Office Depot Restatement of Financial Results Essay

Office Depot Restatement of Financial Results - Essay Example Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) is a major supplier of office products like computers, business machines, software and office furniture and also does a range of business operations like shipping, printing, copying and computer repair (Turner, 2012). When the Internal Revenue Service denied the company’s claim to carry back some tax losses, it had to reassess and restate its financial results in order to revise the original tax position. The restatement covered the financial statements of the periods ending in December and the quarters ending in June and September. The company further projected that restated financial statements would be filed in April 2011. The Internal Revenue service had effectively stated that Office Depot would not carry back certain tax losses from the prior years. It was certainly felt that this restatement would have considerable consequences on the operations of the company. Indeed, the company realized several changes and had to adjust effectively in order to normalize operations in the course of this period. One of the expected effects of correcting the financial statements was the reduction of the full-tax benefits by nearly $80 million. At the time of the restatement, the company hoped that its first-quarter sales would be much consistent with the prior position and that the EBIT would also be of 50 percent (Mohr, 2012). Similarly, the restatement resulted in a change from profit to loss due to the reduced tax benefits. In this case, the net profit of $33 million was translated to a net loss of $46 million due to a tax benefit reduction by over $ 80 million (Office Depot, 2010). The resulting loss meant that the common shareholders had to get $30 cents per share from the previous $1 per share. Following the removal of the tax receivable, the operating cash flows of the 2011 financial statements were adversely affected.  

How do the authors create atmosphere and tension in The Monkeys Paw Ess

How do the authors create atmosphere and tension in The Monkeys Paw and The Red Room? A ghost story is a story with intent to scare; it usually builds up tension and suspense by using a lot of intense, exaggerated words. Usually in a ghost story there is a typical dark and gloomy setting and an inhuman object almost always there is a non human force or a supernatural being in the story to give it a scare factor. Supernatural means a power above the forces of nature which implies that it is not human. In the time that the two stories were written, the belief in the supernatural was a lot different to those of today. They believed in such things as ghosts and witchcraft where as nowadays there are only some believers. This could be because they had less technology than today’s world so we have more evidence to whether they are or aren’t real The Monkey’s Paw is a story about a distant friend who has possession of a cursed shrivelled monkey’s paw that grants three wishes to each man that obtains it. Every wish comes true but little do they know that the wish that they asked for would backfire horrifically killing there only child. The Red Room is another story that was written in the 19th century. However different to The Monkey’s paw this story does not have a supernatural or inhuman power. The story is about a man that’s name is not told and his quest to stay in a supposedly haunted room but unluckily for him, the room possessed a far greater force than spirits or monsters but the very thing that eats away at a mans emotions-FEAR! The authors that wrote these stories use a lot of special techniques to make the audience scared and fearful; afterall the intent of the story is to scare people. Some o... ... they both play with your feelings and emotions. Both stories are written with the intent to scare and they do that. Also, they make you feel sad, disgusted and interested. I think that they do this by there powerful descriptions. And in which they use long and short sentences to build up the tension and atmosphere before the ending. Whilst studying the two books I have realise that to write a successful horror story you have to use all of the techniques and in my opinion the most important technique is descriptive language. When describing, you have to use powerful and meaningful words to give a clear visual picture and so the reader is reacting to the descriptions. I feel that if you have good descriptions then everything else will follow and if you draw the reader’s emotions in to the book then they will be more scared after the ending scare factor.

