Error logging sentence corrections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Error logging sentence corrections - Essay Example Woman defends the product of her tenderness and devotion for her children and others, and the sacrifices of women in life’s events, in which we all participate. The participation of women in performing their role as mothers in society always appears predominantly as related to their children. Working tirelessly for them to have the best and she is always concerned about what happens to them. The primary factor in creating a family bond is the mother, because she contributes to the formation of her child’s emotional and social development. Her children are gaining most of the behavioral patterns from their mother. My days go by more quickly with the help of my family and with my role of being a sty-at-home mother. These responsibilities are things that I adore, but also a demanding job. As a mother, I must provide care for my children, take responsibility for my family and love them all at the same time. I put my family together through affection, love patience, gentle l istening, consoling and encouragement. I also have to try to extinguish interpersonal conflicts in the family by watching over each member with true tenderness. The home should be well cared for and the education of children is essential for the proper functioning of the family and society. This is all a part of a mother‘s devotion to her children.

An Evolving Industry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

An Evolving Industry - Research Paper Example Before, people were forced to line up in movie houses to view the latest film release. Or if one wanted to view a previously released film, one had to go to a Blockbuster Video store, open a membership account and rent out these films. Today, practically anybody with a YouTube account may now upload their movies for the whole world to see. Other websites like Movielocker allows filmmakers to also publish their own videos. In the same way, audiences may now just go to websites like TheOnlyDevice.com, Momomesh, and others to view as much movies as they want. Needless to say, the Internet has hurt big-time movie production suits initially. But then these moneymakers have ingeniously used technology to their full advantage and have in fact exploited the internet in creating buzz for their films. Indeed, the Internet has opened up a multitude of ways for filmmakers to produce and distribute films and for audiences to view these films as

Advantages Of Reading In Modern World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advantages Of Reading In Modern World - Essay Example The first greatest benefit of reading books is that they can help people cultivate reading and language skills. This is why books are perused more in a classroom setting than movies; by reading books, students learn a variety of comprehension skills. Books offer visual words, which is something that television and movies are incapable of. Spoken dialogue can introduce people to new words, though this lacks the ability for people to see the words in writing. People can learn new words and understand important grammar and punctuation skills through reading. Furthermore, the more than an individual reads, the better they become at reading. It does not matter what type of book a person reads, or how long it is or the genre. All books have that element of offering words for people to increase their reading and language skills. The next perk that comes with reading books is that people can enhance their concentration and memory. Television shows and movies, with their continuously moving images and sounds, provides a plethora of distraction for viewers. Even though watchers usually do not have difficulty in comprehending what is taking place and they are able to follow the story, their attention is still easily drawn from one element of the show to another. It is no different than trying to talk to a friend in a crowded hallway; the conversation can still take place, but the attention of the friends is constantly moving about. Books only provide words and, depending on one’s taste in books, pictures. There is very little involved when it comes to reading. As such, not only are people able to read with every bit of their attention directed at the story, but they can also learn to use that concentration in other aspects of their life.

Article Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Article Comparison - Essay Example Much data has indeed been disseminated on Hurricane Katrina and the challenges which health officials faced in spreading and the media in retrieving accurate and timely public health data during emergencies (Cohen, et.al., 2008). Evaluating how the media publicizes tragedies is an important aspect in communication research. Even as some media scholars have considered separate news coverage for public health issues, there is still an inadequate evaluation on the news coverage of public health issues during tragedies. Hence, this study is being carried out in order evaluate the content of national newspapers in relation to the Hurricane Katrina news coverage (Cohen, et.al., 2008). By evaluating such data, it may then be possible to close the gap between theoretical models of agenda setting and the wealth of public health data which need to be conveyed for the sake of public health service (Cohen, et.al., 2008). ... A statistical evaluation was then applied on the stories included in the sample with the application of cross tabulations and Pearson’s chi-square (Cohen, et.al., 2008). The study then revealed that 8.5% of the articles were related to efforts by first responders to the hurricane. About 6.4% of the articles focused on who or what was to blame for the disaster; 4.6% discussed practical concerns including access to health services; 2.1% covered animal rescue; 3.0% discussed reasons why the people stayed in New Orleans; 2.1% discussed racism; 2.1% covered disease; and finally, 2.1% of the news articles discussed population conflict (Cohen, et.al., 2008). The objectives of this study were met because the paper was able to cover the type of news discussed by the media in the aftermath of the Katrina hurricane. The results also revealed the ways by which the hurricane impacted the people in terms of health services and access to said services. It also revealed the fact that a small and diminishing number of newspaper articles included those which released public health data over time. Moreover, news articles on the hurricane impact on communities as well as reliable health information also diminished over time (Cohen, et.al., 2008). This study sets forth the importance of addressing public health impact of tragedies and the ways by which the media seems to underreport and reduce public health issues. The authors pointed out that this study is relevant because of the hurricanes which occur year after year and which significantly impact on our lives (Cohen, et.al., 2008). It is therefore important for practitioners to record the lessons learned from previous disasters and apply these lessons

Problem Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Problem - Assignment Example sponses including government’s actions on fiscal policy and the central bank’s actions on monetary policy to ensure stabilization of production over business cycle. Keynes, a supply-sider, encouraged governments to consider spending more money during economic depression (Arestis, 2011). This would create more employment opportunities; hence money would be spent to further employ more people. In the 1970s it was however ineffective because a kick start to the normal levels was all that was required. Human capital is simply an accumulation of experience, skills, and knowledge of labor force, though labor productivity may be significant. The productivity and incomes of workers tend to grow as their human capital advances. Unemployed individuals comprise those who have quit or lost their jobs, or have for the first time entered or re-entered the labor market. The employed comprise those under employment level that exhibits no cyclical unemployment. Often, discouraged workers belittle employment. Additionally, in cases where a worker is employed but is overqualified for the job, underemployment is still overlooked. Further, workers in underground economy normally do not consider themselves as employed. To measure unemployed rate, the participation rate of labor force is used (Arestis, 2011). GDP simply explains the economy’s size measured through use of output. Despite capturing productivity it considers population growth. Also, GDP measures per-capita, a factor that does not explain much on distribution or sustainability of the economy. An elevation in the net wealth lessens the possibility of saving thereby elevating consumption at each income. Greater price levels reduce money holdings value which decreases the net wealth and consumption at each income (Arestis, 2011). Savings become more rewarding while borrowing becomes more costly when the interest rates have been increased. This elevates savings and reduces consumption at each income. Consumption

