interaction between that of different elements and it is not possible for a vast system like that of environment to work along uniform lines. Systems thinking is more suited to that of organizational along with social learning. The different stakeholders related to environment management has to contribute equally for dealing with the issue related to deforestation. There are different kinds of interest groups and inter-dependency in relation to globalized society means that there should be co-operation at different levels for the plan to succeed (Mahmood, Pielke Sr and McAlpine 2016). Stakeholder pressure leads to the divergence between the objectives of different institutions and the actual implementation of their policies. The clashing of the ideologies of that of different interest groups leads to a problem that proves to be a hindrance for the implementation of different policies related to that of environment. Influence of that of stakeholder groups for adopting effective management practice often goes against the interests of media along with that of other political interests that does not allow the successful implementation of the environmental policies (Theguardian.com 2018). Scientific evidence has shown that pace of that of global warming or the issue of toxic material in that of the food chain will necessitate the changes of different factors. Stakeholders have been responsible for the risks related to environment either because of the fact that they have caused it or due to the fact that it is their duty to manage the risks related to deforestation (Reside et al. 2017). The stakes of different interest groups are different and the private interests of individuals seem to take a precedence ove r that of the public interest. The different stakeholders involved in relation to deforestation are that of small scale farmer, large scale farmer, firewood collector, timber trader, charcoal maker and livestock keeper. It is generally held that agriculture acts as the dominant driver in relation to deforestation. Shifting cultivation is practiced in the areas and in order to secure new land the farmers take resort to deforestation. Bush fire is another incident that can lead to forest degradation. The pastoralists have a notion that the burning of grass can encourage the regeneration of that of fresh grass (Woodward et al. 2014). This leads them to engage themselves in the practice of clearing of forests. Pattern pertaining to forest degradation and the low forest cover suggests that major shifts in relation to environmental policy is imperative at this stage. The usual attitude of the business can prove to be insufficient in dealing with deforestation. Adoption of sustainable approach will require that of new skills along with capabilities. Co-ordinating mechanisms are of crucial importance in resolving the problems related to deforestation (Sonter et al. 2017). It is important for the government to develop innovative manner of thinking that can help in the development of economic strategy along with that of infrastructure planning. It will prove to be difficult to resolve problems with the help of systems thinking on account of lack of information pertaining to land use along with that of rights. The rules in relation to land use are unclear and ambiguous. The different authorities make use of different kinds of maps in order to delimit that of land-management units (Bristow et al. 2016). It can prove to be difficult to obtain information regarding land cover. New remote sensing technology have been developed in the recent years but it proves to be difficult to obtain sufficient information at that of the operational level. Conclusion: Systems thinking can help in providing insights relating to sustainability problems and it helps in looking at things from a broader view. Globalization makes the world face severe complexities and systems thinking can help in solving the important issues to a large extent. It can however also be said that there exists no unified rule that can help in the process of providing solutions to that of environmental problems. Systems thinking can help to a great extent in developing solutions to that of environmental challenges and the law enforcement agencies can provide crucial support for dealing with the challenge. Forests have an important role to play for cooling the earth and regulation of the pattern of rainfall. Putting price on carbon can help in the process of preservation of the forests. The different policies can lead to economic incentives that can play a crucial role for saving the forests. It has however also been deduced that the different ideologies prevailing in the soci ety has led to the developing of various policies that does not work along uniform lines. The different stakeholder groups work for their own benefit and the leading role played by the media in the present age does not allow the implementation of policies related to environment. The stakeholders in relation to deforestation are that of farmer, livestock keeper and that of firewood collector. It is primarily agriculture that augments the process of deforestation. Shifting cultivation is carried out in different areas and the farmers carry out deforestation in order to get new land. New skills and capabilities are needed in order to deal with the issue of deforestation. Co-ordinating mechanisms can be of great help to provide solutions to the sustainability problems. The government should focus on innovative manner pertaining to thinking that can help in developing economy strategy and that of infrastructure planning. The dearth of information in relation to land use can prove to be a barrier in solving the process of deforestation. References: Aoc.org.au (2018).Act on Climate. [online] Available at: https://www.aoc.org.au/australia-ngos [Accessed 18 Apr. 2018]. Barlow, J., Lennox, G.D., Ferreira, J., Berenguer, E., Lees, A.C., Mac Nally, R., Thomson, J.R., de Barros Ferraz, S.F., Louzada, J., Oliveira, V.H.F. and Parry, L., 2016. Anthropogenic disturbance in tropical forests can double biodiversity loss from deforestation.Nature,535(7610), p.144. Bristow, M., Hutley, L.B., Beringer, J., Livesley, S.J., Edwards, A.C. and Arndt, S.K., 2016. Quantifying the relative importance of greenhouse gas emissions from current and future savanna land use change across northern Australia.Biogeosciences,13(22), p.6285. Burns, T.J., Kick, E.L. and Davis, B.L., 2015. Theorizing and rethinking linkages between the natural environment and the modern world-system: Deforestation in the late 20th century.Journal of World-Systems Research,9(2), pp.357-390. Evans, M.C., 2016. Deforestation in Australia: drivers, trends and policy responses.Pacific Conservation Biology,22(2), pp.130-150. Haines, S., 2016.The systems thinking approach to strategic planning and management. CRC Press. Mahmood, R., Pielke Sr, R.A. and McAlpine, C.A., 2016. Climate-relevant land use and land cover change policies.Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society,97(2), pp.195-202. Millon, D., 2015. Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Molderez, I. and Ceulemans, K., 2018. The power of art to foster systems thinking, one of the key competencies of education for sustainable development.Journal of Cleaner Production. Murray, J.P., Grenyer, R., Wunder, S., Raes, N. and Jones, J.P., 2015. Spatial patterns of carbon, biodiversity, deforestation threat, and REDD+ projects in Indonesia.Conservation Biology,29(5), pp.1434-1445. Pavlacky Jr, D.C., Possingham, H.P. and Goldizen, A.W., 2015. Integrating life history traits and forest structure to evaluate the vulnerability of rainforest birds along gradients of deforestation and fragmentation in eastern Australia.Biological Conservation,188, pp.89-99. Princiotta, F.T. and Loughlin, D.H., 2014. Global climate change: The quantifiable sustainability challenge.Journal of the Air Waste Management Association,64(9), pp.979-994. Reis, E.J. and Guzmn, R.M., 2015. An econometric model of Amazon deforestation. Reside, A.E., Beher, J., Cosgrove, A.J., Evans, M.C., Seabrook, L., Silcock, J.L., Wenger, A.S. and Maron, M., 2017. Ecological consequences of land clearing and policy reform in Queensland.Pacific Conservation Biology,23(3), pp.219-230. Sonter, L.J., Tomsett, N., Wu, D. and Maron, M., 2017. Biodiversity offsetting in dynamic landscapes: influence of regulatory context and counterfactual assumptions on achievement of no net loss.Biological conservation,206, pp.314-319. Theguardian.com (2018).We are destroying rainforests so quickly they may be gone in 100 years | John Vidal. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/jan/23/destroying-rainforests-quickly-gone-100-years-deforestation [Accessed 18 Apr. 2018]. Woodward, C., Shulmeister, J., Larsen, J., Jacobsen, G.E. and Zawadzki, A., 2014. The hydrological legacy of deforestation on global wetlands.Science,346(6211), pp.844-847.

Cash Flow Statement free essay sample

With the development and publication of SFAS 95, the primary categories of cash flow are defined as operating, investing and financing activities. SFAS 95 also defined cash to include cash equivalents with maturities of 90 days or less, such as treasury bills, commercial paper and money market funds Compelling Reasons for requiring a statement of Cash Flow: * Information provided: The statement of cash flows can provide the information that other financial statements can’t provide.The other financial statements such as Balance Sheet, which represents the company’s financial condition at a specific point in time, the Income Statement, which presents the results of operations, i. e. profit or loss, for a specific period of time, and the Statement of Owners Equity, which details the changes in the value of the owners stake in the company. In accrual accounting, these other documents are based on when transactions took place, rather than when cash changed hands. We will write a custom essay sample on Cash Flow Statement or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Statement of Cash Flows provides the data on what happened from a cash perspective. They present relevant information about the cash receipts and cash payments of an enterprise during a period. Statements of financial position include information that is often used in assessing an entity’s liquidity and financial flexibility, but a statement of financial position provided only an incomplete picture of either liquidity or financial flexibility unless it is used in conjunction with at least a cash flow statement.There are 3 major categories for the information that is reported on the Statement of Cash Flows. They are operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities. Between the three major areas, every aspect of a business’ transactions is covered. For example, it shows how a company purchases and finances an asset instead of just showing the amount. * Usefulness:The information provided in a statement of cash flows, if used with related disclosures and information in the other financial statements, can help investors, creditors, and others to (a) assess the enterprise’s ability to generate positive future net cash flows; (b) assess the enterprise’s ability to meet its obligations, its ability to pay dividends, and its needs for external financing; (c) assess the reasons for differences between net income and associated cash receipts and payments; and (d) assess the effects on an enterprise’s financial position of both its cash and noncash investing and financing transactions during the period; (e) improve the comparability of different fi rms operating performance by eliminating the effects of different accounting methods.For example, in Balance sheet, some companies may use FIFO method to measure inventory while some others may use LIFO method; (f) assess future cash flows, provide feedback about actual cash flows; (g) Cash flow statement helps for appraisal of various capital investment programmers to determine their profitability and viability. Support and Criticisms for Statement of Cash Flows: * A general criticism is that cash flow statements are not meaningful for some institutions such as financial institutions, small businesses, investment companies and non-for-profit organizations. Thus, the information in the statement of cash flows is not