Free Essays on Sitting Bull And The Sioux Resistance

Essay Analysis: Sitting Bull and the Sioux Resistance 1. The change in Lakota culture during the nineteenth century is best time lined by stages in Sitting Bull’s life. At the time of his birth, early in the century, the Lakota’s had just become fully mounted on horses and began acquiring guns from tradesman. In his youth, they had little conception of the white mans world. By his 30th birthday however the white mans world began to intrude. As whites steadily moved westward, conflicts increased and a few years later the Hunkpapas added the white man to their list of enemies. The first couple of battles, about 1863-64, the hunk papas saw defeat due to the failure of their traditional battle styles, lack of numbers, and lack of sufficient weapons. Soon after, the Treaty of 1868 split the tribes into two parts: those who chose to live in the Great Sioux reservation, led by Red Cloud, and those chose to fight and live the life of old, led by Sitting Bull. The discovery of gold in the 1870’s doomed the Lakota fate. Few last huge battles were fought but the gold rush meant increasing numbers of whites and government support. Finally the Lakotas were all either killed or moved to reservations and their old ways were gone, and reservation life was inevitable. These events show how greatly settlers affected the Indians way of living: as whites became more and more populous for whichever reason the Indian were forced to adapt, fight, and eventually completely change their lives to best suit the white mans wants and needs. 2. The Hunkpapas like all plains Indians fought in a time-honored fashion. Singly and in knots they galloped back and forth, firing arrows and musket balls at the enemy. Sometimes they gathered in bunches for a thrust at over-running their enemies. Each warrior sought to display bravery and glorious acts of war for pride. They only followed a leader when it suited his convenience or inclination. 3. Through... Free Essays on Sitting Bull And The Sioux Resistance Free Essays on Sitting Bull And The Sioux Resistance Essay Analysis: Sitting Bull and the Sioux Resistance 1. The change in Lakota culture during the nineteenth century is best time lined by stages in Sitting Bull’s life. At the time of his birth, early in the century, the Lakota’s had just become fully mounted on horses and began acquiring guns from tradesman. In his youth, they had little conception of the white mans world. By his 30th birthday however the white mans world began to intrude. As whites steadily moved westward, conflicts increased and a few years later the Hunkpapas added the white man to their list of enemies. The first couple of battles, about 1863-64, the hunk papas saw defeat due to the failure of their traditional battle styles, lack of numbers, and lack of sufficient weapons. Soon after, the Treaty of 1868 split the tribes into two parts: those who chose to live in the Great Sioux reservation, led by Red Cloud, and those chose to fight and live the life of old, led by Sitting Bull. The discovery of gold in the 1870’s doomed the Lakota fate. Few last huge battles were fought but the gold rush meant increasing numbers of whites and government support. Finally the Lakotas were all either killed or moved to reservations and their old ways were gone, and reservation life was inevitable. These events show how greatly settlers affected the Indians way of living: as whites became more and more populous for whichever reason the Indian were forced to adapt, fight, and eventually completely change their lives to best suit the white mans wants and needs. 2. The Hunkpapas like all plains Indians fought in a time-honored fashion. Singly and in knots they galloped back and forth, firing arrows and musket balls at the enemy. Sometimes they gathered in bunches for a thrust at over-running their enemies. Each warrior sought to display bravery and glorious acts of war for pride. They only followed a leader when it suited his convenience or inclination. 3. Through...

Installing a Hard Drive essays

Installing a Hard Drive essays Installing a IDE or EIDE hard drive on a Pentium computer To install a hard drive in your computer you must have a decent knowledge of Computers and know what basic commands do. I wouldnt recommend a beginner trying to install a hard drive. These instructions are meant for intermediates or above. Before you start you should have already bought your hard drive. You will need a Phillips screw driver, your Windows CD, and the manual that came with your computer. Before you get ready to install your new hard drive. Unpack the drive you just bought and make sure the hard drive, cables, manual, and diskette are there. We will begin by removing the four screws that hold the computer cover to the frame of the computer. The easiest way to identify which screws to take out is to see which screws are covering the painted edge of the cover. Other screws, which you don't want to take out, hold the power supply which could harm the computer. Once the screws are taken out, the cover may still be hard to slide out. Use both hands, on each side of the cover Now find the hard drive it should be in the second slot starting from the top. Remember the drive should be about 3 1/2 inches in width, 6 inches long, and an inch in height. Usually the hard drive is a silver and black color. After finding the drive, make sure you remove any static carried in your body by touching something metal before touching the insides of the computer. Now you will find two cables; these are ribbon cables that connect the drive to the computer. You will also find a power cable; it has four separate wires connected to plastic connectors on each end. To remove the cables, you just pull straight out. This shouldnt take a lot of pressure, but just be sure pull the cables by the plastic connectors and not by the wires. Remove ...

