The Implication For Users Of Financial Statements Accounting Essay

The Implication For Users Of Financial Statements Accounting Essay Financial statements should be well understood by those who read it especially those individuals who have considerable knowledge of business and economic world and those ones willing to learn the information carefully. There are various users of financial statements. These users are classified into two broad categories. These users have different purposes for using these statements. The first category of these users is the internal users. The internal users refer to those individuals who have direct interest to the activities of the organization. They include: 1) Managers and owners need financial statements so as to make business decisions. They analyze the information provided by financial statements so as to obtain a clear position of the organization. Variable elements of financial reports such as the ratio of current debt to equity ratio is vital in making a decision on the amount of long run capital that needs to be available;2)employees form the second group of internal users of financial statements. Employees require this information especially when making joint collective bargains (Dyson, 1996). Such statements are of significant importance when discussing issues concerning promotion, salary increase and rankings. External users include: 1) institutional investors who use the financial reports to evaluate the financial capability of the business so as to make reasonable investment decisions; 2) Various financial institutions like banks and other loan bodies need to evaluate financial reports of businesses before lending them money; 3) the government also analyzes financial statement of different companies so as to prove if they paying taxes accurately ;4) the general public as well as the mass media may be interested in analyzing the statements of certain businesses. 1.2-What are the different aspects of legal and regulatory framework that relates to financial statements? There are different methods which can be followed when presenting financial statements. Rules-based accounting is made up of precise rules that must be observed during preparation of financial statements. Many accountants prefer the use of this method so that they reduce their liability in the event misjudgments. In situation whereby the management decides not to use rule-base accounting, it can choose to employ other accounting policies in preparing their financial statement (Guilding, 2002). However, this can be challenging because there are some policies which do conflict. Companies which need to included in stock exchange in more than a single country need to prepare their statements in accordance with GAAP. There are several reasons why it is necessary to have regulatory framework guiding financial reporting within countries and on international level. One of the reasons regard to irregular information (Moncarz and Portocarrero, 1986). Assume a scenario whereby the manager of th e company is the one responsible for preparation of financial reports. This responsibility gives the manager the opportunity to access financial information which other members of the organization do not. Managers can take advantage of this privilege to exploit the statements so as to favor their own personal interest. Therefore, there must be regulation on reporting to stop insiders from exploiting financial statements. Another important factor to be considered is reliability and relevance of financial statements. Access the implication for users of financial statements? The different aspects of legal and regulatory framework have significant implication for users of financial statements. Some of the users of financial statements have complained that some of the regulations add unimportant complexities. The basis behind their argument is that there are some rules which are extremely detailed, with standards extending to more than hundred pages. Others have argued that these rules provide loopholes for financial engineering and fail to provide a true and fair image of the business. It has also been noted that sometimes these rules fail to capture the details of targeted cases. Another negative phase of these rules is that they fail to provide solutions in the event of gaps (Kotas, 1999). Management can also choose to observe all those accounting treatments that favor their interests and avoid those that will define real position of the business. However, it is worth to acknowledge the fact that these rules play a major role in ensuring a fair competit ion of international businesses which operate in more than one national market. However, it is fairer to say that observance of these legal and regulatory frameworks significantly contribute to preparation of statements which portray a companys real performance. The different legal and regulatory frameworks should be flexible enough to accommodate new