McDonald's Financial Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

McDonald's Financial Accounting - Essay Example McDonald’s was formed in 1940 as a barbeque restaurant but later developed into a huge chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. â€Å"McDonald's is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33,000 local restaurants serving more than  64 million people in 119 countries each day. More than 80% of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women† (About McDonald’s.com, 2011). The accountant’s report accompanying the Annual Report usually refers to the auditor’s report. The purpose of the accountant’s report is to give an opinion on the presentation of the financial performance of the organization. The auditors review the entire financial data before forming an opinion on the financial statements of an organization. The accountant’s report of McDonald’s is reviewed by the Ernst and Young, who are a Public Accounting firm and are the auditors of McDonald’s. According to them, the financial statements of McDonald’s seem to be fairly presented in all material respect and that the financial statements are prepared in accordance with the U.S Generally Accepted Accounting Principle. The main idea or the main purpose of this report is to assure the shareholders and the investors that the company in question is not performing any fraudulent activity that may not be in line with their respective objectives (McDonald’s, 2010) Financial Statements are a proper record of financial performance of any given business entity. These financial statements provide a reflection of an organization’s performance with respect to the resources being used in order to attain the favorable/unfavorable results. The most important financial statements are: Income Statement The income statement displays the net profit or loss made by a company through the normal course of its operation. The profit or loss reported within the Income statement pertains to a specific period of time (usually 12 months which constitutes a year end). The only transactions recorded within the Income Statement are those which affect the profit. These transaction normally tend to be affiliated with the income earned and the expenditure incurred during a period of time. The Consolidated Income Statement of McDonald’s shows a profit of $4946.3 million in the year ending 2010. This profit figure is 8.6% and 14% higher than the profit figures of 2009 and 2008 respectively. These figures clearly suggest that McDonald’s has performed extensively well; keeping in mind the global economic crisis that had prevailed within the global economy(McCallig, 2008). Balance Sheet The Balance Sheet is a statement that portrays the result at any particular point in time. The Balance Sheet provides a snap shot of the entire business in question since its inception till the point in time when the Balance Sheet is created. The Balance Sheet is categorized into broader categories showing the assets, liabilities and the equity of a business entity. These categories are shown separately with the assets portion under one heading while the equity and liabilities portion under the other heading. The assets portion must eventually tie up with the amount displayed under the equity and li

Evaluating Performance DB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Evaluating Performance DB - Essay Example The formula to calculate return of equity is net income divided by stockholders equity. An investor evaluating return on equity is looking for a highest return on equity possible. In order to determine if the return on equity of a company or project is good an analyst must compare the company’s return on equity with the industry standard. A good source to find information about the financial metric industry standard is Dun & Bradstreet database. Utilizing return of equity to evaluate oversee projects has its advantages and disadvantages. Return on equity is good performance metric because it is very straight forward as far as being an indicator that can be used to compare between different projects. It is a metric that can be easily calculated by looking at a company’s financial statements. This financial ratio allows an investor to determine the overall efficiency of the company or project being evaluated. Some of the drawbacks associated with utilizing return of equity to evaluate an oversee project is that the formula to calculate the ratio relies on the validity of the financial information provided to the investor. In certain foreign nations corruption is big part of corporate business, thus tricks such as write downs can distort the numbers. A factor that can lead to misinterpretation of data when evaluating the return on equity metric in the international scene is inflation. Internal rate of return is a financial metric that provides insight regarding if a project is worth investing on or not. The metric helps an evaluator of a project determine the overall quality and efficiency of the investment. In essence the metric provides a person with information about the expected growth of a project which is valuable information for company such as Acme which wants to determine whether a foreign investment is worthwhile. There are pro and cons associated with the application or utilization of IRR in an international setting. One of the key advantages of

