Vet, Vetted, Vetting

Vet, Vetted, Vetting Vet, Vetted, Vetting Vet, Vetted, Vetting By Maeve Maddox The action word vet, â€Å"investigate someone’s reasonableness for a job,† surprised the American media during the presidential battle of 2008. Vet was Number Two on Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year list that year. (Bailout was Number One.) Despite the fact that the word has been in American word references for near 100 years, not many US speakers appear to have known about it before 2008. Some gathering members keep on considering it: The past presidential political race is the first occasion when I heard the term â€Å"vet† or â€Å"vettingâ a candidate.† What does it mean? (2012) Truly, I had never heard the word until today. (2013) Here are a few instances of the word’s current use on the Web: Hollywoods clinical storylines considered by the individuals who know 10 Steps for Vetting Unknown Internet Sources The Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) gives the main authority screening administration in the Republic of Ireland. While it is general practice for most bosses to call references and affirm past managers, screening a representative dives somewhat more profound into the candidates foundation. Some speakersâ€apparently deficient with regards to access to a dictionaryâ€speculate that the action word vet may get from veteran or veto: Originating from the word veteran possibly? From Latin veto (to forbid), alluding to the act of having a chance to veto a choice before it is concluded. Wrong. The action word â€Å"to vet† is gotten from the thing veterinarian. It started as a term meaning, â€Å"to present a creature to assessment or treatment by a veterinary surgeon.† The most punctual reference in the OED outlines the word with regards to horse dashing: 1891: Beau is insecure in his fore legs. I will have him verified before the races. By 1904, the term had spread to general utilization with this significance: to inspect cautiously and basically for inadequacies or blunders; explicitly, to research the appropriateness of (an individual) for a post that requires dependability and reliability. With respect to veteran and veto, the English word veteran originates from a Latin word for old. â€Å"Old soldiers,† for instance, were called veterani. Veto deciphers as â€Å"I forbid,† an assertion verbally expressed by Roman tribunes of the individuals when they wished to restrict proportions of the Senate or activities of the judges. The Latin source word for veterinary and veterinarian is veterinus: â€Å"a brute of burden.† Veterinus may have been a contracted type of vehiterinus, a word identified with the action word vehere, to convey or pass on. A helpful animal weight conveys things. Veterinarians care for helpful animals trouble. Need to improve your English in a short time a day? Get a membership and begin getting our composing tips and activities day by day! Continue learning! Peruse the Vocabulary class, check our well known posts, or pick a related post below:100 Idioms About NumbersOn Behalf Of versus In Behalf OfWhile versus While

Computation of the Taxable Income and the Tax Payable for Ethan Jones

Questions: Ethan Jones a Medical Registrar in a Melbourne Public Hospital earned a gross compensation of $220,000 during the year finished 30 June 2014. He had PAYGW deducted of $73,000 from this compensation. He compensation yielded $10,000 of his gross pay to an ATO directed superannuation subsidize. He got premium pay paid by the bank of $4,500 into his financial balance. Anyway he didn't give a Tax File Number and expense of was deducted of $3,682 from the intrigue determined for the year. He got profits of $7,000 from completely franked dispersions for the year finished 30 June 2014. He got extra pay and paid costs as follows: Unfranked profits of $30,000 In part franked profits (franked to 20%) of $10,000. Capital misfortunes on special of portions of $15,000. Total deficit from carrying on an independent company of $25,000. Bank charges of $50 on his venture account into which he banked his profits and premium. Assessment Agents Fees of $800. General Interest Charge of $550 on late installment of his annual assessment bill for the year finished 30 June 2013. Sum was not requested until December 2013. Acquisition of a pool ticket for $150 from the Salvation Army. The prize was an engine vehicle. Blessing to Royal Childrens Hospital of $1. Membership to the Professional Cooks Association of $300. Clothing of $200 no receipts Stopping meter charges on visiting customers $190 no receipts Defensive apparel $290 no receipts Stopping fine of $170 on terminated meter while visiting a customer Installment of $5,000 to ANR superannuation subsidize. Acquisition of a clinical brief case costing $600 for work. The short case was bought on 2/7/2014. Additional Information: Investment property Ethan Jones bought a Motel during the 2014 tax assessment year and got rental salary from the inn business administrator during the year finished 30 June 2014. Subtleties of the budgetary exchanges for the year finished 30 June 2014 were as per the following: Inn Purchased 1/9/2013 - land and structures 500,000 Inn Building Construction cost development in 2002 200,000 Home loan - Period of advance is 30 years 450,000 Inn was recorded by the Real Estate Agency accessible for Rent on 1/9/2013 Parking space - constructed 15/05/2014 18,000 Leased from 1/10/2013 13,000 Total deficit on lease from primary living arrangement see below* 10,000 Review expenses on acquisition of property 800 Stamp Duty on Transfer of Land 32,000 Stamp Duty on Loan 500 Valuation charges re credit application 500 Advance Application Fees 600 Advance Mortgage Insurance (LMI) 8,000 Advance Establishment expenses 700 Conveyancing charges on move of land 10,000 Home loan documentation - Bank 2,000 Home loan specialist commission 3,500 Bank charges on Transfer of Land 1,400 Bank charges - speculation account 120 Heading out to review investment property utilizing 6cylinder V6 - 3000 kms ? Capital Gain Ethan has capital resources yet chosen to discard the accompanying resources because of his obligation levels because of the acquisition of the inn Resource Cost Buy Date Date of Removal Continues House in Toorak 500,000 15/03/2009 16/05/2014 700,000 Offers in Coles Ltd 17,200 18/06/1997 17/03/2014 23,200 Offers in BHP Billiton 16,000 18/11/2008 19/04/2014 6,800 Ultralight airplane 13,000 18/01/2013 19/11/2013 14,000 Painting 600 03/03/1969 30/01/2014 25,700 Gold Watch 450 21/10/1985 29/12/2013 50,000 Houseboat 10,500 28/9/1987 29/06/2014 85,000 Notes: The House in Toorak was leased from date of procurement for the initial 3 years of possession. Ethan then involved the premises as his principle home. During the time of proprietorship the property made a misfortune from the rental of $10,000, which was guaranteed by Ethan needs to guarantee as an expense finding in his assessment form see above.* The Ultra-light airplane and the Houseboat were for Ethans own utilization. Ethan likewise has the accompanying capital misfortunes conveyed forward from the earlier year. Capital misfortune on the offer of Macquarie portions of $5,000. Capital misfortune from the offer of his convoy which was crushed in a fender bender of $5,500. Capital misfortune from the offer of a wedding band that was given by his ex of $3,500. Ethan wishes to limit his net capital increases. Required: Ascertain the available pay and the duty payable for Ethan Jones corresponding to the year finished 30 June 2014. Answers: Ethan Jones Calculation of the Taxable Income and the Tax Payable for Ethan Jones for the year finished 30.06.2014 Specifics Subtleties Amount($) Profit classified as close to home an) Income From Salary 1 137000.00 b) Interest Income 2 Nil c) Dividend Income 3 46950.00 A 183950.00 Salary From Business or Trade a) Small Business Misfortune (25000.00) b) Rental Income From Motel 4 111152.00 B 86152.00 Salary from Sale of Capital Assets 5 - C 77217.00 Net Total Income D =A+B+C 347319.00 Derivation from the Capital Gain Income 6 E (6541.00) Available Income D-E 340778.00 Assessment Payable on Above including Medicare Levy 7 136928.22 Table Showing Details 1. Calculation Of Income From Salary Pay got as pay = $220000 Less : Deductions for PAYGW = $73000 Pay penance as super pay penance = $10000 Available Salary Income of the Individual = $137000 2. computation of intrigue salary Intrigue Income got or collected = $4500 Conclusion at source from the above salary = $3682 The above salary will not be remembered for the pay on the grounds that the expense has been now deducted from this pay. Since the Tax File Number was not presented the duty was deducted at Highest Marginal Rate of Tax. 3. Salary Earned or Received as Dividends Franked Distribution = $7000 Circulation of Unfranked nature = $30000 Fractional Part of the franked conveyance = $10000(20% of the aggregate sum) Costs deductible from the above earnings = ($50)(Bank Charges) Absolute Dividend Income = $46950.00 Additionally there is qualification of credit from the above profit salary uniquely corresponding to the franked