useful. In the case of financial institutions, the identification of the core operating activities is important, because they differ markedly from nonfinancial companies in this respect. Consider commercial banking institutions, where the core operations can be divided between on–balance sheet activities and off–balance sheet activities.The off–balance sheet activities consist primarily of fee-based activities for services rendered that do not create an asset or a liability. These create no problem for the cash flow presentation because they appear on the income statement and flow directly through the operating section of the cash flow statement. The major problems are created by activities that have significant impact on the balance sheet. They are: 1) managing the accounts of depositors, which appears on the balance sheet as liabilities; 2) lending money to customers, which appears on the balance sheet as assets; and 3) trading in securities, which appears on the bala nce sheet as assets.If these are a bank’s core operations, one would expect them to be in the operating activities section of the cash flow statement. Instead, customer deposits are listed as financing activities, while loans to customers and securities activities appear in the investing activities section. As a result, the figure for â€Å"cash provided by operations† is meaningless. In other words, the breakdown of cash flows into operating, investing, and financing activities—as presently constituted for financial institutions—is not useful to readers of the financial statements. A totally new form of presentation is needed to provide useful cash flow information. * Reporting of Operating ActivitiesAlthough the accounting profession talks about the importance of comparability of financial information, the fact that interest paid is treated as an operating activity while dividends paid is treated as a financing activity makes it difficult, if not impossible, to compare the performance of companies that make different financing choices. Analysts have resorted to their own measures to make such comparisons. On e of the most common is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA); however, other means to compare exist, with no commonly agreed upon measure for all to use. Up to now, the accounting profession has simply ignored the issue. The only analytical measure that has been dealt with by the accounting profession is earnings per share, because this must be presented on the income statement. A second problem affecting the operating activities involves the financing of receivables.Years ago, receivables were financed through borrowing, with receivables pledged as collateral. The monies received were treated as a financing activity, which was appropriate. In recent years, however, increasing concern on keeping debt off the balance sheet has led companies to replace the above treatment with sales of receivables, with and without recourse. Economically, these activities still represent a form of financing. The accounting rules, however, allow these transactions to be treated as operating activities instead of financing activities. This makes these transactions doubly attractive to companies: They keep the borrowing off the balance sheet and inflate cash provided by operations. Economically, the ledge of accounts receivable is the same as the sale of accounts receivable, but they are treated differently in the cash flow statement. This treatment is inconsistent. Another problem that causes distortions in operating cash flows stems from the treatment of dividends received as an operating activity rather than as an investing activity. When a company has significant investments in affiliated companies, it has the ability to manipulate its own â€Å"cash provided by operations† by increasing the dividends it receives from such companies. This simple technique has been used by many companies to inflate operating cash flows. Furthermore, dividend income comes from investments.If the former is shown in the section of operating activities, and the latter placed in investing activities, the financial statement reader will not be able to visualize the whole picture of investment strategy. Another potentially serious distortion to operating cash flows comes from the rule that requires taxes to be treated as an operating activity, even when the gain being taxed is included in investing activities. For example, consider a company that has low operating profit but has a large gain from the sale of investments. The bulk of the pretax income is from this gain, and therefore the bulk of the income tax expense is related to this gain.On the statement of cash flows, however, the gain is removed from operating activities and included under investing activities instead, as part of the proceeds from the sale of the investments. But the income tax expense on that gain remains in the operating activities sections, genera ting substantial negative cash from operations. This clearly is misleading, and violates the matching rules required on the income statement. * The Investing Activities Section For many years, the distinction between cash equivalents (investments having no principal risk) and other marketable securities has caused serious confusion for the untrained reader of financial statements.Cash equivalents are treated as part of cash, while marketable securities are shown as investing activities. Where a company’s portfolio manager does a lot of trading and switching between these two types of securities, very large numbers will appear in the investing activities section as â€Å"purchases of marketable securities† and â€Å"sales of marketable securities. † It is not uncommon to see financial statements in which these numbers represent the largest cash flows. Were one to ask the untrained reader what the most significant events for the company were during the year, the answer might be the purchasing and selling of mar ketable securities.Yet these numbers are irrelevant for understanding the company’s performance. They merely clutter up the statement and cause confusion. Another major problem with the investing activities section is that it is