Online Banking Essay Example for Free

Online Banking Essay 1. Introduction Background As the developing of the technology, the Banking had large change, it is necessary to study how to use ATM of Online Banking to keep and management our property. John Shepherd-Barron had invented the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) in 1967s, the ATM becomes the most important equipment in people’s life after 40 years, and there are about 403,000 ATMs in the U.S (Katharine, 2009). It can say that many people are using it everyday, like save money, and draw money or some transaction money, so the how to avoid and reduce the risk of ATM become more important than others activity, recently, the crime about the ATM increase rapidly, like copy the card information to steal money at ATM, cash trapping and other ATM scam were cost  £29. 3million last year in the UK (Emma Reynolds, 2012). The second problem is the emergency about the bank system, like server shut down with out omen, which will make serious effect to human life (European ATM Security Fraud Prevention). This part provides a critique of the literature of the ATM Bank System. The Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) in 1967s and becomes the most important equipment in people’s life after 40 years, there are about 403,000 ATMs in the U.S (Katharine Gammon, 2009). I choose this topic because using bank system is very important activity in our life, we are overseas student in the UK and we must management our property safely, so I think young people is likely to contribute to this topic. 2. What are the negative effect of ATM Banking Online 2. 1 Risk of ATM In the ‘ATM Threat and Risk Mitigation’ (Frank D, N.D), the author focus on the all kinds of crimes about the ATM, for example stolen or swindle with ATM, introduce the ATM Security in detail and analysis the development of sale transactions, at last author gives some suggestion to readers how to protect own account and create some ideas for Bank how to complete the ATM Systems perfect. The literature describe how steal the information of costumers’ bank card and how to use these information to copy a card to steal the money also, in conclusion, do not use the ATM which looks suspicious and report to Bank. The literature provides very important information about how to avoid to lose money in ATM. 2. 2 Risk of Bank Online The second literature is ‘Risk Management Principles for Electronic Banking’ Electronic Banking (Basel C, 2003), this is a book which focus on the risk of online banking and this is a group work, there are many people to finish this literature together. I think this is a very good book because author use many example to explain and discuss the risk management principles. In this literature author explain and disuse the challenge of the Online Banking (E-Banking or Internet Transport). Base on the example of Electronic Banking Group (EBG) to describe the 14 risk management principles of electronic banking (Basel C. 2003). This book lists some challenge of the Online Banking: †¢ The innovation of electronic banking skill and customers sever are change rapidly. †¢ The electronic banking more deepens on information technology, so make the process more complicated. †¢ It is base on the Internet; the visitors come from all over the world, so it maybe produces many security issues of system †¢ The author lists the relevant solution: †¢ Effective management from the bank †¢ Building a comprehensive control process †¢ Investigate and supervise the process of relationships. The literature providers some good measures for Bank to reduce the risk of Online Banking (Emma R, 2012). 3. New ATM innovations Nowadays, the technology of ATM develops to a high level, it can realize many useful functions, however, the requirement always can not be content, that encourage people to create new ATM. A technology will be tested in India. ‘In the wake of increasing instances of fraudulent money withdrawals from ATMs in Chandigarh and Panchkula, the security agencies are in the process of conducting tests on the new safety equipment likely to be installed in ATMs in the near future’ said by Khushboo Sandhu (a leading Columnist associated with The Indian Express) in 2010. That means, we do not need bank card anymore, just use the scanner to affirm the costumer (Thorsten, 2012), that will reduce the process time and make process safe, because it is very hard to copy biological information. 4. Analysis and Synthesis The ATM and Banking online system were invented by human, so it must be have many regrets, it must have many risks during the processing. Frank and Basel(2003) had explained some typical risks in the bank system and gave some advise of solution, however, there are always new problems will appear in the future. These problems will become the new challenge of the bank system in Thorsten’s (2012) viewpoint. Maybe this is too professional to students, however , how to choose a suitable bank is significant for the international students.