ones adding up to = $7000 + 10000*20% = $9000 4. Investment property Income Here the most significant thing to note what is the expectation of the assessee according to the property being referred to. We have to take a gander at the point from where the aim is available. The expectation is there from 1.09.2013. So this date shapes the premise of recompense of any use comparable to the property being referred to. Any cost brought about before this date will not be took into consideration reasoning while at the same time computing the available rental pay. So there is a requirement for estimation of the proportion for the costs acquired uniformly consistently. All out number of days = 365 (Office) Reasonable period 01.09.2013 to 30.06.2014 comprises of 303 days. Thus the cost brought about equally during the year will be permitted up to this proportion. Rental salary receipt is from 01.10.2013. we can dissect every single point as following: an) Income from most recent 9 months = 13000*9 = $117000.00 b) Main living arrangement rental misfortune will be completely available adding up to $10000.00 c) The expenses paid for overview are connected with the property cost. There isn't pay sway. d) Stamp obligation on move of the capital resource (land for this situation) is a piece of capital addition figuring. e) Stamp Duty on credit part is to be included with the capital resources for which the advance was taken. f) Fees on valuation of the property will be reasonable in the proportion of 303/365 adds up to $500*303/365 = $415. g) The charges on credit application are a capital consumption. h) Loan contract protection is suitable in the proportion of 303/365 and since the rent time frame is 30 years then the sum again will be isolated by 30 = $221(8000*303/365*30) I) Loan foundation costs are not income. j) The charges comparable to the exchange of the land will be a piece of the capital increase figuring. So there is no treatment here. k) A proportionate conclusion will be considered the documentation charges comparable to the home loan $2000*303/365 = $1660 l) Mortgage Broker Commission is a circuitous cost according to the property credit. So this isn't admissible. m) Bank expenses regarding the exchange of the land will be managed in the capital increase part. n) Investment Account bank expenses = 120*303/365 = $100 o) The sum for the voyaging costs brought about for Inspection of the property is passable. Without any sum it is thought to be $1000. p) Borrowing costs according to the home loan are permitted uniquely for a piece of the 30 years and that too in the proportion determined. $450000/30*303/365 = $12452 Available Rental Income = 117000 + 10000-415-221-1660-100-1000-12452 = $11152 5. Count of the Capital Gain Income 6. a) House in TOORAK: If assessee is utilizing the property for fundamental living arrangement the whole property will be not available but rather the exclusion is accessible proportionately if the assessee isn't utilizing the spot for own home. Incomplete exclusion is determined as follows: All out Capital Gain * Number of days the property was utilized for own living arrangement/all out long periods of possession. For this situation the assessee has a property since 15.03.2009 however for multi year the property was leased. The deal date is 16.05.2014. So the assessee is qualified for an incomplete exclusion as it were. The measure of fractional exception will be determined as talked about in the recipe. S

SoFi

SoFi INTRODUCTIONMartin: Hi, today we are in San Francisco in the SoFi office. Hi Dan. Who are you and what do you do?Dan: My name is Dan Macklin and I’m one of the co-foundersof SoFi. We are a consumer finance company. We lend money to people across a variety of sources and ways.Martin: Tell us about your background. So what did you do before you started SoFi and how did you come up with the business idea?Dan: So I’m originally from the UK and I was educated there, and I worked for a British bank called Standard Charter Bank for about 12 years, across a variety of functions but also countries as well. So I spent a years in Singapore working on risk function. Back in London I worked directly for the group chief executive, kind of in a chief of staff role which was really a great way to see how a big 70,000 person company operates. Then I spent nearly three years in China running a smaller or medium enterprise business with a large team across the country. And then came to the U.S. to go to business school and it was a special program; a one year full time program at the Stanford business school, the GSB there, and that was back in 2010. And then went through that year, fell in love with Silicon Valley and the idea of entrepreneurship. And although I probably expected to go back to my previous company because I was sponsored by them. We the co-founders of SoFi were classmates and we were discussing ideas for businesses and one thing led to another and SoFi was born out of those conversations.Martin: Great. What types of business models did you discuss with because I guess you had a long list of ideas, and then shortened it and said, ‘Okay, let’s start something in the consumer finance sphere’.Dan: We did, and we had a few different ideas that went around. One of them was more in the tech space. We were trying to make a kind of eBay for video services. So if you wanted to buy someone’s time, but you didn’t want to have to drive to where they were, then y ou could bid $20 for a half an hour of their time and they could give you a tutorial over the internet. We quickly changed that for various reasons and we focused on finance because that was where most of us had come from. And I think that was the industry that we wanted to come up with something to solve.So we had some broad ideas about connecting people with money who could invest. And people that needed money who could borrow and connecting them more directly without all the intermediaries that tend to exist. So that was the genesis really for SoFi and our first product was in the student loan area. So it was individuals investing money through SoFi and we then passed it on to borrowers who could borrow at a lower rate than they otherwise would.BUSINESS MODEL OF SOFIMartin: And how did you start about entering the market in terms of, when did you build the platform and where did you first acquire the customers? Did you focus, at first, mainly only on the Stanford University becau se it was easier, you had some access to students?Dan: We did. We developed our idea in the last five months of our time at Stanford. So really from January to May of 2011, we were testing out the idea and researching and interviewing people, and getting feedback, and looking into the viability of it. By about April I think we were fairly convinced that we were going to start a business and we were going to try to make this work. So really as soon as we graduated we started the company. So it was literally, we graduated on a Saturday and two days later on the Monday we were coming in and starting work formally.So we went back for our first customers to Stanford. So many of the MBA students there, the second years had been exposed to us in some way the previous academic year. And obviously, we knew some people and that was a great way to test the market. And we launched a pilot fund at Stanford, really, where we raised money from Stanford alumni and then lent back to Stanford student s. But, yes, that was the first one.Martin: And how much traction did you generate over the last three months or so in terms of how many students did you fund, what volume?Dan: Yes, we raised money from 40 people. We raised about $50,000 each on average. Made a two million dollar pool of money that we then lent to about 100 students, so they were borrowing roughly a thousand dollars each. So within three months we had actually lent money. It wasn’t just an idea or a project, we were actually a lending company by that time. And obviously, since then we’ve expanded and lent to many more people since then.Martin: And then, when you validated your business idea, why do you think the business opportunity existed? Because student loans is not a super new market, per se. It’s a big market, but why do you think there was a business opportunity that you could attack?Dan: It was a little bit strange because we didn’t really understand why no one had gone in there in a big way until we did. So just to give a bit of context, there’s more than a trillion dollars of student debt in the U.S. today which makes it the second largest amount of debt, second only to mortgages. So it’s more than credit card debt, more than auto loan debt. But despite the size of the market, there are very few options for consumers. And about 90 percent of the loans are made by the government at very standard rates. And depending on when you go to school, which years you went to school and depending on whether you are an undergraduate or a graduate, those loans can be very expensive. So we were surrounded at Stanford by people paying seven and eight percent for their loans. And these were credit worthy people that we knew would be getting jobs