How WGN changed broadcasting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How WGN changed broadcasting - Research Paper Example (Philip, 1997: pg 76) The WGN is one of the major TV stations based in Chicago and it is basically owned by Tribune Company. The station has a radio station with a transmitter that is located in the Elk Grove in Illinois. The station has been the preferred station by Chicago Cubs, the Northwestern University football besides the men’s basketball team from the same university. The station was found to be favorable for these institutions and sports organization due to the freshness in terms of broadcasting as compared to its peers. The letters that are used to abbreviate the name of the station stand for Worlds Greatest Newspaper which was a slogan that was coined by Chicago Tribune. The station hit the airwaves in 1948 in April on channel 9 from the studios in Tribune Tower in Chicago. The Tribune Company was led into television era with the belief that television was an idea thought necessary to embark on the adventure of America. The TV station was also one of the major stati ons that made first attempts at the production of entertainment series that were to air in the station and some were to be distributed to various other stations far and wide across the country. (Philip, 1997: pg 276). The station was a former associate of CBS and DuMont television networks but they realized they would serve the Chicago based fans better if they operated independently. WGN became one of the first stations based locally to unleash a whole rich menu of live programs that were aired in color. The station also made many significant firsts for example the public appearance in Chicago of President Truman that was televised besides being the first station to show a mobile coverage of a visit to Chicago by General MacArthur. In 1961, this station began airing its broadcast program in a new location from the one initially used center. The new facility was located in West Bradley place in the Northwestern side of Chicago. As they vacated to the new center of broadcast, the sta tion premiered a show for children known as the Bozo’s Circus which went on ahead to become the most famous and largely viewed local production for children in television history. The other form of advancement that the WGN brought on board was that of expanding the news program to cover half an hour, especially the 10th hour news thereby making WGN the first television channel in Chicago to air news for that long. The station was feted in 1966 when the president of WGN at that period Ward Quaal was awarded for bringing about the development of the finest and most independent television channel in the United States. (Ted, 2004: pg 49). The years around 1970 saw the introduction of television talk show when WGN introduced Phil Donahue to the nation and to Chicago specifically as he appeared on the daytime talk show that was moved out of Ohio into the television studios of the WGN. The show introduced a different format in television setting whereby there were to be discussions of current issues such as controversies that surrounded celebrities as they appeared as guests in the studio and were exposed to live audience participation. U. S. farm report also debuted in the station as

Marketing to teens worldwide via music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing to teens worldwide via music - Essay Example Apart from hiring most successful pop stars as ambassadors, these organizations have also ventured in to partnership with organizations like Twitter, Amazon, Billboard (with Pepsi), Spotify, YouTube, I-tunes (with Coca Cola). Sponsoring talent hunt shows, signing deals with music labels to help launch new artist and brand albums are the major acts that took place in the recent years (Dyson, 2012). This newfound interest towards music to attract teens by these organization and their steps for achievement of these targets are the reason leading to analyses of this situation. It is a general perception that believes that youngsters are our future, and thus proper investments should be made in them so that the society can have a bright and strong future. This notion is usually associated while planning budget and developing strategies for teens by the government. However, in recent times, it seems as if soda brands like Pepsi and Coca-Cola have adopted this strategy to make the future of their company brighter and stronger. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005–2008 â€Å"teenagers and young adults consume more sugar drinks than other age groups† (NCHS Data Brief, 2011), this data coupled with the soda brand estimated that â€Å"By 2020, one-third of the worlds population, or 2.5 billion people, will be younger than 18. And in the next 10 years, teens in the U.S. will number 31 million† (NCHS Data Brief, 2011). All of this factual data and estimation is enough for these soda brands to target teenagers as their main audience. Recently, Coca-Cola revealed its 2020 vision as per which the company aims to â€Å"increase its revenue to $200 billion and increase its serving to 3 billion by 2020†. All of these endeavours by these giant soda brands to target teens are to achieve its long-term strategic plans of success (Zmuda, 2011). These brands