Productivity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Productivity - Essay Example define productivity as a measure of performance as compared to the ratio of output produced in relation to the input inserted into any task or project. This definition, however, shouldn’t tie any other opinion down as various knowledge bases would come up with various definitions given their respective contexts. Many factors have been brought to the forefront in a bid to expound the basis that productivity is defined. Leonhard and Simaan consider productivity as a function derived from quality of work, time, and the initial budget. On the other hand, Young groups factors that affect productivity such as the human resource management, work environment, and the particular job in context (Young, 2010). This report will consider some of those factors that affect productivity, especially in construction-related projects, therefore, trying to see points in which productivity could be improved. The structure of the paper will have a literature review section, an analysis of the relevant aspects that surround productivity, and a conclusion summed up from the entire work (Leonhard and Simaan, 2010). This section will sample two case studies of construction projects where analyses were performed to measure the productivity levels at each scenario using various techniques, and the conclusion summed up from the analyses. The undertaken steps to rectify the factors that lowered productivity will be discussed. All these discussions will be aligned with the factors that affect productivity and the refinement will help us see some ways to improve productivity; these aspects will be expounded more in the next section of this report. Construction of the Commercial Bank Headquarters in Edinburgh was undertaken as a case study to see some of the factors that affected productivity. The managers in charge of this big project took the initiative to check up on their employee productivity. The main participants were the top-level project managers and the onsite workers who were used

American Dietary Guidelines Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Dietary Guidelines - Assignment Example The assignment "American Dietary Guidelines" discusses the dietary guidelines for Americans. With an exponentially increasing financial budget on managing diet-oriented chronic diseases, the American dietary guidelines play a crucial role in ensuring Americans focus on promoting health and minimization of disease. Weight management involves regulation of factors contributing to obesity and avoiding it. There are emphasize consumption low sodium and solid fats, sugars, and cholesterol, as well as alcohol as these, contribute to poor diet-related chronic diseases. The guidelines recommend the increase of foods with adequate nutrients, and that prevent diseases like whole grains, low-fat milk and fat-free milk products like lean meat eggs, peas, oils, and unsalted nuts and seeds. With the knowledge of what to eat, what not to eat, and how to balance one’s weight through calories, the guidelines provide information on how to define a healthy eating pattern in order to minimize the ir nutrient requirements.The major recommendations are for Americans to ensure they adhere to consuming balanced calorie intake while incorporating physical activity as a way of managing weight. Another recommendation is on consumption of increased amounts of some nutrients including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat, and fat-free products. Americans are urged to consume food that constitutes low amounts of saturated fats, sodium like salt, added sugars, cholesterol, trans fats, and refined grains.

The factors that led to change in Apple Inc Research Paper

The factors that led to change in Apple Inc - Research Paper Example A brand of innovations, â€Å"Apple†, was established in the year 1976 on April Fools’ Day (1st April), though it was incorporated only on January 3rd, 1977 with a brand name of Apple Computer. After 30 years, the word â€Å"Computer† was removed from its branding as it shifted its traditional focus from computers to consumer electronics. It was founded by three budding entrepreneurs, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, though the latter moved out of the company by selling his shares to the other two for US $800. The first inaugurated model was the Apple I which was hand made by Steve Wozniak. It was sold as a motherboard consisting of CPU, RAM and basic video chips.As times gradually passed and moving into the 20th century, a lot of products have been designed and created by the company. The products that the company possess at present are, Mac and accessories, iPad, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV and different software. Apple has spread its business over 10 cou ntries with over 300 retail stores and workforce of 60,400 permanent."Apple’s annual worldwide sales had grown to US$108 billion in 2011. They say that impressions are constant and that’s why first impression is the last impression. Apart from all the latest electronic gadgets, the logo has also made lots of designer think â€Å"why on earth would a bitten apple be a company’s logo†. The former President Michael M. Scott was once found to quote, â€Å"the most expensive bloody logo ever designed†.... Apple’s annual worldwide sales had grown to US$108 billion in 2011. They say that impressions are constant and that’s why first impression is the last impression. Apart from all the latest electronic gadgets, the logo has also made lots of designer think â€Å"why on earth would a bitten apple be a company’s logo†. The former President Michael M. Scott was once found to quote, â€Å"the most expensive bloody logo ever designed† (Linzmayer, 1999). Drivers to Change Since the resignation of Steve Jobs in the year 1985, the company tried to identify, the factors that could be the reasons for the ups and downs of their business. The factors were: Inadequate Financial Performance: Not meeting the demands according to the supply turned out to be a financial loss to the company. The delay made the investors furious that resulted in a lot of unsold products. The debt to the supplier of raw materials increased and the company was in the edge to file bankrupt cy (O’Grady, 2008). Change in Strategic Objectives: Apple started to focus more on the consumer electronics rather than computer electronics. They started to experiment more on the consumer oriented products like portable CD, audio players, digital cameras and video consoles. This sudden re-orientation resulted in huge finances in order to bring in the new resources required to manufacture the products (O’Grady, 2008). Competitors Market Invasion: The re-orientation of the company helped companies like IBM and Microsoft to substitute the shortages that Apple could not deliver. They brought in same products with much cheaper costs and attracted disappointed and confused customers (O’Grady, 2008). Later after the return of Steve Jobs