Financial management Essay

Q1. What are the goals of financial management? Ans. Financial management means maximization of economic welfare of its shareholders. Maximization of economic welfare means maximization of wealth of its shareholders. Shareholder’s wealth maximization is reflected in the market value of the firm’s shares. Experts believe that, the goal of financial management is attained when it maximizes the market value of shares. There are two versions of the goals of financial management of the firm- Profit Maximization and Wealth Maximization. Profit maximization Profit maximization is based on the cardinal rule of efficiency. Its goal is to maximize the returns with the best output and price levels. A firm’s performance is evaluated in terms of profitability. Profit maximization is the traditional and narrow approach, which aims at maximizing the profit of the concern. Allocation of resources and investor’s perception of the company’s performance can be traced to the goal of profit maximization. Wealth maximization The term wealth means shareholder’s wealth or the wealth of the persons those who are involved in the business concern. Wealth maximization is those who are involved in the business concern. Wealth maximization is also known as value maximization or net present worth maximization. This objective is an universally accepted concept in the field of business. Wealth maximization is possible only when the company pursues policies that would increase the market value of shares of the company. It has been accepted by the finance managers as it overcomes the limitations of profit maximization. The following arguments are in support of the superiority of wealth maximization over profit maximization: * Wealth maximization is based on the concept of cash flows. Cash flows are a reality and not based on any subjective interpretation. On the other hand, profit maximization is based on any subjective interpretation. On the other hand, profit maximization is based on accounting profit and it also contains many subjective elements. * Wealth maximization considers time value of money. Time value of money translates cash flow occurring at different periods into a comparable value at zero period. In this process, the quality of cash flow is considered critical in all decisions as it incorporates the risk associated with the cash flow stream. It finally crystallizes into the rate of return that will motivate investors to part with their hard earned savings. Maximizing the wealth of the shareholders means net present value of the decisions implemented. Q2. Explain the factors affecting Financial Plan. Ans. To help your organization succeed, you should develop a plan that needs to be followed. This applies to starting the company, developing new product, creating a new department or any undertaking that affects the company’s future. There are several factors that affect planning in an organization. To create an efficient plan, you need to understand the factors involved in the planning process. Organizational planning is affected by many factors: Priorities – In most companies, the priority is generating revenue, and this priority can sometimes interfere with the planning process of any project. When you start the planning process for any project, you need to assign each of the issues facing the company a priority rating. That priority rating will determine what issues will sidetrack you from the planning of your project, and which issues can wait until the process is complete. Company Resources – Having an idea and developing a plan for your company can help your company to grow and succeed, but if the company does not have the resources to make the plan come together, it can stall progress. One of the first steps to any planning process should be an evaluation of the resources necessary to complete the project, compared to the resources the company has available. Some of the resources to consider are finances, personnel, space requirements, access to materials and vendor relationships. Forecasting – A company constantly should be forecasting to help prepare for changes in the marketplace. Forecasting sales revenues, materials costs, personnel costs and overhead costs can help a company plan for upcoming projects. Without accurate forecasting, it can be difficult to tell if the plan has any chance of success, if the company has the capabilities to pull off the plan and if the plan will help to strengthen the company’s standing within the industry. For example, if your forecasting for the cost of goods has changed due to a sudden increase in material costs, then that can affect elements of your product roll-out plan, including projected profit and the long-term commitment you might need to make to a supplier to try to get the lowest