The importance of having a safety program in an organization Term Paper

The importance of having a safety program in an organization - Term Paper Example Thus it is the responsibility of the organization to protect its employees from safety and security concerns. The safety program helps to build an atmosphere of peaceful and steady work where employees are able to concentrate on their job without being concerned over the possible issues of their safety (Alston, 2003). Importance of safety program in an organization The employees are the most valuable assets of an organization. Apart from the employees, the workplace of an organization also constitutes of the customers, the employees of the customers, agents, suppliers and the general public. Any injury or accident in the workplace is a highly undesired event that could break the flow of workplace activities of the organization. The disruption of work due to events of violence or accidents would not cause losses of daily work output but would also affect the human resource of the organization. The cost of such danger situations is unexpectedly high for the organization that demands es timation and subsequent measures. The implementation of safety programs in an organization is an important step to safeguard the employees, internal and external stakeholders and other valuable assets of the organization for sustainable healthy operations. ... The parameters of job security and job satisfaction are among the highly rated criteria that employees look for fulfillment. The role on safety measures by the organization keep the employees loyal to the organization with higher level of satisfaction and feeling of care taken by employers. The safety program to be set up by the organizations is also a legal requirement. The laws and regulation of the federal, state, locality and community are enforced so that no compromise is done on the acts of safety. The research on safety issues of the organization indicated that 80% of the reported accidents in workplace are due to unsafe behavior rather than the unsafe environment. Thus the safety programs included focus on the unsafe behavior of participants in the workplace which is a proactive approach rather than identifying the causes of unsafe environment and waiting for the changes to produce a safe environment. Ways for successful implementation of safety programs The various ways of s uccessful implementation of safety programs in an organization are given as follows. The implementation of successful safety programs of an organization depends majorly on the initiative of the various levels of management of the organization. The management should be accountable to exhibit exemplary behavior to their employees in the workplace. The rules on safety in workplace should be abided by the entire workforce with high level of mutual respect and co-operation at work. The expectation on safety standards are required to be set among the employees in order to bring out responsible behavior in the workplace. While entering into contracts with

State House Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

State House - Essay Example The path to Doric Hall from Beacon Hill is accessed through a staircase with the main doors remaining closed except on three occasions. This is probably representative of the â€Å"gate to the City†, which is informed by the only times these doors are opened. First, the US President opens the doors when a foreign head of state visits Boston, as well as a visit. The doors are also opened during the Governor’s last day in office as he exits for the final time. The Governor walks out on that day as a final act of re-joining the people, walking alone from his executive chamber through Doric Hall on the second floor.Governor William Weld who went, down the steps, to meet Lt. Governor Paul Cellucci, has flouted this. On the other hand, Cellucci, in turn, failed to do it because the front of the building was being renovated. Jane Swift, who was in an acting capacity, chose to take the walk with her family, while mitt Romney had to take it the day before his last day in office as Deval Patrick decided to take his oath and give his inaugural address on the staircase. Finally, on return from battle, the doors are opened when a regimental flag is returned to the state. However, because Washington D.C. now receives all the regimental flags, the last time that this was done was following the end of the Vietnam War.The legislature system has some obvious weaknesses and strengths. One of its key strengths is the ability of a bicameral legislature, as seen at the Boston State House, is that it is able to divide power. This keeps power from becoming too concentrated in the hands of one house, i.e., either the Senate or the House of Representatives (Todd 25). Essentially, the House of Representatives in the United States begins the appropriation of the bill. The Senate, on the other hand, confirms the appointment of the Governor or President, as well as approving decisions on state issues or foreign policy. Through this kind of spreading of power, there are checks affected on the entire system since it makes it very difficult to influence both houses, as compared to one house in the unicameral system. The bicameral legislature also balances between broad and focused issues (Todd 25). In most bicameral legislative systems, one house, in this case the Senate has fewer representatives, even though they are

