...The most significant case in my life where the disclosure principle played a role was the purchase of our house. Soon after we bought our new property in a well-known suburb of Sofia, problems came to light. When we were buying the house, we knew that it was not in a perfect condition, but we were unaware of many of the problems that we faced later. Because we bought the house from acquaintances, we did not find it necessary to hire a private inspector to do full inspection prior to the purchase. We bought the house in good faith and believed that the good price for it was due to the fact that the previous owner wanted to sell it immediately before going into foreclosure. Once the house was bought, we had to live the consequences of a house with a leak in the plumbing, a leak in the roof and an addition to it build with no permit at all. As a result, we were shouldered with the financial burden of filing a lawsuit to resolve the matter. Unfortunately, the court decided that we were not entitled to collect any damages because the house was purchased without a home inspection and also because there wasn’t an indemnity clause into the sales contract which stated that if there was a problem, it is the seller, rather than us, who suffers financially. Had we had an inspection report, we would have collected damages. Not only did we spend a fortune on the lawsuit, but we were also fined because we were the legal owners of a house with unpermitted work. Moreover, a private inspector...
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...question, hence the need for a buyer to feel assured that what they think they are buying is in reality what it should be. In other words, the buyer needs to be assured before making the buying decision that the buyer knows all the relevant facts surrounding a purchase. This is the concept of full disclosure in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP. If one looks at the long history of the markets with the repeating boom and bust patterns the world has witnessed, one has to ask why this happens. Many brilliant minds have been doing research into what motivates or de-motivates an investor when it comes to making a purchasing decision. Over time one thing has become clear, full disclosure of any significant enough financial facts that may influence the judgment of an informed reader must be made known to the public. The reason stems from the fact that in order for all markets to operate efficiently, its participants must be able to do the same and that is only possible if companies fully disclose any material events that might affect an informed reader’s decision to buy or sell a stock or other investment. The caveat here is what is material? In some cases, the disclosure of certain items would give away trade secrets or other competitive advantages, thus hindering a company’s future growth, profits, and cash flows. At the other end of the spectrum, if a company fails to report a significant event such as a pending lawsuit and the company has a judgment entered against...
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...Journal of Economic Literature 2010, 48:4, 935–963 http:www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jel.48.4.935 Quality Disclosure and Certification: Theory and Practice David Dranove and Ginger Zhe Jin* This essay reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on quality disclosure and certification. After comparing quality disclosure with other quality assurance mechanisms and describing a brief history of quality disclosure, we address two sets of theoretical issues. First, why don’t sellers voluntarily disclose through a process of “unraveling” and, given the lack of unraveling, is it desirable to mandate seller disclosure? Second, when we rely on certifiers to act as the intermediary of quality disclosure, do certifiers necessarily report unbiased and accurate information? We further review empirical evidence on these issues, with a particular focus on healthcare, education, and finance. The empirical review covers quality measurement, the effect of third-party disclosure on consumer choice and seller behavior, as well as the economics of certifiers. ( JEL D18, K32, L15, M31) 1. Introduction A young couple expecting their first child might consult healthgrades.com hospital rankings to help choose where to deliver their baby. A year later, the couple decides they need an SUV and consults performance specifications provided by manufacturers and reads Consumer Reports to learn about reliability. Soon thereafter, the couple ...
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...Soon afterwards, Qwest’s stock price had increased significantly, to higher than its original price. It was later discovered that Qwest had not been following the full disclosure principle and were misrepresenting nonrecurring revenue from things such as the sale of capital equipment as “data and internet service revenues”. They also failed to disclose the impact of these nonrecurring revenues. This memo will discuss questions related to the ethics and importance of the full disclosure principle as it relates to this case. 1. The full disclosure principle states that you should include all information that would affect a reader’s understanding of those statements in an entity’s financial statements. This is very important because many of the people who read financial statements in order to invest are not trained accountants. Following the full disclosure principle will allow investors to make informed decisions concerning the company. 2. In this situation, Qwest’s failure to disclose the extent of nonrecurring revenue misled investors into thinking the company was making more money than it actually was. Not only did the company not disclose that a lot of the revenue was nonrecurring, it purposely miscategorized them as “data and internet service revenues”. This information did not follow the full disclosure principle and contributed to investors making poor decisions on the company. 3. This sort of misrepresentation could have been avoided if Qwest...
