Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Places of Worship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Spots of Worship - Essay Example Christians have love place known as chapel in which the Christians come and comply with their master. Church is the frightened spot for the Christians where Christians come and ask so as to get inner fulfillment and motivation. Places of worship are worked looking like a Cross on which Christians accept that Jesus Christ was given disciplines and afterward he kicked the bucket. There are various pieces of a congregation for instance the passageway and steps are intended to give the state of the steps towards the sky. The sky are given the state of the intersection. Holy places are available in each side of the world. There is a need to instill the significance of holy places in light of the way that Christianity is the quickest developing religion on the planet. Houses of prayer are some significant sorts of chapels. The job of ministers or religious administrators is truly fascinating and of titanic significance in chapel. The religious administrator is the person who drives theprayers, leads all theceremonies and supplications in a congregation. No official action can happen without the nearness of the minister or religious administrator. Numerous Christians visit the temples regularly in their daily schedule; some of them visit the houses of worship on Sunday in light of the fact that there arespecial petitions on Sundays. The wedding services of the Christians additionally happen in houses of worship since Christians imagine that in the event that they perfect their relationships in holy places, it will bringpeace, joy and agreement in their lives. The Masjids Love place for the Muslims is known as Mosque or Masjid. Muslims should come in the mosque five times each day for petitions. The petition timings are set by the development of sun. There are three supplications in the day timings and two petitions after that among which, one is on the nightfall and the other one is around evening time known as â€Å"Isha Prayer†. ... During the player, the Muslims remain from side by side so as to instill and portray the solidarity among them. The love place is pressed with individuals on Friday petitions. Friday supplications are exceptionally committed on Muslims and during the Friday petitions, a wide range of business exercises are taboo. Love spot of Muslims known as masjid has additionally a different spot for bathing wherein the Muslims clean themselves from water by washing their hands, face, mouth, toes and hair since purging is the most importantly pre-essential of the supplication of the Muslims. Muslims are additionally coordinated to stand and face one bearing known as â€Å"Kaabah†. The Kaabah is the spot arranged in Saudi Arabia and Muslims should confront its course so as to give a portrayal of solidarity and unity. Eid petition is likewise one of the most significant supplications in the Muslims venerate place. Eid days are booked double cross in a year in which Muslims from everywhere thr oughout the world praise these occasions with incredible energy and enthusiasm. The masjid is likewise arranged in numerous principle spots of the Muslims people group. The masjid is a sacrosanct spot for the Muslims and even non additionally originate from better places to see the authentic mosques around the globe for instance Turkey has probably the best and chronicled mosques where numerous individuals come and visit to see the brief look at the recorded spots. The Mandirs The hallowed venerating spot for the Hindus is known as Tempe or â€Å"Mandir† which is an expression of Sanskrit language and it implies â€Å"gladdening†. Like other loving spots, there is consistently a requirement for the main character to be available in the love spot to finish the official supplications and

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Detecting Signs of E.T.

Distinguishing Signs of E.T. Every once in a while, the news media begins to look all starry eyed at tales about how outsiders have been found. From the discovery of a potential sign from a removed human advancement to stories of an outsider megastructure around a star saw by the Kepler Space Telescope to the account of the WOW! signal distinguished in 1977 by a space expert at Ohio State University, whenever theres a trace of a bewildering revelation in stargazing, we see short of breath features that outsiders have been found.  In purpose of truth, there hasnt been an outsider human advancement found...yet. Be that as it may, stargazers continue looking! Discovering Something Weird In pre-fall 2016, space experts got what appeared to be a sign from an inaccessible sun-like star called HD 164595. Fundamental hunts utilizing the Allen Telescope Array in California showed that the sign got by a Russian telescope was not likely from an outsider human advancement. In any case, more telescopes will look at the sign to comprehend what it is and what could be making it. For  now, be that as it may, its concern not minimal green outsiders sending us a howdy.â Another star, called KIC 8462852, was seen by Kepler for over four years. It seems to have a fluctuation in its brilliance. That is, the light we see originating from this F-type star diminishes occasionally. It is anything but a normal timeframe, so its likely not brought about by a circling planet. Such planet-caused dimmings are called travels. Kepler has recorded numerous stars utilizing the travel technique and discovered a large number of planets thusly. In any case, the diminishing of KIC 8462852 was simply excessively sporadic. While stargazers and spectators took a shot at indexing its dimmings, they additionally conversed with a space expert who had been considering what we may check whether a far off star had planets with life on them. Furthermore, specifically, if that life was mechanically ready to assemble superstructures around their star to reap its light (for instance).  