Diary Entry of John Proctor Essay Example for Free

Diary Entry of John Proctor Essay Tomorrow is the day of my execution. For once of my life I lied, I confessed to something I do not believe, I betrayed my friend. I am a man of sin, I told Danforth that they were all involved in witchcraft, I thought I would not feel guilty about it since they are already dead and I am doing this for my family. My beloved wife Elizabeth needs a man in the household, and my children, they need a father. I thought putting my family as my first priority, even more important than honor and the truth; but I am wrong, seriously wrong. I used them, my neighbors, my friends in order to persuit my own happiness. I used them, I am a man of sin. I am now a man of sin, and this is all because of that lustful woman named Abigail Williams. I admit that I did like her at first, her beauty deeply attracted me and I did something that was a shame for my whole life, I betrayed my wife Elizabeth. I dont know what I was thinking back than, but I certainly regret it now. Elizabeth trusted me, our family were united, everything were fabulous until that woman came into my life. If there were anyone that is actually the devil, is must be her, Abagail Williams. She didnt just ruin the life of my household, but everyone in Salem, the Coreys, the Nurses, even the Putnams were ruined because of that devil and her so called witchcraft. Because of her, nobody in Salem could live the lives they had, everyone went crazy, everybody is accusing each other in order to keep themselves away from harm. Maybe Abagail didnt realise that the results will turn out to be like this, but this is reality. Its all because of her lust, her thirst for power, her wicked sick mind, its all because of her. It is Abagail that drove everyone mad. It is Abagail that made everyone suspiciouse of their neighbors and friends. It is Abagail that killed out people in Salem. And it is Abagail that made me have to lose my word, it is her that made me confess to a lie. It is Abagail Williams who turned me into the man that doesnt worth anymore credit, it is Abagail that killed me. Abagail Williams is not saint that confessed to the truth, but a murderer that slaughtered the nice people of Salem. Tomorrow is my last day living, how will the people of Salem view me? Maybe they will take me as the villian that blackened the saints names, or maybe they will see me as a man with honor, to die like a man not a coward that wouldve done anything to save my own life. I will die like a man.

Oscar Wilde’s Essay Example for Free

Oscar Wilde’s Essay The following essay will examine British Literature in two fold: the first being that of Oscar Wilde’s contribution to British Literature and the second being feminism in British Literature in the 1800’s and on. It is hoped that focusing on two separate but entangled subjects will make the paper more accessible and therefore broader in scope and understanding of the reader to British Literature. Peacocks and Sunflowers:Oscar Wilde’s â€Å"Immoral Aestheticism† as an Escape from Reality into the Realm of Beauty Gilbert, the author’s alter ego in Oscar Wilde’s essay â€Å"The Critic as Artist† (originally published in 1888) declared that â€Å"[a]ll art is immoral† (274), and that phrase turned into a manifesto for the â€Å"immoral aestheticism† doctrine of the famous dandy who decorated rooms with peacock feathers and showed in public with a sunflower in the buttonhole. The writer was condemned by contemporaries as a breacher of Victorian ‘moral’ style of living but justified by successors. As Ellmann explains, â€Å"[s]in is more useful to society than martyrdom, since it is self-expressive not self-repressive† and thus contributes more significantly to the acute goal of â€Å"the liberation of the personality† (Ellmann 310). The man who used to be convicted of the offence of â€Å"gross indecency† is praised now as an icon of decadent and modernist style, a revolutionary in aesthetics and ethics, and a prophet of beauty which is above and outside any boundaries. The concept of art and beauty as abstract notions being unrelated to the narrowly dichotomous morals takes a key position in Wilde’s oeuvre. Today’s critics are never tired in their coining of appropriate definitions for the writer’s aesthetic programme. Gillespie, one of the most important researchers of Wilde’s legacy, viewed it as consisting of â€Å"paradoxical gestures† which â€Å"delineate an aesthetic that celebrates the impulse to integrate, amalgamate, and conjoin rather than separate, dissipate, or disperse† (37). Although the writer was aware of â€Å"the grave spiritual dangers involved in a life of immoral action