situations in the business. A relevant and reliable makes it easier for users of financial information to analyze those statements. Describe how different laws and regulations relate with accounting and reporting standards? (Pass P4) Provide the regulatory framework of any country other than UK and compare it with UK regulatory framework (Distinction 1) There are several accounting bodies which guide the accounting environment and significantly determine the success of a business. Security and exchange commission aimed at eliminating abusive stock market collision that had accumulated and resulted to instability in stock markets. Security and exchange commission ensures that publicly reporting business adhere with the generally agreed accounting principles. Financial accounting standards board (FASB) provides a plane set of standards to be observed when presenting financial statements to the public (Atkinson et al,1995). It aims at shielding the investors from fraud of business owners. Internal accounting standards board was founded to come up with comprehensible financial accounting reports (Messenger and Shaw, 1993). There is also the government accounting standards board (GASB) which aimed at establishing standards of helpful information that will aid users of reports to understand the reports in a much better way. On the second part of this question, the country of my choice is Kenya. In 1998, the council of Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya set IFRS (International financial reporting standards) as the accounting standard in Kenya. From then henceforth, all the companies were requested to prepare their financial statements in accordance with IFRS. However, in Kenya there is a significant gap that has been observed between applicable accounting standards and the real practice by companies. In 1969, the UK ICAEW issued the statement of intent on accounting standard. This statement made it clear that standards will be generated in future with four main goals. The first goal was to reduce the dissimilarities and diversity in accounting principles. Second, was to disclose the accounting foundations. Third, disclose the diversion from established standards and eventually explain the broad exposure for main new accounting proposals. There have been a number of committees which have been formed si nce then all with the aim of improving accounting disclosure. Requirement 2.1 The following is a trial balance from auto electrical ltd as at 31 March 2005  £  £ Ordinary shares of 50 p each 400,000 10% Redeemable Preference shares of  £1 each 200,000 Retained profits as at 1 April 2004 42,475 Office block (Land  £40,000) 170,000 Plant and machinery 730,000 Office equipment 110,000 Motor vehicles 200,000 Provision for depreciation Plant and Machinery 224,500 Office equipment 24,500 Motor vehicles 80,000 Accounts receivables/Payables 500,000 356,226 Provision for doubtful debts 1,000 Manufacturing wages 501,400 Inventory as at 1 April 2004 raw materials 70,000 Work in progress 126,000 Finished goods 250,000 Transport expenses 85,013 Returns inwards 15,106 Purchases of raw materials 518,600 Sales 2,600,147 Bank balance 60,020 Directors salaries 60,114 Maintenance of plan t 30,102 Rent 40,063 Advertising 190,048 Rates 50,171 Insurance 20,116 Office salaries 166,013 Light and heat 46,027 Factory power 30,014 Bank interest 7,070 Interim dividends on preference shares 10,000 General administration expenses 63,011 _________ 3,988,868 3,988,868 Further information is as follows: Depreciation is to be provided as follows: Plant and machinery 15% on cost. (Production expense) Office equipment 10% on cost (administration expense) Motor vehicles 25% on WDV (distribution cost) New office blocks 2% on cost (Administration expense). As at 31 March 2005 rates were prepaid by  £3,140 . Outstanding light and heat as at 31 march 05 is  £1,214 and rent is  £2,321 Rent, rates, light and heat and insurance are to be apportioned in the ratio of 5:1 in relation to factory and office expenses. The company makes a provision of 1% for doubtful debts on all accounts receivables. The production director is paid  £20,000.  £64,237 is included Office salaries  £100,000 is to be provided for corporation tax During the year 1,500 electrical equipments were transferred from the factory to the warehouse. Only 100 equipments were in hand at the end of the year. At 31 March 2005 Inventory was: Raw materials  £56,200. Work in progress  £47,190. Finished goods ? Classifying expenses by function Auto transmission Income Statement for the year ended 31/03/2005  £  £ Revenue 2,585,041 Cost of sales (1,586,692) Gross profit 998,349 Expenses Distribution expenses 373,298 Administration expenses 244,489 Finance costs 27,070 (644,857) Profit before tax 353,492 Income tax expense (100,000) Profit for the period 253,492 Classifying expenses by nature Auto Transmission  £  £ Revenue 2,585,041 Expenses Raw materials consumed 