Negotiation Situation Essay Example for Free

Negotiation Situation Essay In the negotiation of a mortgage refinance, you can run into many different types of situations that you have to be prepared for. How we interact during a negotiation can make or break an agreement. Successful use of communication tools and preparing yourself to handle personalities will contribute to the outcome. Analyzing the Roles of Communication In this situation the initial state of the negotiation was not moving forward in a positive direction. The bank was dealing with many customers with mortgages that were months behind due to the economic crash at the time. We were one of those affected; the construction boom took a turn for the worse and work slowed down. Although we kept in contact with our bank regarding our situation, they were not willing to negotiate new terms to our agreement. As a home owner you never want to get behind on your payments, so we continued to make partial payments. The bank continued to accept the partial payments, yet didn’t want to work with us to reassess our situation. â€Å"Discussion does not mean fighting and shouting, instead it is simply the exchange of one’s ideas, thoughts and opinions with each other. One needs to have excellent communication skills for a healthy and an effective discussion. (Role of Communication in Negotiation, 2012)† The bank acted with diplomacy and tactfulness. After speaking with realtors and obtaining consultations from acquaintances, we realized for the bank to take action, we had no choice but to stop paying the mortgage. We knew at that moment that it became a game of the bank vs. the homeowners. The way you communicate varies according the formality of the situation. (Key Aspects of Communication in Negotiation) By making partial payments, the bank was content with us. We were getting further behind, and incurring penalties towards our mortgage. Taking action did get the attention of the other party. The impact of the communication, made the bank realize they needed to have more meaningful conversations with us. We finally were able to alter their perceptions and expectations concerning the situation, relationship and outcome. Through many discussions with the bank, we came to an agreement to attempt to sell the house this way to avoid foreclosure and or a short-sale. The mortgage payments were frozen during this period. We knew we were treading water, since the housing market was at a virtual standstill. After exhausting conversations with the bank, we were at the point where we were going to have to walk away from the house. Our emotions at this point, were wearing thin. This process was taking months, and also taking its toll on our patience with the bank. We wanted to be responsible for our decisions, but we were being forced to make a decision that would hurt our credibility for the future. Our sincerity was our most important personality traits exhibited in this negotiation. We had to show our sincerity for an effective negotiation. We never took the situation casually. In the eleventh hour of negotiations, the bank was willing to refinance with a co-signer. Luckily, our relatives were willing to assist, and were kind enough to co-sign. The bank was very cooperative and we were moving forward in a positive way. Analyzing Personality Failures and distortions in perception, cognition, and communication are the paramount contributors to breakdowns and failures in negotiation (Lewicki−Saunders−Barry, 2005). Negotiators use information to challenge the other party’s position or desired outcomes or to undermine the effectiveness of the other’s negotiating arguments. Even in the simplest negotiation, the parties take a position and then present arguments and facts to support that position. As the homeowners, we argued to gain terms that were within our reach to be able to afford the home and avoid a foreclosure. The bank had a different set of terms, that would stretch our ability to make ends meet, and we had to stand firm with our decision to adhere to our end goal. For us, our personality in this situation varied. At times we were very cooperative, as was the bank. But at times, the bank exhibited an aggressive behavior, and made us think we only had one option to explore. The bank exhibited a power position, to intimidate and instill fear. As homeowners, we were emotionally attached to the home. We knew that we had to remove our emotions, and treat this as a business deal. That was difficult. We were able to neutralize our emotions, and handle the situation in the most professional way. Personalities in such a high-stake situation can get intense. We viewed the bank as goliath and us as David. The bank was responsive, but we found when we got upset and put them under pressure, the bank became uncomfortable and worried about damaging the relationship with us as the customer. Contributions of those Roles to the Outcome Our ability to stand our ground and be vigilant with our information upfront, aided our ability to work with the bank to come to an agreement. To reach this agreement a third party did have to enter the discussions. This third party assisted both sides in reaching a final agreement. The process was a roller coaster; it was also a learning experience