Feminine Mystique Definition and Background

The Feminine Mystique is remembered as the book that â€Å"started† the womens movement and 1960s feminism in the United States. But what is the definition of the feminine mystique? What did Betty Friedan describe and analyze in her 1963 bestseller? Famous, or Famously Misunderstood? Even people who have not read The Feminine Mystique can often identify it as a book that drew attention to the massive unhappiness of women trying to fit a media-idealized â€Å"happy suburban housewife† image. The book examined the role of women’s magazines, Freudian psychology, and educational institutions in limiting women’s life options. Betty Friedan drew back the curtain on society’s pursuit of the pervasive mystique. But exactly what did she expose? Definition of the Feminine Mystique The feminine mystique is the false notion that a woman’s â€Å"role† in society is to be a wife, mother, and housewife - nothing else. The mystique is an artificial idea of femininity that says having a career and/or fulfilling one’s individual potential somehow go against womens pre-ordained role. The mystique is the constant barrage of homemaker-nurturer-mother images that esteem the virtue of keeping house and raising children as essential womanhood while criticizing the â€Å"masculinity† of women who want to do other things, whether along with or instead of the mystique-approved duties.   In Betty Friedans Words â€Å"The feminine mystique says that the highest value and the only commitment for women is the fulfillment of their own femininity,† Betty Friedan wrote in The Feminine Mystique’s second chapter, â€Å"The Happy Housewife Heroine.†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It says that the great mistake of Western culture, through most of its history, has been the undervaluation of this femininity. It says this femininity is so mysterious and intuitive and close to the creation and origin of life that man-made science may never be able to understand it. But however special and different, it is in no way inferior to the nature of man; it may even in certain respects be superior. The mistake, says the mystique, the root of women’s troubles in the past is that women envied men, women tried to be like men, instead of accepting their own nature, which can find fulfillment only in sexual passivity, male domination, and nurturing maternal love. (The Feminine Mystique, New York: W.W. Norton 2001 paperback edition, pp. 91-92) One major problem was that the mystique told women it was something new. Instead, as Betty Friedan wrote in 1963, â€Å"the new image this mystique gives to American women is the old image: ‘Occupation: housewife.’† (p. 92) Inventing an Old-Fashioned Idea The new mystique made being a housewife-mother the ultimate goal, rather than recognizing that women (and men) could be freed by modern appliances and technology from many of the domestic labors of earlier centuries. Women of previous generations may have had no choice but to spend more time cooking, cleaning, washing and bearing children. Now, in mid-20th century U.S. life, instead of allowing women to do something else, the mystique stepped in and made this image: â€Å"into a religion, a pattern by which all women must now live or deny their femininity.† (p. 92) Rejecting the Mystique Betty Friedan ably dissected the messages of women’s magazines and their emphasis on buying more household products, a self-fulfilling prophecy designed to keep women in the fabricated role. She also analyzed Freudian analysis and the ways women were blamed for their own unhappiness and lack of fulfillment. The prevailing narrative told them they simply weren’t living up to the mystique’s standards.   The Feminine Mystique awakened many readers to the realization that the upper-middle-class-suburban-homemaker-mother image being spread across the land was a false idea that hurt women, families, and society. The mystique denied everyone the benefits of a world in which all people could work to their fullest potential.

Essay about External Auditors Must be Independent

2001. It was the year that every individual; man, woman and children on Earth would remember. There was the September 11 event which was considered the worst terrorist attack that has happened in U.S. history, killing a total of 2, 977 people. And not long after that, in the business world, on December 2, the greatest corporate failure was exposed. The crash of Enron in US, followed by the worldwide collapse of its auditor, Arthur Andersen became one the most popular accounting scandal where it is still being talked about even after a decade has passed. Following this scandal, other massive organizations like WorldCom (2002), AIG (2004), and Satyam Computer Services (2009) shared the same fate. Since then, there have been questions being†¦show more content†¦The presence of an external auditor allows creditors, investors or bankers to use financial statements that have been prepared with confidence. Although it does not guarantee the accuracy of a financial statement, it pr ovides users with some reassurance that a company’s financial statements give a true and fair view of its financial position and its business operations. It also provides credibility, where in business, is a major asset. With credibility, the willingness of investors, bankers and others to relate and undertake business projects with a company increases. Credibility is also important to build positive reputations. Internal auditors cannot effectively provide an analysis on the company’s internal dealings as they are part of the company. External auditors, however, can observe these processes from the outside and then determine where the funds of the company and whether the dealings adhere to the regulations. Using external auditors in a company prevents conflict of interest from happening. Conflict of interest is a situation where an individual or organization has multiple interests and of those multiple interests, one could possible corrupt the motivation for an act on the other when the auditor has any kind of beneficial interest in their client’s performance. In other circumstances, there is also the threat of familiarity where auditors becomeShow MoreRelatedAssessing The Internal Audit Function988 Words   |  4 Pagesthat of the financial statements are not identical, and the auditor must perform the audits to achieve both objectives. Internal Audit Objectivity Auditors of a firm’s financial statements, be they external or internal auditors, have the primary objective of providing users of said financial statements with an opinion on the fairness of reported information to engender the confidence of said users (AICPA, 2012). As such, auditors must adhere to requirements set forth by the Auditing Standards BoardRead MoreIndependence of External Auditor1203 Words   |  5 PagesIndependence of external auditor By:- shubham kanchhal Auditor independence  refers to the independence  of the auditor  from parties that may have a financial interest in business being audited. Independence requires integrity  and an objective approach  for the audit process. This concept requires the auditor  to carry his work freely and in an objective manner. The purpose of an audit to enhance the credibilityRead MoreInternal Auditors : Internal Audit898 Words   |  4 PagesInternal Auditors An internal auditor is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve and organization’s operations. Internal auditors search for risk that could potential cause a company to not reach their stated goals. In order for a internal auditor to do their job effectively and efficiently, the executives must be willing to work with the internal auditors through tough issues and be open for change and improvements. Internal auditors must haveRead MoreImpact of Job Rotation on Employees Performance1032 Words   |  5 PagesAssignment of Advance Auditing Task: Difference Internal and External Audit. Submitted to: HamzaSiddiq BushraNaeem Section: A3 Roll No: 0072 Submitted by: Definition Of Audit: â€Å"An audit is a person appointed to examine the books of account and the account of the registered company and to report upon them to company member† Types Of Audit: * Internal audit * External audit. Internal auditor: â€Å"An authorized person appointed by the management to check the internal affairsRead MoreImportance of External Auditors1110 Words   |  5 Pagesaim of this essay is to study the function of external auditors in order to analyze why it is important to be independent. The primary mission of external auditors is to review and evaluate all the financial records of a company or corporation. They provide an objective opinion on the organization’s financial statement and effectiveness of the accounting polices in order to help management to make decisions. If the independence of the external auditors is impaired, the public will doubt the qualityRead MoreWhy Is It Important for External Auditors to Be Independent? Essay1446 Words   |  6 Pagesfor external auditors to be independent? Relate your answer to the primary role of external auditors? By Zachariah Godfrey-Plews This essay has asked me to look at the importance of external auditors and why it is vital for them to remain independent. I will try and look at the many ways of the advantages of independent auditing from different perspectives for example the company itself, the general public and the state. I think it is important to first define what an audit and an external auditorRead MoreThe Impact Of External Auditors On The Financial Position Of The Company1422 Words   |  6 Pages INTRODUCTION External auditors are accountants who work independently of a particular company employed by a firm to inspect their financial statements by analysing the performance of the company and presenting an audit’s report. They plays an important role to enhance the user’s confidence, including shareholder and creditor with an expert, independent opinion whether the annual records of the company are prepared according to accounting standards of the entity, such as Generally AcceptedRead MoreInternal And External Auditing Audit Essay1554 Words   |  7 Pages(2013), â€Å"an auditor is an accounting professional who conducts an independent examination of a company’s accounting data† (p. 1508). In other words, auditors are independent agents that ensure the accuracy of financial statements. Although internal and external auditors play different roles with an organization, they must follow auditing standards and procedures to detect fraud. In 1941, The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) was founded to provide guidance to internal auditors (WhittingtonRead MoreThe Independence Of Internal Audit1489 Words   |  6 Pagesauditing. Because of the Enron Corporation and other scandals, independence of auditors becomes a vital issue in the audit industry. It is difficult to achieve ‘independent’ for auditors as there is the fact that the client pays the audit fee. In this essay, we will focus on the independence of internal audit. Internal audit plays an important role in a company. According to the IIA (1999), â€Å"Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improveRead MoreFinancial Statements And On Design Internal Control Systems895 Words   |  4 Pagesliabilities. Once a financial statement is complete the external auditor reviews the report and provides opinions on the reliability of the report and the effectiveness of the internal control. The external auditors determine if the financial statements are done correctly or not and in accordance to GAAP. If yes, the auditor issues an unqualified audit report that states that the company properly completed the financial statement. If the auditor believes that it was not done properly they issue an adverse