532,40 Changes in finished goods and work in progress 233,332 Depreciation 153,100 Employee benefits 727,527 Other expenses 558,120 Finance costs 27,070 2,231,549 Profit before tax 353,492 Income tax expense (100,000) Profit for the period 253,492 Auto Transmission Balance sheet as at 31/03/2005  £  £ NON-CURRENT ASSETS Property, Plant and Equipment 727,900 CURRENT ASSETS Inventory 198,868 Accounts receivables 495,000 Prepayments 3,980 697,848 TOTAL ASSETS 1,425,748 EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Ordinary share capital 400,000 RESERVES Retained profits 295,967 Shareholders funds 695,967 NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES 10% Redeemable preference shares 200,000 CURRENT LIABILITIES Bank overdraft 60,020 Trade payables 356,226 Accruals 13,535 Current tax 100,000 529,781 Total Equity and Liabilities 1,425,748 Workings  £ Revenue 2,600,147 Less return inwards (15,106) 2,585,041 Cost of sales Opening inventory : Finished goods Cost of finished goods 250,000 1,682,170 Less: closing inventory of finished goods (95,478) 1,586,692 Factory cost of finished goods Manufacturing account  £  £ Opening inventory : raw materials 70,000 Purchases of raw materials 518,600 588,600 Less: Closing stock inventory raw materials (56,200) Raw materials consumed 532,400 Direct labour: Manufacturing wages 501,400 PRIME COSTS 1,033,800 Factory overheads Directors salaries : Factory manager 20,000 Maintenance of plant 30,102 Rent 35,320 Rates 39,192.50 Insurance 16,063 Light and hear 39,376.50 Factory power 30,014 Depreciation on plant 109,500 319,560 Total cost of production 1,353,369 Add: Opening WIP 126,000 1,479,360 Less: Closing W.I.P 47,190 Factory cost of finished goods 1,42,170 Value of closing stock/finished goods: 1,432,170 x 100 = 95,478 =95,478 1500 Expenses Distribution Administration Finance costs Transport 85,013 Directors salaries 40,114 Rent 7,064 Advertising 190,048 Rates 7,838 Insurance 3,213 Office salaries 101,776 Light and heat 7,873 Bank interest 7,070 Preference dividends (redeemable) 20,000 Salesmen salaries 64,237 Increase in provision for bad debts 4,000 Depreciation on new office block 2,600 office equipment 11,00 motor vehicles 30,000 General administration expense ______ 63,011 _____ 373,298 244,489 27,070 Workings for classification by nature Changes in finished goods and W .I. P Finished goods Work in progress TOTAL  £  £  £ Closing inventory 95,478 47,190 142,668 Opening inventory (250,000) (126,000) (376,000) Increase (decrease) (154,522) (78,810) (233,332) An increase is treated as a saving while a decrease is an expense . Depreciation Plant and machinery 109,500 New office block 2,600 Office equipment 11,000 Motor vehicles 30,000 153,100 Employee benefits Manufacturing wages 501,400 Factory manger salary 20,000 Director salaries 40,114 Office salaries 101,776 Salesman salaries 64,237 727,527 Other expenses Transport 85,013 Rent 42,384 Advertising 190,048 Rates 47,031 Insurance 19,276 Ling and heat 47,241 Plant maintenance 30,102 Factor power 30,014 Provision for bad debts 4,000 Bank interest 7,070 General administration 63,011 558,120 Property, Plant and Equipment Cost Depreciation to date Net Book value Office block 170,000 2,600 167,400 Plant and machinery 730,000 334,000 396,000 Office equipment 110,000 35,500 74,500 Motor vehicles 200,000 110,000 90,000 727,900 Prepayments and Accruals Prepayments Accruals Rates 3,140 Light and heat 1,214 Insurance 840 Rent 2,321 ____ Dividend on redeemable preference shares 10,000 3,980 13,535 Retained profits Balance c/d 42,475 42,475 Profit for the period 253,492 Retained earnings 295,967 Gross profit margin profit/sales= 998,349/2585041=38.62% Net profit margin profit/sales= 295,967/2,585,041=11% Differential 38.62-11= 27.62 Requirement 2.2 Utah textile Incomes statement for the year ending 31 December 2009 Sh. Sh. revenue 476000 Expenses Advertising expense 14500 Supplies Expenses 31500 Rent expense 12000 Miscellaneous expense 5100 Salaries expense 78000 Utilities expense 2500 (143600) Profit before tax 332400 Net income 109450 Total income 441850 Income tax expense (132555) Profit for the period 309295 Distribution to owners (48100) retained earnings 261195 Balance sheet as at 31 december 2009 Non Current Assets Sh. Sh. buildings 512000 land 90000 Current assets supplies 4250 account Receivables 95000 Cash 63000 162250 TOTAL ASSETS 764250 Ordinary Share Capital 310300 Retained Profits 261195 Shareholders funds 571495 Non-Current Liabilities mortgage payable 423400 Current Liabilities Trade payables 74300 Current tax 132555 Proposed dividends 48100 265400 TOTAL EQUITY LIABILITIES 764250 Requirement 2.3 Below is the group financial statement for Albar machinery distributors ltd. On October 1997 Albar purchased stake in Nguo. Later this group bought stake in kipi. BELOW UU Income statements for the year ended 31 March 2000 for: Albar Ltd Nguo Ltd Kipi Ltd Sh.m Sh.m Sh.m Revenue 1,368 774 685 Cost