Competition Bikes, Inc. (CBI) Financial Analysis Report Essay Example for Free

Competition Bikes, Inc. (CBI) Financial Analysis Report Essay In order to determine a company’s performance, analysis must be done for key metrics, including the ability to pay debts, how much cash or other liquid assets are available, and the company’s viability to continue operations. These analyses involve the review of income statements and balance sheets, where current and past performance will be studied with the goal of predicting how the company will perform in the future. Upper-level management at CBI can use this information to make decisions in line with the company’s goals. This report for CBI will include four sections. First, I’ll analyze the company’s financial strengths and weaknesses by doing a horizontal analysis, vertical analysis, trend analysis, and ratio analysis of CBI financial results for years 6, 7, and 8. The second section will include an analysis of the company’s working capital, including suggestions on ways to improve working capital and use excess working capital to increase profits. The third section will note any weaknesses in the company’s internal controls, and how those can be corrected. The fourth and final section details Sarbanes–Oxley requirements and how the company can mitigate risk and ensure compliance with the requirements within that legislation. A1a. Horizontal Analysis Horizontal analysis is defined as the â€Å"comparative study of a balance sheet or income statement for two or more accounting periods, to compute both total and relative variances for each line item† (businessdictionary.com, n.d.). For CBI, we will be comparing years 6 and 7, then years 7 and 8. This will allow us to gauge the performance over a three year period of time to see if the organization’s business is rising, staying steady or falling. Net sales for CBI products increased 33.8 percent between years 6 and 7. This is a sign of strength for the company and a signal that their bikes are well received by customers. However, net sales dropped by 15% between years 7 and 8. This is a weakness for CBI, as net sales affect the bottom line, and they will have to find a way to make up for this sales shortfall elsewhere in their budget (such as cutting expenses). This shortfall is due to the fact that the niche market that purchases the majority of the bikes, professional riders, experienced a reduction in sponsorships due to the economic situation. Therefore they purchased fewer bikes than in previous years. The company expects to recover from the current year sales decline within three years. The cost of goods sold includes all direct costs attributable to the production of goods sold by the company. Cost of goods sold and sales revenue move in tandem. In this case, the cost of goods sold increased 31.8 % between years 6 and 7. The cost of goods sold increase was slightly lower than the net sales increase of 33.3%, which is a sign of strength for CBI as it indicates that management is doing a good job keeping production costs at a manageable level. In years 7 and 8, the cost of goods sold decreased by 14.5%, which is similar to the decrease in net sales, down 15% in that same time period. Gross profits, which is net sales less the cost of goods sold, increased by 37.5% between years 6 and 7. This is a strength for CBI. An increase such as this signals that management has made a strong commitment to growth while at the same time controlling the operational and production costs. Gross profit was down by 16.3% between years 7 and 8. This is a result of falling sales in the current year. Under General and Administrative expenses, there are two areas of interest that warrant further analysis executive compensation and utilities. Executive compensation rose by 29.4% in years 6 and 7, which makes sense given the strong sales increase during that period. Executives made good business decisions during this time and should be compensated for these results. However, executive compensation stayed flat during years 7 and 8. Granted, sales and profits were down for the year, so a large increase would not be warranted. However, no increase in compensation could be considered a weakness for CBI, as salaries and compensation are a significant tool to keep talent. Morale may suffer if after a year’s worth of hard work, they get no increase at all. Utilities were up a modest 3.8% between years 6 and 7, with an increase to 11% between years 7 and 8. With CBI building fewer bikes in year 8, a reasonable assumption is that utility usage would decrease also. Therefore this increase in utilities should be examined further. Some of this increase could be beyond CBI’s control (such as rate adjustments by the utility company) but a couple of options for the company to explore to manage this expense and be more efficient would be an energy audit, and/or negotiating with the utility company to pre-pay their utilities for a certain time period to get a discount. Operating income is the amount of profit realized from operations after removing operating expenses such as the cost of goods sold and employee salaries. For CBI, operating income increased strongly (154.6%) between years 6 and 7. However, operating income between years 7 and 8 is strongly negative, with a 69.1% decrease. This is due to the fact that gross profits dropped by 16.3% during this time period, but total operating expenses decreased by only 3.6%. This is not sustainable over the long term and is a weakness for CBI. They need to reduce their production expenses wherever possible, become more efficient in their operations, and find ways to increase sales revenue – ideally, a combination of these. The last item on the income statement is net earnings – the so-called ‘bottom line’ both as a reference to its position on the income statement, and a reflection of the fact that total revenues minus total expenses. CBI’s net earnings rose a remarkable 313.4% between years 6 and 7, which is a reflection of the fact that profits grew at a much higher rate than expenses during that period. Net earnings declined by 81.6% between years 7 and 8, which is due to total revenues dropping to a greater extent than total expenses. This is a weakness for CBI as it is not sustainable for long before the company runs out of money. As mentioned previously in the operating income section, this is an issue that CBI’s management team must address if they want to stay in business. Cash and cash equivalents declined 64.6% between year 6 and year 7. This is a weakness for CBI, particularly in light of the fact that sales were up during that period. The company should have more cash or cash equivalents on hand, not less. In years 7 and 8, cash and cash equivalents increased by 348.2% this during a period where net sales were down by 15% compared to the previous period. While this appears on the surface to be a positive – as cash and cash equivalents help with the company’s liquidity – it can actually be interpreted as a weakness as CBI’s large amount of cash and cash equivalents may make some analysts question the company’s ability to manage their cash flow in a way that maximizes profits and efficiency. CBI’s accounts receivable, which represents money owed to them by their customers, increased by 164.3% in years 6 and 7. While accounts receivable are classified as assets, this is a potential weakness for CBI as it signals that a lot of the assets they are claiming on the balance sheet are tied up in receivables that are not as liquid – they have not yet received payment. Accounts receivable was -15% in years 7 and 8. This reduction is a strength for CBI as it signals that they are improving their cash flow by more effectively collecting money owed to them. The large scale change in numbers year over year for both cash/cash equivalents and accounts receivable at CBI signal volatility year over year. This could be a red flag for investors looking for consistent levels of performance. CBI also might find it difficult to continue to hire the best salespeople, who work on commission and are likely looking for a company with solid sales that will provide a steady paycheck. Total current assets, or those that are reasonably expected to be converted to cash within one year in the course of business, include cash, inventory, accounts receivable, marketable securities, prepaid expenses and other liquid assets. CBI’s current assets rose 31.5 percent from year 6 to year 7. Growth in current assets is generally regarded as a strength and a sign the company is growing. However the picture changes when current liabilities for the same period are analyzed, which I will do in the next section. Total assets represent total current assets plus net property and equipment and give a complete picture of all short term and long term assets. Total assets for CBI increased by 2.2% between years 6 and 7, due in large part to the large increases in accounts receivable and work in process inventory. When a large amount of accumulated depreciation was factored into assets, it brought the total assets figure down substantially. Between years 7 and 8, total assets decreased by 