and were very confident they would pay those loans back. So that’s the market we chose to go after.We didn’t really understand why no one had tried it before. I mean it is a government dominated industry, so there are some barriers there, perh aps. It was a little bit difficult for the banks to play in that space for a variety of reasons but it was a little bit strange that no one had done it before so it was almost too good to be true. But we saw no reason why we shouldn’t do it, and that’s why we went for it.Martin: And why did the banks not go in there and offer other risk adjusted interest rates?Dan: It’s a little bit confusing because many of banks in the past had worked for the government. So the banks would make loans, but they’d be backed by the government, so there was an implicit guarantee there. And that, and a few other things, kind of muddied the water and just meant that they were an industry that they had retracted from. So post financial crisis 2008, there were some banks that were in this space, but they came back from it. And they attracted.So maybe we were a little bit lucky or fortunate. I don’t know if those are the right words. But certainly, in terms of the timing, the banks weren’t seek ing, really, to go into new lines of business. They were pulling back and concentrating on compliance and regulatory issues that were their main concern at that time. So I think they created that gap for us.Martin: Great. So after you have generated this kind of two million of credit transactions, what was the next step? Did you directly, after this kind of traction raise money in order to scale?Dan: Yes.Martin: Or did you just try to bootstrap?Dan: No, we raised money for the company after that. So through that process of lending to those students, and raising money on the other side, we showed two things- one we showed that we could lend money. We had to get a lending license, and we had to set up a website, and we had to have arrangements with a servicer. You know, all those mechanics that go into that. So we proved that, albeit at a small level, but we proved that we could do it. And on the other side, we proved that we could convince people that this was a worthy investment. An d they would trust two things- us as a company to handle their money, but secondly the quality of the loans they were funding, the quality of the people they were lending their money to. So both of those things we proved out, again, at a very early stage. So on the back of that we raised money for the company.So this would be, really, five months into the company’s existence. We raised a seed round / an A round, I never quite know where the distinction is, but it was a four million dollar round. And that then gave us the ability to go and start hiring people and start being a bit more aggressive in our growth and our growth ambitions.Martin: Dan, today you have a product portfolio. Can you elaborate a little bit on that and what kind of customers you’re targeting with it?Dan: Sure. So since those early days, we expanded the schools in which we would lend to. And we then expanded to lend to people who had graduated from school. They maybe two or three years out, but they want to refinance their student debt. So that was the bulk of our business for the first three years of our existence. And then we expanded, as you say, to other products.So we then started to offer mortgage products. But mortgage products that are different to what the market is offering. So many things, but one of them is we that we only require a 10 percent down payment with no mortgage insurance. So something that is very different in the market.Also personal loans so many of people are using these for one off purchases or maybe to refinance very expensive credit card debt.And we’re seeing great take home from both of those new products, as well as our existing student loan business. So now, three or four and a half years into the company, we have three very large loan products and we’re seeking to go beyond that as well, beyond just making loans and seeking to help people in other areas of their financial lives.Martin: Dan, so before you started you had no debt on the books and bec ause you have this marketplace between investors and people who are looking for some kind of financial product. As you expand your product portfolio is this still the case, or are you looking to take mortgages or taking other debt on your books?Dan: We have a bit of a complex model. It’s like a hybrid model. We actually make all other loans from our own balance sheet and then typically one or two months into that loan, the loans would be bought by an investor. So that doesn’t change the relationship between Sofi and the borrower. Their relationship is still with us. They still owe us the money. If they have a question about how much do I owe this month, they call us. But the economics to that loan are owned by another party. And that’s really a way for us to scale more quickly If we were just using our own balance sheet it then becomes difficult to raise that money. And frankly we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand that we see for the loans that we have. So they’r e on our balance sheet for a short period of time but, ultimately, the bulk of those loans are sold to other investors.Martin: And those other investors are those mainly companies like banks, or is this a big bulk of individual investors?Dan: It’s a variety. There are still individuals there. We have individuals investing their own personal money. But we found, in our early days, that that was difficult to scale to keep up with the demand for loans. So we’ve complemented that money from individuals with money from institutions. And those institutionsare financial institutions primarily small banks, regional banks, bigger banks, state level banks, along with pension funds and hedge funds, not-for-profits, a variety of places. But the common theme being that they see the value of the loans they are making and wish to invest in that return.Martin: And how are you credit scoring the people? And making sure that you are earing some kind of a premium before you’re selling off the l oans to other parties?Dan: So we do have a different approach to assessing people’s credit than traditional banks would look at. So we’re much less reliant on your credit score, and actually it doesn’t factor into our decision your score itself.So we look more at whether we think that you have enough cash to pay back the loan, which sounds very obvious. But, it isn’t how a lot of the industry works. A lot of the industry is very much looking at your credit score, which may be high or low for many reasons. And we don’t think it’s a very good predictor of somebody’s ability to pay back in the future. It is a predictor, but it’s not the only one. So we look at a variety of things, but ultimately it’s do we think you have enough money at the end of the month to pay back the loan and that would depend on a variety of issues.But we’ve made over 60,000 loans today and we’ve had only five people default on those loans. Four of them, unfortunately, passed away. We have something in the small print that says if you pass away we can wipe that debt. So it’s extremely low, the default rates, and we’re still early as a company, so we’re not claiming victory just yet but it’s an encouraging start.Martin: And how do you acquire the students, for example, for the student loans?Dan: So most of our loans now, in the student loan area, are refinancing student loans. So they aren’t necessarily students. They are graduates and they are now working for well-known companies and lesser known companies, big and small, around the country. So these are people who typically are a few years out of school, whether an undergraduate program or a graduate program. And we find them in a variety of ways, but word of mouth is a key thing. Around 50 percent of our customers heard about us from a friend. So I think that shows the quality of the product. You’re not going to tell your friend about something that was a bad experience. So we’ve worked very hard to m ake sure that the application experience and the simplicity and the customer care, etc., etc., are very good.Then combined with the savings, our customers are saving on average $14,000 when they refinance with us. That service combined with the product itself is a very compelling mix. And that really has led to huge word of mouth that is driving a lot of our growth.Then, obviously, we supplement that with different forms of marketing online and offline. And then we have, also many partnerships with big and small employers around the country. So we help to offer our produces to their employees as an employee benefit. And that’s proven to be very beneficial for all parties.Martin: At what point in time did you start to get institutional investors, and how did you convince them in the first place that your loan portfolio is worth buying?Dan: Yes. A great question because at the very beginning of the company we would tell people what we were up and we would say: These are the kinds o f people that we are lending money to. And many people