of sales (810) (407) (355) Gross profit 558 367 330 Distribution costs (196) (64) (78) Administration expenses (112) (73) (72) Finance cost (50) (20) 0 Profit before tax 200 210 180 Income tax expense (60) (60) (50) Profit after tax 140 150 130 Proposed dividends (150) (100) (100) Retained profits for the year (10) 50 30 Retained profits brought forward 713 610 420 Retained profit carried forward 703 660 450 Balance sheet as at 31 March 2000 Albar Ltd Nguo Ltd Kipi Ltd Noncurrent assets sh.m sh.m sh.m Property, plant and equipment 853 415 495 Investment in Nguo 702 Investment in kipi 405 1555 820 495 Current assets Inventory 368 200 190 Trade receivables 380 230 240 Cash at bank 120 115 91 Total assets 2,423 1,365 1,016 Ordinary share capital 900 200 100 Retained profits 703 660 450 Shareholders funds 1,603 860 550 Noncurrent liabilities 10% loan stock 500 200 0 Current liabilities Trade and other payables 140 175 346 Current tax 30 30 20 Proposed Dividends 150 100 100 Total equity and liabilities 2,423 1,365 1,016 Albar and Its subsidiaries Consolidated Income statement for the year ended 31 March 2000 Sh. Sh. Revenue 2,507.00 Cost of Sales (1,322.00) Gross Profit 1,185.00 Expenses Distribution Costs 338.00 Administration Expenses 261.00 Goodwill impaired 55.00 Finance costs 60.00 (714.00) Profit before tax 471.00 Income tax expense (170.00) Profit for the period 301.00 Profit attributable to: Holding Company 228.60 Minority interest 72.40 301.00 Consolidated Balance sheet as at 31 March 2000 Non Current Assets Sh. Sh. Property, plant and equipment 1,755.00 Goodwill 55.00 1,810.00 Current assets Inventory 728.00 Trade Receivables 808.00 Cash at bank 326.00 1,862.00 TOTAL ASSETS 3,672.00 Ordinary Share Capital 900.00 Retained Profits 957.20 1,857.20 Minority Interest 330.80 Shareholders funds 2,188.00 Non-Current Liabilities 10% Loanstock 600.00 Current Liabilities Trade Other payables 609.00 Current tax 80.00 Proposed dividends 195.00 884.00 TOTAL EQUITY LIABILITIES 3,672.00 Statement of retained profits b/f Yr C/f Albar 713.00 (25.00) 688.00 Share in Nguo 96.00 100.00 196.00 Share in kipi 69.60 3.60 73.20 878.60 78.60 957.20 Workings Albar As per the accounts 713.00 (10.00) 703.00 Add Divs receivable 80.00 80.00 Interest receivable 10.00 10.00 Less UPPPE (50.00) (50.00) Less Goodwill Impaired (55.00) (55.00) 713.00 (25.00) 688.00 Share in Nguo As per the accounts 610.00 50.00 660.00 Less preacquisition (490.00) ____- (490.00) 120.00 50.00 170.00 Less UPCS (10.00) (10.00) Add excess depreciation 10.00 10.00 Add Divs Receivable _____- 75.00 75.00

Mathematics in Cryptology

Cryptology is the procedure of writing by means of a variety of methods to keep messages secret and includes communications security and communications intelligence. The cryptologic (code making and code breaking) and intelligence services provide information to both tactical forces and Navy commanders. Shore-based intellect and cryptologic operations engage the compilation, handing out, analysis, and reporting of information from a lot of sources, from communications intelligence to human intelligence. This information is used to assess threats to the Navy and to the protection of the United States. Tactical intelligence, more often than not provided by ships, submarines, and aircraft, gives combat commanders indications and warning of impending opponent activity and assessments of ongoing hostile activity and capabilities.The start of the 21st century is a golden age for applications of mathematics in cryptology.   The early stages of this age can be traced to the work of Rejewsk i, Rozycki, and Zygalski on breaking mystery. Their employment was a breach in more than a few ways.   It made a marvelous realistic input to the conduct of Word War II.   At the same time, it represented a major increase in the sophistication of the mathematical tools that were used.   Ever since, mathematics has been playing a progressively more important role in cryptology.This has been the result of the dense relationships of mathematics, cryptology, and technology, relationships that have been developing for a long time. At the same time as codes and ciphers go back thousands of years, systematic study of them dates back only to the Renaissance.   Such study was stimulated by the rapid growth of written communications and the associated postal systems, as well as by the political fragmentation in Europe. In the 19th century, the electric telegraph provided an additional spur to the development of cryptology.The major impetus, despite the fact that, appears to have come with the appearance of radio communication at the beginning of the 20th century. This technical development led to growth of military, diplomatic, and commercial traffic that was open to non-intrusive interception by friend or foe alike.   The need to protect such traffic, from interception was obvious, and led to the search for improved codes and ciphers.   