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...Being able to aptly communicate in any work place is essential. All organizations depend heavily on the behaviors of the people in it. These behaviors are demonstrated on whether the individual can; identify themselves clearly, define themselves positively and behave differently in different situations. These behaviors contribute to one’s self-concept and self-disclosure. Self-concept and self-disclosure play a vital role in building positive interpersonal working relationships with others as they create social awareness and define the level of social skills. It is these skills that result in people and teams being able to perform better because of the equality of their interactions and acknowledgment of their contributions. Positive self-concept arises from positive self-esteem, positive self-evaluation, self-respect and self-acceptance. De Vito (2002, p. 78) agrees that ‘increasing your self-esteem will help you function more effectively in school, in your interpersonal relationships and in your career’ (as cited in Dwyer, 2013). As a result of increasing one’s self-esteem, effective communication in that environment is also increased. This is evident as those with high self-esteem expect to be perceived well by others which results in the individual being readily and more willing to express their opinions and share ideas. By being able to evaluate yourself positively, you are better able to gain insight into your own behavior, identify external influences and make better...
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... The primary purpose of this essay is to comparatively analyze information disclosure of intellectual capital in the UK and China, using the content analysis method on company annual reports. In contemporary society, the importance of intellectual capital (IC) and the popularity of using IC to value a company’s competitiveness have been increasing. The definition offered by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (2001) is probably one of the most comprehensive definitions: “…the possession of knowledge and experience, professional knowledge and skill, good relationships and technological capacities, which when applied will give organizations competitive advantage.” Predicting a company’s future market performance is one of the key functions of IC information disclosure (Roslender and Fincham, 2004). Consequently, IC will have a significant role in the future value creation process. This study has some limitations, such as the small sample number, which has implications for how representative the data are. Ten companies in the respective stock markets were selected in the UK and China (total twenty) and content analysis was performed. A larger sample would have made the calculations too complex for the time available. The following paper reports the results of empirical research indicating that the trend of IC information disclosure is steadily increasing in both China and the UK, indicating that British companies had a better approach...
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...information. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the parties’ agreement to do business with each other and the mutual promises and agreements contained herein, the parties agree as follows: 1. “Confidential Information” as used herein shall mean all information disclosed or made available by SHM, including, without limitation, trade secrets, ideas, negative know-how, know-how, ingredient properties and specifications, formulations, techniques, production processes, research and development projects, customer and supplier lists, marketing plans, and financial information, and other proprietary and confidential information. Each party acknowledges and agrees that the Confidential Information is a valuable trade secret and that any disclosure or unauthorized use thereof will cause irreparable harm and loss to the discloser. 2. All Confidential Information shall be and remains the sole and exclusive property of SHM and shall be held in strictest confidence by Confidant. Confidant shall not copy Confidential Information or any portion thereof without the SHM’s prior written consent. Confidant shall immediately deliver to SHM at SHM’s request all Confidential...
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...Ownership and Disclosure A Review of Literature By BADRU Bazeet and Mousa Sharaf Adin Hezam Abstract This is a review of various literatures on ownership and disclosure which has been carried out by various researchers in different countries. So far majorities of the researchers shows that the extent of corporate disclosure is negatively associated with a higher management of ownership structure and the extent of corporate voluntary disclosures is positively related with a higher institutional ownership structure. But findings also show that the negative relationship is weaker if the firm has a higher proportion of independent non- executive directors. Introduction Ownership Structure is a mechanism that aligns the interest of Shareholders and Managers. Corporate governace is the capstone of the activities that can reduce agency costs. Corporate mangers disclosure policies are influenced by firm’s ownership and governance on the level of various types of information disclosure. This is a summary of literature review on ownership structure and corporate disclosure. Studies have shown that ownership structure can be state, legal, managerial and block holder depending on the countries and cultural environment. Blockholder ownership is the percentage of shares held by substancial shareholders( that is shareholdings of 5% or more). Jensen and Meckling (1976) argue that substancial shareholders are expected to have both greater power and incentives to monitor management, as...
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...JOURNALISM (PCIJ), (COLLECTIVELY, THE "RIGHT TO KNOW. RIGHT NOW! COALITION") EXPLANATORY NOTE The people's right to information held by government is expressly recognized in no less than the Constitution. Article III (Bill of Rights), Sec. 7 of the 1987 Constitution states: The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law. Complementing the Bill of Rights provision on FOI is the state policy of full disclosure of all state transactions involving public interest. Article II (Declaration of Principles and State Policies), Section 28 reads:...
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...Analyst information intermediation – private and public information –and the central role of knowledge and social forces in economic processes in the ‘market for information’. John Holland, University of Glasgow, Jo Danbolt, University of Edinburgh, Lei Chen, University of Keele. John Holland, University of Glasgow, The Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Main Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland Abstract: This paper develops a model of the information intermediation role of analysts in the ‘market for information’ (MFI). It illustrates how the same type of ‘soft’ intangibles information changes as it progresses through analyst information intermediation processes. The latter concern: company disclosure; analyst acquisition and analysis of company information; analyst reporting processes; and market impacts. The common information concerns ‘soft’ or qualitative information about the company intellectual capital (IC) or intangibles in the company business model. Banks and bank analysts are used as examples. Knowledge, social and economic factors in the wider ‘market for information’ (MFI) are shown to be major influences on ‘soft information’ and how it changes in analyst information intermediation processes. Negative knowledge and social factors play a role in weakening and eventually destabilising economic processes in analyst and the MFI. They were important factors in creating knowledge and information problems in analysts and the MFI, both ongoing...