0.2%. After reviewing the balance sheets I noted that while current assets decreased substantially between years 6 and 7, then 7 and 8 (down 15%), long term assets stayed flat (down 0.5% over the same period). Overall, assets, liabilities and stockholder’s equity were all down between years 6 and 7. This is a weakness for CBI as investors will review these negative numbers and question the company’s ability to be profitable and grow. Total current liabilities are debts that are due within one year in the course of business. They include accounts and notes payable, accrued salaries, and other accrued expenses. Current liabilities increased by a whopping 122.4% between years 6 and 7, largely in part to the large increase (192%) increase in accounts and notes payable. Between years 7 and 8, accounts and notes payable increased by 33.3%.This is a serious weakness for CBI, as it signals that they are taking on a disproportionate amount of debt compared to their sales growth rate. CBI would need to generate substantial sales increases in future years to pay the interest on this debt and continue to cover their expenses. The fact that total current liabilities continue to trend upward year over year while sales actually went down between years 7 and 8 is a warning sign. CBI could have trouble meeting its debt obligations (and getting any further funding from creditors) if sales are flat or continue to trend downward. Total long term liabilities – those that come due more than one year in the future – are holding steady at CBI, decreasing 5.6% between years 6 and 7, and decreasing by 5.9% between years 7 and 8. This is a sign of strength for CBI as it shows they are managing their long term debt responsibly. Retained earnings represent the amount of assets created through profits that are retained in the business and are part of owner’s equity. Retained earnings increased by a healthy 17.4% between years 6 and 7, which makes sense given the strong sales results. Retained earnings rose by only 2.7% between years 7 and 8, which is not surprising in light of the fact that sales are down in the current year. This decrease is a weakness for CBI, as retained earnings is part of stockholder’s equity. Those invested in the company (or those considering doing so) will note the sharp decrease in funds available for reinvestment in the company and possibly question the prospects for growth unless the company can turn things around quickly. A1b. Vertical Analysis Through a vertical analysis, we review entries for assets, liabilities and equities. These are represented as a percentage of the totals for any given year. The main advantage of a vertical analysis is that it is easy to read, clearly understandable and charts changes in the operations of a business on a yearly basis. By reviewing vertical analysis data, a person can see financial performance over a set period of time. Cost of goods sold decreased from 73.4% of net sales in year 6 to 72.6% in year 7. This is a strength for CBI because a reduction in CGS leads to higher profit. This is evidence that management is doing a good job controlling product costs. In year 8, CGS increased slightly to 73% a minor increase but this could be considered a weakness for CBI as it signals that the costs to produce their bikes are going up. Gross profit was 26.6% of net sales in year 6, and increased to 27.4% in year 7. This is a strength for CBI as it signals that the company is doing a good job of selling their product and keeping costs at a manageable level. In year 8, Gross Profit dipped slightly to 27%. This is because the cost of goods sold went up slightly during this time, and sales were down. A gross profit reduction is normally a weakness; however, in light of the 15% decrease in sales in year 8, the fact that gross profit only decreased by 0.4% from the previous year should be considered a strength for CBI as it indicates that the company has minimized the impact of the sales downturn on their gross profit margins. Upon reviewing the general and administrative expenses, all of the line items followed the trend of decreasing as a percentage of the total in year 7, and then increasing as a percentage of the total in year 8. This makes sense given that these expenses are part of the cost of goods sold figure. One example is the ‘Other general and admin expenses’ which was 2.7% of the operating expenses total in year 6, decreasing to 2.6% in year 7 and then increasing to 3.3% in year 8. While these make up small percentages in the company’s overall operations budget, this is a weakness for CBI, as these types of expenses should not be going up if there are not sufficient sales to support the increase. CBI management should keep an eye on these expenses to ensure they do not creep up year over year, which would have a negative effect on their profit margins. When looking at the individual numbers, for example administrative salaries, we see that there is no change in the percenta ge of the total between year 7 and year 8. Administrative salaries did not increase at all in year eight, and neither was executive compensation. This could be a weakness from an employee morale standpoint, as they worked hard all year and did not see any raise in their pay. However, this data is not surprising given the difficult economic conditions in year 8. There was a purchase of 25,000 shares treasury stock in year 7, and it’s possible that management offered this stock to employees in lieu of a pay increase. Operating income was 2.8% of the total in year 6, increased to 5.3% in year 7 and decreased to 1.9% of the total in year 8. The decrease in year 8 is largely due to the increase in operating expenses, which factors into the operating income equation. The fact that CBI’s operating expenses are trending up year over year without accompanying sales increases is a negative trend for CBI and should be considered a weakness. This is something the company’s management should be monitoring closely and taking action to control expenses and promote sales. Net earnings were 0.9% of the total in year 6, rising to 2.8% in year 7 (not surprising given the increase in sales) and decreasing to a three year low of 0.6% in year 8. Since this bottom line number is a key indicator of a company’s profitability, this decrease should be something that the company’s management should make a top priority to fix. Cash/cash equivalents were 6.2% of total assets in year 6, decreasing to 2.2% in year 7. This is a weakness for CBI as this is a sign that the company may have trouble paying their debts and expenses. In year 8 this figure improved substantially to 9.7% of total assets. However, the company needs to make sure they are not sitting on too much cash, but investing it to grow the company and maximize profits. Accounts receivable represented 6.5% of total assets in year 6, and increased dramatically to 16.7% in year 7. Although accounts receivable is considered an asset, it should be noted that the cash is not collected right away. This asset is less liquid than cash or other short term assets and CBI should ensure that they are collecting payment from customers in a timely manner. Accounts receivable decreased slightly to 14.2% in year 8, which would be interpreted as strength as it indicates that CBI is doing a good job collecting payments from customers. Total current assets represented 24.5% of total assets in year 6, rising to 31.5% in year 7 and 36.8% in year 8. Reviewing the line items for current assets, this increase is attributable to the increase in accounts receivable as well as cash/cash equivalents. This could be interpreted as a strength for CBI, as an increase in current assets means the company is in a better position to pay debt obligations and use assets to grow the company. However, it’s worth noting that the majority of CBI’s current assets are tied up in less liquid assets – accounts receivable and inventory. These are more difficult to convert to cash should the need arise. Total long term liabilities (mortgage payable and other long-term liabilities) decreased steadily year over year at CBI. In year 6 they represented 45% of total liabilities and equity, decreasing to 41.6% in year 7 and 39.2% in year 8. This is a strength for CBI as it shows they are paying down their long-term liabilities. A reduction in liabilities improves liquidity ratios and the company’s ability to pay operational expenses as well as their debt obligations. Total current liabilities for CBI followed the trend of current assets and rose steadily year over year – 2.5% of total liabilities and equity in year 6, 5.4% of total liabilities and equity in year 7, and 7% of total liabilities and equity in year 8. Looking more in-depth at CBI’s current liabilities shows that this increase year over year is due to the rise in accounts and notes payable. The other line items (accrued salaries and other accrued expenses) held steady. I interpret this as a weakness for CBI, and should analyze why their current liabilities were rising when they were collecting more cash, particularly in year 8. The cash flow increase in year 8 was substantial and could have been used for accounts payable