These, in turn, stimulated the development of cryptanalytic methods, which then led to development of better cryptosystems, in an endless cycle.   What systems were built has always depended on what was known about their security, and also on the technology that was available.Amid the two world wars, the need for encrypting and decrypting ever-greater volumes of information dependably and steadily, combined with the accessible electromechanical technology, led many cryptosystem designers towards rotor system.   Yet, as Rejewski, Rozycki, and Zygalski showed, the operations of rotor machines created enough regularities to enable effective cryptanalysis through mathematical techniques.   This was yet another instance of what Eugene Wigner has called the â€Å"unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics,† in which techniques developed for abstract purposes turn out to be surprisingly well-suited for real applications.The sophistication of mathematical techniques in cryptography continued increasing after World War II, when attention shifted to cryptosystems based on shift register sequences.   A quantum jump occurred in the 1970s, with the invention of public key cryptography. This invention was itself stimulated by technological developments, primarily the growth in information processing and transmission.   This growth was leading to explosive increases in the volume of electronic transactions, increases that show no signs of tapering off even today, a quarter century later.The large and assorted populations of users that were foreseen in developing civilian settings were leading to probl ems, such as key management and digital signatures that previously had not been as severe in smaller and more tightly controlled military and political communications.   At the same time, developments in technology were offering unprecedented possibilities for implementing complicated algorithms.   Mathematics again turned out to provide the tools that were used to meet the challenge.The public key schemes that were invented in the 1970s used primarily tools from classical number theory.   Yet as time went on, the range of applicable mathematics grew.   Technology continued improving, but in uneven ways.   For example, while general computing power of a personal computer grew explosively, there was also a proliferation of small, especially wireless devices, which continued to have stringent power and bandwidth limitations.   This put renewed emphasis on finding cryptosystems that were thrifty with both computation and transmission.At the same time, there was growth in th eoretical knowledge, which led to breaking of numerous systems, and required increases in key sizes of even well trusted schemes such as RSA. The outcome of the developments in technology and science is that today we are witnessing explosive growth in applications of sophisticated mathematics in cryptology.   This volume is a collection of both surveys and original research papers that illustrate well the interactions of public key cryptography and computational number theory.Some of the systems discussed here are based on algebra, others on lattices, yet others on combinatorial concepts.   There are also some number theoretic results that have not been applied to cryptography yet, but may be in the future.   The diversity of techniques and results in this volume does show that mathematics, even mathematics that was developed for its own sake, is helping solve important problems of our modern society.   At the same time, mathematics is drawing valuable inspiration from the p ractical problems that cryptology poses.The recent breakthrough discovery of public key cryptography has been one (but not the only) contributor to a dramatic increase in the sophistication and elegance of the mathematics used in cryptology. Coding theory enables the reliable transmission and storage of data. Thanks to coding theory, despite dramatic increases in the rates and volumes of bits transmitted and the number of bits stored in computers or household appliances, we are able to operate confidently under the assumption that every one of these bits is exactly what it is supposed to be. Often they are not, of course, and the errors would be catastrophic were it not for the superbly efficient detection and correction algorithms clever coding theorists have created.Although a number of incessant mathematics has been employed (notably, probability theory), the bulk of the mathematics involved is discrete mathematics. Nevertheless, in spite of the strong demonstration that cryptolo gy and coding theory provide, there is little understanding or recognition in the mainstream mathematics community of the importance of discrete mathematics to the information society. The core problems in applied mathematics after World War II (e.g., understanding shock waves) involved continuous mathematics, and the composition of most applied mathematics departments today reflects