would nod their heads and say: Yes, they sound like a great investment. And then you would say: Okay, well, can we have some money please? And they would say: Well, why don’t you come back in a year, you know, after you’ve proven that these people can pay back their money?So although we’re relatively young, and it’s four and a half years, it was still a gradual process. So you would have to take small bite sized chunks at the beginning, the real early adopters, the people who were willing to maybe go on their gut instinct a little bit more. But for many of the investors, we had to wait a couple of years until we had that track history. Until we had that repayment history to say: Okay, we now have X thousand people who have repaid their loans. Now will you invest? Now will you believe what we’re saying?And it’s a gradual thing.So we’re at the point now where we have securitized many thousands of our loans and those securitizations are actually rated by the rating agencies. So there’s some third party validation that they have looked at the credit quality. So every time we do that, the rating gets slightly better, the amount of money that it costs us, basically, to pay that investor goes down and we can then feed that lower cost of capital to our customers, to our borrowers, in the form of cheaper loans for them.Martin: Did you try to find some kind of banks orinstitutional investors or equity investors, for example, in your company with the argument: Guys, I will offer you an investment opportunity, which is an option to having with access to our strongly growing loan portfolio.Dan: So we did a bit of that. We’ve done a bit of that. We also at the very beginning, many people, when we were going after individuals, many individuals were interested in investing in the loans, but in most cases that is a single digit return. And they were more interested in the opportunity to invest in the comp any because they like the idea of what we were doing and thought that it could grow into a decent sized company. So we had lots of people that said: I don’t really want to invest in the loans. I’d like to invest in the company. So at the beginning we kind of mixed the two, and said: Well you can’t invest in the company unless you invest in the loans. And that was one of the ways that we got people to commit capital to the loans and enable us to start making loans. Because, obviously, equity capital on its own would not be very useful to us. So there was a bit of a trade off there that our early investors were willing to go along with, because they believed in what we were doing as a company.Martin: And did you only try to raise equity, or did you also think about venture debt?Dan: We just raised equity, and we discussed venture debt. But I think we preferred a kind of cleaner model. So it was equity all the way. Every round that we’ve done has been equity.Martin: In terms of regional distribution of your customers, is it only U.S. focused or are you also international?Dan: So as of today it’s just U.S. It’s across the whole of the U.S. It isn’t just a West Coast business, or New York, San Francisco. We have customers in every state, bar one. Because we have a license for each state.Internationally, we have considered that and we’ve discussed that and I think at some stage in our existence that will happen. It’s not on the table today, at this point in time, just because of the opportunities in the U.S. but at some point in time I think that will happen.Martin: Right now you are a consumer finance company. Do you think it’s easier to start a consumer finance business than, for example, a corporate finance or, let’s say, a business finance business?Dan: I don’t know if it’s easier. We sit here in Silicon Valley in San Francisco. There is appetite and acceptance of new types of businesses. So that among the consumers here, and I think in the U.S. at large, there is a large group of people that will give new businesses a try. And I think maybe that’s a little bit different than other countries where they want to see a name that’s been around for 50 or 100 years.So I think getting new business off the ground is possible here. And with new technology, it’s getting easier to get the word out. This person comes with that, because everybody’s doing that, and it’s so noisy so that sometimes you can’t get heard. But you can, through social media and other places, you can get the message out. And if, again, coming back to the point of people referring their friends, if you can create a product that people like, it easy for them to tell their friends now. There are review sites online. People can put things on Facebook and tell their classmates. Maybe there’s 400 people on this Facebook group and someone will say: Hey I took out a loan with SoFi and you should check it out. That didn’t exist before. So I thin k going into business is more binary. You’ve got big ticket partnerships or deals, but if they don’t happen then maybe you’re in trouble. Whereas with the consumers it’s a bit more gradual.ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS FROM DAN MACKLIN In San Francisco (CA), we meet Co-Founder VP of Community of SoFi, Dan Macklin. Dan talks about his story how he came up with the idea and founded SoFi, how the current business model works, as well as he provides some advice for young entrepreneurs.INTRODUCTIONMartin: Hi, today we are in San Francisco in the SoFi office. Hi Dan. Who are you and what do you do?Dan: My name is Dan Macklin and I’m one of the co-foundersof SoFi. We are a consumer finance company. We lend money to people across a variety of sources and ways.Martin: Tell us about your background. So what did you do before you started SoFi and how did you come up with the business idea?Dan: So I’m originally from the UK and I was educated there, and I worked for a British bank called Standard Charter Bank for about 12 years, across a variety of functions but also countries as well. So I spent a years in Singapore working on risk function. Back in London I worked directly for the group chief executive, kind of in a chi ef of staff role which was really a great way to see how a big 70,000 person company operates. Then I spent nearly three years in China running a smaller or medium enterprise business with a large team across the country. And then came to the U.S. to go to business school and it was a special program; a one year full time program at the Stanford business school, the GSB there, and that was back in 2010. And then went through that year, fell in love with Silicon Valley and the idea of entrepreneurship. And although I probably expected to go back to my previous company because I was sponsored by them. We the co-founders of SoFi were classmates and we were discussing ideas for businesses and one thing led to another and SoFi was born out of those conversations.Martin: Great. What types of business models did you discuss with because I guess you had a long list of ideas, and then shortened it and said, ‘Okay, let’s start something in the consumer finance sphere’.Dan: We did, and w e had a few different ideas that went around. One of them was more in the tech space. We were trying to make a kind of eBay for video services. So if you wanted to buy someone’s time, but you didn’t want to have to drive to where they were, then you could bid $20 for a half an hour of their time and they could give you a tutorial over the internet. We quickly changed that for various reasons and we focused on finance because that was where most of us had come from. And I think that was the industry that we wanted to come up with something to solve.So we had some broad ideas about connecting people with money who could invest. And people that needed money who could borrow and connecting them more directly without all the intermediaries that tend to exist. So that was the genesis really for SoFi and our first product was in the student loan area. So it was individuals investing money through SoFi and we then passed it on to borrowers who could borrow at a lower rate than they othe rwise would.BUSINESS MODEL OF SOFIMartin: And how did you start about entering the market in terms of, when did you build the platform and where did you first acquire the customers? Did you focus, at first, mainly only on the Stanford University because it was easier, you had some access to students?Dan: We did. We developed our idea in the last five months of our time at Stanford. So really from January to May of 2011, we were testing out the idea and researching and interviewing people, and getting feedback, and looking into the viability of it. By about April I think we were fairly convinced that we were going to start a business and we were going to try to make this work. So really as soon as we graduated we started the company. So it was literally, we graduated on a Saturday and two days later on the Monday we were coming in and starting work formally.So we went back for our first customers to Stanford. So many of the MBA students there, the second years had been exposed to us in some way the previous academic year. And obviously, we knew some people and that was a great way to