Understand, this very much a rant post and most rants do little for the reader and a lot for the writer. It’s all about me you know. However, if this one sheds light or more likely, entertains, then it’s a win win.

The fine art of truth spoofing.

You know when some “SEO experts” answer an interviewer or conference moderator question with a response that sounds good, is hardly verifiable with real data, but because they’re respected and well promoted, people believe them? I like to call that “truth spoofing”. It makes the “expert” seem impervious to failure and people forget about the specific numbers anyway, holding on to that “wow s/he’s smart” feeling. This isn’t unique to the SEM biz either. I see it in PR and direct marketing as well. What’s curious is that people accept it as a normal part of the “sales pitch”.

One person’s leftovers are another person’s gold.

By the time certain SEO tactics get written about in a major publication, they’ve jumped the shark. In fact, by the time they’re written about in popular search marketing publications, they likely have 6 months or less of competitive usefulness left. Yet the lure of getting a distinct advantage makes marketers and webmasters over-rely on such information rather than focusing on the results of their own first hand experience.

Everyone wants a shortcut it seems. In a way, it’s like those people selling no money down real estate courses and get rich quick seminars on TV. Either the tips are mostly marketing hype or they’ve long since expired in their usefulness. The only way to make money from them is to “sell the secret”. It’s like that with the promotion of many “SEO secrets”. By the time such tactics are publicly promoted as a way to gain competitive advantage, their days are numbered. Focusing on changing trends and strategies rather than specific tactics is what yields longer term results. At least that’s my opinion.

Diffuse the enthusiasm.

In a position of perceived authority, there are a lot of eyes and ears paying attention. Competition in the search marketing industry is formidable as agencies seek new revenue channels by adding search marketing services and companies bring more search marketing in-house.

What to do? One thing I’ve seen some pundits do is to tell the up and coming competition to go home. For example, “Don’t bother starting a silly old blog, it’s a waste of time”. Some make claims that certain marketing fundamentals will never work in competitive situations and that only the “super secret sauce” of SEO expert knowledge is worthy.

Plenty of neophytes read this stuff and think, “Hmm I guess I’ll play follow the leader and commit myself to the super secret sauce and not bother with the fundamentals and my own test/refinement/learning anymore”. As a result, some marketers get over committed to short term tactics and leave long term, sustainable methodologies and the products of their own experience by the wayside.

Pass the dirty buck.

Starting out in the search marketing business, leads for new projects are coveted, precious things. (Think Tommy Boy). Once a brand is built with significant momentum and credibility, inquiries for new business are sometimes treated as a commodity. In some cases, there’s more new business than any one firm can handle.

What to do with all those leads? Follow up on them of course! No, what some particularly mischievous SEOs do is send the crappy ones to their competition or to “friends”. You know, the insurance leads/poker/ringtone sites that have been through 5 SEO firms, have numerous duplicate sites and are currently banned? Not that there aren’t specialists in those industries or that those industries don’t deserve excellent SEO consulting, but referring completely out of scope and mis-matched projects is adolescent at best. After a while, it’s not so funny as the web site owners in need of services get tossed back and forth.

There aren’t any specific people I have in mind for these kinds of behaviors as they’re the kinds of things that you notice over time and many, many conferences. To be honest, I may have engaged in one or two myself at some point over the past 10 years. There’s no longevity to behaving badly so it really doesn’t pay to repeat such actions.

On the flip side, and this is the majority of what most people experience in the SEM industry, search marketers are bright, friendly, helpful, both tactical and strategic, constantly learning and as mentioned above, possess that very unique combination of creative and technical perspectives so critical for success in search.

Please browse for more information at our websites.

http://www.seo-prediction.com

http://www.seo.infozabout.com

Inflation is also visible on the price of union basket. According to the Alliance of independent trade unions, most were growing costs nourishment – 322 kuna in a year are now amount of 2350 kuna. In order to pay for basic life expenses, four-member Croatian family last month needed 528.49 kuna more than in July last year. The growth of living costs, however, was not followed with the growth of average wages that are in the year increased to 237 kuna.

The Croatian National Bank (HNB) expects a similar rate of inflation in August, according to estimates of Zeljko Rohatinski, if there’ll be no more new price shocks and chain reactions through an attempt indexation, inflation could slow by the end of the year to 6.5 percent. According to his words, if this optimistic scenario of slowing inflation will not be realized, the consequences could be serious problems throughout the system. A strong exchange rate appreciation could be more than five percent on annual basis. At the same time, interest would be to keep at high inflation inevitably had to grow, and citizens began to draw savings from banks because their earnings would be taken by inflation. “There’s a need of slowing inflation and therefore there is no alternative and therefore should be taken all that economic policy is available to control it“, said Rohatinski. As he said, HNB will, if necessary, taper banks further sales growth and reduce the repo business of central bank, will further appreciation course if necessary, and further limiting the amount of money in circulation.

Monetary mass in the course of this year increased by 2.3 percent, while its growth has amounted last year to 19.3 percent, because of anti-inflation actions by HNB. The governor in talks with the media has pointed out that he’s over in any way warning Croatian government of the danger of inflation. Specifically, he has on several occasions during the past and the beginning of this year clearly said what actions could the state could make, and in his analysis of inflation he pointed out that the state and higher consumption was the main generator of inflation, after which Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and Minister Suker clearly send out a message to him not to interfere in their work.

Ruling HDZ bears a grudge against governor because he has short before last year parliamentary elections, warned of a coming high inflation, which has not, of course, concurred with pre-election promises from both left and right political spectrum. After formation of the Government, conflict continued on the same topic. Parliament club HDZ has a few months ago vehemently accused HNB for hindering economic development and stimulate the growth of interest, and with bad monetary politics and fixing unrealistic of kuna has favored importers and damaged the domestic economy. Club HDZ has then publicly announced that the Government has done everything in its domain to maintain the macroeconomic stability of the country, while HNB has not done the same, criticizing HNB because of the high rate of mandatory foreign exchange reserves, and on parliamentary tribune was stated an evaluation that «on the Croatian capital market could promptly be found more than 20 billion kuna when HNB rate required reserves decreased by 50 percent.

Then overly optimistic indications full of political enthusiasm about the annual deficit between 2.3 and 2.4 per cent, growth of 4 to 4.5 percent, and inflation from 5.1 to 5.2 percent, run against the cliffs of depressing economic reality. Measures that were at the beginning of this year suggested to the government by HNB, which have agitated the spirits of economic and political nomenclature, after the publication of data on the 8.4 percent inflation in July, act now, half a year later, mature and responsibly. Pink notices have been deposed by explanations of general practice: all countries over the world have inflation so does Croatia, the price of oil has increased, the prices of food also. However, although the prices of oil and food on the world market in the meantime have stabilized, this has not stopped inflation trends in Croatia. To this situation favors a number of factors – from chronically excessive government spending and announced the sale of INA to trend growth in food price growth over the input costs of those companies that receive government incentives. If it’s for the sake of short-term buying social peace, allowed indexing of wages growth with the rate of inflation, and the state has already partially done it in the biggest state companies and employees in state administration, economic ascent will become much more rapid but up until now. It probably will again need to 7, 8 months for someone to recognize and explain to Croatian population the new ‘objective circumstances’ which were performed in the meantime.

Many ordinary Nigerians wake up today and find nothing to eat, not as a result of laziness but lack of employment is another contributory factor among numerous others. A situation where undergraduates are ready to attend lectures but the financial means are lacking yet school fees keep increasing on yearly basis leaves nothing but terrible situations. Only the average Nigerians can understandably explain their bad situations because we feel it biting us. Worse still, institutions in Nigeria do not work in accordance with the affordability of the people. Prices of goods rise while jobs are lacking.

Here is a country where the government notice its subjects to prepart forhard times ahead. Dates are even given on when such harsh measures will commence. The government of Nigeria did this when when in spite of the the poor purchasing power of the masses, it announced that it was set on increasing the price of petroleum products in the country. Whereas, any caring government would have taken cognisance of the dependency of the Nigerian economy on petroleum, and ameliorate the sufferings of the people, the NIgerian government will prove to its subjects that its thumb shall be thicker than its waist. With this development already at hand, Nigerians are set to suffer more again.

Nigerians are living in abject poverty, and it is so worst that it will amount to a common waste of time if this write-up decides to rely on several innumerable statistics often used to justify the economic positions and situations of the country or her citizens. Nigeria is said to be among the poorest nations in the world which so many people are doubtful of but it the situation of the country is far worst than this. Certain of those especially the members of the international community who think Nigeria is somewhat rich hinge their argument on usually the amount of money Nigerian officials often corruptly posses.

This people of the world countries wonder when they read on our newspapers that a certain government official was found with a perhaps about $8 Billion Nigeria, an amount which may hardly be found on any one British official. Again, the members of the international community wonder why most of these officials go unpunished without visible punishments meted to them. “Nigeria is a rich country” they conclude and a country such as Nigeria where anyone can wake and realizes that his small boy-neighbor has suddenly become a million worth about N3 Million cannot be said to be very poor.

But I think one of the points these people miss is that these monies stolen from our treasury are never found in our economy as they are after being stashed put in foreign Banks and invested in this countries never to find their ways into the country again. They are like slaves who are forcefully made to journey their ways out of their places of origin and never made to return. Thus our economy continues to suffer. Brains trooping out in mass into other countries and monies stashed from our economies investing in foreign countries. What then becomes of our economy?

There is also the issue of investing on wrong projects by the Nigeria government. Such projects are named after what are found in foreign countries but are never managed as such and in most occasions have never benefited the downtrodden or wasteful thus compounding the already compounded state of the masses of the country. The governments of Nigeria prove that they can hardly manage the economic affairs of the country. A venture such as the Ajaokuta Steel Company is a failed one because in the first place it was meant to be a white elephant project which may ever remain uncompleted even with the total sum of the budget of USA. In 2006, Ajaokuta Stell Company was valued at $6 billion but was later sold at $525 million by Olusegun Obasanjo before his departure as the president of the country in a questionable circumstance. If however the Ajaokuta Steel Company is safely argued not to be a failed project it cannot survive the remaining argument that unnecessary and unaccountable amount of money was pushed into the project, thus giving the ordinary citizens of the country the bitter pill to swallow. It cost us a lot, almost drained our economy and makes us suffer today.

We should remember that when Obasanjo decided to revive the company built in 1979 to produce flat steel the World Bank angrily kicked against it instead advising the Nigerian government to convert it to a power plant but the government of Obasanjo went ahead and later consenssioning it to Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, an Indian owned firm. What followed this development were strikes by Russian and Ukrainian experts not having been paid their salaries for months.

Again, almost everyone will remember the relocation of the federal capital from Lagos to Abuja. There is no doubt however that nothing whatsoever necessitated the reasons for this idea and the hurry with which Abuja was built with the idea to make it the best and the biggest city in the world today is visiting us with sufferings as every single government structure existing in Lagos was duplicated in Abuja for no reason at all. Today our economy has become drained because situations are fast proving that Nigeria was not ripe economically to shift its capital to hitherto nonexistent city called Abuja. Government workers, personnel, embassies and the rest of them were hurriedly forced to relocate to the city with Julius Berger and other companies benefiting largely from contracts. What is the result on the Nigerian economy?

That Nigeria remains the only country in the world were her coins are not in circulation is not only a slap to the government of the country but also Africa as a whole as her giant does not recognize the use of coins. Even the biggest countries in the world like USA, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, etc. Countries with big economies use coins in their day to day transactions and as payments to goods and services but the reason this is strange to Nigerians is indefinable. Nigeria has some of the best brains in world economy who have at one time or the other headed the financial houses, budget policies and even the financial sectors of the country yet none has taken a serious view on why coins should be in use in the country.

It baffles me when in text books and financial matters on the internet “kobo” is made to appear beside “Naira”. When did any one of our numerous Nigerians heard was or ever seen “Kobo” with his/her two eyes? Can a country which forbids the use of coins ever grow big economically, just where are all the coins Obasanjo minted stacked? Do our Government officials use coins when they travel out of the country? Are coins to heavy for Nigerians to convey? Can our government ever realize the importance of coins? These are the questions waiting to be answered by the Nigerian officials.

I still maintain that as our government gives us the understanding that it is prepared to launch the country among the first 20 economies of the world, this can never be achieved if coins are not put in circulation in the nation. Because ordinarily “Kobo” cannot be ceremoniously made to display on computers inside stock market while these coins are practically not in use.

Items like sweets, biscuits, sugar etc that ought to be bought cheaply therefore becomes unaffordable. These will leads to nothing but continued success of inflation in the country. The importance of coins which have since been in use for centuries to the economic development of nations is a well acknowledged fact among nations and international organizations and Nigeria cannot be an exception.

To ensure that the use of coins is achieved the government should at least make compulsory pay of certain percentage of withdrawals made by customers in our Banks compulsory to enable the circulation of possible. I trust Nigerians and know that if we have it in abundance in our possession, surely no one will discard them. Let our government do something today. Our economy needs coins to grow.

Emeka Esogbue hails from Ibusa, Delta State, Nigeria. He is a Historian and International Relations graduate, and public affairs commentator with lots of tremendous published and unpublished works

emekaesogbue@yahoo.com

Recently, check cashing businesses have grown in both name and function. Many businesses now offer not only check cashing services but also other types of financial services to expand their customer base.

What types of checks can be cashed?

- Official checks

- Government checks

- Payroll checks

- Tax refund checks

- Welfare checks

- Unemployment checks

- Two party checks

- Business checks

- Social Security checks

- Personal checks

- Checks payable to your business

- Settlement checks

What other services are available?

Businesses that offer check cashing services usually offer other financial services like money transfers, money orders, payday loans, P.O. Boxes, notary public officers, currency exchange, EBT services, ATM machines, photocopying and faxing services, mailing supplies, and even some motor vehicle registration and renewals.

It would behoove you to find out what services are offered at your local check cashing store so that you may decide if you can use them for other things in the future.

Why would you want to use a check cashing business?

There are many advantages actually. They usually have more advantages than banks and other financial institutions such as.

- Multiple financial services

- No holds on your checks

- No lines

- Quick access to cash

- Convenient hours of operation

- Low fees

- No credit checks for loans

- High approval rate for bad credit applicants

Who goes to check cashing stores?

All kinds of people use these services. They use them for convenience and good customer service as well as to meet several financial needs at once. Sometimes you will find people who cash a check, pay their bills and buy mailing supplies all in one visit. Sometimes, for loyal customers, they offer benefits or discounts.

Small businesses also take advantage of the services offered by check cashing businesses. A lot of small businesses have issues with banks holding their funds. Also, banks have limitations on how much cash a customer can get in one day. These companies can be valuable assets to small businesses.

What is the cost to cash a check?

It is a competitive business so you will want to compare prices of local companies. The amount they charge will vary from company to company. There are regulated fees that check cashers are allowed to charge you when cashing or obtaining a loan. Make sure that you are fully aware of all fees upfront.

Michael New Jr. is an authority in the financial industry. He has written hundreds of articles relating to consumer services and Utah Check Cashing.

Contact Info:
Michael New Jr.
(866)294-4672
miken@checkcity.com
http://www.checkcity.com

Chapter 7 bankruptcy will discharge most types of debts for the average citizen. It will stay on record for ten years, but the major benefit is the stay it provides which prevents creditors from hassling you.

To determine whether or not you are eligible, you must determine how many people make an income in your household and whether or not they each pass the means test—that is, whether or not they make over the median income.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is used by businesses, not citizens, to reorganize debts.

The main advantage of this type of bankruptcy is that it allows the debtor to keep possession of the company. However, the strict requirements of the bankrupty process must be followed! Motions regarding such issues as employee payment and cash collateral should be made by the bankrupty courts.

The debtor has 120 days in which to propose a plan or reorganization to the bankruptcy court. Because this kind of bankruptcy is so complicated, a bankruptcy attorney should be consulted first.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is “wage earner’s bankruptcy”, which allows you to repay your debt through a plan.

This is the best option for people with a steady income, who happen to have fallen behind in loan payments.

The major advantage of this kind of bankruptcy is that the creditors must agree to a confirmed plan. This prevents lawsuits designed to order the debtor to pay the balance already owed. Lawsuits result in frustration for all concerned, as the debtor can mistakenly think that things are going great for the first six months, only to be surprised one day out of the blue.

Bankruptcy is a complex issue that must be studied in detail to be fully understood. Attorneys specializing in bankruptcy are clearly the best choice, as they specialize in the specific areas of Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Professional Minnesota Bankruptcy Lawyers specializing in bankruptcy law, chapter 7, chapter 11, and chapter 13 attorney legal representation. Visit Minneapolis Bankruptcy Lawers for more details.

Being an accounting major allows you to have a great deal of freedom in your future occupation, but be assured that working long hours in an accounting firm is not your ultimate fate. Consider a government job, in particular becoming a Special Agent for the Internal Revenue Service. Most people are surprised that this job titles requires an accounting degree because Special Agents are actually criminal investigators for the IRS.

The easiest way to get your foot in the door with the IRS is to apply for the available co-op position in the beginning of your junior year. This interview consists of three parts: a written part, an oral part, and a physical part. Many interviewees find the physical part the toughest of the three parts. It is helpful that Special Agents be physically fit, since there may come a time where physical force will be needed in the line of duty. If hired, you will be doing most of the same tasks that the actual Agents themselves do. After the co-op and upon college graduation, you will be sent to Georgia for six months to train for the Special Agent position. Along with physical training, agents-to-be sit through the Basic Criminal Investigator Course. Once the training is completed, Special Agents graduate the academy. Special Agents are even given their own government car, which they drive to and from work everyday. If a person does not enter the IRS by doing a co-op as a college student, he or she may apply regularly, but must do so before his or her 37th birthday.

Criminal Investigation is known as the “Law Enforcement Arm of the IRS.” The job of a Special Agent of the IRS is to investigate a person or company that has been referred to him or her through an external audit team. These investigations usually take months to complete. It is the responsibility of the Special Agent to visit the company or business’s job site and interview the person he or she thinks would know its financials best. Financial documents are collected and an examination is done. If at the end of the money tracing, there is enough evidence to prosecute, the case will go to court. Since Special Agents are experts in this line of work, they will be involved in the court process and will testify in most of the cases. Many master-minds of white-collar crimes are put behind bars for many years thanks to the criminal investigators of the IRS.

The IRS deals mainly with crimes that violate Title 26 of the U.S. Tax Code, which is tax evasion, but is certainly not limited to these types of crimes. Any tax money that the IRS acquires is put toward Federal Programs. Special Agents may be involved with drug task forces or intelligence groups. Another example of a case the IRS might deal with is mortgage fraud, which has recently grown, and could be partially blamed on the poor economy. If a Special Agent volunteers to be on-call, he or she can receive up to twenty-five percent of his or her original salary over the course of a year. An Agent that has been working for five years can make an annual salary of $85,000; that is an additional $21,250 just for being on-call!

If you are a person who has an interest in law, is not afraid of carrying a firearm at work, and who is ok with the idea of periodic physical tests, this may be the perfect career for you. As a new requirement adopted by the IRS on October 1, 2008, Special Agents are obligated to perform five physical strength tests: have a vertical jump of at least twelve inches, bench-press half their body weight, maneuver an agility run in twenty seconds or less, do at least twenty-six sit-ups in a minute, and lastly, run three hundred meters in a maximum time of eighty-two seconds.

Me: Joe could you told me a little about your past and what made you come to college?

Joe: ‘I’m never going to amount to anything!’ Or at least that is what my fifth grade teacher made me believe. At ten, I felt that my life was pointless; a purposeless journey. Television was the only place I heard other children being told that they would achieve prestigious positions such as lawyers, doctors, or presidents. But in my life and neighborhood we were told we were nothing. So when I was giving the opportunity to attend college I made the best of my situation. For the first four semester of my college career I received nothing less than a 3.11 gpa for a semester, I strived to maintain a high level of academic excellence.

In an incident on August 26, 2008 there was party to celebrate the new inductees to a fraternity that was revived on West Chester University’s campus. There was a constant flow of people in this party. It seemed t be an endless supply of liquor at this after hour event. With that much liquor being distributed it was just a matter of time before the situation would end in devastation. Tempers flared over words that were exchanged. Innocent bystanders tried to calm both sides. Incoherent and uncooperative, a scuffle broke out.

Me: Joe from what you can remember may I have your perspective of what happened that night at your apartment.

Joe: I was jumped by two guys and three girls. I just remember being kicked while I was on the ground. While I was down on the grow I kept repeating ‘yall going to jump me.’ The offenders left immediately after the altercation. I was helped up by one of the neighboring residents. The police soon arrived and I was questioned about the recent events that just occurred. Alcohol lingering on my breath and refusing to participate in their investigation, they (Police) cuffed me. I was taken back into my apartment as it searched. Alcohol was found. I was then taking to the peoples building where I took a breathalyzer test. Blowing a .224 I was charged with disorderly conduct for supposedly physically engaging in an act that served no legitimate purpose and public drunkenness which is self explanatory. Two citations were giving to me with fines reaching over $820 and 10 hours were spent in a holding cell.

The Friday morning of November 7, 2008 approximately 12:30 am at another social gathering that is taken place in the same apartment that was previously mentioned. There was a hard bang at the front door:

Me: After that knock on the door Joe what was going through your mind? What was your reaction?

Joe: Looking through the peep hole I see two police officers. I told everyone at the party that it was the cops. Within an instant the music is cut off and everyone scurries off to the rooms in the back. The cop’s were let in by a non-resident that was attending the party. The cops could hear the raffling of feet and the whisper of voice coming from the back rooms. The cops ask for a resident of the apartment. Two of the residents left as soon as they heard the cops were coming. I was the only tenant there. Not wanting the full responsibility to fall on my shoulders I stayed locked in my room hoping that the cops would grow impatient with the waiting for our surrender and leave. However, the police had intentions on calling the Resident Director and keying in to every room in the apartment. There were 17 people cited for underage drinking and I was once again cited for disorderly conduct for being disruptive. Each underage citation was giving a $420 fine. I received a $310 fine for disorderly conduct and a summons to appear in court for Infliction of Harm, reckless behavior: Alcohol, on campus, underage, furnishing to minors; Alcohol, Public Intoxication; Disorderly Conduct; Sanction Violation while on Probation, and Criminal/Civil Statute. Hundreds of dollars will be spent on lawyer fees and several hours will be spent in court.

Exactly 1 week later on Friday November 14, 2008 Black Student Union was hosting a party in the Purple Gym at 9:30. Before hand there was a social gathering to drink alcohol and to listen to music. Many attendant this ‘pregaming’ for the party but only one individual got out of control

Me: Obviously Joe School was your main focus this semester; can you tell me about your most recent occurrence?

Joe: I remember going to the party from walking over from the diner. At the diner I was told one of my friends almost gotten into a fight. From the moment on my guard was up worried for my friend. So anyway, I went to the party and browsed it before I made any moves. I stayed in the background with my frat until we party walked. While party walking I was bumped. Insanely drunken this sparked something that I dearly regret. I went after the kid with intentions of hurting him. As I was being held back by friend this cause a scene. The police soon would come over to assist me out the party upset that I had to leave I push the officer lead head off of me. Two more officers came over and I was picked up off my feet and slammed firmly on my chest. The police escorted me over to the people building once again where I passed out than was taken to the hospital by an ambulance. At the hospital there was blood work taken and procedure followed. After sobering up I was allowed to leave with a friend. I was once again cited for $310 for public drunkenness and $422 for disorderly conduct.

I concluded that we all pay for our mistakes one way or another. Some pay by having a mental burden of regret linger on the conscious. However, Joe will have to pay through fines and court appears. Joe and his associate semester of partying came to a total of $8,182 plus the additional amount for the lawyer fees. The fines and fines combine could pay for an entire 15 credit semester complete with north campus double dormitory, 19 meals per week, and you would also receive a refund check of $1,376. I leave it up to you to decide for yourself if party is really worth it.

Depreciation for accounting and tax purposes can differ substantially. Depreciation also can be called amortization, which means the depreciation of intangible assets. Depreciation or amortization for accounting purposes will not affect the cash flow of a company, because it is not figured in the cash flow statement, and it may not be added back to net income to calculate the operating cash flow. Depreciation in accounting is used for two main purposes: to match its expenses with income, and to make sure the values assigned to each asset are not over or understated.

Depreciation for tax purposes however will affect the cash flow of a company. This is because tax depreciation reduces taxable profits, which will then increase any return. When depreciation is shown on financial statements, it usually doesn’t mean depreciation for tax purposes. Salvage value, is the net worth of an asset at the end of its useful life. Or in other words, it is the remaining value of an asset after depreciation.

In accounting, assets are recorded on their balance sheets at historical cost, or the original cost of the asset. Historical cost minus all depreciation expenses equals an asset’s salvage value. Depreciation is not taken out of each item individually; rather it is recorded in a contra-asset account, or credit balance asset account, called accumulated depreciation. The normal entry usually involves a debit to depreciation expense, and a credit to accumulated depreciation.

There are many methods for recording depreciation. Many are based on the passage of time or the amount the asset is used. Special accounting standards boards have guidelines on what methods you can and cannot use. One universal rule of recording depreciation expense for the year is depreciation base multiplied by the depreciation rate for that year. Straight line depreciation is the most common and simplest method of depreciation. This method expenses a portion of an assets original cost over the useful life of an asset. The depreciable life for each type of asset is also determined by the accounting standards board. Using straight line depreciation, you have the same depreciable rate each year which is determined by the assets useful life. Say an asset is worth $10,000 and has a useful life of 10 years and has $0 scrap value. The depreciation base will be $10,000 and the rate would be 10% (100%/10) which gives $1000 of depreciation expense for the year.

The next method is the declining balance method. This method is an accelerated depreciation method, because you take more depreciation in earlier years. Annual depreciation equals book value at beginning of year x depreciation rate. Using double declining balance, you always use double the straight line rate. So if an asset had a useful life of 10 years, your straight line rate would be 10%, but your declining balance rate would be 20%. So if an asset was worth $10,000 with a life of 10 years, you would multiply $10,000 by 20% giving you $2,000 in depreciation expense. Your book value at the end of next year will now be $8,000 ($10,000 – $2,000). So next years depreciation expense would be $8,000 x 20% which equals $1600 in depreciation expense for the year.

The sum of years digit method, results in more accelerated depreciation than straight line, but less than the double declining method. First calculate the years digits, if the asset has a useful life of 5 years, the years digits are 5,4,3,2,and 1 for each respective year. Next calculate the sum of the digits which equals 15 (5+4+3+2+1). Then calculate the rate for each year by taking its year’s digit and dividing by the sum of years digits. If an asset is worth $10,000, with a life of 5 years, you would multiply $2,000 by 5/15 which equals $666.66 of depreciation expense for the year. For year two, you would multiply $2,000 by 4/15 to come up with your depreciation expense for the year. The same calculations would continue until the asset is fully depreciated.

These are the simplest, most basic forms of depreciation. There are other methods which include unit of production, group, and composite depreciation which are more complicated than the methods shown in this article. I hope if used correctly, you can identify which type of depreciation you will use in your business or trade.

As you begin your journey it will do you good to learn a bit of the history of these firms. Knowing where these firms have been will help you understand the role that you will be taking on as a new recruit and the legacy you will continue.

While you will most likely not be held responsible for this information in an interview, learning these basic facts will provide you with an easy way to impress the Big 4.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (aka PwC, “P Dubs”)

The history of PwC dates back to the 19th century London. Samuel Lowell Price, the son of a Bristol stone potter, was born in 1821. Entering the accounting profession at an early age, Price was a member of several smaller firms before striking out on his own as a sole practitioner.

Meanwhile, a young English accountant, Edwin Waterhouse (b. 1841), was making a name for himself. The son of lucrative mill-owning parents, and brother to Alfred Waterhouse, a prominent London architect, Edwin rose quickly in the ranks to the London accounting elite.

Around this time, another accountant by the name of William Cooper established a rival firm in London with his three brothers. Across the ocean in the U.S., William Lybrand and others created yet another firm. These firms merged in 1957 into what would be known as Coopers and Lybrand.

Price and Waterhouse joined forces in 1874 to create Price, Waterhouse & Co. The firm became well-known as one of the finest in London and eventually opened their first U.S. office in 1890 in New York. The firm began to establish separate partnerships across the globe.

In 1998 Coopers & Lybrand merged with Price Waterhouse to form, PricewaterhouseCoopers. The firm now employs over 146,000 people in 150 countries and had worldwide revenues of $28 billion in fiscal year 2008.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (aka Deloitte, D&T, Deloitte & Touche)

Back to London….let’s meet William Welch Deloitte. Born in 1818, Deloitte was the grandson of Count de Loitte, an expatriate of France who left during the French Revolution. Deloitte was a quick learner and began his career at the age of 15 in the bankruptcy courts of London. Deloitte opened his own office at the age of 25 with a focus on the railway industry. In fact, Deloitte was employed as the first external auditor EVER appointed and developed a system of safeguarding records to protect investors.

Deloitte would go on to become president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and open a U.S. practice in 1893.

Sir George Alexander Touche (b. 1861), an accountant from, you guessed it…London, opened a practice in 1899. He later spread the practice to New York, capitalizing on the growing demand for income tax preparation.

Over the course of the 20th century, Deloitte and Touches’ separate firms merged with a number of other firms in various markets. One of the key mergers was the combination of Touché Ross (as it was then known) and the Japanese firm, Tohmatsu Awoki & Co in 1975.

In 1989, the firm then known as Deloitte Haskins & Sells broke up. The majority of the individual partnerships that had made up the firm, including the U.S. piece, merged with Touché Ross to form Deloitte & Touché. Some of the smaller partnerships that were against the merger of Touché Ross merged with Coopers & Lybrand. In 1993 the firm was renamed to Deloitte Touché Tohmatsu, due to the growing influence of the Japanese brand.

The firm now employs over 165,000 people in 140 countries and had worldwide revenues of $27.4 billion in fiscal year 2008

Ernst & Young (aka E&Y, EY)

As is the case with PwC and Deloitte, E&Y in its current state is a result of a series of mergers. One difference with E&Y, however, is that the major players and namesakes of the firm are American rather than British. In 1903 an accounting firm was formed in Cleveland by brothers Theodore and Alwin Ernst. In 1906 the firm Arthur Young & Co. was established in Chicago. These two firms individually joined forces with well-known British firms. Ernst merged with Whinney Smith & Whinney and Young joined forces with Broads Patterson & Co. In 1989, the successors of these firms merged to create what we now know as Ernst & Young.

The firm now employs over 137,000 people in worldwide and had revenues of $24.5 billion in fiscal year 2008

KPMG (aka Klynveld, Peat, Marwick, Goerdeler)

By now I’m sure you can see a pattern here: two or three dominant US and British firms join forces, go through a series of mergers and achieve world-wide status. KPMG is no different. The key information to note is the following:

Prominent British Founder – William Barclay Peat (b. 1852)

Key Mergers:

• William Barclay Peat merge with Marwick Mitchell Co. (1911) to form Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co.
• Thomson McLintock firm forms a group of independent European firms known as KMG (1979)
• KMG and Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co. join forces in largest accounting firm merger to date to form KPMG (1987)
• Renamed to KPMG Peat Marwick (1991)
• Renamed back to KPMG (1995)

It is interesting to note that KPMG and E&Y were all but ready to merge in 1997 as a power play against the merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers Lybrand. However, this merger eventually fell through.

The firm now employs over 123,000 people in worldwide and had revenues of $19.8 billion in fiscal year 2008.

Phew….that is all for the history lesson. The common theme here is that these firms are all founded by the best and the brightest of their time. The accounting profession as we know it today would not be what it is without good old Sam Price, Billy Deloitte, Teddy Ernst and Bill Peat. These men are the founding fathers of public accounting and it is their legacy you will continue when you join on of these great firms. Their stories are a lesson in excellence and their influence is still felt to this day.