price possible. Contingency Planning – To successfully plan, an organization needs to have a contingency plan in place. If the company has decided to pursue a new product line, there needs to be a part of the plan that addresses the possibility that the product line will fail. Q3. Explain the time value of money. Ans. Money has time value. A rupee today is more valuable than a year hence. It is on this concept â€Å"the time value of money† is based. The recognition of the time value of money and risk is extremely vital in financial decision making. Most financial decisions such as the purchase of assets or procurement of funds, affect the firm’s cash flows in different time periods. For example, if a fixed asset is purchased, it will require an immediate cash outlay and will generate cash flows during many future periods. Similarly if the firm borrows funds from a bank or from any other source, it receives cash and commits an obligation to pay interest and repay principal in future periods. The firm may also raise funds by issuing equity shares. The firm’s cash balance will increase at the time shares are issued, but as the firm pays dividends in future, the outflow of cash will occur. Sound decision-making requires that the cash flows which a firm is expected to give up over period should be logically comparable. In fact, the absolute cash flows which differ in timing and risk are not directly comparable. Cash flows become logically comparable when they are appropriately adjusted for their differences in timing and risk. The recognition of the time value of money and risk is extremely vital in financial decision-making. If the timing and risk of cash flows is not considered, the firm may make decisions which may allow it to miss its objective of maximizing the owner’s welfare. The welfare of owners would be maximized when Net Present Value is created from making a financial decision. It is thus, time value concept which is important for financial decisions. Thus, we conclude that time value of money is central to the concept of finance. It recognizes that the value of money is different at different points a of time. Since money can be put to productive use, its value is different depending upon when it is received or paid. In simpler terms, the value of a certain amount of money today is more valuable than its value tomorrow. It is not because of the uncertainty involved with time but purely on account of timing. The difference in the value of money today and tomorrow is referred as time value of money. Q6. What are the assumptions of MM approach? Ans. Modigliani Millar approach, popularly known as the MM approach is similar to the Net operating income approach. The MM approach favors the Net operating income approach and agrees with the fact that the cost of capital is independent of the degree of leverage and at any mix of debt-equity proportions. The significance of this MM approach is that it provides operational or behavioral justification for constant cost of capital at any degree of leverage. Whereas, the net operating income approach does not provide operational justification for independence of the company’s cost of capital. Basic Propositions of MM approach: 1. At any degree of leverage, the company’s overall cost of capital (ko) and the Value of the firm (V) remains constant. This means that it is independent of the capital structure. The total value can be obtained by capitalizing the operating earnings stream that is expected in future, discounted at an appropriate discount rate suitable for the risk undertaken. 2. The cost of capital (ke) equals the capitalization rate of a pure equity stream and a premium for financial risk. This is equal to the difference between the pure equity capitalization rate and ki times the debt-equity ratio. 3. The minimum cut-off rate for the purpose of capital investments is fully independent of the way in which a project is financed. Assumptions of MM approach: 1. Capital markets are perfect. 2. All investors have the same expectation of the company’s net operating income for the purpose of evaluating the value of the firm. 3. Within similar operating environments, the business risk is equal among all firms. 4. 100% dividend payout ratio. 5. An assumption of â€Å"no taxes† was there earlier, which has been removed. Limitations of MM hypothesis: 1. Investors would find the personal leverage inconvenient. 2. The risk perception of corporate and personal leverage may be different. 3. Arbitrage process cannot be smooth due the institutional restrictions. 4. Arbitrage process would also be affected by the transaction costs. 5. The corporate leverage and personal leverage are not perfect substitutes. 6. Corporate taxes do exist. However, the assumption of â€Å"no taxes† has been removed later.