test the market. And we launched a pilot fund at Stanford, really, where we raised money from Stanford alumni and then lent back to Stanford students. But, yes, that was the first one.Martin: And how much traction did you generate over the last three months or so in terms of how many students did you fund, what volume?Dan: Yes, we raised money from 40 people. We raised about $50,000 each on average. Made a two million dollar pool of money that we then lent to about 100 students, so they were borrowing roughly a thousand dollars each. So within three months we had actually lent money. It wasn’t just an idea or a project, we were actually a lending company by that time. And obviously, since then we’ve expanded and lent to many more people since then.Martin: And then, when you validated your business idea, why do you think the business opportunity existed? Because student loans is not a super new market, per se. It’s a big market, but why do you think there was a business opportunity that you could attack?Dan: It was a little bit strange because we didn’t really understand why no one had gone in there in a big way until we did. So just to give a bit of context, there’s more than a trillion dollars of student debt in the U.S. today which makes it the second largest amount of debt, second only to mortgages. So it’s more than credit card debt, more than auto loan debt. But despite the size of the market, there are very few options for consumers. And about 90 percent of the loans are made by the government at very standard rates. And depending on when you go to school, which years you went to school and depending on whether you are an undergraduate or a graduate, those loans can be very expensive. So we were surrounded at Stanford by people paying seven and eight percent for their loans. And these were credit worthy people that we knew would be getting j obs and were very confident they would pay those loans back. So that’s the market we chose to go after.We didn’t really understand why no one had tried it before. I mean it is a government dominated industry, so there are some barriers there, perhaps. It was a little bit difficult for the banks to play in that space for a variety of reasons but it was a little bit strange that no one had done it before so it was almost too good to be true. But we saw no reason why we shouldn’t do it, and that’s why we went for it.Martin: And why did the banks not go in there and offer other risk adjusted interest rates?Dan: It’s a little bit confusing because many of banks in the past had worked for the government. So the banks would make loans, but they’d be backed by the government, so there was an implicit guarantee there. And that, and a few other things, kind of muddied the water and just meant that they were an industry that they had retracted from. So post financial crisis 2008, t here were some banks that were in this space, but they came back from it. And they attracted.So maybe we were a little bit lucky or fortunate. I don’t know if those are the right words. But certainly, in terms of the timing, the banks weren’t seeking, really, to go into new lines of business. They were pulling back and concentrating on compliance and regulatory issues that were their main concern at that time. So I think they created that gap for us.Martin: Great. So after you have generated this kind of two million of credit transactions, what was the next step? Did you directly, after this kind of traction raise money in order to scale?Dan: Yes.Martin: Or did you just try to bootstrap?Dan: No, we raised money for the company after that. So through that process of lending to those students, and raising money on the other side, we showed two things- one we showed that we could lend money. We had to get a lending license, and we had to set up a website, and we had to have arrange ments with a servicer. You know, all those mechanics that go into that. So we proved that, albeit at a small level, but we proved that we could do it. And on the other side, we proved that we could convince people that this was a worthy investment. And they would trust two things- us as a company to handle their money, but secondly the quality of the loans they were funding, the quality of the people they were lending their money to. So both of those things we proved out, again, at a very early stage. So on the back of that we raised money for the company.So this would be, really, five months into the company’s existence. We raised a seed round / an A round, I never quite know where the distinction is, but it was a four million dollar round. And that then gave us the ability to go and start hiring people and start being a bit more aggressive in our growth and our growth ambitions.Martin: Dan, today you have a product portfolio. Can you elaborate a little bit on that and what kind of customers you’re targeting with it?Dan: Sure. So since those early days, we expanded the schools in which we would lend to. And we then expanded to lend to people who had graduated from school. They maybe two or three years out, but they want to refinance their student debt. So that was the bulk of our business for the first three years of our existence. And then we expanded, as you say, to other products.So we then started to offer mortgage products. But mortgage products that are different to what the market is offering. So many things, but one of them is we that we only require a 10 percent down payment with no mortgage insurance. So something that is very different in the market.Also personal loans so many of people are using these for one off purchases or maybe to refinance very expensive credit card debt.And we’re seeing great take home from both of those new products, as well as our existing student loan business. So now, three or four and a half years into the company , we have three very large loan products and we’re seeking to go beyond that as well, beyond just making loans and seeking to help people in other areas of their financial lives.Martin: Dan, so before you started you had no debt on the books and because you have this marketplace between investors and people who are looking for some kind of financial product. As you expand your product portfolio is this still the case, or are you looking to take mortgages or taking other debt on your books?Dan: We have a bit of a complex model. It’s like a hybrid model. We actually make all other loans from our own balance sheet and then typically one or two months into that loan, the loans would be bought by an investor. So that doesn’t change the relationship between Sofi and the borrower. Their relationship is still with us. They still owe us the money. If they have a question about how much do I owe this month, they call us. But the economics to that loan are owned by another party. And tha t’s really a way for us to scale more quickly If we were just using our own balance sheet it then becomes difficult to raise that money. And frankly we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand that we see for the loans that we have. So they’re on our balance sheet for a short period of time but, ultimately, the bulk of those loans are sold to other investors.Martin: And those other investors are those mainly companies like banks, or is this a big bulk of individual investors?Dan: It’s a variety. There are still individuals there. We have individuals investing their own personal money. But we found, in our early days, that that was difficult to scale to keep up with the demand for loans. So we’ve complemented that money from individuals with money from institutions. And those institutionsare financial institutions primarily small banks, regional banks, bigger banks, state level banks, along with pension funds and hedge funds, not-for-profits, a variety of places. But th e common theme being that they see the value of the loans they are making and wish to invest in that return.Martin: And how are you credit scoring the people? And making sure that you are earing some kind of a premium before you’re selling off the loans to other parties?Dan: So we do have a different approach to assessing people’s credit than traditional banks would look at. So we’re much less reliant on your credit score, and actually it doesn’t factor into our decision your score itself.So we look more at whether we think that you have enough cash to pay back the loan, which sounds very obvious. But, it isn’t how a lot of the industry works. A lot of the industry is very much looking at your credit score, which may be high or low for many reasons. And we don’t think it’s a very good predictor of somebody’s ability to pay back in the future. It is a predictor, but it’s not the only one. So we look at a variety of things, but ultimately it’s do we think you have enough money at the end of the month to pay back the loan and that would depend on a variety of issues.But we’ve made over 60,000 loans today and we’ve had only five people default on those loans. Four of them, unfortunately, passed away. We have something in the small print that says if you pass away we can wipe that debt. So it’s extremely low, the default rates, and we’re still early as a