For more information on how to work for the Big 4, please visit http://www.big4guru.com

The Big 4 Guru is a CPA, proud Big 4 alumni and seasoned industry professional. His passion is helping new accounting professionals achieve their career goals.

Accounting is a discipline that is always growing and changing so it’s a good idea to keep up to date with all of the trends that are going on. Since the management prepares the financial statements of a company it is possible that a financial statement can be altered to give a company a particular boost. So, that’s why the companies that sell their ownership to the public needs to get their financial statements audited by a public certified accountant. A certified public accountant (CPA) are licensed through the sate for the same exact reason lawyers and doctors are, so they and protect the public by providing the highest quality of professional service possible. The reason why CPAs are used is because they have no connection with the company and are independent. They have zero financing ties with the company.

Some firms that employ a lot of certified public accountants include Deloitte & Touch, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. An accountant with no strings attached or is independent commonly performs an audit, which is evaluating a companies financial statements, product, accounting systems, and records. The main purpose of an audit is to make sure that the financial statements have been properly prepared according to the excepted accounting rules. Keep in mind; since accounting is not a precise science it has room for interpretation according to the GAPP.

However, that doesn’t mean that the accountants report should contain substantial errors in the financial report, but more like that for the most report it is reliable for creditors to take a look at. An accountant can make a decision only when the financial statements conform to the guidelines of GAAP. In the past creditors, banks, and investors tend to favor an auditor when they are deciding to invest in a company or give loans, because of their independence. The individualistic audit is an extremely crucial factor in the growth of financial markets internationally.

Also, many organizations can directly or indirectly influence a GAAP. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is the most critical body for the development and issuing of rules on accounting practice. The website I previously listed is extremely critical and you can attend seminars online for no cost, and also stay up to date with the rules. This independent body issues the Statements of Financial Accounting Standards. Next, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the official professional association for certified accountants. It’s the largest CPA organization that exists in America and heavily influence accounting practices through its senior committees.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is the agency of the federal government that legally has the power to set and execute accounting practices for companies that sell security to the public, and it has a large impact on accounting practice. Next, the governmental accounting standard (GASB) is critical for accounting because its main job is to issue the standards for accounting to the local and state governments in the United States. However, a lot of these organizations are focused on the rules in regulations in the United States.

There are a lot of businesses and accountants internationally so that’s why the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) was formed. It was approved by more then 25 international agencies. The U.S laws that analyze the revenues for the cost of operating a business can also affect accounting practice. It’s no question that the major provider for income for the government comes from income tax. The income tax rules are heavily applies by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Sometimes these rules actually cause a conflict with the accepted rules of accounting. A lot of businesses use accounting practices because it’s a requirement by tax law. Also, companies can use the rules of tax law to their advantage financially. Accounting also has laws of conduct for profession, and one extremely important one is ethics.

It touches bases on questions that help determine if something is either right or wrong, and is based on moral decisions. Most people are faced with several ethical issues each day and, and some ethical activities could be on the range of illegal. If a business decides to use false or misleading advertising, or to bribe customers into giving them testimonials for a specific product, then they could be acting in an unethical manner. The ethics of a company could also be a result of the employees so that’s why it’s always a good idea to run a background check of who you are hiring, whether it’s online or offline. Professional ethics is the guidelines that apply to the conduct of individuals of a certain profession.

Similar to the ethical actions of a company, the ethical actions of an individual is a decision. As being a member of an organization, accountants have to take the responsibility not only to their customers and employers, but also to the general public to act in the greatest ethical way possible. Accountants are very good at following professional ethics because they are the second professional group as having the largest ethical standards, with clergy being the highest, no surprises about that one. It is important for individuals who decide to become an accountant to have the highest levels of professionalism as possible.

To enforce that its prestigious members are following the rules, the AICPA along with each state have adopted some codes of professional conduct that certified public accountants have to follow. Some simple rules are being responsible to the people that depend on the trust of accountants, such as creditors and investors. When working with people the accountant must act with integrity which means that they are honest, and the individuals gain from the visit with the accountant. The accountant must display objectivity which means that they are intellectually honest, and they must remain independent which means that they must avoid any relationship with the business or individual because it will damage the accountant’s principles.

Nicholas Tan has been involved in Article Writing, providing Free Articles, Internet Marketing, SEO, Adwords, & Adsense for more than 5 years and designs and develops websites. Submit your free articles and get your articles noticed! Get your Free Articles here! Submit Articles! We provide free articles and information. Check us out at Free Articles!