What Could it Be? In the event that a major structure circled a star, it could make the changeability in the stars splendor be sporadic or even arbitrary appearing. Obviously, there are a few provisos with this thought. In the first place, separation is an issue. Indeed, even a genuinely huge structure would be hard to recognize from Earth, even with solid indicators. Second, the star itself could have some odd variable example, and space experts would need to watch it for longer timeframes to make sense of what it is. Third, stars with dust mists around them can likewise have genuinely enormous planetary structures shaping. Those planetesimals could likewise cause unpredictable splendor plunges in the starlight we identify from Earth, particularly on the off chance that they were circling at amazed separations. At long last, calamitous impacts between clusters of material around a star could convey enormous gatherings of items, for example, cometary cores in circle around the star. Those could likewi se influenced the apparent brilliance of the star.â The Simple Truth In science, theres a standard that we follow called Occams Razor - it implies, basically, for some random occasion or item you watch, for the most part the most conceivable clarification is the least difficult one.  In this case, stars with bunches of residue, planetesimals, or wandering exo-comets are almost certain than outsiders. That is on the grounds that stars FORM in haze of gas and dust, and more youthful stars despite everything have material around them left over from the arrangement of their planets. KIC 8462852 could be in a planet-shaping stage, reliable with its age and mass (its about 1.4 occasions the mass of the Sun and somewhat more youthful than our star). Along these lines, the least complex clarification here isn't an outsider megacomplex, yet multitudes of comets.â The Search Protocol The quest for extrasolar planets has consistently been an introduction to a quest forever somewhere else known to man. Each star and planet framework found to have universes must be inspected cautiously with the goal that space experts comprehend its stock of planets, moons, rings, space rocks, and comets. Once that is done, the following stage is to make sense of if the universes are neighborly to life - that is, would they say they are tenable? They do this by attempting to comprehend if the world has an environment, where it is in its circle around the star, and what its developmental state may be.  So far, none have been discovered accommodating. However, theyll be found. Chances are, there is keen life elsewere known to mankind. In the long run, we will distinguish it - or it will discover us. Meanwhile, cosmologists on Earth keep on looking for livable planets around likely stars. The more they study, they more theyll be prepared to perceive lifes impacts somewhere else.

Monday, August 17, 2020

Financial Statement Analysis An Introduction

Financial Statement Analysis An Introduction Financial Statement Analysis is a method of reviewing and analyzing a company’s accounting reports (financial statements) in order to gauge its past, present or projected future performance. This process of reviewing the financial statements allows for better economic decision making.Globally, publicly listed companies are required by law to file their financial statements with the relevant authorities. For example, publicly listed firms in America are required to submit their financial statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Firms are also obligated to provide their financial statements in the annual report that they share with their stakeholders. As financial statements are prepared in order to meet requirements, the second step in the process is to analyze them effectively so that future profitability and cash flows can be forecasted.Therefore, the main purpose of financial statement analysis is to utilize information about the past performance of the company in order to predict how it will fare in the future. Another important purpose of the analysis of financial statements is to identify potential problem areas and troubleshoot those. © Shutterstock.com | samuiHere, we will look at 1) the users of financial statement analysis, 2) the methods of financial statement analysis, 3) key accounting reports (the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows) and how they are analyzed, 4) other financial statement information, and 5) problems with financial statement analysis.USERS OF FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSISThere are different users of financial statement analysis. These can be classified into internal and external users. Internal users refer to the management of the company who analyzes financial statements in order to make decisions related to the operations of the company. On the other hand, external users do not necessarily belong to the company but still hold some sort of financial interest. These include owners, investors, creditors, government, employees, customers, and the general public. These users are elaborated on below:1. ManagementThe managers of the company use their financial statement analysis to make intelligent decisions about their performance. For instance, they may gauge cost per distribution channel, or how much cash they have left, from their accounting reports and make decisions from these analysis results.2. OwnersSmall business owners need financial information from their operations to determine whether the business is profitable. It helps in making decisions like whether to continue operating the business, whether to improve business strategies or whether to give up on the business altogether.3. InvestorsPeople who have purchased stock or shares in a company need financial information to analyze the way the company is performing. They use financial statement analysis to determine what to do with their investments in the company. So depending on how the company is doing, they will either hold onto their stock, sell it or buy more.4. CreditorsCreditors are interested in knowing if a company will be able to honor its payments as they become due. They use cash flow analysis of the company’s accounting records to measure the company’s liquidity, or its ability to make short-term payments.5. GovernmentGoverning and regulating bodies of the state look at financial statement analysis to determine how the economy is performing in general so they can plan their financial and industrial policies. Tax authorities also analyze a company’s statements to calculate the tax burden that the company has to pay.6. EmployeesEmployees need to know if their employment is secure and if there is a possibility of a pay raise. They want to be abreast of their company’s profitability and stability. Employees may also be interested in knowing the company’s financial position to see whether there may be plans for expansion and hence, career prospects for them.7. CustomersCustomers need to know about the ability of the company to service its clients into the future. The need to know about the company’s stability of operations is heightened if the c ustomer (i.e. a distributor or procurer of specialized products) is dependent wholly on the company for its supplies.8. General PublicAnyone in the general public, like students, analysts and researchers, may be interested in using a company’s financial statement analysis. They may wish to evaluate the effects of the firm on the environment, or the economy or even the local community. For instance, if the company is running corporate social responsibility programs for improving the community, the public may want to be aware of the future operations of the company.METHODS OF FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSISThere are two main methods of analyzing financial statements: horizontal or trend analysis, and vertical analysis. These are explained below along with the advantages and disadvantages of each method.Horizontal AnalysisHorizontal analysis is the comparison of financial information of a company with historical financial information of the same company over a number of reporting period s. It could also be based on the ratios derived from the financial information over the same time span. The main purpose is to see if the numbers are high or low in comparison to past records, which may be used to investigate any causes for concern. For example, certain expenditures that are high currently, but were well under budget in previous years may cause the management to investigate the cause for the rise in costs; it may be due to switching suppliers or using better quality raw material.This method of analysis is simply grouping together all information, sorting them by time period: weeks, months or years. The numbers in each period can also be shown as a percentage of the numbers expressed in the baseline (earliest/starting) year. The amount given to the baseline year is usually 100%. This analysis is also called dynamic analysis or trend analysis.Advantages and Disadvantages of Horizontal AnalysisWhen the analysis is conducted for all financial statements at the same time , the complete impact of operational activities can be seen on the company’s financial condition during the period under review. This is a clear advantage of using horizontal analysis as the company can review its performance in comparison to the previous periods and gauge how it’s doing based on past results.A disadvantage of horizontal analysis is that the aggregated information expressed in the financial statements may have changed over time and therefore will cause variances to creep up when account balances are compared across periods.Horizontal analysis can also be used to misrepresent results. It can be manipulated to show comparisons across periods which would make the results appear stellar for the company. For instance, if the profits for this month are only compared with those of last month, they may appear outstanding but that may not be the case if compared with the same month the previous year. Using consistent comparison periods can address this problem.Vertical A nalysisVertical analysis is conducted on financial statements for a single time period only. Each item in the statement is shown as a base figure of another item in the statement, for a given time period, usually for year. Typically, this analysis means that every item on an income and loss statement is expressed as a percentage of gross sales, while every item on a balance sheet is expressed as a percentage of total assets held by the firm.Vertical analysis is also called static analysis because it is carried out for a single time period.Advantages and Disadvantages of Vertical AnalysisVertical analysis only requires financial statements for a single reporting period. It is useful for inter-firm or inter-departmental comparisons of performance as one can see relative proportions of account balances, no matter the size of the business or department.Because basic vertical analysis is constricted by using a single time period, it has the disadvantage of losing out on comparison across different time periods to gauge performance. This can be addressed by using it in conjunction with timeline analysis, which shows what changes have occurred in the financial accounts over time, such as a comparative analysis over a three-year period. For instance, if the cost of sales comes out to be only 30 percent of sales each year in the past, but this year the percentage comes out to be 45 percent, it would be a cause for concern.KEY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS HOW THEY ARE ANALYZEDThe main types of financial statements are the balance sheet, the income statement and the statement of cash flows. These accounting reports are analyzed in order to aid economic decision-making of a firm and also to predict profitability and cash flows.I. The Balance Sheet © Wikimedia CommonsThe balance sheet shows the current financial position of the firm, at a given single point in time. It is also called the statement of financial position. The structure of the balance sheet is laid out such that on one side assets of the firm are listed, while on the other side liabilities and shareholders’ equity is shown. The two sides of the balance sheet must balance as follows:Assets = Liabilities + Shareholders’ EquityThe main items on the balance sheet are explained below:Current AssetsCurrent assets held by the firm refer to cash and cash equivalents. These cash equivalents are assets that can be easily converted into cash within one year. Current assets include marketable securities, inventory and accounts receivable.Long-term AssetsLong-term assets are also called non-current assets and include fixed assets like plant, equipment and machinery, and property, etc.A firm records depreciation of its fixed, long-term assets every year. It is not an actua l expense of cash paid, but is only a reduction in the book value of the asset. The book value is calculated by subtracting the accumulated depreciation of prior years from the price of the assets.Total Assets = Current Assets + Book Value of Long-Term AssetsCurrent LiabilitiesCurrent liabilities of the firm are obligations that are due in less than one year. These include accounts payable, deferred expenses and also notes payable.Long-term LiabilitiesLong-term liabilities of the firm are financial payments or obligations due after one year. These include loans that the firm has to repay in more than a year, and also capital leases which the firm has to pay for in exchange for using a fixed asset.Shareholders’ EquityShareholders’ equity is also known as the book value of equity or net worth of the firm. It is the difference between total assets owned by a firm and total liabilities outstanding. It is different from the market value of equity (stock market capitalization) which i s calculated as follows: number of shares outstanding multiplied by the current share price.Balance Sheet AnalysisThe balance sheet is analyzed to obtain some key ratios that help explain the health of the firm at a given point in time. These metrics are as follows:Debt-Equity Ratio = Total Debt / Total EquityThe debt-equity ratio is also called a leverage ratio. It is calculated to assess the leverage, or gearing, of a firm to show how much it relies on debt to finance its activities. This ratio has pertinent implications for the financial health of the firm and the risk and return of its shares.Market-to-Book Ratio = Market Value of Equity / Book Value of EquityThe market-to-book ratio is used to reflect any changes in a firm’s characteristics. The variations in this ratio also show any value added by the management and its growth prospects.Enterprise Value = Market Value of Equity + Debt â€" CashThe enterprise value of a firm shows the underlying value of the business. It refle cts the true value of the firm’s assets, not including any cash or cash equivalents, while unencumbered by the debt the firm carries.II. The Income Statement © Wikimedia Commons | MicrosoftThe purpose of an income statement is to report the revenues and expenditures of a firm over a specific period of time. It was previously also called a profit and loss account. The general structure of the income statement with major components is as follows:Sales revenueâ€" Cost of goods sold (COGS)= Gross profitâ€" Selling, general and administrative costs (SGA)â€" Research and development (RD)= Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)â€" Depreciation and amortization= Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)â€" Interest expense= Earnings before taxes (EBT)â€" Taxes= Net incomeThe net income on the income statement, if positive, shows that the company has made a profit. If the net income is negative, it means the company incurred a loss.Earnings per share can be derived from knowing the total number of shares outstanding of the company:Earnings per Share = Net Income / Shares OutstandingIncome statement AnalysisSome us eful metrics based on the information provided in the income statement and the balance sheet are as follows:Profitability Ratios:1. Net profit margin: This ratio calculates the amount of profit that the company has earned after taxes and all expenses have been deducted from net sales.Net profit Margin =Net Income / Net Sales2. Return on Equity: This ratio is used to calculate company profit as a percentage of total equity.Return on Equity = Net Income / Book Value of EquityValuation Ratios:Price to earnings ratios (P/E ratio)The P/E ratio is used to evaluate whether the value of a stock is proportional to the level of earnings it can generate for its stockholders. It assesses whether the stock is overvalued or undervalued.(P/E) Ratio = Market Capitalization / Net Income = Share Price / Earnings per ShareIII. The Statement of Cash FlowsThe statement of cash flows shows explicitly the sources of the firm’s cash and where the cash is utilized. It is essentially a statement whereby th e net income is adjusted for non-cash expenses and any changes to the net working capital. It also reflects changes in cash coming from, or being used by, investing and financing activities of the firm. The structure and main components of the cash flow statement are as follows:Cash from operating activities = Net income + Depreciation ± Changes in net working capitalCash from financing activities = New debt + New shares â€" Dividends â€" Shares repurchasedCash from investment activities = Capital expenditure â€" Proceeds from sales of long-term assetsAll three of the above determine the bottom line: changes in cash flows.Cash Flows Statement Analysis In order to measure how much cash is available to the company for investments without outside financing or money diverting from operations, it is useful to conduct a simple cash flow statement analysis. The free cash flow, as the name suggests, allows a company to be able to pay dividends, repay its debts, buy back its stock and also make new investments to facilitate future growth. The excess cash produced by the company, free cash flow, is calculated as follows:Net Income+ Amortization/Depreciation Changes in Working Capital Capital Expenditures= Free Cash FlowSome analysts also study the cash flow from operating activities to see if the company is earning “quality” income. In order for the company to be doing extremely well, the cash from operating activities must be consistently greater than the net income earned by the company.OTHER FINANCIAL STATEMENT INFORMATIONApart from the key financial statements, complete financial reporting statements also include the following:Business and Operating ReviewThe business and operating review is also called “management discussion and analysis”. It serves as a preface to all the complete reporting statements in which the management talks about recent events, discloses essential information regarding expansion and future plans, and discusses significant developme nts in the business industry.The business and operating review is a good place for the company to share any good news with the general public. They have room to elaborate on plans that would help enhance the company’s image and address any unpleasant events that may have occurred, to show the customers that they truly care about talking openly to their customers.Statement of Change in Shareholders’ EquityThe statement of change in shareholders’ equity is also known as equity analysis. It provides information about all the changes in the company’s equity value over a certain time period. It reconciles the opening balances of the equity accounts with the closing balances. There are two types of changes expressed in the statement of change in shareholders’ equity:Changes arising from any transactions conducted with shareholders of the company. For example, issuing new shares, paying dividends, purchasing treasury stock, and issuing bonus shares, etc.Changes that are a result of alterations in the comprehensive income of the company. These changes might include revaluation of fixed assets, net income for the period and fair value of for-sale investments, etc.Notes to the Financial StatementsNotes to the financial statements are basically additional information provided in a company’s financial statements. These notes provide details and information that are left out of the main reporting documents. They are important for the sake of clarity on many points as they outline the accounting methodology used for recording certain transactions. The notes to the financial statements are essentially footnotes because if included in the main statements, they would obscure the important information, as they are generally quite elaborate and detailed.The following notes are usually used to impart important disclosures for explaining the numbers on the financial statements:Notes that show the basis for presentationNotes that advise on significant accounting policie sNotes about valuing inventoryNotes about depreciating assetsNotes about intangible assetsNotes that disclose subsequent eventsNotes about employee benefitsNotes that reveal contingency plansPROBLEMS WITH FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSISFinancial statement analysis is a brilliant tool to gauge the past performance of a company and predict future performance, but there are several issues that one should be aware of before using the financial statement analysis results blindly, as these issues can interfere with how the results are interpreted. Some of the issues are:Comparability between CompaniesThis is a big issue for analysts because they can seemingly compare financial statement analyses between different companies on the basis of ratios used, but in reality it may not paint an accurate picture. The financial ratios of two different companies may be compared to see how they match up against each other, but each company may aggregate all their information different from each other in order to draw up their accounting statements. This may lead to incorrect conclusions drawn about a company in relation to other companies in the industry.Comparability between PeriodsThe change in accounts where financial information is stored may skew the results of the financial statement analysis, from one period to the next. For example, if a company records an expense in one period as cost of goods sold, while in another period, it is recorded as a selling and distribution expense, the analysis between those two periods would not be comparable.Operational InformationAnalysts do not take into account operational information of a company, as only financial information is analyzed and reviewed. There may be several indicators in operational information of the company which may be predictors of future performance, for example, the number of backlogged orders, any changes in licenses or warranty claims submitted to the company or even changes in the culture and work environment. The refore, analysis of financial information may only relay half the story. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons under  public domain, Wikimedia Commons | Microsoft under  public domain.