company, so we’re not claiming victory just yet but it’s an encouraging start.Martin: And how do you acquire the students, for example, for the student loans?Dan: So most of our loans now, in the student loan area, are refinancing student loans. So they aren’t necessarily students. They are graduates and they are now working for well-known companies and lesser known companies, big and small, around the country. So these are people who typically are a few years out of school, whether an undergraduate program or a graduate program. And we find them in a variety of ways, but word of mouth is a key thing. Around 50 percent of our customers heard about us from a friend. So I think that shows the quality of the product. You’re not going to tell your friend about something that was a bad experience. So we’ve worked very hard to make sure that the application experience and the simplicity and the customer care, etc., etc., are very good.Then combined with the savings, our customers are saving on average $14,000 when they refinance with us. That service combined with the product itself is a very compelling mix. And that really has led to huge word of mouth that is driving a lot of our growth.Then, obviously, we supplement that with different forms of marketing online and offline. And then we have, also many partnerships with big and small employers around the country. So we help to offer our produces to their employees as an employee benefit. And that’s proven to be very beneficial for all parties.Martin: At what point in time did you start to get institutiona l investors, and how did you convince them in the first place that your loan portfolio is worth buying?Dan: Yes. A great question because at the very beginning of the company we would tell people what we were up and we would say: These are the kinds of people that we are lending money to. And many people would nod their heads and say: Yes, they sound like a great investment. And then you would say: Okay, well, can we have some money please? And they would say: Well, why don’t you come back in a year, you know, after you’ve proven that these people can pay back their money?So although we’re relatively young, and it’s four and a half years, it was still a gradual process. So you would have to take small bite sized chunks at the beginning, the real early adopters, the people who were willing to maybe go on their gut instinct a little bit more. But for many of the investors, we had to wait a couple of years until we had that track history. Until we had that repayment history to say: Okay, we now have X thousand people who have repaid their loans. Now will you invest? Now will you believe what we’re saying?And it’s a gradual thing.So we’re at the point now where we have securitized many thousands of our loans and those securitizations are actually rated by the rating agencies. So there’s some third party validation that they have looked at the credit quality. So every time we do that, the rating gets slightly better, the amount of money that it costs us, basically, to pay that investor goes down and we can then feed that lower cost of capital to our customers, to our borrowers, in the form of cheaper loans for them.Martin: Did you try to find some kind of banks orinstitutional investors or equity investors, for example, in your company with the argument: Guys, I will offer you an investment opportunity, which is an option to having with access to our strongly growing loan portfolio.Dan: So we did a bit of that. We’ve done a bit of that. We also at the very beginning, many people, when we were going after individuals, many individuals were interested in investing in the loans, but in most cases that is a single digit return. And they were more interested in the opportunity to invest in the company because they like the idea of what we were doing and thought that it could grow into a decent sized company. So we had lots of people that said: I don’t really want to invest in the loans. I’d like to invest in the company. So at the beginning we kind of mixed the two, and said: Well you can’t invest in the company unless you invest in the loans. And that was one of the ways that we got people to commit capital to the loans and enable us to start making loans. Because, obviously, equity capital on its own would not be very useful to us. So there was a bit of a trade off there that our early investors were willing to go along with, because they believed in what we were doing as a company.Martin: And did you only try to raise eq uity, or did you also think about venture debt?Dan: We just raised equity, and we discussed venture debt. But I think we preferred a kind of cleaner model. So it was equity all the way. Every round that we’ve done has been equity.Martin: In terms of regional distribution of your customers, is it only U.S. focused or are you also international?Dan: So as of today it’s just U.S. It’s across the whole of the U.S. It isn’t just a West Coast business, or New York, San Francisco. We have customers in every state, bar one. Because we have a license for each state.Internationally, we have considered that and we’ve discussed that and I think at some stage in our existence that will happen. It’s not on the table today, at this point in time, just because of the opportunities in the U.S. but at some point in time I think that will happen.Martin: Right now you are a consumer finance company. Do you think it’s easier to start a consumer finance business than, for example, a corpora te finance or, let’s say, a business finance business?Dan: I don’t know if it’s easier. We sit here in Silicon Valley in San Francisco. There is appetite and acceptance of new types of businesses. So that among the consumers here, and I think in the U.S. at large, there is a large group of people that will give new businesses a try. And I think maybe that’s a little bit different than other countries where they want to see a name that’s been around for 50 or 100 years.So I think getting new business off the ground is possible here. And with new technology, it’s getting easier to get the word out. This person comes with that, because everybody’s doing that, and it’s so noisy so that sometimes you can’t get heard. But you can, through social media and other places, you can get the message out. And if, again, coming back to the point of people referring their friends, if you can create a product that people like, it easy for them to tell their friends now. There are r eview sites online. People can put things on Facebook and tell their classmates. Maybe there’s 400 people on this Facebook group and someone will say: Hey I took out a loan with SoFi and you should check it out. That didn’t exist before. So I think going into business is more binary. You’ve got big ticket partnerships or deals, but if they don’t happen then maybe you’re in trouble. Whereas with the consumers it’s a bit more gradual.ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS FROM DAN MACKLINMartin: Dan, what is your advice to first time entrepreneurs?Dan: I’ve seen a few people try to start companies out of business school, and I think the idea that you have has to be fundamentally different from what’s there today in the market. Because if it’s only a few percent better than what’s out there today, the chances are you’ll hit an obstacle that will be big enough that you may not get over it. I think to be able to get over those obstacles you have to have an idea that’s almost ten times as good as what the market currently has. Because inevitably you’ll hit those obstacles and you need something that’s big enough that people will think: It’s worth going for. It’s worth jumping over that wall to get to. To get financing people need to see something that is very different that what’s out there today, not just something that’s a subtle shift. So I think, having a big idea, and making sure that idea is significantly different from what’s out there today. I mean, that’s easier said than done, butI think that’s the best advice I can give.Martin: What other type of advice can you share? Some of the learnings, maybe, over the years?Dan: I think it’s tough in the beginning to get everything right, so you shouldn’t expect to build the perfect product. Or you shouldn’t expect to have the perfect customer experience straight away. Now, of course, you want to get there as quickly as you can. But I think in most businesses, if you wait too long you may have missed your moment or you may run out of money. By trying things, and sometimes not succeeding, you learn. Now, you don’t want to do that all the time, but you can’t wait for it to be perfect.I think that’s something that I’ve learned since I’ve been here in Silicon Valley, and in the U.S. in general. It’s try lots of stuff and sometimes it will work, and sometimes it won’t, but don’t be afraid to fail. If you can fail small along the way, and learn from that, I think that you can refine and improve your product into something that people really do want.Martin: Good. Dan, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.Dan: Martin, thank you.Martin: And good luck with SoFi.Dan: Thank you. Good luck to you.