obligations. It’s possible that the company was holding on to cash/cash equivalents in year 8 to weather the economic downturn. Retained earnings represent earnings not paid out as dividends, but retained by CBI for reinvestment in the company. Retained earnings represented 23.3% of total liabilities and equity in year 6, rising to 26.8% in year 7 and 27.5% in year 8. This is a strength for CBI as it shows that management is committed to retaining earnings in order to grow the company. A1c. Trend Analysis Trend analysis involves the usage of past figures for comparison. For trend analysis, information for a number of years is compared to a base year. Each item of the base year is represented as 100% and on that base, the percentage for the other years are computed. This analysis determines the percentage of increase or decrease in each item with respect to the base year and helps analysts make forecasts for future years. For CBI, net sales have been provided for year 6 (the base year) as well as years 7 and 8. The historical trend analysis figures for CBI are shown below, based on net sales and establishing year 6 as the base year. Year 6: $4,485,000 (100% trend percentage) Year 7: $5,980,000 (133.3% trend percentage) Year 8: $5,083,000 (113.3% trend percentage) This trend analysis does not show any surprises. The horizontal and vertical analysis clearly showed that various metrics (net sales, operational expenses, net income, etc.) showed a large increase from year 6 to year 7, followed by a decrease between years 7 and 8. The trend here shows a large net sales increase, followed by a decrease. The large swings in sales seem to indicate volatility for CBI. This is a weakness because it’s more difficult to forecast accurately, which can lead to inaccurate resource planning and negative stock price impacts if performance does not meet stated expectations. The forecasted trend analysis for CBI, using year 8 as the base year is shown below: Year 8: $5,083,000 (100%) Year 9: $5,247,450 (103.2%) Year 10: $5,471, 000 (107.6%) Year 11: $5,681,000 (111.8%) There’s no information given on how these forecasted trend numbers were calculated. It’s a positive sign that the sales increases are only a few percentage points each year, as this is much more sustainable and likely than a large increase such as between years 6 and 7 (which is generally not sustainable in the long run). This forecast would seem to indicate that the outlook is positive for CBI for the next few years. It’s likely that one of the underlying assumptions is that the economic situation will improve, and the company will sell more bikes. However, given the operational weaknesses pointed out in the horizontal, vertical and ratio analysis, if I were an investor or analyst I would want to know more about the company’s plans to address the se weaknesses before taking these figures at face value. A1d. Ratio Analysis As part of the ratio analysis, two important ratios to consider when analyzing a company’s liquidity are: Current Ratio Acid-Test Ratio The current ratio is current assets divided by current liabilities, and measures a company’s ability to pay their short-term liabilities. In theory, the higher the ratio the better. However, there are some limitations to the current ratio as I’ll note in the next section. CBI’s current ratio in year 7 was 5.79, and in year 8 was 5.25. Stated another way, CBI could use their current assets to pay their current liabilities 5.25 times over in year 8. This would seem to be a strength for CBI, and in fact this ratio is higher than their competitor Two Wheel Racing (with a ratio of 4.20). However, this ratio has one fundamental flaw its conceptually based on the liquidation of all of a companys current assets to meet all of its current liabilities. In reality, this is not likely to occur. Its the time it takes to convert a companys working capital assets into cash to pay its current obligations that is the key to its liquidity. Much of CBI’s current assets are tied up in accounts receivable, as well as work in progress inventory and raw inventory. These assets are not as liquid as cash, but are figured into the current ratio calculation. So CBI’s high current ratio looks strong on the surface, but upon further analysis there is a weakn ess in the somewhat large proportion of less liquid assets CBI holds that factor into the equation. The acid test ratio is another measure of liquidity, and more stringent than the current ratio in that it measures a company’s ability to cover their short term liabilities without selling inventory to do so. Looking at CBI’s numbers, the acid test ratio in year 7 was 4.41, and in year 8 it was 4.14. These numbers are higher than that of their competitor Two Wheel Racing (3.40) and that represents strength for CBI. However, I’ll note once again that the company will need to monitor and manage their current assets to ensure that the proportion of less liquid assets (accounts receivable and inventory) does not greatly outweigh their more liquid assets (such as cash). Average collection period is the time that it takes CBI to collect accounts receivable payment from customers. This number held steady at 43.8 days in years 7 and 8. However, it’s higher than that of competitor Two Wheel Bikes (32.5 days). This is a weakness for CBI, as it signals that the company may be too lax in collecting what’s owed to them and may eventually have difficulties meeting their short-term and long-term obligations. CBI should focus on strategies to reduce the time it takes to collect on accounts receivable. The debt ratio represents the total percent of assets financed by debt, and is calculated by dividing total liabilities by total assets. In year 7, 47% of CBI assets were financed by debt, which decreased slightly in year 8 to 46.2%. However this number is still substantially higher than that of their competitor, Two Wheel Bikes, at 38%. This is a weakness for CBI, and if they cannot bring this ratio down by increasing sales and profits to pay down some of their debts, they may have trouble paying their debt obligations. Gross profit margin for CBI was 27.4% in year 7 and 27% in year 8. This is lower than that of their competition, Two Wheel Racing at 32.1%. This is a weakness for CBI, as it signals that they are not as efficient as their competitors. CBI could improve this ratio by decreasing expenses, which would in turn decrease the cost of goods sold. Another way to improve this ratio would be to increase revenues. The operating profit margin for CBI differed substantially from year 7 to year 8. In year seven the figure was a healthy 5.3%, but in year 8 it dropped sharply to 1.9%. This is a weakness for CBI as this is a lot lower than that of Two Wheel Bikes (5.2%) and this signals that CBI is not doing a good job generating cash flow and providing shareholder value. One way CBI could improve their operating profit margins is by auditing their operating expenses and trimming costs wherever possible. An example would be adopting lean work processes with as little waste as possible. The raw materials inventory in particular should be reviewed to see if efficiencies could be gained by improved internal controls for inventory. Net profit margin is the percentage of each dollar earned that is translated into profits. CBI’s net profit margin in year 7 was 2.8%, and a dismal 0.6% in year 8. These numbers are much lower than those of the competition (Two Wheel Racing had a margin of 5.2% in year 8) and are a definite weakness for CBI, as companies with low net profits can go bankrupt in the event of a sustained downturn. This low number signals that the company is not running their operations efficiently and would be a red flag for investors. Earnings per share is an indicator of a company’s profitability and ability to generate shareholder wealth, and is the most important factor when determining the company’s share price. As the name suggests, it’s the earnings that the company generates per share outstanding. In year 7, CBI’s EPS was 0.17, or 17%. In year 8 that figure declined to 0.03%, which is nearly zero. This is a serious weakness for CBI as it suggests that the company is not doing a good job of generating wealth for shareholders, and this could lead to a selloff of the stock. In a worst case scenario, the stock price would decrease and the company could go out of business. Return on total assets is an indicator of how effectively a company is using its assets to generate earnings before contractual obligations must be paid (Investopedia.com, n.d). In year 7 CBI had a 4% return on assets, slightly lower than that of their competitor Two Wheel Bikes (at 4.8%). In a year where sales were up 33.3% from the year before, investors might expect a higher return. As I’ve pointed out in other sections, the reason this number is not higher is because CBI did not do the best job keeping their expenses under control. In year 8 the number is even worse – a dismal 0.7%. This is a weakness for CBI overall as it shows the company has some work to do to control expenses and use their assets effectively. Return on common equity measures how much profit a company generates with the