that legacy.The increasing role of discrete mathematics has affected even the bastions of the â€Å"old† applied mathematics, such as the aircraft manufacturers, where information systems that allow design engineers to work on a common electronic blueprint have had a dramatic effect on design cycles. In the meantime, mathematics departments seem insulated from the need to evolve their research program as they carry on providing service teaching of calculus to captive populations of engineering students.However, the needs of these students are changing. As mathematicians continue to work in narrow areas of specialization, they may be unaware of these trends and the appealing mathematical research topics that are most strongly connected to current needs arising from the explosion in information technology. Indeed, a great deal of important and interesting mathematics research is being done outside of mathematics departments. (This applies even to traditional applied mathematics, PDE's and the like, where, as just one example, modeling has been neglected.)In the history of cryptology and coding theory, mathematicians as well as mathematics have played an important role. Sometimes they have employed their considerable problem-solving skills in direct assaults on the problems, working so closely with engineers and computer scientists that it would be difficult to tell the subject matter origins apart. Sometimes mathematicians have formalized parts of the problem being worked, introducing new or classical mathematical frameworks to help understand and solve the problem.Sophistica ted theoretical treatments of these subjects (e.g., complexity theory in cryptology) have been very helpful in solving concrete problems. The probable for theory to have bottom-line impact seems even greater today. One panelist opined, â€Å"This is a time that cries out for top academicians to join us in developing the theoretical foundations of the subject. We have lots of little results that seem to be part of a bigger pattern, and we need to understand the bigger picture in order to move forward.† However, unfortunately, the present period is not one in which research mathematicians are breaking down doors to work on these problems.Mathematicians are without a doubt needed to generate mathematics. It is less clear that they are indispensable to its application. One panelist pointed out that there are many brilliant engineers and computer scientists who understand thoroughly not only the problems but also the mathematics and the mathematical analysis needed to solve them. â€Å"It's up to the mathematics community,† he continued, â€Å"to choose whether it is going to try to play or whether it is going to exist on the scientific margins.The situation is similar to the boundary where physics and mathematics meet and mathematicians are scrambling to follow where Witten and Seiberg have led.† Another panelist disagreed, believing it highly desirable, if not necessary, to interest research mathematicians in application problems. â€Å"When we bring in (academic research) mathematicians as consultants to work on our problems, we don't expect them to have the same bottom-line impact as our permanent staff, because they will not have adequate knowledge of system issues.However, in their effort to understand our problems and apply to them the mathematics with which they are familiar, they often make some unusual attack on the problem or propose some use of a mathematical construct we had never considered. After several years and lots of honing of the mathematical construct by our ‘applied mathematicians,' we find ourselves in possession of a powerful and effective mathematical tool.†During the late 1970s, a small group of bright educational cryptographers proposed a series of elegant schemes through which secret messages could be sent without relying on secret variables (key) shared by the encipherer and the decipherer, secrets the maintenance of which depended upon physical security, which in the past has been often compromised. Instead, in these â€Å"public key† schemes, the message recipient published for all to see a set of (public) variables to be used by the message sender in such a way that messages sent could be read only by the intended recipient. (At least, the public key cryptographers hoped that was the case!)It is no exaggeration to say that public key cryptography was a breakthrough â€Å"of monumental proportions,† as big a surprise to those who had relied on conventional cryptog raphy in the sixties as television was to the public in the fifties. Breaking these â€Å"public key† ciphers requires, or seems to require, solutions to well-formulated mathematical problems believed to be difficult to solve. One of the earliest popular schemes depended on the solution of a certain â€Å"knapsack† problem (given a set of integers and a value, find a subset whose constituents sum to that value).This general problem was thought to be