Triumph Of The Will Film Studies Essay

Triumph Of The Will Film Studies Essay There are many contrasting opinions on the subject. Some believe that the movie is a piece of Nazi propaganda meant to promote the Nazi image and discourage its enemies. Others believe it is a factual presentation of an event, without possessing any intentional propaganda. Whichever the answer, it is well known that Leni Riefenstahls career has been haunted by Triumph of the Will to this day. To properly judge whether Triumph of the Will was a documentary or propaganda, an accurate definition must be stated. The word propaganda derives from the name of an organization set up in 1622 by the Roman Catholic Church to carry on missionary work, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Congregations de Propaganda Fide). Today propaganda is seen as the systematic effort to manipulate other peoples beliefs, attitudes or actions. The propagandist has a specified goal or set of goals and to achieve these he deliberately selects facts, arguments, images, etc. to present them in the ways he believes will have the most persuasive effect. A documentary is defined as a work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration. Originating from official documentation released for various reasons, it has since become the standard name of non-fiction programmers which attempt to present their subject matter based on fact. In 1934 Hitler commissioned Leni Riefenstahl; the only director whom he believed came close to rivaling the work of Eisenstein, to produce an artistic film about the Party convention at Nuremberg, Triumph of the Will. In her book on the film, Riefenstahl notes that The preparations for the Party convention were made in concert with the preparations for the camera work. In reality however, the rally was intended from the outset to be the stage for a spectacular piece of film propaganda glorifying Nazism. Although Triumph of the Will was indeed about the Nuremberg Party Congress, preparations for the rally were carefully constructed around the preparations for the film. The Third Reichs architect, Albert Speer, carefully constructed the groundwork for the event, with grandiose building arrangements and precise plans for marches. The city of Nuremberg became a stage-set for Riefenstahls film, with a sea of swastika banners, bonfires and torches. Riefenstahls cinematic technique creates a sense of feverish movement and a seemingly endless array of banners and people. Leni Riefenstahl has always claimed, however, that she knew nothing of the objectives of the Nuremberg Rally. When she described the conception of the film she said, Shortly after he came to power Hitler called me to see him and explained that he wanted a film about a Party Congress, and wanted me to make it. My first reaction was to say that I did not know anything about the way such a thing worked or the organization of the Party, so that I would obviously photograph all the wrong things and please nobody even supposing supposing that I could make a documentary, which I had never yet done. Hitler said that this was exactly why he wanted me to do it: because anyone who knew all about the relative importance of the various people and groups and so on, might make a film that would be pedantically accurate, but this was not what he wanted. He wanted a film showing the congress through a non-expert eye, selecting just what was most artistically satisfying in terms of spectacle, I supp ose you might say. He wanted a film which would move, appeal to, and impress an audience which was not necessarily interested in politics. In an interview in 1964, reprinted in A Biographical Dictionary of the Cinema by David Thomson, Riefenstahl made clear that she felt Triumph of the Will was a recording of an event, not a propaganda film, said, If you see this film again today you ascertain that it doesnt contain a single reconstructed scene. Everything in it is true. And it contains no tendentious commentary at all. It is history. A pure historical film it is film-verity. It reflects the truth that was then in 1934, history. It is therefore a documentary. Not a propaganda film. Oh! I know very well what propaganda is. That consists of recreating events in order to illustrate a thesis, or, in the face of certain events, to let one thing go in order to accentuate another. I found myself, me, at the heart of an event which was the reality of a certain time and a certain place. My film is composed of what