Corporate Tax Minimisation Costs Governments

Question: Describe the Report for Corporate Tax Minimisation Costs Governments. Answer: The big four accounting firms have been branded as aggressive, unethical, and accused of "perpetrating the greatest tax crimes in history" by a leading corporate tax authority. At least $US1 trillion in tax revenue is lost worldwide, and $50 billion in Australia, as a result of aggressive tax minimisation schemes established by the four giant firms who audit the books of nearly all the world's major companies, said George Rozvany, a 32-year veteran of the corporate tax industry. "And I'm a conservative man, I think the figure is actually much higher," he told the ABC. "It's very clear to me that the big four accounting firms are the masterminds of international tax avoidance. "They work with government to deliver what they want for their clients. It's not set in a social context; it's designed to deliver an outcome for their clients." The people who are most affected are the most underprivileged in our society, those without a voice. The homeless, foreign aid programs." Mr Rozvany spent 32 years working in the corporate tax field, for Ernst and Young, Coopers and Lybrand (now PwC) and the defunct Arthur Anderson. He was head of tax for chemical giant ICI in Australia as well as for the world's largest insurer, Allianz. Mr Rozvany is Australia's most published author on transfer pricing, a technique that multinational companies are using increasingly to shift profits from high tax to low tax jurisdictions. While his legal texts explained how to work within the law, Mr Rozvany argues that sham transfer pricing arrangements are now out of control. "Transfer pricing behaviour clearly is the greatest concern because it's very easy for a transfer pricing expert to dress up a sham transaction as a real commercial transaction," he explained. "I'm talking about service arrangements, intellectual property transfers, such as patents or use of patents, and perceived transfer of goods, sham loans between related parties, but in reality it's all about providing services at too high a price which then shifts [income] to a lower tax jurisdiction." Major firms 'simply too big', should be broken up Mr Rozvany likens the aggressive structures the big four accounting firms have developed for profit shifting to corruption, terrorism and Mafioso activity. "They're all following the same financial sore," he said. "Basically tax avoidance, corruption, terrorism: the money comes from somewhere. And the money typically needs to be hidden for the purpose of the perpetrators. I don't believe the big four are involved directly in terrorism, but their structures are more than likely being used. He cited theLuxembourg Leaks, which revealed the role of major accounting firms in global corporate tax minimisation as evidence of theiraggressive tax behaviour on behalf of clients. "Sham structures have been set up in Luxembourg, again, looking like normal commercial transactions but really with a view to being taxed in Luxembourg at 1 per cent as opposed to a 25 per cent or 30 per cent rate in another country," Mr Rozvany observed. "The cost to the international community is enormous." Mr Rozvany argues that the big four should be broken up, and their tax and audit functions separated out into separate firms, a view shared by some European politicians and regulators. He is advocating for the use of anti-trust laws to create eight separate accounting firms and eight tax law practices. "They're simply too big," he argued. Mr Rozvany also advocates for an "ethical tax principal" that would allow companies that adhered to established tax rules, and did not engage in aggressive tax minimisation practices, to qualify for a discounted company tax rate. 'Many things were once legal' The head of tax at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Michael Croker disputed the critique of the big four accounting firms. "I don't think there is an ethical free zone that these companies or their advisors can inhabit. They are closely monitored by the ATO, by other regulators," he said. We have a really robust tax office, on the job, almost continuously auditing these large companies. "They're backed up by a range of legislative measures which the Government has recently improved in terms of mandatory disclosures, 'come in for a chat' type legislation where these companies and their advisors have to go into the ATO and discuss their commercial arrangements and inter-company tax structures that may be suspicious in the eyes of the ATO and the community. "So they (the big four) are very risk averse, they are very conscious of making sure they stay within the legal parameters and give advice according to the law and, increasingly, within the spirit of the law." However, Mr Rozvany said just because something is legal does not mean it is ethical. "It's an interesting thing, 'within the law'," Mr Rozvany said. "Many things were once legal. Rape and paedophilia were once legal. "If you set up a sham transaction in a tax haven with a view to shifting profits from a high tax jurisdiction to a low tax jurisdiction that should be considered unacceptable to the international community." For more on this story see Michael West's,'Oligarchs of the Treasure Islands'. Topics:accounting,tax,fraud-and-corporate-crime,multinationals,australia First posted11 Jul 2016, 12:26pm Reference Abc. net. au (2016). Corporate tax minimisation costs governments $US1 trillion says accounting insider. Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-11/corporate-tax-minimisation-costs-governments-1-trillion/7587092