Spark of Life
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
The fourth poetry book by Dr Safi Hasan has been published by Jahangir Books, Lahore recently in a beautiful blue colour flap cover. It is titled ?Mera Sitara Bujha Nahin Hei?. Safi has dedicated his book to his children and their off-shoots.Safi's motto of life is the resolve to live and face the difficulties of life that is reflected in his couplet ?Mujkhey Fikr-e-Rakht-e-Safar Nahin Mujhey Doobeney Ka Khatar Nahin/ Meri Kashtian Hein Yaqeen Ki Merey Baadban Dua Key Hein?. This couplet appears at the start of the book. He is confident that the ship of life that he sails cannot be wrecked as his ship is constructed on belief and its sails that are made of prayers.
Dr Safi Hasan is a poet who follows straight path, observes Dr Khwaja Muhammad Zakariya in his article titled ?Safi Hasan, Sirat-e-Mustaqeem Ka Sha?ir?. The article is included in this book. He is of the view that a large number of poets are appearing nowadays from nowhere. In such a situation where there are poetry books everywhere right and left, the voice of genuine poets gets submerged into the flood of books. The genuine ones are not heard as much as they deserve to be. Dr Safi Hasan is one among such sufferers. Khwaja Saheb says that Safi is a born poet for whom creativity is a natural phenomenon and also for the fact that Safi is not an unknown poet as he has three poetry books and many international and national Mushairas to his credit. He deserves to be given attention and heard disjointedly from the clatter created by the mediocre ones.
Dr Safi Hasan expresses his inner wounds in the Ghazal format and external ones in the Nazm format. On Page 216 he writes ?Jo Duniya Key Ho Jaatey Hein Aisey Logon Sey/ Janey Kyun Mil Kar Mujh Ko Hairani Hoti Hei?. A poet has to be sensitive towards what is going on around him. Through this couplet the poet expresses his astonishment when he comes across people who have become totally materialistic in this race of the world. In his poem titled ?Nai Saher? (Page 362) Safi discusses the new intrigues on the chessboard of time. Still hope does not leave him when he says ?Bharak Rahi Hei Jo Har Samt Aatish-e-Namrood/ Dua-e-Dast-e-Brahim Sey Nigoon Ho Gi/ Asa Badast Chala Aaey Ga Kalim Koi/ Faraz-e-Toor Sey Ik Ehd-e-Jaan Nibhaney Ko?.
Hoping an end to the fire started by the American War on terror in our part of the world, he concludes that the masses shall rule in the backdrop of new light and fresh hope. Dr Wazir Agha observes that Safi has excelled in his wordiness both in the Ghazal and Nazm formats. The only difference is in their contents. In his poems his eyes are laid upon the rapid changes appearing in the globe and his eyes catch attention of the international scenario rather than remaining confined to the national issues. He has proved that all the pains of the world are hidden in his heart. This approach is also reflected in his Ghazal wherein he has managed successfully not to let his poetry get split between the two approaches. His poems titled ?Gawah Rehna?, ?Iqwam-e-Mutahida?, ?Mera Sitara Bujha Nahin Hei?, ?Wal-Asr?, ?Mom Ki Ankhain Peetal Key Rukhsar?, ?Aik Kanara?, ?Betarteeb Tehzeebon Ka Jungle?, ?Fasalu-Ehlil-Zikr?, ?Udhoorey Khwab? and ?Merey Watan? deserve special attention. These poems need attention for one reason that so far Safi has given more attention to his Ghazals, observes Dr Khurshid Rizvi in the Forward to the book (Page 28). In his Ghazals too Safi has shown great diversity. This reviewer shall only quote one couplet of Safi?s Ghazal to prove this contention. It says ?Ab Jo Bhi Ho Yeh Baat Safi Hosiley Ki Hei/ Deewar Keh Rahi Hei Keh Aa Mujh Mein Dar Nikaal?. The situation has arisen to such an extent that even a dead wall invites the poet to make an entrance through it. It is again the element of hope that has been expressed metaphorically.
Many titles of Safi?s poems are based on ?Quranic verses?. His deep commitment to religion has appeared in the shape of metaphors in his Ghazals that he has reflected upon openly in his poems. In his poems Safi has brought forward Quranic contents in a simple and touching manner. His sincerity is abundant through building of strong character and resolving of matters. At the conclusion of his poem ?Fasalu-Ehlil-Zikr? he appeals to the people to keep the relation with the God straight as life in this world could wind up any day.
Safi also abhors the clash between what Iqbal had once referred to as ?Chehra Roshan Androon Changez Sey Tareek Tar?. It is not acceptable to Safi when the truth is compromised. Dr. Khurshid Rizvi refers to his poem titled ?Iqwam-e-Mutahida? (Page 54) in this regard. Few lines are worth a mention here ?Mein Heraan Hun/ Keh Is Roshan Idaarey Key Asaasi Zehan Hi Khud Is Ki Buniyaadon Keh Dushman Hein/ Woh Duniya Ko To Rooh-e-Aman Ki Talqeen Kartey Hein/ Magar Khud Ko Salaakh-e-Aatesheen Sey Lais Kar Key/ Khak-o-Khoon Taqseem Kartey Hein?.
On one side UN sermons for peace and at the same time send troops to divide the soil and the blood. Western wars in the Islamic world displace people and then UN comes to provide shelter. What a contradiction in the so called UNO. Dr Khurshid Rizvi observes that apparently Safi may look like a revolutionary poet but he too in his own words abhors those who just say what they do not believe in. He quotes without naming any poets of revolutionary minds especially belonging to the Progressive Movement whose personal lives were poles apart from their writings.
As a philosopher he ponders on the question of existence. In his poem titled ?Gehra Sawaal? he invites everyone to think as to who breathes inside them? In his Ghazal too Safi brings out solutions to many dilemmas. He says ?Aik Na Aik Faraib Sabhi Ney Khaya Hota Hei/ Isi Liye Sooraj Bhi Gehnaaya Hota Hei?. The essence of this couplet is that even the powerful sun can be betrayed as it also gets eclipsed sometimes. Finally love-poetry is not strange to Safi. In his Ghazal on page 390 he says ?Dil Doobeta Hei Us Sey Bicher Kar Kutch Is Tarah/ Sooraj Sey Jaisey Us Ki Kiran Tooteney Lagi?. The essence of this couplet is that when he gets separated from his beloved it is like the sun getting separated from its rays. Since Dr. Safi Hasan?s heart and soul are deeply ingrained in the soil, they remain fresh due to the fragrance thereby emitted.
Labels: Book Review, Safi Hasan
posted @ 1:35 PM,
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Top Ten Consumers and Producers of World Oil
During the run up to the oil prices to the record level, there have been debate of growing consumption across BRIC countries and production will not catch up with consumption growth. However, the data below suggest that consumption among top ten consumers have increase only by 7% over last year, while production among top ten producers have declined by 13% mainly contribute by Saudi Arabia and other middle east countries and also from Venezuela. The reserves also suggest that there are sizeable reserves for production for years to come. The data suggests that the answer to the soaring oil prices lies elsewhere rather than on increasing consumption from developing nations.TOP TEN CONSUMERS (In Thousand Barrels/day)
USA-----------------23.90%-------20,698
China---------------9.30%---------7,855
Japan---------------5.80%---------5,051
India---------------3.30%---------2,748
Russian Federation--3.20%---------2,699
Germany-------------2.80%---------2,393
South Korea---------2.70%---------2,371
Canada--------------2.60%---------2,303
Saudi Arabia--------2.50%---------2,154
France--------------2.30%---------1,919
TOP TEN PRODUCERS (In Thousand Barrels/day)
Saudi Arabia--------12.60%--------10,413
Russian Federation--12.60%---------9,978
USA------------------8.00%---------6,879
Iran-----------------5.40%---------4,401
China----------------4.80%---------3,743
Mexico---------------4.40%---------3,477
Canada---------------4.10%---------3,309
UAE------------------3.50%---------2,915
Venezuela------------3.40%---------2,613
Kuwait---------------3.30%---------2,626
Labels: Economy and Business
posted @ 12:00 PM,
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Monetary Policy Decision - 29th September 2009
Macroeconomic considerations and outlook that influence monetary policy decision depict a mix picture. While inflation (YoY) and balance of payment position has improved, fiscal and real sector performance remains tenuous. Domestic financial markets functioned adequately but lending to the private sector has remained subdued. From a forward looking perspective, expected improvement in the external current account and emerging global economic recovery augur well for Pakistan’s economy. But, limited progress on electricity shortages and stressed fiscal position dilute some of the optimism. Similarly, inflation outlook is not completely benign yet as depicted by recent monthly trends. Under these circumstances, assessment of balance of risks continues to be somewhat uncertain.Both CPI and core inflation have declined further in August 2009, with former at 10.7percent and Non food Non energy (NFNE) measure of the latter at 12.6 percent on year-on-year basis. But, the pace of decline in inflation was less than expected. The monthly increase of over 1.5 percent in CPI inflation in the first two months of FY10 is still quite high and of concern. This monthly increase coupled with administrative issues in the supply chain of food items and projected increases in electricity prices to eliminate subsidies could have a bearing on the behaviour of domestic inflation in the coming months. Increase in international oil prices remains an underlying risk to inflation as well.
However, the likely presence of Ramadan seasonality in the CPI index, especially the food basket, and disproportionate contribution of only a few items calls for caution in interpreting recent monthly inflation indicators. Similarly, the effect of cost push shocks like electricity and oil on inflation may be neutralized by below capacity economic activity and slow aggregate demand. Moreover, expectations of inflation are likely to remain in check while the stabilization program remains on track. While it is likely that inflation will continue its secular decline, as observed in our last communication, there are risks to watch as we go forward.
Tapering aggregate demand pressures in the economy can be clearly seen in persistent and widespread decline in imports. Supported by continued strong inflow of worker’s remittances, this fall in import growth has resulted in a modest surplus of $82 million in the external current account for August 2009. Even the cumulative July-August, FY10 external current account deficit of $527 million is much lower than earlier projections.