for both sides. In the end, we were happy with the final terms. The bank did make some small mistakes throughout the whole process, and due to their mistakes being presenting in writing, had to honor those terms in the paperwork. We were able to avoid a 5-year ARM agreement, and were able to secure a 30 year fixed mortgage at a very low rate, due to their mismanagement of information. The point is to never quit with a bank. As long as they keep coming back with counter offers, you do the same. At some point, youll make a deal, and it might be better than you ever expected. Looking back, it is very important to remove your personal emotions from the negotiations. Emotions need to be under control on both sides to achieve a successful end. If you have ever felt like you were stuck in a burning high rise with only one way out at times, we know that if you work with the right people, your chances of success increase with every option you have. Bibliography Key Aspects of Communication in Negotiation. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/comm440-540/commfactors.htm (2005). How to Improve Communication in Negotiation. In Lewicki−Saunders−Barry, Negotiation, Fifth Edition (p. 175). The McGraw−Hill. Role of Communication in Negotiation. (2012). Retrieved January 19, 2013, from Management Study Guide: Pave your way to Success: http://www.managementstudyguide.com/role-of-communication-in-negotiation.htm

A study on Fraud prevention and Detection

A study on Fraud prevention and Detection The aim of this writing is to present how fraud is defined today, why fraud prevention and detection is global concern and introduce main means of detecting and preventing fraud. It can be seen that fraud can range from small employee theft, fruitless behaviour, embezzlement of company`s assets and fraudulent financial reporting. This kind of actions can have strong adverse effect on company`s market value, reputation and it reduces company`s power to achieve its strategic objectives, etc. Lately, numerous cases that found themselves in limelight of public attention, such as Enron and WorldCom, sensitized everyones awareness about the effect of fraudulent and deceptive reporting. Therefore, large number of companies started to be more proactive in taking serious measures to prevent and detect its occurrence. The jeopardy of fraud can be minimized through effective combination of prevention, deterrence and detection measures. As it will be described in more detail in the rest of this paper, fraud can be very hard to detect. As means of detection are becoming more sophisticated, so do the ways of committing fraud. For this very reason every company should strongly emphasise fraud prevention, which can definitely reduce chances for fraud to take place, and fraud detection, which can create atmosphere at work that fraud will be detected and committers will be punished. Moreover, costs for fraud prevention are less expensive than the time and money needed for fraud detection and investigation. Definition Defining fraud can be harder than it seems. It is a term that can be heard very often in everyday life. Though, what is meant by fraud in business world can be somewhat different. Finding consistent meaning and precise definition of fraud is crucial for understanding it. For this reason a few legal definitions of what is considered by fraud will be presented. In UK fraud is defined in Fraud Act form 2006. In explanatory notes to Fraud Act 2006, Chapter 35 it can be seen that there are several ways fraud can be committed, such as: by false representation (person must make dishonest and false representation with clear intention to gain or cause loss to other party), by failing to disclose information (failing to disclose an important information to another person to which you have legal duty to disclose it, is considered as fraud), by abuse of position (abusing privileged position, where by virtue of this position a person is expected to protect another`s financial interest and do not act against those intersperses), by gaining or losing property dishonestly (whether material or intellectual), possession of items for use in fraud, making or supplying articles for use in fraud (for example manufacturing machines for false money making), by participating in fraudulent business carried out on by sole trader (fraudulent trading for under the companies legislation), by taking part in fraudulent business carried on by a company, obtaining service dishonestly (for example by avoiding payment) and liability of company officers for offences by company (if a person has specific corporate role for which is responsible, it usually applies to directors, managers, etc). In USA there are numerous state and federal laws which are regulating fraud in number of areas, such as consumer fraud, insurance fraud, corporate fraud, etc. Summary of what is generally perceived as fraud leads one to conclude that there are some similarities with fraud definition in UK by Fraud Act 2006. In both cases there must be purposive misinterpretation of facts made by one, fully aware party in order to cause injury or damage (material, intellectual, etc.) to other party. Fraud of failing to disclose information in U.S. is interpreted as omission or `purposive failure to state material facts, which nondisclosure makes other statement misleading` (www.uslegal.com) Moreover, in Canada fraud is classified as criminal offence. In Canada`s Criminal Code, Article 380 (1) and 380 (2) it is stated clearly that fraud is considered to be any fraudulent behaviour designed to manipulate other party, so as this party will give something of value to him/her by means of lying purposively misleading the second party although fully aware of falseness of that act hiding a fact from the other part which may have prevented the party to suffer any kind of loss or damage. Additionally, `every one who, by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means, whether or not it is a false pretence within the meaning of this Act, defrauds the public or any person, whether ascertained or not, of any property, money or valuable security or any service (or) with intent to defraud, affects the public market price of stocks, shares, merchandise or anything that is offered for sale to the public` Canada`s Criminal Code, Article 380 (1). Contemporary researchers (Weirich and Reinstein, 2000; Albrecht et al., 1994, 1995) define fraud as intentional deception, stealing and cheating investors, creditors, public, government bodies, etc. Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 82 identifies two separate fraud types: Fraudulent financial reporting or management fraud (managers try to report inflated profit, overstates assets and revenues or understate expenses and liabilities with intention to modify financial statements) and Misappropriation of assets or employee fraud (employees steal money or other companies belongings). This statement also points out different fraud schemes such as employee embezzlement, management fraud, investment scams, vendor fraud, customer fraud, and miscellaneous fraud. However, it can be concluded that though these countries have similar definitions of what fraudulent activities are considered to be, there are substantial differences. Businesses operating in different countries, especially multinational companies, must be aware of these differences, acts and statements as they are the one in greatest danger suffering from not thoroughly knowing them. Causes associated with individuals committing fraud Fraud Triangle Before explaining main methods and bodies within company responsible for prevention and detection of fraud, psychological factors that might influence the behaviour of fraud committers must be mentioned. It is suggested (Moyes and Hasan, 1996; Hernan, 2008) that the best way of fraud prevention is understanding what main drivers of fraud are. The three following drivers are most commonly known as fraud triangle. Need there are numerous types of financial pressure, gambling habits or maybe unreasonably high expectations of high returns that create enough pressure for management to commit financial statement fraud. Some warning signs of pressure in organization and among employees could be discovered by internal control questionnaires, interview with managers, surveys or communication with employees. Opportunity people often see opportunity to commit fraud when internal control system in organization is weak. Internal auditors and managers should from time to time test the effectiveness of various types of control in order to reduce opportunities for fraud. Justification the third component of fraud triangle is rationalization for fraudulent activity. There are a lot of different explanations and justifications of fraudulent activity. Some fraudsters concludes that they did not get a deserved promotion and want to make things right on their own. Others did not get deserved bonuses at the yearend or they rationalize their act as just borrowing from the company. The risk is higher in companies with poor management structure and unclear bonus system. Hernan (2008) suggests evaluation of management competences, objectivity and transparency in order to identify and spot on time fraud risks. If management, internal control or any other entity in a company, which duty is fraud prevention and detection, is aware of these factors, then that entity will certainly be more effective in developing mechanisms of fraud detection and punishment The Cost of Fraud Before any prevention and detection method or entity within a company is discussed the cost of fraud must be explained as only then when we realise how big damage fraud can cause, we are able to truly understand significance of internal controls, audit committee, management, internal auditors, independent auditors and certified fraud examiners. Fraud is a global problem affecting organizations of all types and sizes. According to the Association of Certified fraud examiners (ACFE) estimates that US companies loose approximately 5% of their annual revenues to fraud. Majority of frauds are detected by tips or accidently. The most frequently type of fraud are: asset misappropriation (91,5% of reported frauds), corruption accounts for 30,8% and financial statements fraud accounts for 10,6% ,with median loss estimated at 2 million dollars. Most recent large fraudulent schemes were Enron (63 billion dollars in assets) and WorldCom (107 billion dollars in assets) were investors lose billions of dollars. According to Adams et al. (2006), the greatest financial impact of fraud is in small firms and businesses. The loss of 7% of revenues (estimated by ACFE) is also significant for large companies but small companies will probably be out of business because of it. On the other hand, when fraud occurs companies could suffer from damage of brand and reputation. Stakeholders could see that as an early warning sign. Big bills caused by fraud are almost never paid by committers, but unfortunately, by innocent parties such as consumers, insurance companies etc. This just amplifies opening statement how important job of bodies in charge of fraud detection and prevention is. Fraud prevention and detection Many authors (Mclnnes and Stevenson 1997, Adams et al 2006, Hernan 2008, Grambling et al 2009) suggests that prevention of fraud is the most cost-effective way to deal with possible financial and reputation loss. For all of the reasons mentioned in previous sections of this work it is crucial for every company to develop mechanism for effective detection and prevention of fraud. Statement on Auditing Standards No. 99 by AICPA (2002) suggest that there should be a body within a company with appropriate overight function. Oversight function can take many forms such as audit committee, board of directors etc. Measures this entities can implement are divided into three categories: create atmosphere of honesty and high ethics; evaluate the risks of fraud and implement adequate processes, procedures, and controls necessary to reduce the risks and the opportunities for fraud develop an appropriate oversight process The pivotal role in the process has the companies CEO. Although the management is responsible for implementing these activities, without CEOs support, this