hard (known to be NP- complete), but a flurry of cryptanalytic activity discovered a way to bypass the NP-complete problem, take advantage of the special conditions of the cryptographic implementation and break the scheme, first by using H. Lenstra's integer programming algorithm, next using continued fractions, later and more effectively by utilizing a lattice basis reduction algorithm due to Lenstra, Lenstra and Lovasz.Although many instantiations of public key cryptographies have been proposed since their original discov ery, current cryptographic implementers seem to be placing many of their eggs in two baskets: one scheme (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman, RSA), whose solution is related to the conjectured difficulty of factoring integers, the second, (Diffie-Hellman, DH), which is related to the conjectured difficulty of solving the discrete logarithm problem (DLP) in a group. The discrete logarithm problem in a group G, analogous to the calculation of real logarithms, requires determination of n, given g and h in G , so that gn = h.Each of the past three decades has seen momentous improvements in attacking these schemes, although there has not yet been the massive breakthrough (as predicted in the movie â€Å"Sneakers†) that would send cryptographers back to the drawing boards. The nature of these attacks leads some to suspect that we may have most of our eggs in one basket, as most improvements against RSA seems to correspond to an analogous idea that works against the most common instantiations of DH (when the group is the multiplicative group of a finite field or a large subgroup of prime order of the multiplicative group) and vice versa.Asymptotic costs to attack each scheme, although each has declined as a consequence of new algorithms, continue to be comparable. These innovative algorithms, along with improvements in computational power, have forced the use of larger and larger key sizes (with the credit for the increase split about equally linking mathematics and technology). As a result, the computations to implement RSA or DH securely have been steadily increasing.Recently, there has been interest in utilizing the elliptic curve group in schemes based on DLP, with the hope that the (index calculus) weaknesses that have been uncovered in the use of more traditional groups will not be found.It is believed, and widely marketed, that DLP in the group of points of non-super singular elliptic curves of genus one over finite fields does not allow a sub-exponential time solut ion. If this is true, DH in the elliptic curve group would provide security comparable to other schemes at a lower computational and communication overhead. It may be true, but it certainly has not yet been proven. There are connections between elliptic curve groups and class groups with consequences for the higher genus case and extension fields. In particular, Menezes, Okamoto and Vanstone showed how the Weil pairing gave a better method for solving DLP for a particular class of elliptic curves, the supersingular ones.These are curves of order p+1, and DLP is reduced to a similar problem in GF(p2), where it can be more effectively solved. Work continues in an effort to extend these results to the general curve group. A related problem in elliptic curve cryptography focuses attention on another possible exciting interplay between theoretical mathematics, computer science (algorithms) and practical implementation. Calculation of the order of the elliptic curve group is not straightf orward. Knowing the order of their group is very important to DH cryptographers, since short cut attacks exist if the order of the group factors into small primes.Current elliptic curve cryptosystem proposals often employ a small class of curves to circumvent the counting problem. Even less progress has been made on the more general problem of whether there exist any groups whose DLP is exponential and, if so, characterizing such groups. Another interesting problem is whether solving DLP is necessary as well as sufficient for breaking DH. There are some groups for which this is known to be true, but determining whether this is true for all groups, or characterizing those groups for which it is true, remains to be done. A third interesting general DH problem is â€Å"diagnosis† of the DH group (when one has intercepted both ends of DH exchanges and does not know the group employed).For this reason, cryptology is a traditional subject that conventionally guaranteed (or sought t o undo the guarantee of) confidentiality and integrity of messages, but the information era has expanded the range of applications to consist of authentication, integrity and protocols for providing other information attributes, including timeliness, ease of use of service and protection of intellectual property. Cryptology has at all times been a charming and an exciting study, enjoyed by mathematicians and non-mathematicians the same.