stemmed from that. It cannot be denied that Triumph of the Will is a record of an event. It is a film of an actuality and happened when and where the film says it did. In an account of the making of the film, Riefenstahl writes that she was involved in the Rallys planning and conceived the event with filming in mind. As Susan Sontag (a revered novelist and director) reiterates in her article entitled Fascinating Fascism: The Rally was planned not only as a spectacular mass meeting, but as a spectacular propaganda film. However, by 1993 in The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, Riefenstahl claimed that she was not involved in the design of the Rally I just observed and tried to film it well. The idea that I helped to plan it is downright absurd. The film was financed by the Nazi Government, commissioned by Hitler himself, completed with the full cooperation of all involved, with huge resources at her disposal an unlimited budget, crew of 120 and between 30 and 40 cameras. It stands as a powerful artistic representation of the ideas in Hitlers book Mien Kemp work, extreme nationalism, and belief in corporative state socialism, a private army, a youth cult, and the use of propaganda and the submission of all decisions to the supreme leader, i.e. himself. The film, however, reached and influenced far more people than the book ever could. Riefenstahl claimed in The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl that it was Not a documentary but a work of art, [there was] no commentary in the normal sense of the word. Theres no commentator to explain everything. Thats the way it differs from a documentary or a propaganda film. If it were propaganda, as many say, theyd be a commentator to explain the significance and value of the occasion. This wasnt the case. In contrast, Susan Sontag in Fascinating Fascism claims that it is the most successful, most purely propagandistic film ever made, whose very conception negates the possibility of the film-makers having an aesthetic or visual concept independent of propaganda. Just as there are critics who argue that Triumph of the Will is the filming of an actual event and, as such, is a documentary, there are others who speak of the sensationalist and propagandist techniques used to promote the event in the film. Images such as the opening scenes, where Hitlers plane is flying through the clouds, giving a sense of divinity and being above it all, and the clever filming of the crowds watching Hitlers procession on the streets which give the impression that every street Hitler drove on was packed with adoring people illustrate the use of these techniques and indicate more suspicious aspirations from the director. Of course, there are critics who choose a point of neutrality, favoring each side of the argument equally. They argue that propaganda is a part of all film. Paul Rotha (a famous writer and director of Riefenstahls time) said, In one form or another, directly or indirectly, all films are propagandist. The general public is influenced by every film it sees. The dual physic-psychological appeal of pictorial movement and sound is so strong that if it is made with imagination and skill, the film can stir the emotions of any audience. Or as Robert Flaherty (often proclaimed as one of the founding fathers of documentary film) so eloquently declared, Sometimes you have to lie. One often has to distort a thing to catch its true spirit. Many can argue the different options regarding Triumph of the Will, saying it is a documentary, it is propaganda, or it became propaganda unintentionally. However, three points which cannot be refuted indicate that Leni Riefenstahl intentionally made the film propaganda. The fact that she was chosen and funded by Hitler to make the event appeal to the masses would immediately let her know that she needed to produce a film which gave the people the impression Hitler wanted. The angles of Hitler above the adoring crowd as he speaks and the scenes of his plane coming out of the clouds are obvious propagandist techniques to elevate and deify Hitler. Finally, the camera angle manipulation in the film, which made the crowds seem even larger than they were, would not be present in a true documentary which sought to produce the facts. This is obvious evidence of conscious propaganda on the part of Riefenstahl. As such, it is safe to conclude that Triumph of the Will was an intentional piece of propaganda meant to persuade the people to follow certain values.