based on the rule that only cash amounts may be shown in investing and financing activities. Thus, for example, if one company acquired another at a cost of $10 billion, but only $1 billion of it was in cash, with the rest paid in the form of debt and equity instruments, the cash flow statement would show only the $1 billion cash amount paid as the cost of the acquisition. The other $9 billion would be relegated to a footnote. The untrained reader would get a false picture of the true cost of the acquisition.This is another example showing the deficiency of the current rules in preparing the cash flow statement. The rules ignore the vision of a complete transaction. * Indirect Method vs. Direct Method 1. Advantages of Indirect Method The principal advantage of the indirect method is that it highlights the differences between net income and NCFO. Highlighting these differences is useful when using NCFO as an alternative performance metric to report the cash flow and accrual components of net income. As a result, the indirect method helps users understand the leads and lags between NCFO and net income. It highlights the operating changes in non-cash working capital accounts.For example, the indirect method highlights any buildup of operating receivables (payables) that decrease (increase) NCFO relative to net income, or the reduction of operating receivables (payables) that increase (decrease) NCFO relative to net income. 2. Disadvantages of Indirect Method The principal disadvantage of the indirect method is that it does not report actual operating inflows and outflows. It reports only one cash flow for operating activities — NCFO. For this reason, operating activities are reported net, not gross, under the indirect method. As a result, the indirect method is less informative than the direct method supplemented by a reconciliation of net income and NCFO.It is also criticized for repeating information already presented in the income statement and the comparative balance sheet. 3. Advantages of Direct Method SFAS-95 notes that the principal advantage of the direct method is that it is more informative than the indirect method because it reports operating cash receipts and payments. In a fundamental sense, the direct method is finer, or more informative, than the indirect method. The direct method with the reconciliation provides all the information provided by the indirect method plus information on gross operating inflows and outflows. Accordingly, report users could effortlessly transform a direct method cash flow statement into an indirect method cash flow statement.However, report users cannot effortlessly transform an indirect method cash flow statement into a direct method cash flow statement because information on gross operating inflows and outflows is not provided. Accordingly, the direct method is finer, or more informative, than the indirect method. 4. Disadvantages of Direct Method Those companies that use the direct method are required under SFAS-95 to provide a supplemental reconciliation of net income and NCFO. As a result, the direct method requires more work than the indirect method. Additionally, some accountants caution that a direct method cash flow statement seemingly duplicates similar information presented in the income statement and thereby may undermine user perception of the usefulness of accrual basis income measurement.In response to the FASB Exposure Draft, which favored but did not propose to require the direct method, many spokesmen for corporate management claimed that the direct method is impractical and costly to apply. More specifically, they claimed that the direct method would require costly modifications of accounting information systems to routinely generate information on operating cash inflows and outflows not previously accumulated. Additionally, few public companies issued direct method statements o f changes in financial position prior to the adoption of SFAS-95 than the indirect method. Influence of this statement * How can the Statement of Cash Flows be used by the investment community to determine how healthy a company may be?One primary use is to help determine future risk. A company generally will record the revenue that drives earnings when their customers receive their merchandise, whether the customer has paid for the merchandise or not. The Statement of Cash Flows can show the investment community how much cash is actually collected. So, if earnings are good yet cash collections are not, the investor should be worried: future earnings could be at risk if bad debt becomes an issue. * Investors can also get a feel for whether or not a company is playing earnings games by comparing net income on the Income Statement with Cash from Operating Activities from the Statement of Cash Flows.Investment analysts typically like to see a ratio of those two numbers close to one, because the closer it is to one, the higher-quality the earnings are considered. * Investment experts also like to compare the rates at which net income and operating cash are growing. If the two have historically moved at similar rates but cash is now slowing, it represents an early war ning sign that the company may soon experience issues. Accounting experts pay a great deal of attention to accounts receivable, representing what customers owe the company. When receivables rise at a faster pace than sales, the company may be having trouble collecting what its customers owe.Since cash isnt flowing in as it should be, a rise shows up as a negative on the cash-flow statement. * An analysis of the Statement of Cash Flows can also provide an early warning that demand for the companys products are softening. Because the purchase of inventory requires cash, an increase in inventory causes cash to fall. On the other hand, when liabilities such as accounts payable increase, so should a companys cash balances. By delaying payment to its creditors, management can free up cash. This is not always a good thing for the company to do, because it could be stringing its customers, partners, and vendors along. Possible Changes and the reasons for the proposed changes * Direct Method vs. Indirect Method