process is likely to be successful. In the oversight process specific companys entity has specific role in preventing and detecting fraud. The most important entities will now be discussed and their role will be explained. Culture of honesty and high ethics Every organization should posses a set of core values and nurture culture of honesty and high ethics. This set of values is often involved in companys code of conduct which has aim to guide employees in everyday activities (often include topics like ethics, confidentiality, conflicts of interests etc.). Management must show to employees through their actions that dishonest or unethical behaviour will not be tolerated. It is also important for management to create: a positive workplace environment. For example, if employees work in bad work environment, the chances of committing fraud against a company are greater To hire and promote appropriate employees Provide training to new employees and introduce them with code of conduct Require from employees to annually sign code of conduct and to write about possible breaking of code of conduct If fraud occurs in organization, the appropriate steps should be taken to examine all aspects of fraud and to improve existing internal controls Implement and Monitor Appropriate Internal Controls As mentioned before in work, people often see opportunity to commit fraud when internal control system in organization is weak. That is the main reason why organization should be put more effort to minimize fraud opportunities. According to AICPA (2002) some risks are inherent within the environment of the company, but large number of them can be most can be discovered with a proper internal control system. One process for assessment of fraud risk takes place; the company can recognize controls, processes and other procedures that are crucial for reducing identified risks. Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) report of the Treadway Commission states that effective internal control should include: a well-developed control environment an effective and secure information system, appropriate control and monitoring activities. Information technology plays pivotal role in operations and transactions over information generated by computers. For this reason management need to implement and sustain proper controls (automated or manual). Especially, management is obliged to assess whether internal controls have been implemented in those areas where high risk of fraud exists and in entities where financial reports are processed. Reporting of fraudulent activities can be going on temporary basis, hence management should evaluate internal controls responsible for short term financial reporting. The institute for fraud prevention in 2007 mentioned that upper level management is usually involved in fraudulent financial reporting by overriding internal controls involved in controlling the process that fraudulent financial reporting by upper-level management typically involves override of internal controls within the financial reporting process. Because management has the ability to override controls the need for a strong value system and a culture of ethical financial reporting becomes more important. This helps create an environment in which other employees will decline to participate in committing a fraud and will use established communication procedures to report any requests to commit wrongdoing. The potential for management override also increases the need for appropriate oversight measures by the board of directors or audit committee which will be discussed in the following section. Fraudulent financial reporting by lower levels of management and employees may be detected by appropriate monitoring controls, such as having higher-level managers review and evaluate the financial results reported by individual operating units or subsidiaries. Unusual fluctuations in results or the lack of expected fluctuations may indicate potential manipulation by some department managers or employees. DEVELOP AN APPROPRIATE OVERSIGHT PROCESS After implementation of code of conduct, core values and internal control process into organization, management should also develop an appropriate oversight process to overlook internal controls and reduce as much as possible risk of fraud. The oversight process contains management, internal auditors, audit committee, independent auditors and certified fraud examiners. Audit Committee or Board of Directors Gramling et al. (2009) in his work argue that audit committee is critical element of internal controls and have important stewardship responsibility to shareholders. Also he cited former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt who described audit committee as one of the most reliable guardians of the public interest ( Gramling et al.,2009,p.24). According to research taken by Cohen et al.(2009), audit committee effectiveness has been improved since Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002. From auditors perspective, audit committee has enough expertise to identify main risks and oversee internal controls. It is crucial that audit committee members be independent of management to provide oversight and comply with regulations. This could be a problem especially in smaller companies. Also smaller companies facing with another problem- How to find and recruit quality and qualified members for audit committee. AICPA(2005) suggested to audit committee to consider periodical meetings with representatives from each of the above mentioned groups (internal auditors,external auditors etc.) to discuss any matter could affect the financial reporting process and increase the risk of fraud. The main duties of audit committee should be to: evaluate managements identification of fraud risks and implementation of antifraud measures. Audit committee can by active oversight support management in implementation of appropriate fraud prevention measures. The final aim is better protection of all stakeholders. The Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on the Audit Committee (2000) emphasized the importance of role which audit committee plays