The Good Side of Hitler - 904 Words

Adolf Hitler is commonly remembered by the unforgivable things he did in his lifetime. The things that he did cannot be fixed, nor forgotten. Nevertheless, Hitler was smart and intuitive, and a great Politian, he originally moved from Vienna in hopes of becoming an artist. That was a dream that would be faded out way too quickly. Adolf Hitler was born April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town on the Austria-Hungary boarder. Hitler was the fourth child born to Mr. and Mrs. Alois Hitler. Six years after Adolf was born his father retired to Linz, Austria where Adolf received good grades in grade school and was very popular with all the other children. When Adolf reached high school things didn’t go as smoothly. He wasn’t as popular amongst the other kids and his grades weren’t good. When Alois found out about how poorly his son was doing in school he wanted him to become a civil servant. Discussed by his father’s wishes in 1903 when his father died Adolf was able to convince his mother to let him drop out of school at the age of sixteen. In 1907 Adolf made his way to Vienna, the capital of Austria-Hungary to continue his dream of becoming a famous artist, but he was denied both times he applied for art school. In December of the same year Adolf mother died from cancer, and he never informed her that he was never accepted into either schools. The more time he spend in Vienna the more his hatred for non-Aryans grew, as Adolf believed the perfect race would consist of non-Jewish,Show MoreRelatedThe World War II Germany1387 Words   |  6 Pagesand black Swastika on the sides with little flags on the front hood of the car also. They new that is was the The National Socialist German Workers Party or the (Nazi Party). They where good people just trying to get Germany out of debt and get them in a good economy. The man running for president was Adolf Hitler and he was a smart guy. All of his plans where going to help Germany with debt and get them to be a great country. Then a year later in 1929, July 29 Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of theRead MoreA Book On Adolf Hitler1274 Words   |  6 PagesBook Review for Adolf Hitler In this jaw dropping biography of Adolf Hitler, the reader experiences a full life tale of an extraordinary man. However, the word extraordinary is used in a context of pure evil as this dictator was the result of millions of deaths across Europe. As Adolf Hitler has now become one of the most famous military leaders to have walked this earth, Toland created this book that has become one of the best biographies of the twentieth century. Adolf Hitler was born on April 20Read MoreAdolf Hitler: One of the Most Talented Orators in History Essay1691 Words   |  7 Pagesworld and the views of people for the better with his â€Å"I Have A Dream† speech, or German dictator, Adolf Hitler, pushing his anti-semitic views through his Nazi speeches, people listened. People will always listen to these speeches and take away something different each time. Through the skills used in speaking, different effects can be made. It is sometimes difficult to believe that Adolf Hitler, was once one of the most talented and influential speakers in the world, based on the negative connotationRead More A Comparison of Stalin and Hitler as Dictators Essay1267 Words   |  6 PagesA Comparison of Stalin and Hitler as Dictators Adolf Hitler This assignment will introduce you to two men, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Two men that were responsible for genocide and mass destruction, similar in many ways though on two opposing sides with completely different fundamental ideas. Adolf Hitler was born as Adolf Schicklgruber in 1889 in Braunau am Inn, in Upper Austria and committed suicide in a Berlin bunker in 1945. He was Chancellor and FuehrerRead MoreHitler s Journey Towards Power1652 Words   |  7 Pages Good morning, today I would like to start with asking a simple question, what is power? Power can be defined as, a person’s ability to influence the behaviour of others or the course of events. (Oxford Dictionary, Power) The quote by Plato, a Greek philosopher stated ‘the measure of a man is what he does with power.’ This can be directly related to the leaders in our world today, as well as the ones of the past. The 20th century produced many powerful leaders; Adolf Hitler is considered to be oneRead MoreAdolf Hitler And The Nazi Regime1552 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican History class I read: People Who Made History; Adolf Hitler, and I have to say this book was rather interesting. This book gave a lot of background and history to Adolf’s childhood, along with his military strategies, as well as his rise and fall as leader of the Nazi regime. This book was incredibly descriptive, and passionately written, even though it was a fact based book one really feel like they could see into the mind of Adolf Hitler. As horrible of a person he was, his ambition was probablyRead MoreThe Battle Of The Allied Powers During World War II1528 Words   |  7 Pagesan enormous exchange between Hitler and the Allies. Because of this, it gave a rise to the power to the Allies in Europe when D-day was victorious. From 1941-1944 the Allies goal was to defeat Germany first. For many months, the Allies were trying to plan a massive invasion of Northwest Europe. The initial plan was to trap Germany from both the east and west sides with the help of the Soviet Union which would make it easier for the Allies to close in on Hitler. Hitler believed that the Allies wereRead MoreHitler and the Appeasement Policy of the 1930s Essay575 Words   |  3 Pagesand France let Hitler have whatever they considered necessary to preserve peace in Europe, as they merely wanted to focus on domestic issues, such as economy and unemployment . They believed that Hitler had certain aims and that once he had achieved these, he would be satisfied. So they allowed him to re-arm, invade the Rhineland (1936), and complete the Anschluss of Austria (1938) followed by the Sudetenland. Appeasement assumed Hitler would keep his side of the bargain,Read MoreHitler Was An Almighty Dictator1477 Words   |  6 Pagesdevoted to portraying Adolf Hitler as an almighty leader with calmative power with the view of ‘one leader, one party and one ideology’. This image of Hitler was easy to conceive giving the result of the holocaust and the creation of the Nazi state. However, leaving propaganda aside, there have been many historiographical debates as to whether Adolf Hitler was a weak or strong dictator, from Norman Rich claiming he was a master in the Third Reich, to Hans Mommsen who stated Hitler was a weak dictator. ThisRead MoreMommsens From Weimar to Auschwitz Essay719 Words   |  3 PagesHans Mommsen’s book, From Weimar to Auschwitz, presented an interesting look at Hitler within the Nazi Party. The overriding themes in the chapter â€Å"Hitler’s Position in the Nazi System† were the stubbornness and charisma of Hitler a nd the chaos within the Nazi Party. The weak leadership of Hitler along with the inability to concentrate power to one position helped lead the Third Reich to be a very frenzied and unorganized government. Throughout the span of Hitler’s rule, there was constant confusion