equity shareholders have invested. This ratio is calculated by subtracting preferred dividends from net income, then dividing that number by common equity. CBI’s return on common equity was 7.5% in year 7, and decreased sharply to 1.4% in year 8. This is much lower than that of the competition – Two Wheel Racing’s ratio was 8.1% and is a weakness for CBI. This signals that the CBI is not doing a good job generating profit from the equity shareholders have invested, and it could lead to a stock sell off or investors demanding that measures be taken to increase equity returns. Financial analysts and investors would likely not have much confidence in these numbers. The price/earnings (P/E) ratio is a measure of the valuation of a company’s share price compared to its per-share earnings. Price/earnings ratios are tied to investor expectations. Investors are willing to pay more if they believe that future earnings will be substantially higher. On the other hand, if a company is stagnant and investors dont believe that future earnings will be going up, they will not want to pay as much and the P/E ratio will be lower. CBI’s P/E ratio in year 7 was 29.41. This means that investors would be willing to pay $29.41 in share price for every $1 in earnings. This is a strength for CBI because it suggest investor confidence in the company, which typically leads to an increase in share price. However, in year 8, the P/E ratio declined to 23.33. This is due to the company’s lackluster sales and operational performance in year 8. This is definitely a weakness for CBI – if investor confidence continues to decline, the share price will decline also. Times interest earned represents the number of times operating income can cover interest expense. CBI generated enough profits in year 7 to cover their interest expense 5.27 times. This number is a strength for CBI as it demonstrates that the company is doing a good job of generating income while keeping expenses at a manageable level, and is higher than the 4.24 figure from their competitor, Two Wheel Racing. However, the times earned interest ratio in year 8 is only 1.77, mainly due to the large drop in net income in year 8. This is a weakness for CBI as sales and profits decreased, while interest expenses did not drop in proportion. CBI needs to do a better job managing their operating expenses, which will improve this ratio. A2. Working Capital Analysis for CBI An important measure of a company’s efficiency and short-term financial health is the amount of working capital they have on hand. This is one measure of the company’s liquidity, and the ability to meet short-term (current) debt obligations with current assets. Working capital is used for day to day operational expenditures to pay bills of the business including employee wages, utilities, and rent, among others. This number is calculated by subtracting current liabilities from current assets. Investors view working capital as measure of a company’s operational efficiency. In general, companies with greater amounts of working capital are better able to achieve success by investing assets back into the business, rather than hanging on to non-cash assets in large amounts. While a business may have a large amount of assets, it may be very difficult to convert them into cash in order to take advantage of opportunities that require fast action – an example of this is an asset such as land or buildings. If current liabilities are greater than current assets, a working capital deficit is created, and a business cannot survive long-term in this scenario. Working capital numbers for CBI: Year 6 1,029,303 – 105,080 = 924,223 (9.79 current ratio) Year 7 1,353,044 – 233,700 = 1,119,344 (5.79 current ratio) Year 8 1,575,831– 300,200 = 1,275,631 (5.25 current ratio) CBI has been steadily increasing their working capital in years 6-8, with a 21.1% increase from year 6 to year 7, and a 14% increase from year 7 to year 8. This consistent rise in working capital confirms that the business has sufficient working capital to cover their short-term liabilities and invest for future growth of the company. One thing to note here is the large increase in current liabilities from year 6 to year 7 (82%) when assets rose by only 21.1%. This is largely due to the large increase in accounts and notes payable. Large increases in liabilities such as this are not a negative per se and can signal that the company is investing for growth, but should be monitored over time to make sure the company does not become overleveraged. The ideal scenario is if the increases in assets and liabilities are more proportionate (rising at a similar rate). Working capital is related to the current ratio, which measures the company’s ability to pay current liabilities with current assets. It’s calculated by dividing total current assets by total current liabilities. This ratio should be at least 1, which means the company has exactly enough capital to pay its short term liabilities, with no excess cash. It’s preferable if the ratio is higher than 1. However, a ratio that is much higher than the average could be considered a weakness, as it may signal that the company has too much inventory on hand, is slow to collect on accounts receivable, or that they are hanging on their excess cash rather than investing it for future growth. It’s important to note that working capital ratios vary widely between industries; when analyzing a company’s working capital ratio, a comparison to the average ratios for the overall industry should be included in the analysis. CBI’s current ratio was very high in year 6 – 9.79. This means for every $1 in liabilities, the company had $9.79 in assets. On the surface this appears to signal strength, but this could actually be considered a weakness for CBI as it suggests that they are holding on to cash and liquid assets and not investing to grow the company to its full potential. In years 7 and 8, the current ratios decreased to 5.79 and 5.25, respectively. This is largely due to taking on additional short term liabilities (accounts and notes payable). The ratio in years 7 and 8 is much closer to the ratio of their closest competitor, Two Wheel Racing and suggests that the company is moving toward using their current assets more effectively. If CBI can keep operating and goods costs under control and not overleverage themselves, the taking on of additional debt could be considered part of the cost of doing business and part of their growth strategy, i.e. a positive development. Working capital could be improved in the following ways: 1. Decreasing the amount of liabilities in short term debts such as accounts and notes payable. 2. Converting short term debt to long term debt to free up funds for investment. 3. Increasing efficiency via internal process improvements, thereby reducing expenses and increasing profits. Examples include shortening accounts receivable collection periods (CBI’s are longer than that of their closest competitor) and consolidating sales offices. 4. Issuing stock to generate capital for investment in assets that will help the company grow, such as the purchase of a new distribution center or bike assembly location. Excess working capital (liquid assets) could be invested in the following ways to increase profits: 1. Internal systems updates such as new, faster computer systems for employees or manufacturing equipment. This investment has the benefit of improving efficiency. 2. Investing in people – hiring new talent as well as training the salespeople already working for the company. 3. Investing in marketing and advertising to create compelling sales promotions and get the word out about CBI. Since the company’s sales are largely through word of mouth advertising, there is considerable untapped sales potential. A3. Evaluation of the internal controls for the purchasing system at CBI After reviewing the purchasing system for CBI, there are a few weaknesses in the internal controls that the company should address to mitigate risk and increase efficiency. 1. No receiving department currently exists to monitor incoming shipments from suppliers. Having no internal controls in place for this step in the supply chain is a weakness for CBI. This can result in an increased risk of incorrect orders being processed, resulting in unused parts being sent to the raw materials inventory stores as noted in the storyline. These parts must be written off the books if they are not used in the current year, and this costs the company money. The other impact is damaged orders being accepted by the company. If orders are monitored upon arrival and found to be damaged, CBI can contact the supplier immediately to remedy the situation. This will minimize costly delays in production since errors are caught earlier in the supply chain, and the company can save money if they have ensured that all orders are accurate and undamaged before payment is sent to the supplier. 2. The purchasing department’s procedure for selecting suppliers is not as robust as it should be. Checking for three sources of similar quality, as noted in the storyline, is a good start but not sufficient to ensure good internal controls. Suppliers should be vetted in a selection process using criteria defined and documented by CBI. If this is not done, it could lead to increased risk of fraud (collusion between the CBI Purchasing manager and the supplier, for example). 