in helping the board of directors in oversight duties, with regard to companys financial reporting processes and internal control systems. When taking the oversight responsibility, the audit committee must take care not to override managements control responsibilities. Therefore, they should have a good communication with internal and external auditors and may consider to review from time to time firm`s reported information with forecasted ones and industry averages as well. In addition to this SAS 60 in AICPA (2002) argues that communication with external auditors could improve strength of the firms internal control and give higher potential to deal with fraudulent financial reporting 10 See Statement on Auditing Standards No. 60, Communication of Internal Control Related Matters Noted in an Audit (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 325), and SAS No. 61, Communications With Audit Committees (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 380), as amended. Audit committee, as part of their oversight duties, should try to motivate management to encourage all employees to report everything that looks like unethical behaviour, fraud, or any violations of the code of conduct. The committee should then receive periodic reports from management and employees, describing the nature of any possible unethical behaviour. Report of the NACD Best Practices Council (1998) suggests that if senior management is involved in fraud (according to Deloitte survey 2008, which is the case in 68 per cent of all financial statement fraud), next management level is very likely to be cognizant of it. Hence, it would be recommended that audit committee has an open communication with one or two levels of management under senior executives. In this way they could take part in fraud identification at the top positions of the organization. Usually, the audit committee has the power to investigate all suspicious activities that catch their attention and within the realm of their responsibilities. They could also benefit from assistance of accounting and professional advisors. All committee members must be educated about finances and have at least one expert in that field. Management Mclnnes and Stevenson (1997) argue that according to statements in SAS 110 management is responsible for the prevention and detection of fraud. Also Cadbury committee (1992) requires from directors to report on effectiveness of a companys internal control system. On the other hand, Kranacher and Stern- Cpa journal argue that despite the responsibility for preventing fraud lies on management of company, auditors should be also prepared to detect fraud. Authors underpin their statement with presentation of SAS 99-Consideration of fraud in financial statements, which set new fraud standards for auditors. It requires from auditors to discuss with management about possible frauds in organization and to be aware of risk that fraud may occur and be material for financial statements. The main concerns about fraud prevention could be data presented from The institute for fraud prevention in 2007 that executive directors (CEO and CFO) could deceive auditors and audit committee by providing false information. Their analysis further indicates that in 21% of the financial statements fraud cases, external auditors were named as participants. Also in 40% of companies where fraud took place, board members were participants. This can be significant obstacle in effective fraud detection. Similar evidences could be seen from Deloittes survey taken in 2008 about financial statement fraud. CEO, CFO and controller of the company were involved in 68% of individuals who committed financial statement fraud. Other members of management were involved in 24% of all financial statement fraud. That survey can give us a lot of interesting data about financial statement fraud. For example, most common fraud schemes are revenue recognition (38%, especially recording of fictitious revenue), manipulation of expenses (12%) , improper disclosures (12%) and manipulation of liabilities and assets etc. The financial fraud schemes are most common in industries like telecommunications, technology, media and entertainment. The average duration of fraud schemes has been seven years in 2008 and has increasing trend. Responsibility of management is to supervise the employees` activities. They typically do that by implementing and montiroing all control means previously mentioned. Management is also able to commence, take part in, or direct means against fraudulent acts. Audit committee is responsible (if there is no audit committee the board of directors is in charge) to supervise activities of senior managers and think about risks that fraudulent financial reporting brings. Mclnnes and Stevenson (1997) in their work conclude that although general public perceive external auditors as strongest defensive against corporate fraud that is not their primary objective. Board of directors have a duty to safeguard the assets of their companies and to report on the effectiveness of their companies internal control system (section 404 of SOX). The most effective way of implementation of measure for reducing wrongdoing is to establish them on a range of core values that could be embraced by the company. These values consist of important key principles that have the potential to guide all employees` actions. Then this values could be taken a step further and a platform for detailed code of conduct could be forms. Companys code should entail specific descriptions about what is permitted and what is prohibited. At the end management must be clear in stating that all employee`s will be hold accountable in the company`s code of conduct. Also Mclnnes and Stevenson (1997) argue that board of directors are responsible for prevention and detection of fraudulent activities by others in the company, but on the other hand it is not clear who has a legal responsibility for preventing and detecting fraudulent activities by directors. Internal Auditors Organized audit team can very effectively be involved in many aspects of oversight control. Their familiarity with how entity