Analysis Of The Book Elie Wiesel - 1876 Words

Everyone sees the world through their perspective, their own personal view. Often when asked to describe ourselves we find it to be difficult since we can only focus on the appearance of others around us rather than ourselves. Throughout the book Elie Wiesel has given detailed descriptions of his father â€Å"How he had aged since last night! His body was completely twisted, shriveled up into himself. His eyes were glazed over, his lips parched, decayed. Everything about him expressed total exhaustion. His voice was damp from tears and snow† (Night, 88). This could possibly correlate to his physical appearance at the end of the book when he finally gives a description of himself saying â€Å"From the depths of the mirror, a corpses was contemplating me† (Night, 115). In the beginning of the book Elie was spending much of his time studying the Talmud and later one day, studying the Cabala. Elie started off as a little boy who had faith and innocence. At Auschwitz Elie and the other prisoners continued to work for long hours with very little food. They battled the cold from walking or running to different camps while also working throughout the day. Every week people would collapse from exhaustion one by one because the work load given was too much for them to handle. If any of them lost the strength to survive, they would be sent to the gas chambers also known as the crematoria or their body would be thrown into a pile of garbage. Elie Wiesel who at one point in his life had faith inShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book Night By Elie Wiesel945 Words   |  4 PagesElie Wiesel was born in 1928. In his book, Night, which was published in 1955, Wiesel depicts his personal journey through the German concentration camps by the use of his character Eliezer (Sparknotes). At the age of 15, he lives with his family in Sighet, Transylvania (Biography). His father Shlomo is very involved with the community there. Eliezer is deeply engaged in religious studies, being taught by Moshe, an older man in his community who is considered a lunatic by many (Sparknotes). InRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Night By Elie Wiesel1778 Words   |  8 Pagesthis question, whether they have fully grasped their personality or not, and during that difficult time, even the things you thought you knew about yourself are challenged. In the memoir, Night, the author Elie Wiesel, presents the story of his own time in Auschwitz during the German Holocaust. Elie, being Jewish, was deported into concentration camps in Hitler’s final solution. He underwent such things as witnessing death for the first time, extreme exhaustion, inhumane treatment, and seeing peopleRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Night By Elie Wiesel794 Words   |  4 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McBride 1 Brandy McBride McAndrew ELA August 6, 2017   Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Night In the book Night by Elie Wiesel there are many instances where his use of imagery helps establish tone and purpose. For example Elie Wiesel used fire (sight) to represent just that. The fire helps prove that the tone is serious and mature. In no way did Wiesel try to lighten up the story about the concentration camps or the Nazis. His use of fire also helps show his purpose. â€Å"NeverRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Night By Elie Wiesel1017 Words   |  5 PagesIn the book Night by Elie Wiesel it says â€Å"human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.† This shows that the world’s problems are everyone’s problems. Everyone has their own responsibilities and when war occurs people tend to take on more responsibility than ever before. The United States is a prime example of making the world’s problems their own. When problems arise people step up and take responsibility. Like in the quote from Elie Wiesel, human suffering really is everyone’s problemRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Night By Elie Wiesel1367 Words   |  6 PagesNight is the detailed account of Elie Wiesel’s experiences as a Jew in Germany during the Holocaust. Night is considered a memoir, however, Wiesel uses fictional characters to tell his story. Eliezer acts as Wiesel’s author surrogate, a fictional character based on the author, and narrates the story. Over the course of the text Wiesel exposes the full face of the dehumanization perpetrated against the Jewish people. Through persuasive oration, Hitler was able to manipulate the Germans and justifyRead MoreNight By Elie Wiesel : Book Analysis708 Words   |  3 Pagescontinue. Majority of people stopped eating, gave up their religious faiths and hope, welcoming the darkness to embrace them. Surviving was a constant struggle for these people and the o nly way to overcome it was the acceptance of death. Night, by Elie Wiesel, is a memoir of the authors firsthand experience in the holocaust from his perspective as a teenage boy. The author includes concerns that individuals have, but never spoken aloud of, such as a home, family relations, and the effect this experienceRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The 57 Books By Elie Wiesel2436 Words   |  10 PagesEXPOSITION: Night, in its original Yiddish form, was the first of the 57 books written by Elie Wiesel till date. The book titled Un di velt hot geshvign (And the World Remained Silent) in Yiddish, was published in abridged form in Buenos Aires, Brazil. Wiesel rewrote a shortened version of the manuscript in French, which was published as the 127-page La Nuit, and later translated into English as Night. The book gives a detailed and heart wrenching first person account of the activities that tookRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Night By Elie Wiesel907 Words   |  4 Pages In the book Night written by Elie Wiesel was mainly about how a young boy had to suffer the traumatic experience of existence and fatality at Nazis concentration camps. In the book, Elie Wiesel was the character â€Å"Eliezer Wiesel†. Eliezer was a young boy at the age of fourteen who lived in Sighet, Transylvania. During the lead of World War II, Eliezer was an extremely earnest young boy who desired to examine and practice Jewish theology. He also occasionally spent a great deal of time and passionRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Night By Elie Wiesel1216 Words   |  5 Pageswhen I first saw the book. The images that they title brought to my mind is someplace where there is no light, no happiness.When you think of night you clearly think of physical darkness but I think night symbolizes a place without God’s presence, somewhere where there s no hope. The emotions that this title brought to my mind is sadness. Sadness because once you are in the dark there is nothing y ou can do but wait. Wait on your destiny. The impression that the picture on the book gave me was very vagueRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Night By Elie Wiesel1045 Words   |  5 PagesIn the memoir Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie Wiesel is a young boy who struggles to survive after being forced to live in the brutal concentration camp of Auschwitz. In Auschwitz, death and suffering is rampant, but due to compassionate words and actions from others, Elie is able to withstand these severe living conditions and overcome the risk of death in the unforgiving Auschwitz. As shown through the actions and words of characters in Night, compassion, the sympathetic pity for the suffering or misfortune

The Civil Rights Of Oklahoma Former Cop Daniel Holtzclaw

Also in Oklahoma former cop Daniel Holtzclaw was charged with raping and sexually victimizing 8 women in a low-income neighborhood (Chicago Tribune Newspaper). He was also convicted of forcible oral sodomy, sexual battery and second degree rape. Now he is known as the serial rapist/cop. He was sentenced to 236 years in prison, including a 30-year sentence on each of four of the first degree charges he faced. It took a jury 45 hours over a period of 4 days to deliberate this case. He also was convicted harsher because he was, well supposed to be a well-known and respected police officer. When police are supposed to be the protector and heroes of the streets instead of being the suspect. This case gained worldwide attention†¦show more content†¦He was also under investigation by the Oklahoma City six weeks before his final crime due to reports of sex crimes. So what that means is that he was targeting and attacking these women while he was under investigation. His convictions have relieved many people but raises many questions about police officers and their intentions. It also makes it seem like even cops are devaluing African-American lives, and that is sad to the black community. Police officers are acting like African American lives are useless and that’s the way we are being treated. And for a case like this to happen, is heartbreaking to black women, or women in general. It could have happened to any race, but women are always the main target. Support groups, women groups, etc. have all been the voice, but they are not being heard loud enough. Women face lots of problems, only to be treated as if they’re not needed on this world. Women go through pregnancies, miscarriages, rape, being degraded by men, etc. and the problem is still continuing with no solution, with no solutions in the future. Men are not the total blame but they contribute largely to the problem. Once the system gets tougher on the sentencing of the guilty under contro l and enforce the laws women will have a burden lifted off their shoulders. When the law strictly enforces acts against women, men will finally see that they can’t just go around raping women. No one knows what it’s like to be a

Business.Report Free Essays