3. The purchasing manager is responsible for multiple related responsibilities; in this example, selecting the supplier, placing the order and sending the supplier’s invoice to the accounting department. There is not sufficient separation of duties throughout the purchasing process. A3a. Weakness Corrective Actions The following scenario illustrates what a purchasing procedure policy with good internal control procedures in place could look like for CBI. 1. The production department evaluates existing inventory of raw materials, then creates a list of raw materials they need for the next month and sends it to the purchasing manager. 2. The purchasing manager gets the list and consults with the policies and procedures manual for the raw materials. The manual instructs the purchasing manager to consult the trade journal for the industry, which contains a list of suppliers for the raw materials requested. 3. The purchasing manager should review the supplier list to ensure there’s no conflict of interest (such as close friends/relatives working for any of the suppliers on the list, stock ownership in any of the companies, no gifts accepted from the companies). If there are conflict(s) of interest for any of the suppliers, they should be removed from the list. 4. The purchasing manager should then review the Better Business Bureau (BBB) list for the remaining suppliers to see if any complaints have been registered during the past y ear. Suppliers with complaints registered with the BBB should be removed from the list. 5. The purchasing manager should contact the remaining suppliers to request competitive bids. Once they are submitted, the bids should be reviewed and the lowest competitive bid selected. 6. Once the bid is selected, the purchasing manager should send a purchase order to the selected bidder. Once this is done, the purchasing manager’s job is complete. 7. The supplier sends the shipment to the company; upon arrival it is taken in by the CBI receiving department for inspection and documentation. A shipping note is generated by the receiving department which details each item and can be used to confirm that all items that were ordered actually arrived. 8. A copy of the shipping note is sent from the receiving department to the accounting department, and accounting will compare that note with the invoice from the supplier requesting payment. They cross check these two documents to ensure they match. 9. Once accounting has ensure these documents match, they write a check to the supplier and the process is complete. A3b. Risks All of the weaknesses, if not remedied, increase the risk of fraud. An example of this would be the purchasing manager colluding with the supplier to send an invoice with inflated numbers to accounting, which would result in overpayment to the supplier that does not reflect an accurate order. In a worst case scenario, if the record keeping is weak and the employees are able to subvert the system and falsify the documents, then financial statements based on numbers in these documents are no longer accurate. Experienced financial analysts who review the company’s financial statements will immediately know that something isnt right with the numbers, and will sell the stock, leading to a drop in stock price. If this is left unchecked it can result in the downfall of the company and/or criminal prosecution of the company’s financial executives. Given these risks, it would be very prudent for CBI’s management team to take an in-depth look at the internal controls for p urchasing and make adjustments to correct the weaknesses. A3bi. Risk Mitigation In the proposed purchasing system in section A3a, there are two ways that the identified internal control risks are mitigated. First, there’s a good separation of duties – this avoids the situation where one employee is responsible for multiple related responsibilities (which can lead to greater temptation for fraud). An example of this is in step #7. The purchasing manager is not involved in this step; they were directly involved in the placement of the order and so should not also be in charge of receiving the order or generating the shipping note (therefore maintaining separation of duties). Second, there are also multiple checks and balances to ensure accuracy for orders, as well as documentation for each step to ensure good records are kept. Accounting will then have accurate numbers on which to base their financial reporting, minimizing the risk of material misstatements on their annual or interim financial statements. A4. Analysis of compliance with Sarbanes–Oxley requirements An important piece of legislation related to financial reporting and internal controls for publicly traded companies is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). After several highly publicized accounting scandals among corporations in the US in the 1990s, SOX was enacted to â€Å"reform companies’ financial reporting processes, as well as the internal and external auditing of the financial reporting process† (Hilton, 2011). It’s very important that companies understand and comply with the rules laid out within this legislation, as the penalties for not doing so are severe. Top executives including the CEO and CFO can be held criminally responsible and go to prison if their company’s financial statements are fraudulent or misstate the firm’s financial condition. There are two sections within SOX that are of particular relevance – sections 302 and 404. Section 302 requires the signing officers of a company’s financial reports (such as the CEO and CFO) to establish, maintain, and monitor the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting. In other words, these executives are ultimately responsible for the accuracy of the company’s financial documents, and must disclose to the company’s auditors any weaknesses or changes in the company’s internal control system. Section 404 requires a company include an internal control report for financial reporting within its annual report. This internal control report must contain two key elements – a statement of managerial responsibility for establishing and maintaining an effective internal control structure for financial reporting, as well as an assessment of the effectiveness of the defined internal control structure. A4. Compliance In regard to CBI and its compliance with SOX, the company believes they are adequately addressing the requirements of the legislation. CBI’s internal audit stated that internal controls over financial reporting are accurate based on criteria set forth by the Committee of the Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). However, the annual report issued by the auditors to the shareholders noted that the company’s internal control over financial reporting could lead to a possibility of a misstatement in the company’s annual or interim financial statements that would not be detected or corrected in a timely manner. This will be noticed by financial analysts and investors, and could affect the company’s stock prices as well as the increase the likelihood of close financial scrutiny and audits by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), whose mission is to â€Å"oversee and investigate the audits and auditors of public companies, and sanction both firms and individuals for violations of laws, rules, and regulations† (Hilton, 2011). A4a. Noncompliance Corrective Actions Based on this information, CBI should take immediate actions to ensure compliance with SOX, including reassessing and addressing weaknesses in their internal controls over financial reporting, possibly consulting with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to do so. When CBI’s annual report is published, it should include an internal control report with the elements noted in Section 404 (statement of managerial responsibility over financial reporting internal controls, and an assessment of the effectiveness of the defined internal structure). The statement should clearly state any and all corrective action taken to bring the company’s financial reporting into compliance with SOX regulations. The company’s auditors need to be able to vouch for the effectiveness of the implemented internal controls. RESOURCES Hilton, R. (2011). Managerial accounting: Creating value in a dynamic business environment (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill. Hardcover ISBN: 9780073526928. What is Horizontal Analysis? Definition and Meaning (n.d.). Retrieved from Business Dictionary: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/horizontal-analysis.html Definition of ‘Return on Total Assets – ROTA (n.d.). Retrieved from Investopedia: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/return_on_total_assets.asp

An Analysis Of Environmental Toxicology Environmental Sciences Essay