Similarly, on the back of favourable revisions regarding outlook of Pakistan’s economy by international rating agencies, portfolio inflows are now positive; $55 million in the first two months of FY10. This, together with inflows from the IMF, both for budgetary support ($745 million) and allocation of increased Special Drawing Rights (around $1200 million), and adequate, though lower, foreign direct investments substantially improved the external financial account. Resultantly, the SBP’s foreign exchange reserves have increased to $10.9 billion as on 28th September, 2009 – an improvement of $1.8 billion since the beginning of FY10 – and is reflected in Rs123.6 billion increase in the Net Foreign Assets (NFA) during 1st July – 19th September, 2009. This has helped liquidity conditions in the economy and translated into bringing stability to the foreign exchange market.
This improvement in balance of payments is despite a significant shortfall in non-IMF official financial inflows. Non realization or shortfall in these official inflows could pose a potential problem for fiscal management, which faces significant pressure on both the expenditure and revenue side of the budget and has already posted a fiscal deficit of 5.2 percent of GDP for FY09 – 0.9 percentage points higher than the targeted level.
Provisional figure of Rs106.6 billion government borrowing from the SBP during 1st July – 19th September, FY10 also indicate the extent of fiscal position’s weakness in the current quarter. This borrowing was despite the fact that Ministry of Finance realized Rs333 billion in the six Q1-FY10 T-bill auctions while adhering to an advance auction target of Rs325 billion for the quarter. However, this financing pressure along with recent uptick in market interest rates and liquidity tightness is largely cyclical and is mostly due to the month of Ramadan and Eid festival. Likely reversal of these phenomena along with the retirement of wheat financing and improvement in external flows is expected to improve the market liquidity in the coming months and flow of credit to the private sector.
Sustainable recovery of real sector of the economy would not be possible without revival of business environment and availability of credit to private sector, which in turn depends on the elimination of electricity shortages among other factors. Moreover, stagnant private sector investment can hurt the potential output of the economy, adversely impacting inflation persistence. However, recent steps taken towards resolution of the circular debt issue could lead to the resumption of private sector credit in the coming months.
In conclusion, there are some risks to inflation while the economy gradually stabilizes. Moreover, uncertainty regarding the outcome of ongoing fiscal consolidation, resolution of electricity problem, and timing of official foreign inflows call for prudence at this point. Therefore, there will be no change in the SBP’s policy rate, which will remain at 13 percent. These issues are likely to determine SBP’s policy trajectory in the coming months.
Progressing further on the formation of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Central Board of Directors of SBP has finalized the composition of this nine member committee. In addition to the Governor of the SBP, Syed Salim Raza, and Deputy Governor, Yaseen Anwar, three SBP executives – Riaz Riazuddin (economic advisor), Asad Qureshi (executive director, financial markets and reserve management), and Hamza Ali Malik (director, monetary policy department) – will be the internal members. Board of Directors of SBP will be represented by Mirza Qamar Beg and Tariq Sayeed Saigol while Hafiz Pasha and Shahid Kardar will join as external members. This committee will start its deliberations in November 2009. To harmonize the constitution of MPC with the legal framework of SBP and make it fully independent, amendments in the SBP Act have already been submitted for the legislative process. Until their enactment, the MPC will seek approval of its recommendations from the Board of Directors of the SBP.
Labels: Economy and Business, Monetary Policy, SBP
posted @ 11:07 AM,
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Is Mansha Expanding His Bank Empire?
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Billionaire Mian Mohammad Mansha is eyeing Kazakhstan and the Mideast for banking and also looking at Canada, with a Pakistani community estimated at more than 300,000 peopleON a September evening when many of Pakistan’s 165 million people were breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, billionaire Mian Mohammad Mansha, the country’s richest man, was deciding whether to buy an Indonesian bank.
A phone call to his Lahore office interrupted him: Turn on the television, his son Hassan implored. The Marriott Hotel in Islamabad was in flames after terrorists had detonated a truck packed with explosives. The blast, in a security zone less than a kilometre from the presidential residence, killed 53 and injured 266.
“It was terrifying,” says Mansha, 61, chairman of the Nishat Group financial, textile and cement-making empire, who says he stays at the Marriott when he’s in the capital. Just hours before the blast, Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s new President, had vowed to rid the country of the “cancer” of terrorism.
As Pakistan battles extremist-inspired violence and its worst economic crisis in a decade, Mansha says he’s keeping Nishat Group’s expansion on track.
At home, where his MCB Bank Ltd is the biggest lender by market value, he was in talks in October to buy a rival he declines to name. He’s looking at four banks in Indonesia, the only country with a bigger Muslim population than Pakistan.
By May, he’ll open a machinery and automobile leasing company in Azerbaijan, a predominantly Muslim country between Iran and Russia. He’s eyeing Kazakhstan and the Mideast for banking. And he’s also looking at Canada, with a Pakistani community estimated at more than 300,000 people.
Mansha started building in the decades of upheaval that followed Pakistan’s split with India after their independence from Britain in 1947.
Now he’s taking a cue from entrepreneurial Indians. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd, and Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Group, expanded as India grew at an average annual rate of 8.8 per cent in the five years ended on March 31, 2008.
Pakistan almost kept pace with its larger neighbour: Its gross domestic product rose at an average of 7 per cent during the five years that ended on December 31, 2007.
“I want to be the first Pakistani, like some of our counterparts in India, to really go out and show that we Pakistanis can even be successful outside Pakistan,” Mansha says two days after the Marriott bombing.
Mansha is optimistic during a dire period for Pakistan.
Labels: Economy and Business, Mian Mansha
posted @ 12:18 AM,
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Congratulation Pakistan
Sunday, September 27, 2009
posted @ 7:54 PM,
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The Best of Stories
Saturday, September 26, 2009
A versified English Translation of "Surah Yousaf"Book Name: The Best of Stories
Author: Muhammad Ashraf Arif
Publisher: Tariq Academy
Pages:127
Cost: Priceless
With the help of divine sanction, belssing and support Ashraf Arif has deftly rendered the story of Hazrat Yousa (A.S) as presented by Holy Qurant into English verse. The translation is accurate and true to the Arabic text. He has indexed the whole surah into following topics;
- Dream of Yousaf
- Jealousy of his brothers
- Yousaf is thrown into well
- He is sold in Egypt
- Tmeptation by wife of Aziz
- Yousaf's Pity
- Women cut their hands
- Yousaf is imprisoned
- Dreams of two captives
- Sermon by Yousaf
- Interpretaion of the dreams
- Dream of the king
- Interpretaion of his dream
- Yousaf'f release
- Yousaf as as ruler
- First visit of his brothers
- Second visit of his brothers
- Binyamin in detained
- Third visit of his brohters
- Yousaf disclosed himself
- Jacob (Yaqoob) regains eyesight
- Settlement of children of Israeel
- Yousaf's dreams come true
- Sermons
I would suggest every one to read the aptly laid out book and see what Quran is teaching us with the help of telling stories of his beloved messengers.
About the Author:
Muhammad Ashraf Arif, an educationist, poet and artistic writer and a very kind uncle has served in education department for many years and after retirement most of his time spent in research activities. He has already written other books including Aks-i-Khyaal (Urdu Poetry), The Plaint and the Answer (Poetic English translation of Shikwah and Jawabe Shikwa by Dr. Ilama Iqbal). English translation of Surah Yaseen and Al-Rehman are included in upcoming books.
About the Author:
Muhammad Ashraf Arif, an educationist, poet and artistic writer and a very kind uncle has served in education department for many years and after retirement most of his time spent in research activities. He has already written other books including Aks-i-Khyaal (Urdu Poetry), The Plaint and the Answer (Poetic English translation of Shikwah and Jawabe Shikwa by Dr. Ilama Iqbal). English translation of Surah Yaseen and Al-Rehman are included in upcoming books.
Labels: Book Review
posted @ 10:16 AM,
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Doubts About G20 as World’s Top Economic Body
Friday, September 25, 2009
An expansive governing role for the G20, discussed Thursday by Britain's Gordon Brown, isn't passing the sniff test for many economists.
G20 meetings are closed to the public and the press. The organization, so unstructured it has no secretariat, is often hard-pressed to get its members to agree on anything. The group of world leaders, moreover, is now holding only its third meeting.
But now Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown tells Reuters that the G20, meeting in Pittsburgh starting Thursday night, will become institutionalized as “the world’s main economic governing council.” “The G20 will take a bigger role in economic cooperation than the G8 has in the past,” said Mr. Brown.
If the next two days do indeed bring that to pass, the result would be a greater voice in the world economy for rapidly developing nations, such as Group of 20 members India and Brazil, economists say. It might also mean that the G8, the group of major industrialized countries that is accustomed to deciding important economic issues, is on its way to becoming the Ford Edsel of international organizations.
In addition, the apparent plan, the details of which have not been made public, would almost certainly raise eyebrows – and probably more – from those who are suspicious of international governing bodies. (Remember the Tri-lateral Commission?)
“There are a lot of folks in various countries that take as a serious issue self-governance,” says Chester Spatt, a professor at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University here. “They have concerns about ceding too much authority.”
Indeed, at a Thursday press briefing, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he doubted any state would give up its sovereignty for a consensus. But he added, “I think it’s important that we get people to agree all of us are performing together.”
It’s good for nations to talk, says Mr. Spatt. But “usually when one says an institution is really important, the institution has demonstrated importance,” he says, inferring that’s not yet the case for the G20.
With President Obama and the first lady now in Pittsburgh, attention shifts from New York and the United Nations to the work of the Group of 20. The G20 finance ministers first met in 1999 and try to get together annually. They will gather again in November. The member nations account for about 90 percent of the world’s production.
But more than a few economists question whether this body, with just three meetings under its belt, is up to the task of directing the world economy.
“It’s an ad hoc group,” says Simon Johnson, a former economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and now a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “They had a good meeting in April, but I don’t think they have demonstrated they are the world’s economic council.”
Last November, as the financial crisis began to ripple through the world, the G20 leaders pledged cooperation to try to stimulate their economies. In April, they pledged financial aid to poor nations. This time, their agenda includes whether member nations should continue with fiscal stimulus, whether to introduce regulation of bankers’ compensation, and perhaps whether and how to balance world economic growth.
Some economists express discomfort about the notion of giving the G20 a lot of influence. One is Stuart Hoffman of PNC Financial in Pittsburgh, who calls the G20 “an important forum, not a governing body.”
But, on a positive note, he says, the G20 format gives smaller nations “more of a voice.”
Even if the leaders include in their final communiqué a reference to the G20 as a governing council, some economists doubt the group’s decision will have any teeth.
“The rich nations control the major institutions, such as the IMF and World Bank,” says Mark Weisbrodt, an economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “The G20 will still be just a place to talk.”
The talk may yield a press release that sounds as if the G20 accomplished something, says Mr. Johnson. “The leaders just want to escape without a pounding from the press,” he says. “They are just hoping for good press coverage the next couple of days.”
Johnson expects the group will term the meetings a success. However, as Spatt notes, the members have some fundamental disagreements. “The way they will be taken seriously is by action,” he concludes. {#}
Labels: Economy, G20, World Economy
posted @ 8:35 PM,
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ICAEW - Advanced Stage Module for ICAP Members
The Advanced Stage consists of two Technical papers and a Case Study. Throughout the process you will be working and therefore able to apply your new skills direct in the workplace.
About the Advanced Stage
Students are encouraged to include relevant practical examples in your examination work from the outset, but it is in the Advanced Stage that you really focus on the technical and strategic skills needed to become a fully qualified ACA.
Skills needed
- Adopt a multi-disciplinary approach and demonstrate your ability to use judgement as well as highlight your technical skills.
- Apply classroom learning to the practical issues facing organisations (the IPD framework will help you do this).
- Consider genuine problems and come up with real-life solutions that manage both finance and risk.
- Good communication skills, business awareness, professional judgement and the application of technical accounting knowledge.
Breakdown of the Advanced Stage modules
1.Technical integration - Business Reporting
Financial and corporate reporting and accounting, audit and assurance, taxation, law and ethics. Apply technical knowledge and professional judgement to business scenarios to determine compliance solutions and a consideration of the alternatives.
2. Technical integration - Business Change
Demonstrate your understanding, planning skills and ability to give advice. Analyse and interpret internal and external financial and non-financial information covering taxation and law, business strategy, financial management, performance management and costing, financial and corporate reporting and accounting, audit and assurance and your grasp of ethics.
3. Case Study
Test your professional skills in the context of a specific business issue. Be challenged on multiple areas of the syllabus. The examination combines information given to candidates beforehand and impact information given on the day.
How long are the exams?
The Technical papers last 3.5 hours each. The Case Study lasts 4 hours.
About the Advanced Stage
Students are encouraged to include relevant practical examples in your examination work from the outset, but it is in the Advanced Stage that you really focus on the technical and strategic skills needed to become a fully qualified ACA.
Skills needed
- Adopt a multi-disciplinary approach and demonstrate your ability to use judgement as well as highlight your technical skills.
- Apply classroom learning to the practical issues facing organisations (the IPD framework will help you do this).
- Consider genuine problems and come up with real-life solutions that manage both finance and risk.
- Good communication skills, business awareness, professional judgement and the application of technical accounting knowledge.
Breakdown of the Advanced Stage modules
1.Technical integration - Business Reporting
Financial and corporate reporting and accounting, audit and assurance, taxation, law and ethics. Apply technical knowledge and professional judgement to business scenarios to determine compliance solutions and a consideration of the alternatives.
2. Technical integration - Business Change
Demonstrate your understanding, planning skills and ability to give advice. Analyse and interpret internal and external financial and non-financial information covering taxation and law, business strategy, financial management, performance management and costing, financial and corporate reporting and accounting, audit and assurance and your grasp of ethics.
3. Case Study
Test your professional skills in the context of a specific business issue. Be challenged on multiple areas of the syllabus. The examination combines information given to candidates beforehand and impact information given on the day.
How long are the exams?
The Technical papers last 3.5 hours each. The Case Study lasts 4 hours.
posted @ 3:04 PM,
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ICAEW - Advanced Stage Exam
The deadline for the November session Advanced Stage examinations is 1 October 2009.
Key Dates
Deadline : 1 October
Withdrawal deadline: 12 October
Admission details : 16 October
Exams : 2, 3, 4 November
Results : 11 December
Candidates entering for exams will now get their admission details sent electronically.
Instead of an admission letters sent in the post, candidates will collect their assessment details online. This will include their timetable, venue, candidate number and instructions.
Admission details will be available online from 17 October. ICAEW will send you an email to tell you when your admission details are available, so it is important we have an up-to-date working email address for you.
Candidates who have special arrangements will be sent letters confirming their timetable for the session on 16 October.
View a full list of dates and deadlines here for 2009 and 2010
Key Dates
Deadline : 1 October
Withdrawal deadline: 12 October
Admission details : 16 October
Exams : 2, 3, 4 November
Results : 11 December
Candidates entering for exams will now get their admission details sent electronically.
Instead of an admission letters sent in the post, candidates will collect their assessment details online. This will include their timetable, venue, candidate number and instructions.
Admission details will be available online from 17 October. ICAEW will send you an email to tell you when your admission details are available, so it is important we have an up-to-date working email address for you.
Candidates who have special arrangements will be sent letters confirming their timetable for the session on 16 October.
View a full list of dates and deadlines here for 2009 and 2010
posted @ 2:11 PM,
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Pittsburgh Summit 2009
Statement by President Barack Obama on the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh.
Michelle and I look forward to welcoming world leaders to the wonderful city of Pittsburgh on September 24th and 25th and we thank the people of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania for opening their city as a showcase to the world.
The Pittsburgh Summit is an important opportunity to continue the hard work that we have done in confronting the global economic crisis, and renewing prosperity for our people. Together, we will review the progress we have made, assess what more needs to be done, and discuss what we can do together to lay the groundwork for balanced and sustainable economic growth. Pittsburgh stands as a bold example of how to create new jobs and industries while transitioning to a 21st century economy. As a city that has transformed itself from the city of steel to a center for high-tech innovation—including green technology, education and training, and research and development—Pittsburgh will provide both a beautiful backdrop and a powerful example for our work.
It’s important to note how far we have come in preventing a global economic catastrophe. A year ago, our economy was in a freefall. Some economists were predicting a second Great Depression. Immediate action was required to rescue the economy. In the United States, we passed an historic Recovery Act that quickly put money in the hands of working families, and is putting Americans to work all across the country—including in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area. That includes companies like East Penn Manufacturing, a third-generation family business which is now building batteries for the hybrid, energy efficient vehicles of the 21st century. That includes Serious Materials manufacturing plant outside of Pittsburgh that was shuttered last year, which is now rehiring the workers who lost their jobs and giving them a new mission: producing some of the most energy-efficient windows in the world. And at medical laboratories in Pittsburgh, scientists are making advances in tissue regeneration, which will help people across the globe, including our troops wounded in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The steps that we have taken to jumpstart growth have also been coordinated with our partners around the world. Industrial production throughout the G20 has either stabilized or is growing. Global trade is expanding. Stresses in financial markets have significantly abated and our financial institutions are raising needed capital.
But all of us must remember that our work is far from complete—not when our people are still looking for work. As the leaders of the world’s largest economies, we have a responsibility to work together on behalf of sustained growth, while putting in place the rules of the road that can prevent this kind of crisis from happening again. To avoid being trapped in the cycle of bubble and bust, we must set a path for sustainable growth while steering clear of the imbalances of the past. That will be a key part of the G20 agenda going forward and the Pittsburgh Summit can be an important milestone in our efforts.
In a place known as the city of bridges, we can come together to advance our common interest in a global recovery, while turning the page to a truly 21st century economy.
By working with our friends and partners from around the world, the U.S. is ready to help lead this effort in Pittsburgh and beyond.
Labels: Economy and Business, G20, World Economy
posted @ 1:11 AM,
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ICAEW Exams - July 2010
Thursday, September 24, 2009
After all arrangements between ICAP and ICAEW, the ICAP Members now have to take only three Advanced Stage exams to pass and get ICAEW Membership.
Since, as per ICAEW, no further change is now expected at least until new ACA 2012 is launched by ICAEW, the ICAP Members can now decide to take the Business Reporting and Business Change Exam in July 2010.
This is to inform that the Students wishing to take the "Business Reporting" and "Business Change" exams in July, 2010 may now enroll with EWP for classes so that they can be provided with the UK Law and Tax Orientation Classes (compulsory) and the books for the preparation of their exams earlier.
For more details and classes schedule, please visit here
Since, as per ICAEW, no further change is now expected at least until new ACA 2012 is launched by ICAEW, the ICAP Members can now decide to take the Business Reporting and Business Change Exam in July 2010.
This is to inform that the Students wishing to take the "Business Reporting" and "Business Change" exams in July, 2010 may now enroll with EWP for classes so that they can be provided with the UK Law and Tax Orientation Classes (compulsory) and the books for the preparation of their exams earlier.
For more details and classes schedule, please visit here
posted @ 12:03 PM,
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Difference Between Money Market and Capital Market
Money market is term used for the trading platform for the financial institutions, its virtual market which does not exist physically. All all the transactions between the banks and financial institutions (like REPOs, Reverse REPOs, overnight lending) are undertaken as money market transactions and are executed on telephone, fax, Reuters, e-mails and similar comunications links i.e. market itself does not physically exists.
Capital Market is term used for the physical trading of capital instruments like equities, bonds, derivatives etc. This market always physically exists and the best example is Stock Exchange.
Capital Market is term used for the physical trading of capital instruments like equities, bonds, derivatives etc. This market always physically exists and the best example is Stock Exchange.
A capital market is a market for securities (both debt and equity), where business enterprises (companies) and governments can raise long-term funds. It is defined as a market in which money is lent for periods longer than a year[1], as the raising of short-term funds takes place on other markets (e.g., the money market). The capital market includes the stock market (equity securities) and the bond market (debt). Financial regulators, such as the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), oversee the capital markets in their designated jurisdictions to ensure that investors are protected against fraud, among other duties.
Capital markets consist of the primary market and the secondary market. The primary markets are where new stock and bonds issues are sold (via underwriting) to investors. The secondary markets are where existing securities are sold and bought from one investor or trader to another, usually on a securities exchange, over the counter, or elsewhere.