Report by Michal Bodnar and team on Auric Bank Performance on 11 April, 2013 1. Introduction The aim of the report is to overview the company performance of Auric Bank and to consider options how to manage its declining customer satisfaction and increasing costs. As members of a team of workers from an outside Consultancy company, we were authorized to write this report by the management of Auric Bank. We will write a custom essay sample on Business.Report or any similar topic only for you Order Now The report is based on our research about bank and the options outlined by the Chief Executive of the Auric Bank. This report concludes with our conclusions on the best option for the bank as well as with some recommendations how to improve customer satisfaction and decline the costs. 2. Findings 1. Background information The following points summarize our key findings. The company under study is Auric Bank which experienced significant loss last year due to unprofitable investments that reached ? 1. 5 billion. The bank reviewed its operation and found out that consumers think that the bank is charging them too much for their services and the bank does not care enough and does not understand their customers’ needs anymore. The review concluded that the bank should reduce costs to increase its profits and share price. As a part of a major reorganization of their business, the Auric Bank is reviewing several options how to change the services they are providing to their customers. They are mainly looking at cutting costs and increasing efficiency of their call centers. Currently the bank has three call centers in South England and headquarters in London with approximately 2,500 employers. The bank is considering four options for the reorganization of their call centers: †¢ Keep the call centers as they are but increasing their productivity, cutting back business hours and employing more part-time workers †¢ Outsource the call centers to a South African company Resource Plc. with excellent recommendations which will cut the costs in half for the next five years compared to the first option †¢ Outsource the call centers to a young company Orion Plc. from Scotland which may save ? 6 million in next five years in comparison to the first ption †¢ Outsource the call center to a fast growing company X-Source India based in Bangalore with large labor pool which may cut the cost for ? 10. 5 million in next five years 2. Comparative Analysis Based on the data from the Auric Bank it was found that in comparison to year 2011 the costs of the call centers have been raising throughout the whole year 2012. While the rise was milder in the first seven months it be came higher during the rest of the year and in December the costs were more than double compared to year 2011. During the second half of the year a rise in costs occurred although in the same part of the previous year Auric Bank experienced a moderate drop in costs of the call centers. In December 2012 it peaked at almost ? 450 thousand compared to almost ? 200 thousand in December 2011. Reviewing all the materials concerning call centers of the Auric Bank we found that the rise in the costs of the call centers was mainly due to the rise of the customer dissatisfaction and therefore more calls to the call centers which increased costs of their operation. The slight rise of the costs from the beginning of the year can be attributed to the change in the regulations connected to the labor code which increased the costs of the workforce. 3. Conclusions It is clear from the Findings that the Auric Bank can decide on several options when it comes to restructuring the operation of their call centers. We agreed that in addition to the decision on the call centers the Auric Bank should also work on its communication and presentation to the customers, as the increase in the customer satisfaction can clearly contribute to the decline in the costs for the operation of that call centers. Together with this we felt that the Auric Bank should decide to outsource the call centers to the Scottish company Orion Plc. There are a number of reasons for this. Above all we think it is not necessary to move the call centers overseas and the reduction in costs offered by Orion Plc. is sufficient. Moreover, the jobs will stay within the country which may positively affect the perception of the bank by the customers. In addition, this option does not represent any additional costs for moving the perations overseas. 4. Recommendations It is suggested that the Auric Bank takes the following steps in order to improve its performance: †¢ Lower the costs and increase the efficiency of the call centers through outsourcing the services from the Scottish company Orion Plc. †¢ Prepare an image campaign to improve the perception of the bank by its customers †¢ Start lobbying at the government for more favorable employment policy with the argument of moving the jobs overseas How to cite Business.Report, Papers

Touro University International Essays (2077 words) - Economy

Touro University International James L. White ACC 501 Module 1, Case Assignment Dr. Paul R. Watkins INTRODUCTION The purpose of this report is to search the course background information, the Internet and/or the Cyber Library and to discuss each of the following terms; Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Historical Cost, Accrual Basis vs. Cash Basis Accounting, Current Assets and Liabilities vs. Non-Current Items. My discussion will expand on the definition as given in the course terms and explain why this concept is important to financial statements. I will then describe the general organization of Ford Motor Company, Microsoft, and ExxonMobil by looking at three sets of their financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Statement of Cash Flows). I will make one prediction about each company from that company's financial statements and Reach one additional conclusion about each company from the information I find in the annual report. By discussing these topics, I hope to offer some knowledge on these accounting terms and the three companies listed above. I will conclude this report with a brief summary of the entire analysis, highlighting some of the more significant parts that the report contains. GAAP Wikipedia defines Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as, "the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting. It includes the standards, conventions, and rules accountants follow in recording and summarizing transactions and in the preparation of financial statements" (Wikipedia, 2006). Every country has their own version of GAAP with the standards being set by their national governing body. Wikipedia defines the United States version as, "the accounting rules used to prepare financial statements for publicly traded companies and many private companies in the United States" (Wikipedia, 2006). GAAP is not an unchanging set of rules. It is a guideline of objectives and conventions that have evolved over time to oversee how financial statements are arranged and presented. Qualified public accountants customarily audit companies to determine if their financial statements are in compliance with GAAP. GAAP has four basic assumptions (Economic Entity Assumption, Going Concern Assumption, Monetary Unit Assumption, and Periodic Reporting Assumption), four basic principles (historical cost principle, revenue recognition principle, matching principle and full disclosure principle) and four basic constraints (Cost-benefit relationship, Materiality, Industry practices and Conservatism). Organizations such as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Government Accounting Standards Board, the American Accounting Association, the Institute of Management Accountants, and the Financial Executives Institute, all influence the development of GAAP in the United States. HISTORICAL COST Historical Cost is described by Wikipedia as, "Historical Cost describes the original cost of an asset at the time of purchase or payment as opposed to its market value" (Wikipedia, 2006). "Historical cost is one of the main principles in the U.S. general accepted accounting principles." (Wikipedia, 2006) For example, if I purchased my business building 20 years ago for $50,000.00 but today it is worth $200,000.000 I would still record it on my balance sheet as its historical cost of $50,000.00. In an article entitled Historical Costs vs. Deferred Costs as Basic Concepts for Financial Statement Valuations by Abe L. Shugerman (Associate Professor, Western Reserve University) explained, "Someone pursuing a Balance Sheet would be apprised of how much an asset actually costs, but he would not necessarily know whether such an outlay was truly representative of the assets value at current price levels" (Shugerman, 2006). Since depreciation is one of the elements of a Net Profit computation it is affected by historical cost because it affects the statement of profit and loss. ACCRURAL BASIS VS CASH BASIS ACCOUNTING Wikipedia defines Accrual basis as, "... accounting records financial events that change your net worth (the amount owed to you minus the amount you owe others)." (Wikipedia, 2006) Accrual basis is GAAP compliant, which makes accrual basis the methods to use by all publicly traded companies since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requires all publicly traded companies to follow GAAP. Accrual accounting is based on matching an expense with revenue it helps generate. The advantage of accrual basis is that it measures current income more accurately than the cash method. However, the disadvantage of accrual basis is that it is difficult to understand. Cash basis is described by Wikipedia as, "a method of bookkeeping that records financial events based on cash flows and cash position. Revenue is recognized when cash is received and expense is recognized when cash is paid." (Wikipedia, 2006) This method does not recognize promises to pay or expectations to receive money or services in the future. There are two types of cash