operates can help them identify indicators of fraud. The Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (IIA Standards), issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors, state The internal auditor should have sufficient knowledge to identify the indicators of fraud but is not expected to have the expertise of a person whose primary responsibility is detecting and investigating fraud. Internal auditors are in position to asses fraud risks and control, and suggest actions for risk minimization and control improvement. Some standards, such as IIA Standards, even require from internal auditors to perform assessment of possible company`s risk. These assessments of risk then provide starting point for audit plans and internal control tests are based on them. Additionally, the same standard demands that all audit plans are presented and permitted by the audit company (where audit committee does not exist this should be presented to board of directors). Furthermore, audit plans provide guarantee for affirmation of management`s control. Internal audit can have two roles detection and deterrence. Internal auditors are included in fraud deterrence by analysing and evaluating the appropriateness and efficiency of internal control systems, though Hillison et al (1999) states that it is responsibility of management. In executing this responsibility, internal auditors should: evaluate the control environment identify control weaknesses have strong communication with management Hillison et al (1999) argue that internal auditors should pay attention on cash transactions as well as on other non-balance sheet assets. The following steps should be taken: increased use of analytical review (because ratio analysis and trend analysis sometimes could show us unusual relations with other accounts, especially when we have several years data to analyse and compare Cohen et al.(2009) stated that reliance on internal auditors has increased in the post-SOX period, mainly because of section 404. Internal auditors could use a lot of techniques (analythical or other procedures) to prevent and detect fraudulent behaviour in organization. They could search for particular types of fraud or they could check high-risk accounts for frauds. Every suspicion of fraud or management involment should be directly reported to the audit committee. Independent Auditors and existing audit approach to prevent fraud External auditors have a significant role in oversight process. They should provide information to management and audit committee about possible risks. In order to have full benefit from external auditors, management should have open communication with them. Glover and Aono (1995) in their work presented basic audit-risk model which consists of three elements: inherent risk, control risk and detection risk. They stressed that auditors should understand clients internal control system because they should determine how much they can rely on accounting information generated from clients financial reporting system. On the other hand, McKee and Norway (2006) argue that auditors become too predictable in their audits and that fraudsters could anticipate their actions. Moreover, the public and stakeholders expects from auditors to do better job at fraud prevention (that is the main reason of existence of audit expectation gap). Audit plans should incorporate an element of unpredictability according to SAS 99 and ISA 240 in order to decrease fraud risk. The main benefits of unpredictable auditors approach according to authors would be increasing chances of fraud discovery (more effective audit), deterrence of fraud will be also increased (because of reduced opportunity to commit fraud) and audit will become more enjoyable. On the other hand, this will have impact on costs associated with unpredictable audit approach: extra planning time, extra time to perform necessary procedures and additional training time. Also, authors suggested a following procedures for unpredictable audit approach: random sampling, unannounced inventory observation, changing techniques from prior years, test some small and low risk accounts etc. Certified Fraud Examiners Certified fraud examiners as professionals could have the important role in oversight process. They have a lot of knowledge and experience in fraud detection and prevention and could use their knowledge to assist the audit committee and internal auditors. As professionals from outside the company they can give more objective opinion about internal control system. Also, they can evaluate possible risks of fraud ( especially fraud committed by top management) and implement appropriate measures in order to minimize it. fraud.5 5 Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 2006 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse (Austin, TX: ACFE, 2004), p. 18 Ernst Young International Fraud Group, Fraud: the Unmanaged Risk: An International Survey of the Effects of Fraud on Business (London, UK: Ernst Young, 1998), p. 2. To conclude, despite management have responsibility to conduct adequate fraud risk assessment, audit committee should overlook quality of the financial reporting process. According to Silver et al. (2008), audit committee should not only apply traditional fraud risk assessment (like segregation of duties), but to consider and incorporate proactive approach. In order to be good in their stewardship role they should improve their accounting and fraud knowledge , search for collusive fraud and obtain feedback. Conclusion Some organizations have significantly lower levels of misappropriation of assets and are less susceptible to fraudulent financial reporting than other organizations because these organizations take proactive steps to prevent or deter fraud. It is only those organizations that seriously consider fraud risks and take proactive steps to create the right kind of climate to reduce its occurrence that have success in preventing fraud. It was also found that organisations with strong internal controls, internal auditors and audit committees were better equipped to deal with fraud in any form according to Alleyne and Howard(2005)