Hope this clarifies
The money market consists of financial institutions and dealers in money or credit who wish to either borrow or lend. Participants borrow and lend for short periods of time, typically up to thirteen months. Money market trades in short-term financial instruments commonly called "paper." This contrasts with the capital market for longer-term funding, which is supplied by bonds and equity
posted @ 11:35 AM,
,
Jobs in Siemens
Job Description: Field Service Engineers (Mechanical)
Qualification: Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering
Experience: 2-5 years
Job Description: Field Service Technicians (Mechanical)
Qualification: Diploma in Mechanical Engineering
Experience: 2-5 years
Interested candidates may apply online by visiting here latest by September 30, 2009
Labels: Jobs
posted @ 10:52 AM,
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At DeSOM Every One is a Style Star
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
DeSOM – Services Club Lahore – has come be famous for its traditions like celebrations of festive occasions like Chand Raat – night when Eid ul Fitr moon is cited on first of Shawal – national days and other get to gathers. Like always and like everyone, I was there with my family. In addition, there we meet some old colleagues and their families, kids met their class fellows and friends and had a traditional food with little bit of every thing from Murg Channe to BRBQ (dahi bhalle, halwa puri, biryani, list goes on and on) .
There were many stall form bangles and hina to crystal gazers and special Eid gifts for kids to indulge in. Yes, there were a lot of boooools for my Maan.
Labels: Celebrations, Eid
posted @ 2:08 PM,
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Global Competitiveness Report 2008-9
Monday, September 21, 2009
The World Economic Forum has released its 2008-09 Global Competitiveness Report that ranks the most competitive countries in the world. It gauged or measured the economic vitality and prosperity of 134 countries and ranked them on an index.
The results of the report can be used as a benchmarking tool to facilitate business leaders and policy makers in identifying obstacles and impediments confronting their economies.
So how does the World Economic Forum measure competitiveness?
The WEC has identified 12 pillars that are the fundamental building blocks of a nation. These pillars are institutions, the infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market sophistication, technological readiness, market size and innovation. These pillars are interrelated and work in cohesion.
Read the report here (pdf).
Labels: Global Competitiveness Repor, World Economic Forum
posted @ 11:11 PM,
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Procedures and Document Used to Establish Letter of Credit
- After the exporter and customer agree on the terms of a sale, the customer arranges for its bank to open a letter of credit.
- The buyer's bank prepares an irrevocable letter of credit, including all instructions to the seller concerning the shipment.
- The buyer's bank sends the irrevocable letter of credit to a local bank, requesting confirmation. The exporter may request that a particular bank be the confirming bank, or the foreign bank selects one of its local correspondent banks.
- The local bank prepares a letter of confirmation to forward to the exporter along with the irrevocable letter of credit.
- The exporter reviews carefully all conditions in the letter of credit. The exporter's freight forwarder should be contacted to make sure that the shipping date can be met. If the exporter cannot comply with one or more of the conditions, the customer should be alerted at once.
- The exporter arranges with the freight forwarder to deliver the goods to the appropriate port or airport.
- When the goods are loaded, the forwarder completes the necessary documents.
- The exporter (or the forwarder) presents to the local bank documents indicating full compliance.
- The bank reviews the documents. If they are in order, the documents are airmailed to the buyer's bank for review and transmitted to the buyer.
- The buyer (or agent) gets the documents that may be needed to claim the goods.
- A draft, which may accompany the letter of credit, is paid by the exporter's bank at the time specified or may be discounted at an earlier date.
Documents
The following documents are commonly used in exporting through LC .
- Commercial invoice. As in a domestic transaction, the commercial invoice is a bill for the goods .
- Bill of lading. Bills of lading are contracts between the owner of the goods and the carrier .
- Certificate of origin. Certain nations require a signed statement as to the origin of the export item.
- Inspection certification. Some purchasers and countries may require a certificate of inspection attesting to the specifications of the goods shipped, usually performed by a third party.
- Dock receipt and warehouse receipt. These receipts are used to transfer accountability when the export item is moved by the domestic carrier to the port of embarkation and left with the international carrier for export.
- Insurance certificate. If the seller provides insurance, the insurance certificate states the type and amount of coverage.
- Export packing list. Considerably more detailed and informative than a standard domestic packing list,.
Labels: finance, Letter of Credit
posted @ 12:34 AM,
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Important Dates and Deadlines for the 2009 FRM Examination
Thursday, September 17, 2009
August 31, 2009 (11:59pm) - Last day to defer your 2009 FRM Exam registration to 2010 (USD $100 fee)
August 31, 2009 (11:59pm) - Last day to switch your exam format (USD $100 fee)
August 31, 2009 (11:59pm) - Last day to request an Alternative Date for Religious Reasons
August 31, 2009 (11:59pm) - Last day to request special accommodations for ADA
August 31, 2009 (11:59pm) - Last day to submit an application for a scholarship
October 15, 2009 - Last day to request an exam site change (no fee)
October 20, 2009 (12:00pm)- Admission Ticket information sent via email
October 30, 2009 - Last day to request an exam site change (USD $100 fee)
November 21, 2009 - FRM Exam Day
January 5, 2010 (12:00pm) - 2009 FRM Exam results released
An example of what to expect on FRM Exam Day for Level I:
8:00am - Doors open for check-in
8:45am - Doors will close (no late arrivals will be admitted) and exam instructions are read
9:00am - Exam begins
10:30am - 30 minutes remaining announcement
10:55am - 5 minutes remaining announcement
11:00am - Morning session ends
12:45pm - Check back in for the Afternoon session
1:15pm - Exam doors close (no late arrivals admitted) and exam instructions are read
1:30pm - Afternoon session begins
3:00pm - 30 minutes remaining announcement
3:25pm - 5 minutes remaining announcement
3:30pm - Afternoon session ends
posted @ 11:45 AM,
,
Worlds Biggest Golden Coin of 1 Million Dollar
Labels: Economy and Business
posted @ 10:29 AM,
,
Islamic Bank Establishment in Pakistan
Year 2003
- Meezan Bank Limited
- Bank of Khyber
- MCB Bank
- Bank Alfalah
Year 2004
- Albarka Islamic Bank
- Habib Bank AG Zurich
- Metropoliton Bank
- Standard Chartered Bank
- Soneri Bank
Year 2005
- Habib Bank
- Bank Al Habib
Year 2006
- Dubai Islamic Bank
- Bank Islami Pakistan
- RBS
- Askari Bank
- National Bank
Year 2007
- Emirates Global Islamic Bank
- Dawood Islamic Bank
Labels: Banks, Islamic Finance
posted @ 9:54 AM,
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Nestle Pakistan Limited - Analysis of Financial Statements
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
For The Year 2008
Current Assets = 5,684 Million
Non Current Assets = 11,000 Millon
Total Assets of Co.= 16,684 Million
Funded by:
Non Current Liablities = 6,238 Million
Total Current Liabilities = 5,307 Million
Total Equity = 5,139 Million
Net Sales = 34,183 Million
Gross Profit = 8,952 Million
Profit after Taxation = 1,553 Million
Return on assets = 9.31%
Return on equity = 30.22%
Current Ratio = 1.07
Quick Ratio = 0.45
Earning per Share = 34.24
Asset Management Ratio
Inventory Turnover (Days)= 35
Day Sales Outstanding = 4.81
Operating Cycle (Days)= 39.50
Labels: Financial Statement, Nestle
posted @ 11:22 AM,
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ICAP Elects its Office Bearers for the Term 2009-10
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The 14th Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Pakistan (ICAP) in its first meeting held on September 14th 2009 elected office bearers for the year 2009-10.
The Council unanimously elected Mr. Abdul Rahim Suriya as President of the Institute, Mr. Pervez Muslim as Vice President – South and Mr. Mohammad Abdullah Yusuf as Vice President – North.
Mr. Abdul Rahim Suriya is a fellow member of ICAP and a fellow member of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan. He has around 25 years post qualification experience in the field of Accounting, Auditing and Operational Management. He did his audit training with A.F.Ferguson & Co., Chartered Accountants and has served in various national and international reputed organizations on different senior positions including as an Executive Director in a reputed pharmaceutical company.
Mr. Suriya is serving at the Council for the last 12 years. He served the Southern Regional Committee from 1993 to 1996 and elected as its Chairman in the year 1995-96.
He has been the Chief Editor of ICAP’s Journal Pakistan Accountant, and Chairman sub-committee of ICAP and ICMAP for Evaluation of Best Annual Reports.
He represented Pakistan as a member of International Accounting Education Standards Board of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) from 2002 to 2008. Recently, he has authored a book “A guide to Business Decision Making” for the students of management accounting.
At present he is running his firm under the name and style of A.R Suriya & Co, Chartered Accountants. He is also engaged in providing training in subjects relating to accounting and finance.
Mr. Pervez Muslim is a fellow member of ICAP, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, Canada. He remained member of the Southern Regional Committee from 2001 to 2009 and served as its Chairman.
He was admitted to the partnership in 1997 and is currently associated with the reconstituted firm, Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder, as an Audit Partner, looking after a portfolio of audit clients, comprising local and multinational companies.
Mr. Mohammad Abdullah Yusuf is a member of ICAP and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales . He practiced for eight years in UK and Pakistan before joining the Government of Pakistan. He retired from the Government after having reached the highest position as Secretary General (Revenue Division) and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue. During his illustrious career, he held various senior positions like Secretary Petroleum, Planning, Investment, Privatization, MD Bait-ul-mal and Utility Stores Corporation.
He has been associated as a member of the Council as a nominee of the Government of Pakistan for more than 20 years. Moreover, he served as Technical Advisor on the Public Sector Committee of IFAC and presently he represents ICAP as a member of International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of IFAC.
The Institute warmly welcomes its new President and Vice Presidents.
The Council unanimously elected Mr. Abdul Rahim Suriya as President of the Institute, Mr. Pervez Muslim as Vice President – South and Mr. Mohammad Abdullah Yusuf as Vice President – North.
Mr. Abdul Rahim Suriya is a fellow member of ICAP and a fellow member of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan. He has around 25 years post qualification experience in the field of Accounting, Auditing and Operational Management. He did his audit training with A.F.Ferguson & Co., Chartered Accountants and has served in various national and international reputed organizations on different senior positions including as an Executive Director in a reputed pharmaceutical company.