and experiment† (Pearce 164), he underlined the right of an artist to be immoral for the sake of eternal beauty. In his aestheticism, Wilde was an admirer and disciple of essayist and art critic Walter Horatio Pater with the latter’s emphasis on the esthete as a novel kind of being (Murphy 1992; Wood 2002). He was also immersed into the late 19th century cultural milieu as being involved into a polylogue on the topics of art, artist, ethics, and beauty which resulted in the emergence of Decadence and Modernism (Bell 1997). Altogether with the English fin de siecle men of art such as A. C. Swinburne, Walter Pater, Lionel Johnson, Ernest Christopher Dowson, George Moore Symons, and D. G. Rossetti, Wilde researched the concept of aesthetics as being constructed by a person who was proud of â€Å"[his] non-participation †¦ in ethical controversy† (Woodcock 53) and thus freed from the restrictions imposed by society and common law. Oscar Wilde’s â€Å"immoral aestheticism† as an integral part of the decadent and early modernist styles is what the present proposal attempts to look at. It will research Wilde’s critical and fictional legacy in regard to ideas and concepts as pertinent to the new understanding of relationship between art and morals. This proposal attempts to re-examine Oscar Wilde as a theorist of the novel aesthetics, establishing a link between the writer and other theorists and critics to prove that the call for immoral aestheticism was a brilliant attempt to overcome the boredom of reality and enter the world of absolute beauty. Modern Women’s Voices: Sexual Subjectivity in the texts of Victorian and contemporary British women writers Feminism is still one of the most popular critical lenses to zoom into details of history of literature and social life (Brennan 2002; Jackson 1998; Kemp 1997; Scott 1996), and it is proven to be useful within the framework of the given proposal aimed at tracing the common and differentiating points of the two critical periods of British literature. I am especially interested in the late Victorian epoch with its rise of independent women’s suffragist voices and the latest period with its diversity of tones and melodies composed by women writers amidst the turmoil of free speech and re-thinking of common gender values such as career, family, child-rearing, and gender relationships. The novels chosen are The Story of a Modern Woman by Ella Hepworth Dixon (1894), Anna Lombard by Victoria Cross (the pseudonym of Annie Sophie Cory1901), Foreign Parts by Janice Galloway (1994) and Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding (2004). The earlier and later books are divided by almost a century but despite a temporal distance there are common motives and aspirations which approximate the Victorian ‘New Woman’ and a modern British female as depicted in fiction. The feminist movement of the late Victorian period was pre-conditioned by many factors which made the trend not accidental but seriously grounded in the wider social context being permeated by patriarchal ascendance and rigidness of social structure (Bernstein 1997; Lewis and Ardis 2003). The ‘New Women’ movement that acquired much power during the period from the late 1890s to roughly 1915 featured a range of opinions concerning the heightened role of a female in a modern society (Walls 2002; Mitchell 1999). As Ardis (1990) observed, Dixon went farther than her colleagues in asserting the preciousness and independency of a woman as a self-sustaining creature (see also Fehlbaum 2005), whereas Cross’s Anna Lombard represents another type of the late Victorian womanhood as sacrificing her desires and aspirations for the sake of the traditional familial institution. The most recent books by Galloway and Fielding cannot be straight-forwardly labeled as ‘feminist’ writing, although they utilise some stylistic elements of feminist narration (Greene 1991). Whereas Galloway vividly portrays contemporary women as being able to function outside the patriarchic framework but provides no answer to the question about the appropriateness of such life style, Fielding is often criticised for the attempts to find consensus with a men’s world and, therefore, to abandon the programme of modern Amazons (Marsh 2004). Anyhow, both contemporary British women of letters share specific ideas concerning authorship and the interplay between feminist and non-feminist traditions to the extent that they can be seen as spiritual sisters of their Victorian predecessors. Being equipped with solid theoretical instruments from gender studies and psychology (e. g. Lacanian psychoanalytic theory) to conceptualise the evolution of womanhood and gendered selves in Great Britain throughout a century, I hope to establish a link between late Victorian and recent women’s writings with a special emphasis on the literary features of the female novel. The freshness of the proposal is in the choice of research objects (all the four novels are not enough extensively discussed by academic critics) and the carrying of analysis within the theoretical framework concerning authorship that was proposed by a Russian scholar Michael Bakhtin.