Comparisons of Helen Maria Williams A Tour in Switzerland and Lady Mor

Comparisons of Helen Maria Williams' A Tour in Switzerland and Lady Morgan's Italy Works Cited Missing Both Helen Maria Williams and Lady Morgan are important representatives of the genre of Romantic travel literature. These two accounts were published more than twenty years apart, and while they regard different countries, thematic and stylistic parallels and contrasts can, not surprisingly, be established between the two works. Social and cultural commentary, as well political and historical criticism, are prominent in these two accounts. Another point of comparison is the theme of the relation of man with nature. Williams' style leans toward the sentimental tradition in travel writing; it is personalized and her perceptions tend to be mediated through the emotions. Lady Morgan's descriptions rely more on intellectual rather than emotional elements, and are often polemical, while also remaining self-consciously subjective. Both writers register powerful emotion at seeing the Alps for the first time. Both also make an effort to give this important moment a particular context. Williams stresses the subjective, that is, the importance of the Alps in her own personal 'narrative,' and in this way contextualizes for the reader the emotional rapture, or 'transport,' which she relates to us of the moment of the first view: "It was not without the most powerful emotion that, for the first time, I cast my eyes on that solemn, that majestic vision, the Alps! - how often had the idea of those stupendous mountains filled my heart with enthusiastic awe! - so long, so eagerly, had I desired to contemplate that scene of wonders, that I was unable to trace when first the wish was awakened in my bosom - it seemed from childhood to have m... ...commodiousness of the private houses is, that the ancients, like the modern population of Rome and Naples, lived more abroad than in the house" (292). The painting on the facades of the palaces of Genoa are not described in visual detail, which may have been one approach, but instead prompt an argument about the institutes of art and the nature of public demand (306). A visit to the Museo Capitolino in Rome breeds the remark that "plunder was ever the principle of the Romans" (115). She solidifies the Coliseum in the reader's memory as "the last and noblest monument of Roman grandeur, and Roman crime" (125). A memorable representation of Naples, encountered as her first view of the city from some distance, is Morgan's imaginative construct of it as "some fabled city of the east, the dream of Arabian poets" (278). In this way her Italy is very much a mediated Italy. Comparisons of Helen Maria Williams' A Tour in Switzerland and Lady Mor Comparisons of Helen Maria Williams' A Tour in Switzerland and Lady Morgan's Italy Works Cited Missing Both Helen Maria Williams and Lady Morgan are important representatives of the genre of Romantic travel literature. These two accounts were published more than twenty years apart, and while they regard different countries, thematic and stylistic parallels and contrasts can, not surprisingly, be established between the two works. Social and cultural commentary, as well political and historical criticism, are prominent in these two accounts. Another point of comparison is the theme of the relation of man with nature. Williams' style leans toward the sentimental tradition in travel writing; it is personalized and her perceptions tend to be mediated through the emotions. Lady Morgan's descriptions rely more on intellectual rather than emotional elements, and are often polemical, while also remaining self-consciously subjective. Both writers register powerful emotion at seeing the Alps for the first time. Both also make an effort to give this important moment a particular context. Williams stresses the subjective, that is, the importance of the Alps in her own personal 'narrative,' and in this way contextualizes for the reader the emotional rapture, or 'transport,' which she relates to us of the moment of the first view: "It was not without the most powerful emotion that, for the first time, I cast my eyes on that solemn, that majestic vision, the Alps! - how often had the idea of those stupendous mountains filled my heart with enthusiastic awe! - so long, so eagerly, had I desired to contemplate that scene of wonders, that I was unable to trace when first the wish was awakened in my bosom - it seemed from childhood to have m... ...commodiousness of the private houses is, that the ancients, like the modern population of Rome and Naples, lived more abroad than in the house" (292). The painting on the facades of the palaces of Genoa are not described in visual detail, which may have been one approach, but instead prompt an argument about the institutes of art and the nature of public demand (306). A visit to the Museo Capitolino in Rome breeds the remark that "plunder was ever the principle of the Romans" (115). She solidifies the Coliseum in the reader's memory as "the last and noblest monument of Roman grandeur, and Roman crime" (125). A memorable representation of Naples, encountered as her first view of the city from some distance, is Morgan's imaginative construct of it as "some fabled city of the east, the dream of Arabian poets" (278). In this way her Italy is very much a mediated Italy.

starbucks history :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For one of my selections for buying stock, I invested into Starbucks, this company has attracted me with their wonders of different coffees, and I knew many others were interested in the very popular coffee company. Starbucks all started 1971 in Seattle Washington. With three men which were Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel and Gordon Bowker each of them put in one thousand three hundred and fifty dollars along with a barrowed five thousand from the bank to start up there small coffee shop in pick place market, witch is located in down town Seattle. The name for this company was inspired from the character Starbuck from Moby Dick; this character was a coffee lover. There close friend designed there well known logo. These men never thought of this small company to get large they just thought of it as a small coffee shop. Out of all three men Siegel was the only one that work at it full time. The men depened on a man named Alfred Peet for there coffee beans but soon then st arted there own blends of coffee beans. With in a year opening the first store they were able to open a second store. When the 1980’s rolled around, it was a thriving company, in the Seattle area. However, the co-founders began to have other interests and were involved in other careers simultaneously. Despite that, the company was about to undergo a major turning point. A man by the name of Howard Schultz started to pursue an interest in the company. He noticed that the coffee shop had a wonderful environment. He started asking a questions and becoming more and more interested by every moment. He loved how the founders had so much knowledge on the coffee and each blend. In 1982, Schultz became director of retail operation. This was just the start to a new phase with the company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Shultz took over, this started the beginning of a new era. He spent all his time at the stores trying to make every thing perfect in every way. He started with the employees, making the environment so friendly for every type of coffee lover. One of his biggest ideas came from visiting Italy and going to a coffee shop and seeing the idea of a espresso bar. That no longer would it be just an in and out coffee shop, but event and environment that drew many different types of people.