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...Introduction This report will give an overview of the aim behind collecting data, types of data collected, methods used and how the collection of the data supports the department’s practices. It will also give a brief outlook on the importance of legislation in recording, storing and accessing data. Why Organisations Need to Collect Data To satisfy legal requirement: every few months there is some request from the government sector to gather, maintain and reports lots of information back to them on how many people do we have in the organization, working hours, how much our expenses for the whole year, we should keep data stored in case information is needed to defend the company legal actions that could arise at any time To provide documentation in the event of a claim: safety legislation and health required that require that records are kept of accidents , whenever an employee make claims to employment tribunals and the employer need to defend such a case he will demands on the accuracy and comprehensive of personal records To provide the organization with information to make decision: since the computer software is developed the information is more readily available, will aid identify problems and helps in taking decision in relation to promotion and salary increases. Types of data that is collected within the organization and how each supports HR or L&D practices There are 2 types of Data that is collected by HR Functions and below is a description of...
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...Opt-In vs. Opt-Out From the viewpoint of the customer, an advantage of the opt-in versus opt-out approach to collecting personal information is the convenience of knowing personal information will not be collected unless you have opted to allow the organization to collect your personal information. However, I also find it a hindrance to be forced to decide to opt-in or opt-out of personal information disclosure by organizations. When referencing opt-in or opt-out approaches to collecting personal information an advantage to both is that the customer is informed of the organization’s intent to collect and distribute personal information. Many organizations have taken advantage of customers and collected personal information for internal use and distribution without the knowledge or consent of their customers. From the viewpoint of an organization, the opt-out approach would likely be the most desirable methodology. By using the opt-out approach customers must decidedly opt-out of allowing personal information to be collected. I suspect, many customers would not read notification language to opt-out and as a result inadvertently allow their personal information to be collected. As a result, the opt-out approach would probably result in a higher number of customer complaints that their personal information was collected. However, the organization would likely compile more personal information for internal use and sale to outside entities. For any organization the decision to...
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...Disclosure Analysis Student ACC/422 February 6, 2012 Instructor Disclosure Analysis Paper Companies have many financial reports to reveal to the public every year and quarter. These reports show items such as intangible assets, stockholders equity, and equipment. Financial information reports through the balance sheet, income statement, stockholders equity, and the statement of cash flow. Best Buy’s annual report shows how well the company has been during over the past years and explains cause for changes. Best Buy has seen a decrease in receivables, cash, and cash equivalents over the past few years, yet the merchandise inventory has shown increases. Receivables Best Buy’s receivables consist primarily of amounts due from mobile phone network operators for commissions earned; banks for customer credit card, certain debit card and electronic benefits transfer (EBT) transactions; and vendors for various vendor funding programs (Best Buy, 2011). According to Best Buy (2011), “We establish allowances for uncollectable receivables based on historical collection trends and write-off history. Our allowances for uncollectible receivables were $107 and $101 at February 26, 2011, and February 27, 2010, respectively.” Best Buy has seen a decrease in receivables in the past three years, in fact 2011 saw a 308 million dollar decrease from the prior year (Best Buy, 2011). One possible reason for the decrease may be the economy. Some consumers do not use credit cards for luxury...
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...Full Disclosure Principle Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) require certain information be disclosed in the audited financial statements of businesses. The full disclosure principle was adopted by the accounting professionals to ensure financial reporting of any financial facts significant enough to influence the judgement of an informed reader;” (Wiley & Sons, 2013). This principle is relevant to materiality and requires the full information be disclosed in the financial statements or in the notes to the financial statements. Need for Full Disclosure Full disclosure in financial report is necessary to help establish consistency in reporting from one company to another. It also standardizes accounting definitions, methods, and assumptions. The full disclosure principle exists to make sure the accounting policies are disclosed so users can understand what the basis of accounting in the company is, what the contingent liabilities are and how the company handled significant events or the details of property, plant and equipment. In short, the full disclosure principle is necessary so investors and other interested parties, who are familiar with reading financial information, have all the information to make informed, sound decisions about the company. The footnotes in the financial statements will disclose accounting policies regarding such things as revenue recognition, property depreciation policies, income tax and inventory accounting practices, Effects...
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