Mr. Suriya is serving at the Council for the last 12 years. He served the Southern Regional Committee from 1993 to 1996 and elected as its Chairman in the year 1995-96.
He has been the Chief Editor of ICAP’s Journal Pakistan Accountant, and Chairman sub-committee of ICAP and ICMAP for Evaluation of Best Annual Reports.
He represented Pakistan as a member of International Accounting Education Standards Board of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) from 2002 to 2008. Recently, he has authored a book “A guide to Business Decision Making” for the students of management accounting.
At present he is running his firm under the name and style of A.R Suriya & Co, Chartered Accountants. He is also engaged in providing training in subjects relating to accounting and finance.
Mr. Pervez Muslim is a fellow member of ICAP, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, Canada. He remained member of the Southern Regional Committee from 2001 to 2009 and served as its Chairman.
He was admitted to the partnership in 1997 and is currently associated with the reconstituted firm, Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder, as an Audit Partner, looking after a portfolio of audit clients, comprising local and multinational companies.
Mr. Mohammad Abdullah Yusuf is a member of ICAP and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales . He practiced for eight years in UK and Pakistan before joining the Government of Pakistan. He retired from the Government after having reached the highest position as Secretary General (Revenue Division) and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue. During his illustrious career, he held various senior positions like Secretary Petroleum, Planning, Investment, Privatization, MD Bait-ul-mal and Utility Stores Corporation.
He has been associated as a member of the Council as a nominee of the Government of Pakistan for more than 20 years. Moreover, he served as Technical Advisor on the Public Sector Committee of IFAC and presently he represents ICAP as a member of International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of IFAC.
The Institute warmly welcomes its new President and Vice Presidents.
Labels: ICAP
posted @ 11:41 PM,
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ICAP - Status of implementation of Education Reforms
During the last one year or so, ICAP Council has taken far reaching decisions to reform our education system. Some of the key objectives of these reforms include
1) reaching out to students of all areas of the country as against the current situation when we are able to get students only from larger cities;
2) attracting high quality students from top institutions of the country by providing appropriate exemptions in respect of courses they have already covered;
3) rationalizing our examination system with a view to improve results; and
4)increasing the number of students passing our exams or in other words, enhancing the number of our members.
While some of the decisions taken by the Council have already been implemented, others require changes in relevant byelaws and regulations and become effective as soon as the legal process of amendments to the bye-laws is completed. In the
following paragraphs, I have summarized the status of implementation of these reforms for your information:
(i) Full Time Studies
Under the schemes introduced from 1993 all students joining the profession of accountancy after HSC or equivalent certificate were required to register with the Institute’s recognized Registered Accounting Education Tutor (RAET) in order to sit in exams for Modules A to D.
However, in the absence of RAETs in the smaller cities and towns, and in the interest of equal opportunity for all our students, the Council decided to do away with the mandatory condition for such students to register and study with an RAET effective from November 01, 2008.
The Institute continues to encourage students of A to D modules to take classes with
RAETS, which is likely to enhance their ability to pass their exams in the earliest possible attempt, but it is no longer mandatory to do so.
(ii) Condition for Establishing RAET
The requirement that the sponsor and principal of a RAET must be a chartered accountant,may be an obstruction for other reputable education providers with good faculty to organize classes for CA students. Consequently, the Council decided to dispense with this requirement effective November 01, 2008. It is hoped that deletion of this requirement will encourage other Educational Institutions of high repute to initiate classes for CA students as well. This will also help in opening this area to greater competition and leading to better quality education.
(iii) Exemptions for Graduate Students
At present, graduate students have to sit in all exams of Modules A to D. They may claim exemptions only for Quantitative Methods, Functional English and Introduction to Economics and Finance provided they meet the criteria set by the Institute.
This system was turning graduate students away from chartered accountancy. To draw them back to our profession the Council has decided that:
• A graduate student of ‘specified institute’ will be eligible to claim exemptions for any paper of Modules A to D if he/she has cleared an equivalent paper and meets the criteria set by the Institute.
• A graduate student will be eligible to appear in any paper of Modules A to D, where he/she is not exempted, while carrying on his/her graduate studies.
The amendments in Byelaw in this regard are in their final stage of approval.
(iv) Training Period
In the past, students had to undergo varied lengths of training depending on the stream they chose and the base qualification they had prior to entering the profession. To bring uniformity in training period, the Council decided that starting November 01, 2008 all students would have to undergo training period of three years provided they can pass the entire Module E and F examination in their first attempt. For students who are not able to pass all exams in the first
attempt (in other words if a student fails in any subject in any of the exams) their training period is extended to 3.5 years.
(v) Service Break for Female Trainee Students
Some of our female students were forced to quit the profession due to non-flexibility in temporary service break for marriage or maternity. The Council has decided to allow female trainee students a service break for a period of up to one year, so that they are not forced to leave the profession in such situations.
(vi) Permanent Credit for papers passed irrespective of marks obtained in other papers
Currently students of Modules A to F can retain permanent credit in paper(s) they have passed, if they obtain certain minimum marks (referral marks) in other papers of the same module as well. In other words, if a Student has passed a paper securing over 70% marks, but he fails in another paper of the same module securing very poor marks (say less than 20% marks), he is not entitled to get credit even in the subject he has passed. The Council has now decided that the students will be eligible to claim permanent credit in any passed paper(s) irrespective of the
marks obtained in other papers of the same module. Permanent credit will also be available to a students even if he/she appears in one or more papers but is absent in other papers for any reason. This decision and the decision mentioned in (vii) below, will become effective from date relevant bye-laws are approved, and I expect this to happen in the next few days.
(vii) Attempt and Period Limit on Examinations
While the Council has allowed permanent credits in the papers passed irrespective of marks obtained in other papers, it has been decided to put some limitation on the number of attempts a student can appear in the exams. The following limitations will apply to number of attempts:
• Student appearing in Modules A to D will be allowed six attempts for each module.
• Students will be required to pass Modules E and F within ten years of their eligibility to appear in Module E.
The above limitations will be prospectively applied, that is, from the date of first attempt after application of this rule, and number of attempts or period already lapsed prior to the date of application of rule will not be counted.
This decision will also become effective simultaneously with the decision pertaining to permanent credits mentioned in paragraph (vi) above after the amendments in the byelaws have been approved and the same have been notified in the official gazette, which we expect to happen in the next few days.
(viii) Training Outside Practice
Currently students are allowed to train only with a firm of chartered accountants that has been designated as Training Organization (TO) by ICAP. Now the Council has decided that specified organizations other than CA firms will be approved by the Institute as Training Organizations. This step would align our policy with the worldwide practice of student training. However, as several members had expressed concern on the implementation of this decision and the relevant by-laws, the council decided to hold further deliberations with the members through round table conferences, and consequently, the implementation of this decision has been deferred.
1) reaching out to students of all areas of the country as against the current situation when we are able to get students only from larger cities;
2) attracting high quality students from top institutions of the country by providing appropriate exemptions in respect of courses they have already covered;
3) rationalizing our examination system with a view to improve results; and
4)increasing the number of students passing our exams or in other words, enhancing the number of our members.
While some of the decisions taken by the Council have already been implemented, others require changes in relevant byelaws and regulations and become effective as soon as the legal process of amendments to the bye-laws is completed. In the
following paragraphs, I have summarized the status of implementation of these reforms for your information:
(i) Full Time Studies
Under the schemes introduced from 1993 all students joining the profession of accountancy after HSC or equivalent certificate were required to register with the Institute’s recognized Registered Accounting Education Tutor (RAET) in order to sit in exams for Modules A to D.
However, in the absence of RAETs in the smaller cities and towns, and in the interest of equal opportunity for all our students, the Council decided to do away with the mandatory condition for such students to register and study with an RAET effective from November 01, 2008.
The Institute continues to encourage students of A to D modules to take classes with
RAETS, which is likely to enhance their ability to pass their exams in the earliest possible attempt, but it is no longer mandatory to do so.
(ii) Condition for Establishing RAET
The requirement that the sponsor and principal of a RAET must be a chartered accountant,may be an obstruction for other reputable education providers with good faculty to organize classes for CA students. Consequently, the Council decided to dispense with this requirement effective November 01, 2008. It is hoped that deletion of this requirement will encourage other Educational Institutions of high repute to initiate classes for CA students as well. This will also help in opening this area to greater competition and leading to better quality education.
(iii) Exemptions for Graduate Students
At present, graduate students have to sit in all exams of Modules A to D. They may claim exemptions only for Quantitative Methods, Functional English and Introduction to Economics and Finance provided they meet the criteria set by the Institute.
This system was turning graduate students away from chartered accountancy. To draw them back to our profession the Council has decided that:
• A graduate student of ‘specified institute’ will be eligible to claim exemptions for any paper of Modules A to D if he/she has cleared an equivalent paper and meets the criteria set by the Institute.
• A graduate student will be eligible to appear in any paper of Modules A to D, where he/she is not exempted, while carrying on his/her graduate studies.
The amendments in Byelaw in this regard are in their final stage of approval.
(iv) Training Period
In the past, students had to undergo varied lengths of training depending on the stream they chose and the base qualification they had prior to entering the profession. To bring uniformity in training period, the Council decided that starting November 01, 2008 all students would have to undergo training period of three years provided they can pass the entire Module E and F examination in their first attempt. For students who are not able to pass all exams in the first
attempt (in other words if a student fails in any subject in any of the exams) their training period is extended to 3.5 years.
(v) Service Break for Female Trainee Students
Some of our female students were forced to quit the profession due to non-flexibility in temporary service break for marriage or maternity. The Council has decided to allow female trainee students a service break for a period of up to one year, so that they are not forced to leave the profession in such situations.
(vi) Permanent Credit for papers passed irrespective of marks obtained in other papers
Currently students of Modules A to F can retain permanent credit in paper(s) they have passed, if they obtain certain minimum marks (referral marks) in other papers of the same module as well. In other words, if a Student has passed a paper securing over 70% marks, but he fails in another paper of the same module securing very poor marks (say less than 20% marks), he is not entitled to get credit even in the subject he has passed. The Council has now decided that the students will be eligible to claim permanent credit in any passed paper(s) irrespective of the
marks obtained in other papers of the same module. Permanent credit will also be available to a students even if he/she appears in one or more papers but is absent in other papers for any reason. This decision and the decision mentioned in (vii) below, will become effective from date relevant bye-laws are approved, and I expect this to happen in the next few days.
(vii) Attempt and Period Limit on Examinations
While the Council has allowed permanent credits in the papers passed irrespective of marks obtained in other papers, it has been decided to put some limitation on the number of attempts a student can appear in the exams. The following limitations will apply to number of attempts:
• Student appearing in Modules A to D will be allowed six attempts for each module.
• Students will be required to pass Modules E and F within ten years of their eligibility to appear in Module E.
The above limitations will be prospectively applied, that is, from the date of first attempt after application of this rule, and number of attempts or period already lapsed prior to the date of application of rule will not be counted.
This decision will also become effective simultaneously with the decision pertaining to permanent credits mentioned in paragraph (vi) above after the amendments in the byelaws have been approved and the same have been notified in the official gazette, which we expect to happen in the next few days.
(viii) Training Outside Practice
Currently students are allowed to train only with a firm of chartered accountants that has been designated as Training Organization (TO) by ICAP. Now the Council has decided that specified organizations other than CA firms will be approved by the Institute as Training Organizations. This step would align our policy with the worldwide practice of student training. However, as several members had expressed concern on the implementation of this decision and the relevant by-laws, the council decided to hold further deliberations with the members through round table conferences, and consequently, the implementation of this decision has been deferred.
Labels: ICAP
posted @ 11:11 AM,
,
Jobs in Pakistan Tobacoo Company
Monday, September 14, 2009
Title: Team Leader
Qualification: Bacholars in Engineering
Experience: 2-3 Years
Title: Sourcing Manager
Qualification: Bacholars
Experience: 4-5 years
Title: Supply Chain Management Trainee
Qualification: Fresh Graduate with Bacholars in Engineering
Visit here to get more information and apply for the available jobs
Labels: Jobs
posted @ 11:22 AM,
,
ICAP Conference 2009 – Financial Meltdown- Crisis of Governance?
Sunday, September 13, 2009
On August 19 and 20 ICAP successfully held ICAP Conference 2009 on the theme Financial Meltdown – Crisis of Governance? as part of the SAFA Silver Jubilee celebrations. The Conference was attended by more than 600 participants. The presence of Finance Minister Mr. Shaukat Tarin at the Inaugural session and Chairman SECP and Governor State Bank of Pakistan as session chairmen at the technical sessions amplified the importance of this event. The Conference gave attendees a unique opportunity to network and exchange ideas. Foreign delegates from SAARC region also attended the closing session of the Conference to mark the Silver Jubilee of SAFA. We have placed presentations and relevant material on the ICAP website on important topics covered in the conference, and I am sure you will find them useful.
IFAC Recommendations to G-20 on Global Financial Crisis
Recently, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has developed a series of recommendations, which have been sent for the consideration of G20 meeting being held on September 24-25, 2009. These recommendations, which have been sent by President IFAC Mr. Robert Bunting through his letter dated August 20, 2009, reflect the outcomes of the IFAC G20 Accountancy Summit, a workshop of nearly 40 accountancy institutions and organizational partners from seventeen G20 countries, which was held on July 23-24, 2009 in London.
As these recommendations are a summarized response of the accountancy profession to address the key issues and factors that caused the current economic crisis and to mitigate systemic risk to global financial system, I thought it important share them with you.
The eight recommendations to reduce the risk of financial crisis are:
1. The G20 should encourage all governments to adopt and implement common global standards not only for accounting, but also for auditing and for auditor independence.
2. We acknowledge progress made by the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF) toward reforming the governance structure of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB); however, the G20 should take further steps to ensure that the IASB can function independently without inappropriate political interference.
3. The G20 should support the adoption and implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) in all nations.
4. The G20 should call for measures to enhance corporate governance in their respective countries and in the global marketplace.
5. The G20 should explicitly address the needs and the realities of small and medium-sized enterprises in the formulation and implementation of policies and reforms.
6. The G20 should commit to long-term strengthening of the accountancy profession in developing and emerging countries.
7. The G20 should facilitate a debate with prudential regulators and a broad group of users of financial statements to consider the implications for financial reporting of making adjustments to standards to meet the needs of prudential monitoring and supervision.
8. The G20 should support the development of new tools and metrics to achieve global sustainability.
IFAC Recommendations to G-20 on Global Financial Crisis
Recently, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has developed a series of recommendations, which have been sent for the consideration of G20 meeting being held on September 24-25, 2009. These recommendations, which have been sent by President IFAC Mr. Robert Bunting through his letter dated August 20, 2009, reflect the outcomes of the IFAC G20 Accountancy Summit, a workshop of nearly 40 accountancy institutions and organizational partners from seventeen G20 countries, which was held on July 23-24, 2009 in London.
As these recommendations are a summarized response of the accountancy profession to address the key issues and factors that caused the current economic crisis and to mitigate systemic risk to global financial system, I thought it important share them with you.
The eight recommendations to reduce the risk of financial crisis are:
1. The G20 should encourage all governments to adopt and implement common global standards not only for accounting, but also for auditing and for auditor independence.
2. We acknowledge progress made by the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF) toward reforming the governance structure of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB); however, the G20 should take further steps to ensure that the IASB can function independently without inappropriate political interference.
3. The G20 should support the adoption and implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) in all nations.
4. The G20 should call for measures to enhance corporate governance in their respective countries and in the global marketplace.
5. The G20 should explicitly address the needs and the realities of small and medium-sized enterprises in the formulation and implementation of policies and reforms.
6. The G20 should commit to long-term strengthening of the accountancy profession in developing and emerging countries.
7. The G20 should facilitate a debate with prudential regulators and a broad group of users of financial statements to consider the implications for financial reporting of making adjustments to standards to meet the needs of prudential monitoring and supervision.
8. The G20 should support the development of new tools and metrics to achieve global sustainability.
Labels: Financial crisis, ICAP
posted @ 3:23 PM,
,
International Finance Corporation - World Bank Doing Business Report 2010
Friday, September 11, 2009
The International Finance Corporation (IFC)-World Bank Doing Business Report 2010, on Wednesday reported no improvement in Pakistan doing business and the country continues to be ranked at 85th in the world among 131 countries.
Ease (easiness) in doing business ranking of Pakistan has been determined at 85 in the Doing Business Report 2010 where as in Doing Business Report 2009 Pakistan was also ranked at 85 in the world showing no improvement.
Pakistan's ranking in starting a business has improved by points and the country had been ranked at 63rd in 2010 report whereas Pakistan was ranked 80 in 2009. In Pakistan some 10 procedures are required and it takes some 20 days costing 5.8 percent of income per capita.
Pakistan's ranking in dealing with construction permits have shown deterioration by five points and Pakistan's ranking has been lowered to 105 as against the earlier ranking of 100 in the world. In Pakistan some 12 procedures are required and some 223 days are necessary to complete dealing with construction permits and it costs 716.3 percent of income per capita.
Ease of employing workers in Pakistan has shown no improvement in 2008-09 and the country continued to be ranked at 146 in the world. The country's ranking in difficulty of hiring index (0-100) at 78, rigidity of hours index (0-100) at 20, difficulty of redundancy index at 30, rigidity of employment index (0-100) at 43 and redundancy costs (weeks of salary) at 90.
Pakistan's ranking in ease of registering property have shown decline in its ranking by eight points and country's ranking has been set at 119 as against the earlier 111 in the world. six procedures are required; some 50 days time is required and 7.2 percent of the cost of property like required in Pakistan for registering property.
Pakistan's ranking in getting credit done was down further by two points with new ranking set at 61 as earlier it was ranked at 59 in the world. In getting credit strength of legal rights index (0-10) at six, depth of credit information index (0-6) at four, public registry coverage (percentage of adults) 5.6 and private bureau coverage (percentage of adults) at 1.5.
Pakistan's ranking in protecting investors has also shown decline and the country has been ranked at 27 in new ranking as against earlier 25. Protection of investors index Pakistan ranking extent of disclosure index (0-10) six, extent of director liability index (0-10) six, ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) seven and strength of investor protection index (0-10) 6.3.
Pakistan's ranking in ease of paying taxes has also sown declining trend at country's ranking have done down to 143 in 2010 as against 126 in 2009 showing a decline of 17 percent. In the area Pakistan's ranking in payments (number per year) 47, time (hours per year) 560, profit tax (percentage) 14.3, labour tax and contributions (percentage) 15.0, other taxes (percentage) 2.3 and total tax rate (percentage profit) 31.6.
Pakistan's ranking on ease of trading across borders has gone more difficult and the country has been ranked at 78 in the new report as against earlier ranking of 75. In the area documents required for export (number) at nine, time to export (days) 22, cost to export (dollar per container) 611, documents to import (number) eight, time to import (days) 18, cost to import (dollar per container) 680. Country's ranking in ease of enforcing contracts has also shown declining trend and new ranking assigned to Pakistan is 158 in the world as against earlier ranking of 157 showing decline by one point. For enforcing contracts in Pakistan some 47 procedures are required, it takes 976 days for enforcement and it costs 23.8 percent of the claim amount.
Pakistan's ranking in ease of closing a business stood stagnant at 56 in 2010 as against earlier ranking of 56 in the world with no improvement. Closing business costs 4 percent of the of estate, recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 39.2.
Doing Business 2010: South Asia Picks Up Pace of Business Regulatory Reform 2009 - in a record year for regulatory reform worldwide, most South Asian economies strengthened business regulations and made them more efficient, creating more opportunities for local firms.
A record 131 of 183 economies around the globe reformed business regulations between June 2008 and May 2009, according to Doing Business 2010: Reforming through Difficult Times, the seventh in a series of annual reports published by IFC and the World Bank. In South Asia, six of eight economies reformed.
Bangladesh, the region's most active reformer, implemented an online company registration system-cutting start-up time by nearly a month-cut corporate income taxes, and expedited trade by introducing an automated customs clearance system at its main port.
India improved its score on the 'closing a business' indicator by taking steps to ease resolution of insolvency cases-a critical area in times of crisis. The recent report, Doing Business in India 2009, which goes beyond Mumbai to look at the applications of business regulations in 17 major cities across India, shows the tremendous potential in India for drawing on home-grown good practices to cut red tape and streamline regulation.
Nepal lowered property transfer costs. Pakistan made it easier to start a business by introducing an e-service registration system. And Sri Lanka improved access to credit information to help expand access to finance.
"In an active year of business regulatory reform, economies in South Asia have picked up their reform pace-though there is still room for more action," said Dahlia Khalifa, an author of the report. "Governments are paying attention to the quality of business regulation to make their economies more competitive and encourage local entrepreneurs. Making it easier to start, operate, and even close a business is always important, but especially during these difficult times."
This year, there were four new reformers among the global top 10: Liberia, the United Arab Emirates, Tajikistan and Moldova. Others include Rwanda, the top global reformer, Egypt, Belarus, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Colombia. Colombia and Egypt have been top global reformers in four of the past seven years.
Doing business analyses regulations that apply to an economy's businesses during their life cycles, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closing a business. Doing business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors. For example, it does not measure security, macroeconomic stability, corruption, skill level, or the strength of financial systems.
Labels: Pakistan Economy, ReBlog, World Bank
posted @ 9:09 AM,
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Gold Prices at Apex
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Gold price on Tuesday touched historic high of Rs 30,500 per tola and Rs 26,142 per 10 grams following a continued surge in its world prices to $1005 an ounce from $993.50, traders said. Gold prices after staying firm at Rs 30,200 per tola and Rs 25,885 per 10 grams for three days, posted a rise of Rs 300 per tola and Rs 257 per 10 grams on the local market.Surge of $11.5 an ounce in the international market gold price is said to have stirred the local market prices. Local traders see speculative buying of gold on the world market, after world investors found the US dollar is weakening against other developed economies which provided them with opportunity to sink capital in the precious metal trade.
"In Pakistan it is the first ever record increase in the gold prices to Rs 30,500 per tola and Rs 26,142 per 10 grams because of the yellow metal's global price crossed over $1,000 an ounce and weak Pak rupee value to the dollar," traders pointed out.
They said jewellery sale had plummeted to the lowest degree since rise in gold prices had began, adding people, however, started to sell their old worn-out jewellery to capitalise on the market upward trend. "Those people who have placed orders some 12 days ago for jewellery have benefited phenomenally. Now people are reluctant to place orders for gold jewellery," they said.
They said, "There are many standards on which gold is sold, and of them 12, 14, 18, 20, and 21 karats are common in Pakistan. Poor class of the society prefers getting jewellery made of 12 and 18 karats which have also big demand locally." Silver prices have reached Rs 442 per tola up from Rs 440 and Rs 381.42 per 10 grams up from Rs 377, while its global market price was quoted $16.2 an ounce. "China has also started silver buying," traders said.
Labels: Economy and Business, Pakistan Economy
posted @ 12:44 PM,
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Money Market, Forex and General News - 07-09-09
Monday, September 7, 2009
MONEY MARKET:
Money Market opened at 12 percent.Market topped at 12.10 percent while closed at 11.500 percent
FOREX:
NewYork is closed today on account of Labor Day and trading was done on Value Tom basis.Inter bank opened at 82.90 & 82.95.
Rupee depreciated to 82.92 against USD,day's top while market closed at 82.91 & 82.93
GENERAL NEWS:
Shenhua Group Corporation, a Chinese state run company, is keen to invest $1.5 billion in coal-fired power plant at Thar. The company rolled back its plan in 2006 due to issues over power purchase tariffs with NEPRA. The plant is expected to generate 1000 Mega watts of electricity in next three years. Coal reserves at Thar estimated at 850 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas, about 30 times higher than
Pakistan’s proven gas reserves of 28 TCF.
The sugar mills owners couldn’t retire debt of Rs 40 billion owed to State Bank due to ongoing sugar crisis in the country. The turmoil has pushed the industry on the verge of bankruptcy and therefore paying off massive debt seems surprising. The sugar mills have idle stock of 1.3 million tons since government has preferred imported sugar over locally manufactured due to price issue.
Money Market opened at 12 percent.Market topped at 12.10 percent while closed at 11.500 percent
FOREX:
NewYork is closed today on account of Labor Day and trading was done on Value Tom basis.Inter bank opened at 82.90 & 82.95.
Rupee depreciated to 82.92 against USD,day's top while market closed at 82.91 & 82.93
GENERAL NEWS:
Shenhua Group Corporation, a Chinese state run company, is keen to invest $1.5 billion in coal-fired power plant at Thar. The company rolled back its plan in 2006 due to issues over power purchase tariffs with NEPRA. The plant is expected to generate 1000 Mega watts of electricity in next three years. Coal reserves at Thar estimated at 850 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas, about 30 times higher than
Pakistan’s proven gas reserves of 28 TCF.
The sugar mills owners couldn’t retire debt of Rs 40 billion owed to State Bank due to ongoing sugar crisis in the country. The turmoil has pushed the industry on the verge of bankruptcy and therefore paying off massive debt seems surprising. The sugar mills have idle stock of 1.3 million tons since government has preferred imported sugar over locally manufactured due to price issue.
Labels: Economy and Business, Pakistan Economy
posted @ 11:14 PM,
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Export Finance Mark-Up Rate Facility
Thursday, September 3, 2009
In pursuance of entry 7 of item 29A of Schedule II to the Rules of the Business, 1973, the Federal Government, is pleased to make the following Order that shall come into force from September 01, 2009.
a) Effective 1st September 2009 the Federal Government shall provide mark-up rate support of 2.5% to the exporters of Textile Industry on outstanding balances of principal amount of loans availed by the industry from commercial banks for export of eligible commodities under State Bank’s Export Finance Scheme (EFS).
b) The facility shall be administered by the commercial banks or DFIs. They will make the payment to the extent of mark-up rate support on the outstanding balance of EFS loans availed by the borrower of textiles sector and claim reimbursement from SBP.
c) It shall be paid by the commercial banks on six month basis in March and September each year subject to the release of necessary budgetary allocation by the Federal Government for relevant fiscal year.
d) The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) shall reimburse the amount of mark-up rate support to commercial banks by debit to the appropriate Federal Government account to be intimated by Finance Division.
e) The units eligible for the facility shall furnish on line information to the Ministry of Textile Industry in the manner specified in Annexure I to this Order. Hard copy of the same will be submitted to the Ministry of Textile Industry after verification by the textiles associations concerned.
f) The units so registered will be provided with Special Identification Numbers to be used in all future communications will be eligible for the facility.
g) The registered units shall furnish data and any information related to the unit’s operations, domestic sales, accounts and exports as and when required by the Ministry of Textile Industry.
a) Effective 1st September 2009 the Federal Government shall provide mark-up rate support of 2.5% to the exporters of Textile Industry on outstanding balances of principal amount of loans availed by the industry from commercial banks for export of eligible commodities under State Bank’s Export Finance Scheme (EFS).
b) The facility shall be administered by the commercial banks or DFIs. They will make the payment to the extent of mark-up rate support on the outstanding balance of EFS loans availed by the borrower of textiles sector and claim reimbursement from SBP.
c) It shall be paid by the commercial banks on six month basis in March and September each year subject to the release of necessary budgetary allocation by the Federal Government for relevant fiscal year.
d) The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) shall reimburse the amount of mark-up rate support to commercial banks by debit to the appropriate Federal Government account to be intimated by Finance Division.
e) The units eligible for the facility shall furnish on line information to the Ministry of Textile Industry in the manner specified in Annexure I to this Order. Hard copy of the same will be submitted to the Ministry of Textile Industry after verification by the textiles associations concerned.
f) The units so registered will be provided with Special Identification Numbers to be used in all future communications will be eligible for the facility.
g) The registered units shall furnish data and any information related to the unit’s operations, domestic sales, accounts and exports as and when required by the Ministry of Textile Industry.
Labels: Export Finance Scheme, LTFF, SBP, Textile
posted @ 1:14 PM,
,
Mark-up Rate Support for Textile Sector
In pursuance of entry 7 of item 29A of Schedule II to the Rules of the Business, 1973, the Federal Government is pleased to make the following Order that shall come into force from September 01, 2009.
- Effective 1st September 2009 the Federal Government shall provide Mark-up Rate support on all outstanding running balances of principal amount of floating rate long terms loans availed by the textiles industry from commercial banks/Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), disbursed up to August 31, 2009, for financing import/purchase of textile machinery for which funds under State Bank’s Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF) have not been availed.
- The support will be admissible to the extent of 5% or the difference in mark- up rate between floating rate loan and LTFF rate, whichever is lower.
- The facility shall be administered by the commercial banks or DFIs. They will make the payment to the extent of mark-up rate support on the outstanding balance of loans availed by the borrower of textiles sector and claim reimbursement from SBP.
- It shall be paid by the commercial banks/DFIs on six month basis in March and September each year subject to release of necessary budgetary allocation by the Federal Government for relevant fiscal year.
- The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) shall reimburse the amount due to commercial banks/DFIs by debit to the appropriate Federal Government account to be intimated by Finance Division.
- The units eligible for the facility shall furnish on line information to the Ministry of Textile Industry in the manner specified in Annexure I to this Order. Hard copy of the same will be submitted to the Ministry of Textile Industry after verification from the associations concerned.
- The units so registered will be provided with Special Identification Numbers to be used in all future communications will be eligible for the facility.
- The registered units shall furnish data and any information related to the unit’s operations, domestic sales, accounts and exports as and where required by the Ministry of Textile Industry.
posted @ 1:04 PM,
,
Human Race
Labels: Jokes
posted @ 10:36 AM,
,
Cash Management or Treasury Management
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Cash management or Treasury management is a marketing term for certain services offered primarily to larger business customers. It may be used to describe all bank accounts (such as checking accounts) provided to businesses of a certain size, but it is more often used to describe specific services such as cash concentration, zero balance accounting, and automated clearing house facilities. Sometimes, private banking customers are given cash management services.
Cash management services generally offered
The following is a list of services generally offered by banks and utilised by larger businesses and corporations:
Account Reconcilement Services:
Balancing a checkbook can be a difficult process for a very large business, since it issues so many checks it can take a lot of human monitoring to understand which checks have not cleared and therefore what the company's true balance is. To address this, banks have developed a system which allows companies to upload a list of all the checks that they issue on a daily basis, so that at the end of the month the bank statement will show not only which checks have cleared, but also which have not. More recently, banks have used this system to prevent checks from being fraudulently cashed if they are not on the list, a process known as positive pay.
Advanced Web Services:
Most banks have an Internet-based system which is more advanced than the one available to consumers. This enables managers to create and authorize special internal logon credentials, allowing employees to send wires and access other cash management features normally not found on the consumer web site.
Armored Car Services:
Large retailers who collect a great deal of cash may have the bank pick this cash up via an armored car company, instead of asking its employees to deposit the cash.
Automated Clearing House:
services are usually offered by the cash management division of a bank. The Automated Clearing House is an electronic system used to transfer funds between banks. Companies use this to pay others, especially employees (this is how direct deposit works). Certain companies also use it to collect funds from customers (this is generally how automatic payment plans work). This system is criticized by some consumer advocacy groups, because under this system banks assume that the company initiating the debit is correct until proven otherwise.
Balance Reporting Services:
Corporate clients who actively manage their cash balances usually subscribe to secure web-based reporting of their account and transaction information at their lead bank. These sophisticated compilations of banking activity may include balances in foreign currencies, as well as those at other banks. They include information on cash positions as well as 'float' (e.g., checks in the process of collection). Finally, they offer transaction-specific details on all forms of payment activity, including deposits, checks, wire transfers in and out, ACH (automated clearinghouse debits and credits), investments, etc.
Cash Concentration Services:
Large or national chain retailers often are in areas where their primary bank does not have branches. Therefore, they open bank accounts at various local banks in the area. To prevent funds in these accounts from being idle and not earning sufficient interest, many of these companies have an agreement set with their primary bank, whereby their primary bank uses the Automated Clearing House to electronically "pull" the money from these banks into a single interest-bearing bank account.
Lockbox services:
Often companies (such as utilities) which receive a large number of payments via checks in the mail have the bank set up a post office box for them, open their mail, and deposit any checks found. This is referred to as a "lockbox" service.
Positive Pay: Positive pay is a service whereby the company electronically shares its check register of all written checks with the bank. The bank therefore will only pay checks listed in that register, with exactly the same specifications as listed in the register (amount, payee, serial number, etc.). This system dramatically reduces check fraud.
Sweep accounts:
are typically offered by the cash management division of a bank. Under this system, excess funds from a company's bank accounts are automatically moved into a money market mutual fund overnight, and then moved back the next morning. This allows them to earn interest overnight. This is the primary use of money market mutual funds.
Zero Balance Accounting:
can be thought of as somewhat of a hack. Companies with large numbers of stores or locations can very often be confused if all those stores are depositing into a single bank account. Traditionally, it would be impossible to know which deposits were from which stores without seeking to view images of those deposits. To help correct this problem, banks developed a system where each store is given their own bank account, but all the money deposited into the individual store accounts are automatically moved or swept into the company's main bank account. This allows the company to look at individual statements for each store. U.S. banks are almost all converting their systems so that companies can tell which store made a particular deposit, even if these deposits are all deposited into a single account. Therefore, zero balance accounting is being used less frequently.
Wire Transfer:
A wire transfer is an electronic transfer of funds. Wire transfers can be done by a simple bank account transfer, or by a transfer of cash at a cash office. Bank wire transfers are often the most expedient method for transferring funds between bank accounts. A bank wire transfer is a message to the receiving bank requesting them to effect payment in accordance with the instructions given. The message also includes settlement instructions. The actual wire transfer itself is virtually instantaneous, requiring no longer for transmission than a telephone call.
Controlled Disbursement:
This is another product offered by banks under Cash Management Services. The bank provides a daily report, typically early in the day, that provides the amount of disbursements that will be charged to the customer's account. This early knowledge of daily funds requirement allows the customer to invest any surplus in intraday investment opportunities, typically money market investments. This is different from delayed disbursements, where payments are issued through a remote branch of a bank and customer is able to delay the payment due to increased float time.
In the past, other services have been offered the usefulness of which has diminished with the rise of the Internet. For example, companies could have daily faxes of their most recent transactions or be sent CD-ROMs of images of their cashed checks. Cash management services can be costly but usually the cost to a company is outweighed by the benefits: cost savings, accuracy, efficiencies, etc.
Cash management services generally offered
The following is a list of services generally offered by banks and utilised by larger businesses and corporations:
Account Reconcilement Services:
Balancing a checkbook can be a difficult process for a very large business, since it issues so many checks it can take a lot of human monitoring to understand which checks have not cleared and therefore what the company's true balance is. To address this, banks have developed a system which allows companies to upload a list of all the checks that they issue on a daily basis, so that at the end of the month the bank statement will show not only which checks have cleared, but also which have not. More recently, banks have used this system to prevent checks from being fraudulently cashed if they are not on the list, a process known as positive pay.
Advanced Web Services:
Most banks have an Internet-based system which is more advanced than the one available to consumers. This enables managers to create and authorize special internal logon credentials, allowing employees to send wires and access other cash management features normally not found on the consumer web site.
Armored Car Services:
Large retailers who collect a great deal of cash may have the bank pick this cash up via an armored car company, instead of asking its employees to deposit the cash.
Automated Clearing House:
services are usually offered by the cash management division of a bank. The Automated Clearing House is an electronic system used to transfer funds between banks. Companies use this to pay others, especially employees (this is how direct deposit works). Certain companies also use it to collect funds from customers (this is generally how automatic payment plans work). This system is criticized by some consumer advocacy groups, because under this system banks assume that the company initiating the debit is correct until proven otherwise.
Balance Reporting Services:
Corporate clients who actively manage their cash balances usually subscribe to secure web-based reporting of their account and transaction information at their lead bank. These sophisticated compilations of banking activity may include balances in foreign currencies, as well as those at other banks. They include information on cash positions as well as 'float' (e.g., checks in the process of collection). Finally, they offer transaction-specific details on all forms of payment activity, including deposits, checks, wire transfers in and out, ACH (automated clearinghouse debits and credits), investments, etc.
Cash Concentration Services:
Large or national chain retailers often are in areas where their primary bank does not have branches. Therefore, they open bank accounts at various local banks in the area. To prevent funds in these accounts from being idle and not earning sufficient interest, many of these companies have an agreement set with their primary bank, whereby their primary bank uses the Automated Clearing House to electronically "pull" the money from these banks into a single interest-bearing bank account.
Lockbox services:
Often companies (such as utilities) which receive a large number of payments via checks in the mail have the bank set up a post office box for them, open their mail, and deposit any checks found. This is referred to as a "lockbox" service.
Positive Pay: Positive pay is a service whereby the company electronically shares its check register of all written checks with the bank. The bank therefore will only pay checks listed in that register, with exactly the same specifications as listed in the register (amount, payee, serial number, etc.). This system dramatically reduces check fraud.
Sweep accounts:
are typically offered by the cash management division of a bank. Under this system, excess funds from a company's bank accounts are automatically moved into a money market mutual fund overnight, and then moved back the next morning. This allows them to earn interest overnight. This is the primary use of money market mutual funds.
Zero Balance Accounting:
can be thought of as somewhat of a hack. Companies with large numbers of stores or locations can very often be confused if all those stores are depositing into a single bank account. Traditionally, it would be impossible to know which deposits were from which stores without seeking to view images of those deposits. To help correct this problem, banks developed a system where each store is given their own bank account, but all the money deposited into the individual store accounts are automatically moved or swept into the company's main bank account. This allows the company to look at individual statements for each store. U.S. banks are almost all converting their systems so that companies can tell which store made a particular deposit, even if these deposits are all deposited into a single account. Therefore, zero balance accounting is being used less frequently.
Wire Transfer:
A wire transfer is an electronic transfer of funds. Wire transfers can be done by a simple bank account transfer, or by a transfer of cash at a cash office. Bank wire transfers are often the most expedient method for transferring funds between bank accounts. A bank wire transfer is a message to the receiving bank requesting them to effect payment in accordance with the instructions given. The message also includes settlement instructions. The actual wire transfer itself is virtually instantaneous, requiring no longer for transmission than a telephone call.
Controlled Disbursement:
This is another product offered by banks under Cash Management Services. The bank provides a daily report, typically early in the day, that provides the amount of disbursements that will be charged to the customer's account. This early knowledge of daily funds requirement allows the customer to invest any surplus in intraday investment opportunities, typically money market investments. This is different from delayed disbursements, where payments are issued through a remote branch of a bank and customer is able to delay the payment due to increased float time.
In the past, other services have been offered the usefulness of which has diminished with the rise of the Internet. For example, companies could have daily faxes of their most recent transactions or be sent CD-ROMs of images of their cashed checks. Cash management services can be costly but usually the cost to a company is outweighed by the benefits: cost savings, accuracy, efficiencies, etc.
Labels: Cash Management, Treasury
posted @ 2:12 PM,
,
Jobs in SPEL Group
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
SPEL is one of the leading manufacturers of Technology Intensive Engineering Plastic products in Pakistan. The Company has been in business for over 25 years and has the large client base, both in domestic and international markets. It has grown rapidly over the years. Average growth rate in the last 10 years has been around 40% per annum.
Applications are sought for the following position
Job Title: Internal Auditor (02 positions)
Organization: SPEL Group
Job Location: Lahore
Qualification: CA Finalist, preferably from Top Ten
Only short listed candidates will be contacted. Interested candidates are required to send their application along with updated resume and a photograph here latest by 10 September 2009.
Applications are sought for the following position
Job Title: Internal Auditor (02 positions)
Organization: SPEL Group
Job Location: Lahore
Qualification: CA Finalist, preferably from Top Ten
Only short listed candidates will be contacted. Interested candidates are required to send their application along with updated resume and a photograph here latest by 10 September 2009.
Labels: Jobs
posted @ 10:03 AM,
,