External Auditors and their role in the Corporate Governance Framework

External Auditors and their role in the Corporate Governance Framework External Auditors check companys accounts and report to the company based on the accounts. Basically, the concern is how external auditors conduct these duties effectively. Legislations, such as The Companies Act 1965, have made great efforts to ensure external auditors conduct their duties and obligations effectively. The Code of Corporate Governance in 2001 and the amendment in 2007 have further enhanced the effectiveness of audit in the interests of stockholders and shareholders. In light of the recent scandals involving external auditors in the world, there is a growing concern for corporate governance globally as there is increased reliance by the stockholders and shareholders on external auditors. This study examines the role of external auditors in the corporate governance framework. The study then reviews the financial scandals involving auditors occurred in the world and investigate the role of external auditor in the collapse of the companies. Introduction Corporate governance is a central and dynamic aspect of business. It is very important for corporate success and social welfare. In the wake of Enron, HIH Insurance and other similar cases, countries around the world have reacted quickly by pre-examining similar events domestically. As a speedy response to these corporate failures, the USA issued the Sarbanes-Oxly Act in July 2002, and in UK, the Higgs Report and the Smith Report were published in January 2003 (Solomon, 2007). Nowadays corporate governance is a globally debated topic with many characteristics (Nobel, 1998). However, the concern is whether auditors play an important role in the framework of corporate governance. Corporate Governance Corporate governance is the relationship among various participants in determining the direction and performance of corporations. The main participants are the shareholders, the management and the board of directors. Corporate governance is the process whereby directors of a company are monitored and controlled. There are two areas considered to be fundamental to corporate governance, one is supervision and monitoring of management performance and the other is ensuring accountability of management to shareholders and other stakeholders (Marianne, 2009). Till now, probably the two most important basic elements of good corporate governance have been full disclosure and the presence of independent directors and auditors, who each has their own ways to confirm that the data provided by the corporation are true and fairly stated. The contents of full disclosure are listed out in regulatory demands and professional pronouncements, and companies are expected to fully comply. The independence of the outside director and external auditor means the directors and auditors will have to distance themselves considerably to assure shareholders that they have conducted their tasks (Bavly, 2004). Role of External Auditors in Corporate Governance External auditors play a key role in the corporate governance framework. They conduct one of the most important corporate governance checks that help to monitor managements activities. The audit of financial statement makes disclosures more reliable, thus increasing confidence in the companys transparency. The role of external auditors is to make sure that Board of Directors and the management are acting responsibly towards the shareholders investment interests. By keeping objectivity, the external auditors can add value to shareholders by ensuring that the companys internal controls are strong and effective. And by working with the audit committee and liaising with internal auditors, external auditors can help to facilitate a more effective oversight of the financial reporting process by the Board of Directors (Hassan, 2004). However, the audit expectations gap needs to be acknowledged, as the audit function can only do so much on the fraud. The external auditor can not be expected to find every fraud and error during an audit. In accordance with the Cadbury Report, it is important to know that the external auditors role is not to prepare the financial statements, nor to provide assurance that the data in the financial statements are correct, nor to guarantee that the company will continue as a going concern, but the external auditors have to state in the annual report that the financial statements show a true and fair view. The Cadbury Report highlighted that there was no doubt on whether there should be an audit but rather how the audit could be ensured to conduct effectively and objectively by the external auditors (Solomon, 2007). Auditor Independence External auditors are expected to be independent of the company and report on the company objectively. Actually, auditors can only play their role effectively if they are independent (Peel ODonnell, 1995). They have to conduct their tasks in the most independent and reliable manner to provide investing public with the level of assurance to make their decisions based on the financial statements. According to the Cadbury Report, auditor independence could be affected due to the close relationship between auditors and company managers and due to the auditors intention to develop a constructive relationship with their clients. There are a number of threats to auditor independence, one of which is to provide non-audit services since non-audit services are lucrative. Auditors can obtain the contracts for non-audit services only if they maintain a good relationship with the management. The Cadbury Report stressed that a balance is needed to be achieved in such way that external auditors will work with, not against, company management, but in doing so they need to serve shareholders. This is a difficult path. The easiest way to ensure this balance being attained is suggested to establish audit committees and develop effective accounting standards. The Cadbury Report recommended all companies to establish audit committees. Audit committees serve as representative of shareholder interests. They are not only responsible for monitoring financial reporting process to support good corporate governance, they are also considered to be able to ensure an appropriate relationship exists between the external auditor and the management whose financial statements are being audited (Hassan, 2004). The Smith Report issued in 2003 highlighted that the audit committee needs to be proactive and raise the concern with directors rather than brush them under the carpet. The Report also stressed that all members of audit committee should be independent non-executive directors. Companys annual reports should disclose detailed information on the role and responsibilities of their audit committee. Lessons from Financial Scandals 4.1 Collapse of Enron Enron, the energy trading company based on Texas is the first scandal shaking up the auditing profession. It has led to a crisis to the confidence on auditors and the reliability of financial reporting (Holm Laursen, 2007). The audit quality and the independence of external auditors were questioned. In this case, Enrons audit and accounting function were fraudulent. Arthur Andersen, the auditor of Enron, has been involved in Enrons fraudulent accounting and auditing. Failure of the audit function is one of the key factors contributing to the companys collapse. Enron created The Raptors, four special purpose entities (SPEs). SPEs are established in order that a company can form a joint venture with other interested parties to conduct a specific transaction. This transaction will not subject the other parties to the risks more generally associated with the companys operations. U.S Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAPP) allows companies to record the gains and losses of SPEs without reporting their assets and liabilities in certain instances. In this way, Enron avoided adding more than $1 billion debt to its balance sheet without consolidating certain SPEs (Jenkins, 2003). But the problems are, when the losses of these entities quickly rose into billions of dollars, these entities were brought into the core financial statements. It then became clear that Enron itself had great losses. The corporations stock price dropped sharply, and the company went into bankruptcy in December 2001 (Brown, 2005). Examples of Enrons devious accounting exist widely in the corporation. The company recorded profits, for example, from a joint venture with Blockbuster Video that was never materialized (The Economist, 7 February 2002). In 2002, Enron restated its accounts, which is actually a process that reduced reported profits by $600 million (The Economist, 6 December 2001). In fact, the process resulted in a cumulative profit decrease of $591 million and a rise in debt of $628 million for the financial statements from 1997 to 2000. The difference between the profit figures was mainly attributed to the earlier omission of three off-balance sheet entities. Such profit inflation enabled the company to raise its earnings per share (EPS). The company not only manipulated the accounting figures to inflate the earnings, but it also was found to remove substantial amounts of debt from its accounts by setting up a number of off-balance sheet entities. Such special purpose entities can be used to hide a companys liabilities from the balance sheet, in order to make the financial statements look much better than they really are (The Economist, 2 May 2002). It means substantial number of liabilities did not have to be disclosed on Enrons financial statements, because they were mainly attributed to another legal entity. All these issues raise the question, why did Enrons auditor allow this type of activity? This is because the conflicts of interest exist between the external auditor and the management. Conflicts of Interest Conflicts of interest are a frequent problem in the audit profession. Although independent appointment of external auditors by companys shareholders is regularly replaced by subjective appointment by the company management, the auditor is all too often appreciated to the companys senior management. Further, conflicts of interest arise from interactive functions of audit and consultancy. Arthur Andersen has been blamed to apply loose standards in their audits because of conflict of interest over the subatantial consulting fees collected from Enron. In 2000, Andersen collected $25 million for auditing Enrons books in addition to $27 million for consulting services. In 2001, Arthur Anderson earned US$55 million for provision of non-audit services (Brown, 2005). Although Arthur Andersen reported on the companys accounts, they did not report fraud to the shareholders. This is because the fraud was committed by the management. Kenneth Lay, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from Feb 1986 until Feb 2001, took home US$ 152 million although the company was facing a loss. If Andersen were to report, they probably will not be appointed in the following years or be engaged in non-audit services (Krishnan, L, 2009). Especially, close relationships are established over time between companies and their external auditors. It can again affect independent judgment and impact on the auditing function. In this case, there are regular exchanges of employees within Enron from Arthur Anderson. Such conflicts of interest affect the corporate governance function. Serious conflicts of interest have also arisen among members of Enrons internal audit committee, which causes the internal audit committee did not perform its functions of internal control and of checking the external auditing function. For example, Lord Wakeham, a member of the audit committee, was at the same time having a consulting contract with Enron (The Economist, 7February2002). This shows that people in responsible positions should have detected fraudulent activities if they were independent. Enrons board of directors was composed of a number of members who have been shown to be willing to conduct fraudulent activity. It is also because the non-executive directors were compromised by conflicts of interest. 