Investigating motion using video processing software Essay

We switched on the laptop and connected the web cam into the USB. Once this was done we made sure that the web cam was working correctly and as soon as this watched checked we began to set up the practical part of the experiment. We then pressed record on the web cam using the software VISILOG and recorded the ball being thrown in the air next to a vertical ruler (one metre). Once this had been done we stopped the recording and the replayed the video and once we were happy, using the software, we recorded the position of the ball frame by frame. Below are the results for the first part of the experiment: Results: Time (s) Height (m) Speed (m/s) Acceleration (m/s2)  We can then draw a graph using the results and the first graph I have drawn (graph one) is of height of squash ball against time taken. Therefore, as we can see from the graph if a tangent is drawn we can calculate the gradient. The gradient of both sides of the parabola graph is shown on graph one. From the graph we can that as the squash ball is thrown the height of it increases as time increases and as it reaches its peak the ball speed is expected to decrease due to forces acting on (gravity) and therefore the ball drops down again. The gradient of the graph also calculates the speed (which can be seen of the graph) of the ball because of the formula: Distance = Speed   Time therefore Speed = Distance / Time From these results a second graph of speed against time can also be made, which is graph two. Again from this graph we can draw tangents and then work out the gradient. Using the gradient we can also work out the acceleration due to the formula: Acceleration = change in speed / change in time Therefore acceleration = gradient. Part Two Method: We used the same equipment for the second stage of the experiment but instead of recording the ball thrown in the air we recorded it as a projectile. To measure the displacement we used metre rules to measure horizontally as well as vertically. Below are the results from the experiment: Results: See next page! From this table we can draw out a lot of information and from this I have produced a graph of horizontal displacement and vertical displacement (graph three). From the graph we can see that as horizontal displacement increases so does vertical displacement until its peak of 0. 34 m. once the squash ball reaches this height it begins to fall back down due forces acting on it. After the vertical height reaches its peak it starts to decrease but the horizontal displacement continues to increase. From the graph we can also calculate the gradient, which I have done and this can be seen on the graph. Part Three Method: We got a step ladder and to the top of it we attached a wooden beam to it using clamps. Then we got three springs and attached them together and once this was done we attached the springs to the wooden beam using string. We then added a mass to the springs and recorded the oscillations it did using the camera. Below are the results for this: Results: See next page! From the results (which is a rather long set of data) we can produce a graph and this graph is a sine wave. Within the wave, it can be seen that just about 4 oscillations have been made by the spring. The time taken for 1 oscillation is called the period T. In this case the period T for 1 oscillation is about 1. 31 seconds as shown on the graph. The number of oscillations per unit time is the frequency, f = 1 / T. Therefore, using the formula we can calculate the frequency of one oscillation, which is: f = 1 / T f = 1 / 1. 31 f = 0. 763358778 f = 0. 76 Hz Furthermore as the weights on the spring move about on a fixed point it means that the wave can be described as a single harmonic motion and the acceleration is proportional to its displacement (see graph four for more details) Conclusion: Therefore, in conclusion I have shown many things in this three part experiment. For each part, I have produced graphs and shown the results table that I have analysed as well. For the first part of the experiment we can see that from the graphs the squash balls speed increases as it let go from the hand and then as it reaches its peak it begins to lose its speed and comes down, which is also due to forces acting upon the graph. Part two of the experiment is similar in respects and the difference is that it was a projectile instead. And the third part shows the spring oscillating from a ladder when a weight is attached to it. For more on these look at the graphs I have produced and the analysis beneath each part of the experiment.