U.S. Organizations Operating in the Global Environment Free Essay Example, 2500 words

It is evidently clear from the discussion that organizations have the power to strategically influence their environment. One thing that comes to mind in understanding this point is the idea that every organization has the power to influence the environment because it has the relevant strength to implement strategies. In fact, the implementation of strategy can change the environment and this makes the latter a constant subject to change. Therefore, so many changes have taken place within the context of US organizations. These organizations are subjects of the cultural upbringing of the country. Many organizations in the US are trying to adhere to the ultimate culture of the US. The country s culture adheres to the value of competition. It brings individuals a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment when they become a cutting edge above the other as they try to compete individually. Common to this is the actual observation how each individual organization in the US tries to compete with the other key players particularly in their specific industry. Take the case of Apple Inc. for instance. The company is a firm believer in the idea that moving towards differentiation strategy will bring the organization to its competitive edge. We will write a custom essay sample on U.S. Organizations Operating in the Global Environment or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Apple Inc. sets the culture of competence, and remarkably it has all the vital energy necessary in order to compete. This has become the major contributing factor why there is an intense competition involved in its industry. Many organizations or companies alike try to mimic what Apple Inc. has just started. In fact, after Apple created the former and the latest model of smartphones, the industry is already flooded with various choices. This is an upshot on how Apple Inc. , an organization coming from the US, has influenced the whole world particularly in setting its industry under a tough spirit of competition. Also, take the case of Wal-Mart. The firm believes the idea that consideration of the scale will lead to its Big stores have the chance to avail of big discounts from suppliers and this means that they can give low prices for their customers.

Introduction . Leadership Shapes History. Good Leadership

Introduction: Leadership shapes history. Good leadership is about getting good results in all respects. Leadership qualities of managers shape up the future of any certain organization. In this report we will be discussing about leadership qualities of Carlos Ghosn. Carlos Ghosn is a well-known personality in the business world especially in car manufacturing businesses. Personal and Leadership Background of Carlos Ghosn: Carlos Ghosn was born in Brazil in 1954 to French and Brazilian parents, both of Lebanese heritage. Carlos Ghosn received his university education in Paris. Following graduation at age 24. Right from the start Ghosn joined the French firm, Compagnie Gà ©nà ©rale des Etablissements Michelin. After a few years of rapid†¦show more content†¦It was expected from him to change the fortune of Nissan as it was not doing well in those days. He had already turned the fortune of Michelin before. It was forth client he was working for. He spoke 5 languages that demonstrate his capacity for leadership globally. Nissan Project: Nissan had been undergoing losses for last 7 years when Ghosn took over Nissan as COO in 1999(Millikin and Fu, 2005). He was the first non-Japanese Chief Operating Officer for Nissan. The anticipation was a big cultural clash for this project as Ghosn came from French Leadership style to Japanese culture. Business analysts anticipated that this can be a big difference to the Japanese employees. It was a worst possible time for any leader because of Nissan’s financial and business position. The situation was very critical as the continuing financial losses were resulting in debts that were approximately around 22 billion Dollars. This had resulted in shaking of confidence for Nissan suppliers as well as financers. Company was producing 43 models of vehicles and only 4 of them were producing profits. The portfolio of Nissan brand was weakening in the minds of consumers due to its current state. There was little liquid capital for new product development and nobody was anticipati ng that Nissan could increase their margins and overcome the losses. Nissan’s Models were old and it was creating loss of interest in Nissan brand in the minds of consumers. It was a greatShow MoreRelatedPreparing For The Literature Review1078 Words   |  5 PagesLiterature Review Introduction: Leadership is an important task of management, which helps to take advantage of effectiveness and to achieve organizational goals. The topic of the research is â€Å"The relationship between leadership education and leadership experience on effectiveness of hiring managers. During the research, many topics will be discussed to approach to the right decision making when hiring managers. 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