4.2 Collapse of HIH Insurance In Australia, the collapse of HIH Insurance Ltd was observed as the beginning of the reflection into external auditors role. HIH is one of Australias biggest insurers, comprising several separate government-licensed insurance companies, including HIH Casualty General Insurance Ltd, FAI General Insurance Ltd, CIC Insurance Ltd and World Marine General Insurances Ltd. On 15 March 2001, HIH went into provisional liquidation with losses of A$ 800 million (Peursem, Zhou, Flood Buttimore, 2007). HIH is one of the largest corporate collapses in Australian history. Similar issues arise as in the Enron case. HIH is claimed to mislead investors by providing incorrect financial reports to the market and HIHs auditor, Arthur Andersen, may have played a part in its collapse. Andersen conducted the external audits for HIH from 1971 until its collapse in 2001. Their contribution to the failure of HIH is considered in the following sections: Audit Practices As part of audit process, auditors will conduct a risk assessment to determine the structure and plan of the audit. Andersen assessed the risk of HIH and deemed it a maximum risk client, however, the engagement team of Andersen had not prepared the risk management plan and therefore the senior management team at Anderson did not review and approve the plan (Peursem, Zhou, Flood Buttimore, 2007). At the end, the auditor simply drew the wrong conclusions. Andersen signed off HIHs annual report for the 30th June 2000 and stated that it was a going concern with net assets of $939 million. Nine months later, HIH collapsed with debts of $5.3 billion (Peursem, Zhou, Flood Buttimore, 2007). Andersen used HIH management reports and forecasts and did not obtain sufficient evidence to get the conclusions they did. The liquidator could not find the documentation on the reasons for considering HIH as a going concern. This implies that Anderson failed to produce sufficient working papers to prove that the audit actually is conducted. Auditor Independence Andersen had a close relationship with HIH. By the time of liquidation, three former Anderson partners who had conducted HIH financial audit work held positions on the HIH board of directors. This obvious lack of independence between the board of directors and the auditors indicated that the best interests of HIH may have not always be a priority. Andersons failure in producing adequate working papers or in obtaining adequate evidence to support their findings have serious concerns on the quality of the audit they did. A significant independence issue is also reflected in the form of Andersons payment to HIH Chairman, Geoffrey Cohen for consultancy fees. These fees totaled $190,887 in nine years and included the use of Andersons office and secretary. These fees were not disclosed to the remaining board members in the annual general meetings (Peursem, Zhou, Flood Buttimore, 2007). The close and complicated financial relationship between the auditors and HIH chairman raise further questions in this case. Finally, the threat to auditor independence is that Andersen provided both audit and non-audit services to HIH. It raises a question on how can an auditor provide an independent opinion on the financial statements when he may play a role in guiding the preparation of the statements? The Royal Commission in Australia, which investigates the collapse of HIH, has found that the largest corporate collapse in Australia was not due to fraud but the result of attempting to cover the cracks on the overpriced acquisition. Andersons role in it appeared to be substantial. Modern Approach to External Auditors Role in Corporate Governance External auditors now have to take a much stricter approach to their clients (Bourne, 1995). There is an increasing view to support that external auditors should take on a more proactive role (Baxt, 1970). The Companies Act has set the stipulation on appointment, eligibility, qualification, disqualification and removal of external auditors (Davies Prentice, 2003). The intention is to ensure that auditors are able to carry out audit in an impersonal, objective and professional way. It is also to ensure that auditors are independent of the company. The reason for such emphasis is to ensure the external auditors are not in a position of conflict of interests. When there is conflict of interest, disclosure must be made to shareholders and stakeholders. Alternatively, there should be prohibition to the provision of non-audit services to the company where they act as auditors. To ensure auditors are truly independent and not in a conflict of interest, auditors should be rotated every year. Thereafter there should be a gap of five years before the same auditors are appointed by the company. Conclusion External auditors have an essential role in corporate governance through their involvement and their examination of financial statements. The external auditors role in corporate governance is a fundamental complement to achieve the desired objective of corporate governance. Therefore, the duties and obligations of external auditors must be expanded for the rights and interests of shareholders and stakeholders. There must be a modern approach to the auditors role in the corporate governance framework.