An Analysis Of Environmental Toxicology Environmental Sciences Essay Environmental Toxicology is a rapidly developing field concerned with the research how natural and man-made pollutants impact the health of humans, wildlife, and whole ecosystems. It involves application of a variety of techniques to study the impact of toxic agents on living organisms and provides powerful tools for assessing the risks associated with the presence of these agents. It draws on a variety of scientific disciplines to describe, measure, explain and predict the severity and frequency of adverse effects on living organisms due to environmental toxicant exposure. Pollution, depletion of resources and disintegration of ecological functions are of global, regional and local concerns. Environmental toxicology presents many practical applications to these problems. The findings are used by government agencies to set new pollution control standards and to analyze the severity of damage in an ecosystem and develop the smartest ways to go about cleaning it up. Land development co mpanies may also work with environmental toxicologists to make sure that clearing and construction efforts are as environmentally-friendly as possible. It involves testing soil, water, and air samples to look for the source pollution, and use their findings to better understand health impacts on native species. Pakistan, as developing country, is facing challenges with a number of serious environmental issues such as degeneration of natural resources, industrial and vehicular pollution, pollution of coastal environment, deterioration of human health. Summarizing in financial terms, the annual cost of environmental derogation in the country is about 4.3 % of GDP (US $ 4.3 billion). This workshop is about the growing amount of pollution in Pakistan. Examines findings of different studies proving that health is being adversely affected by a variety of environmental contaminants. The above situation has arisen due to a number of factors including high population growth rate, prevailing poverty, unplanned urban and industrial expansion, insufficient emphasis on environmental protection in the government policies, lack of public awareness and education and lack of institutional capacity and resources for effective environmental management. To prevent continued environmental degradation and the decline of human environmental health, interactions between human, other living organisms and the environment have to be in harmony. This is achievable through an integrated, holistic approach encompassing education and research activities in natural sciences, socio-economic and political factors with technological, economic and socio-cultural interventions. Increasing awareness of environmental degradation is resulting in proliferation of environmental legislation throughout the world. This drive towards greater environmental protection has created a demand for scientists skilled in assessing environmental resources and more importantly the problems associated with their exp loitation. Environmental assessment may be required to evaluate the biological, physical or hydrological resources of any environment, and to place these resources within a wider geographical context. This workshop is an effort to provide a broad foundation of scientific based skills to evolve, equipping environmental professions, particularly in areas relating to environmental protection and management. Furthermore, the national and international requirements have been under concern for better environmental management understanding the inter-relationship between sustainable economic development and environmental protection. Opening remarks from Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ashraf, Chairman department of pharmacology and toxicology/the Director Research UVAS, were followed by that of Prof. Dr. Mohammad Nawaz, Vice chancellor UVAS, and Prof. Dr. Mrs. Kausar Jamal Cheema, Dean Faculty of Natural Sciences, Lahore College for Women University, all of whom emphasized the importance to utilize the collective wisdom in provision of improved methods for toxicity assessment and rational means for estimating health risk in order to promote public health and to provide a better and safer environment to prevent health problems before they occur. They added further it is our mission to train new environmental toxicologists and address pertinent environmental toxicology questions through education and research in areas such as chemical fate, bioavailability, biological effect, toxicokinetics, and mechanisms of action. A focus on interdisciplinary approaches and scientific skills is fundamental to our education and research acti vities. Dr. Sohail Ejaz (co-author of this report), PhD, University of Cambridge, UK co-ordinator and workshop organizer presented on the innovative assessment techniques for evaluating impact of Air Pollution upon Neuroinflammatory diseases of Central nervous system and how these studies could be implemented in our laboratories. New dimensions have been added to the array of outcome measures. Medical outcomes research now recognizes that patient well-being should be broadly conceptualized and measured rigorously, in addition to considering the biological process of the disease itself. As a result, health-related quality of life, the perception of well-being, is now considered a necessary component of outcomes research. Toxicologic studies have also gained in sophistication through incorporation of more sensitive indicators of effect and the careful tracing of the relationship between exposure and biologically relevant doses to target sites, which may now be considered at a molecular level. He also gave an overview of all his research activities conducted at Department of Clinical Neuroscience and how to work upon such techniques in our country with scarced resources and what targets to be achieved further to overcome environmental pollution issues in Pakistan. Dr. Sohail Ejaz bring to a close to develop and support research programs, outreach and other services that address critical issues in environmental health and toxicology. An international speaker Prof. Dr. Gerry Amor Camer, Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine from University of Eastern Philippines, broad casted through video conferencing facility. He shared his remarkable research work on tissue toxicology and presented a talk on Understanding the pathology of tissues exposed to various toxins and pollutants. Assessment of the environmental effects of chemicals is complicated as it depends on the organisms tested and involves not only the toxicity of individual chemicals, but also their interactive effects, genotoxicity, mutagenecity and immunotoxicity testing. He further elaborated that a number of stressors affect the environment and sometimes when showing synergistic effects they become difficult to quantify or predict their individual effects. Thus, there is a need to understand the toxicant effects at molecular levels to predict their effects and existing techniques to be constantly modified to provide better means of their quantification. Dr. Zulfiqar Ali, Department of wildlife and ecology, UVAS, presented on Sources and Health effects of different Air pollutants. The mechanisms for modeling and understanding the fate of air pollutants through atmospheric transport, deposition into water and soil, bioaccumulation, and ultimate uptake to receptor organs and systems in the human body are complex. These require more experimental and theoretical developments in order to produce approaches for characterization and appropriate strategies and assays for screening in order to detect the harmful agents and prevent them from reaching sensitive endpoints. This seminar and workshop provided researchers from all over Pakistan a comprehensive platform where all facets of environmental pollution as it exists in our country to be fully explored and a forum to these professionals and researchers to discuss and present latest research trends and results in the field of Toxicology. Such initiatives help to support the study, analysis, and solution of environmental problems which are ultimately affecting the health of human beings, animals, plants, soils and over all eco-system integrity. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ashraf highlighted different research activities rendered by the department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the recent years at his institution. He discussed the establishment of new laboratories at the department an effort to open doorways to many new dimensions thus promoting the advancement and application of scientific research related to the contaminants. This included the establishment of Angiogenesis Toxicology lab (ATRL) and a Ne uropharmacology lab in the faculty a progressive step for Applied Neuropharmacology Cancer research. He elaborated further that our research aims to determine how environmental pollutants interact with cellular functions and give rise to long-lasting adverse health effects in vertebrates including humans. We are particularly interested in toxic effects that target the hormone system, the reproductive system and the early brain development and other systems in vertebrates. Enzyme-catalysed activation in target cells and tissues and receptor-mediated responses are important areas of research. With an introduction of these laboratories, it is also an effort in attracting very high quality students across Pakistan and foreign qualified and relevant faculty members to take lead on viable research projects needed to address our country-specific problems. Speakers from various universities and Govt. departments presented their research projects and research papers. Mr. Khaleeq Anwar, PhD Scholar, presented his work on Impact of Automobile rickshaw on Public health. He presented evidence that Automobile rickshaws are among one of the major sources of air pollution in Pakistan, contaminants released from them include the major pollutants Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Hydrocarbons (HC) and Particulate Matter (PM) expressing their devastating effects in deteriorating public health. To have a control over contaminants realized by these two-or three stroke conventional rickshaws CNG rickshaws were introduced. Mr. Rizwan Ahmad, Assistant Director, Vehicular Pollution Control, Govt. of Punjab, further extended the talk by presenting on Advantages of CNG over other fuels. He presented his study on the nature of the toxicants effluent by burning natural gas as fuel and a comparative analysis was made between the nature of the con taminants released by both conventional automobile rickshaw and CNG rickshaw. Statistically significant data was evidenced that emphasized the use of CNG rickshaw to be preferred over the conventional two-or three stroke rickshaws. Lubna Shakir, PhD Scholar, discussed the public health problems aroused due to discharge of tannery effluent wastewater directly into the ground in the city of Kasur. The environment is under increasing pressure from solid and liquid wastes emanating from the leather industry. These are inevitable by-products of the leather manufacturing process and cause significant pollution unless treated in some way prior to discharge. The effect of excessive pollutant levels commonly found in tannery effluents can be severe. Water is so contaminated that potable water has high levels of chromium and other toxicants have been reported in appreciable amounts unfit to be used by public. She presented a comprehensive lecture entitled, Chemical, microbiological and toxicological screening of tannery effluent wastewater. In her work she quantified the various toxicants and studied their deleterious effects using laboratory animals by using various dilutions of this tannery waterwaste. She further elab orated her talk that assessment of the environmental effects of chemicals is complicated as it depends on the organisms tested and involves not only the toxicity of individual chemicals, but multiple factors are involved in relation to health behaviors, which may often result in adverse health outcomes. Zahida Umer, a young researcher, outlined the data showing the Measurement of pollution levels in different areas of Lahore by using carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide meters, and other available contaminant measurement meters and impacter for particulate matter in different areas of Lahore and provided a comparative analysis of these toxicants at different areas. She further lucubrated her talk by explaining different methodologies for air pollution measurement. Air pollution can be directly measured as it is emitted by a source in mass/volume of emission (e.g., grams/m3) or mass/process parameter (e.g., grams/Kg fuel consumed or grams/second). Air pollution can also be measured in the atmosphere as a concentration (e.g., micrograms/m3). Ambient air monitoring data is used to determine air quality, establish the extent of air pollution problems, assess whether established standards are being met, and characterize the potential human health risk in an area. Alternatively, air pollution concentrations can be simulated using computer models, and then validated using data collected from direct measurements at selected monitors or sources. Air pollution data and models are used together to examine the impacts of control strategies on the ambient air. Kanwal Zahra, Government College University, presented on Effects of industrial effluent on the thyroid glands of human population. The human body is immensely complex, and our knowledge and awareness of its complexity continues to grow. One of the most disquieting discoveries in recent years concerns the possible roles of environmental chemicals on endocrine systems. Among the hormones (chemical messengers) operating within the endocrine system are estrogen (a female sex hormone produced by the ovaries); thyroid hormone (influencing the function of virtually every cell in the body); and ACTH (produced by the pituitary gland to influence the release of adrenalin from the adrenal gland). Endocrine systems can be affected by these pollutants by interfering with the normal communication between the messenger and the cell receptors, the chemical message is misinterpreted, generating abnormal response(s) in the body. As thyroid glands releasing hormones influencing the total metabolic rat e of the body, in her study she evidenced the various pathological outcomes of thyroid intoxication by these industrial wastes and could be the possible damaging effects resulted. Prof. Dr. Sharif Mughal, Government College University, discussed the impact of various toxicants on marine environment. Petroleum hydrocarbons are found in sea surface film throughout the world. The oceans have served as a repository for a multitude of wastes and receive effluent from rivers, streams, and groundwater. Atmospheric deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other hydrocarbons adds to the burden of pollutants in the marine environment. Industrial smokestacks, incinerators, outfall pipes, automobiles, lawn chemicals, agricultural chemicals, homes, businesses, commercial ships, and motorized pleasure craft are all sources of contaminants. Many of these chemicals are fat-soluble and come to reside in the fatty tissues of marine animals. Some of these chemicals have been characterized as endocrine disrupters; some are believed to reduce reproductive success, to interfere with developmental processes, and/or to suppress immune function. Other chemicals, such as PAHs, do not bioaccumulate in marine mammals but may have adverse impacts on the health of marine animals through repeated exposure and metabolic response. He evidenced the above scenario by presenting his study on the Serological and histological changes in the liver of Labeo Rohita dur due to fluoride intoxication. An effort to characterize the types of lesions produced by these chemical contaminants found in, the metabolic response to such contaminants, and the extent of tissue damage caused by exposure to these contaminants. He further elaborated his talk that animals are exposed to natural toxicants in their native environments as well as to synthetic chemicals and drugs. Factors that affect the toxicity include; those related to the toxicants , which influence how it  ­Ã‚ ­enter and ultimately influence the factors related to the host animals that change its ability to detoxify or adapt to the toxicant. The final Lecture of the workshop was presented on the topic, Characterization of Environmental pathologies by immunohistochemistry by Dr. Sohail Ejaz, PhD, University of Cambridge, England. He flesh out his talk that Environmental toxicity encompasses the study of the toxic properties of not only synthetic chemicals but natural also, including their effects on humans and animals as well as their movement and fate in the environment. It is a need to develop research techniques for the assessments of effects of these pollutants and monitoring their lethal effects not on human health only but affecting every living being and our eco-system. Thus putting our joint efforts to provide a better and safer environment to prevent health problems before they occur. Conclusion: This was a variegate workshop to support and promote the study, analysis, and solution of environmental problems which ultimately affecting the health of human beings, animals, plants, soils, damage buildings and other property and uplift of awareness level at National and International level through research and development. We can live a healthy life in a clean environment and it can only be achieved by realizing and understanding the importance of clean environment. Therefore to provide awareness about the effects of all possible environmental pollutants and the corresponding measures to be taken to decrease contaminants exposure. Also to encourage research techniques for the assessment of effects of these pollutants and monitoring their lethal effects on human health and conserving and protecting our environment. Disclosures and Supplementary Information: This workshop was organized at Department of Pharmacology Toxicology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore in collaboration with the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, UK This meeting was funded by Higher Education Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan.