...There are both similarities and differences, when referring to checks and balances and separation of powers. Both have to do with the Government. But separation of powers is a model of government in which different parts of the government are in charge of different tasks; in the United States, these parts are known as the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. Checks and balances is a means of trying to ensure that these three parts of government stay equal, and that one does not try to take over another. Separation of powers was first introduced as a government model in ancient Greece, and was used largely in the Roman republic. Under this Government model, the state is divided into separate and independent entities. The normal separation of branches is into executive, a legislature, and judiciary. The legislative branch makes the laws, the executive branch enforces and carries out the laws to the public, and the judicial branch interprets the laws. Interestingly, not only does each branch have a certain power, each branch has a certain power over the other branch. This is done to keep them balanced and to prevent one from getting too much control. This is known as “Checks and Balances.” The concept of checks and balances comes from the United States constitution. The different branches of government check each other’s power so that no branch has more power than the other. An example would be if the legislative branch wants to pass a law, they first present it as...
Words: 648 - Pages: 3
...transactions (checks written, receipts from customers, etc.) that involve its checking account. The bank also creates a record of the company's checking account when it processes the company's checks, deposits, service charges, and other items. Soon after each month ends the bank usually mails a bank statement to the company. The bank statement lists the activity in the bank account during the recent month as well as the balance in the bank account. When the company receives its bank statement, the company should verify that the amounts on the bank statement are consistent or compatible with the amounts in the company's Cash account in its general ledger and vice versa. This process of confirming the amounts is referred to as reconciling the bank statement, bank statement reconciliation, bank reconciliation, or doing a "bank rec." The benefit of reconciling the bank statement is knowing that the amount of Cash reported by the company (company's books) is consistent with the amount of cash shown in the bank's records. Because most companies write hundreds of checks each month and make many deposits, reconciling the amounts on the company's books with the amounts on the bank statement can be time consuming. The process is complicated because some items appear in the company's Cash account in one month, but appear on the bank statement in a different month. For example, checks written near the end of August are deducted immediately on the company's books, but those checks will likely...
Words: 2999 - Pages: 12
...transactions (checks written, receipts from customers, etc.) that involve its checking account. The bank also creates a record of the company's checking account when it processes the company's checks, deposits, service charges, and other items. Soon after each month ends the bank usually mails a bank statement to the company. The bank statement lists the activity in the bank account during the recent month as well as the balance in the bank account. When the company receives its bank statement, the company should verify that the amounts on the bank statement are consistent or compatible with the amounts in the company's Cash account in its general ledger and vice versa. This process of confirming the amounts is referred to as reconciling the bank statement, bank statement reconciliation, bank reconciliation, or doing a "bank rec." The benefit of reconciling the bank statement is knowing that the amount of Cash reported by the company (company's books) is consistent with the amount of cash shown in the bank's records. Because most companies write hundreds of checks each month and make many deposits, reconciling the amounts on the company's books with the amounts on the bank statement can be time consuming. The process is complicated because some items appear in the company's Cash account in one month, but appear on the bank statement in a different month. For example, checks written near the end of August are deducted immediately on the company's books, but those checks will likely clear the...
Words: 2995 - Pages: 12
...Step 1. Adjusting the Balance per Bank We will demonstrate the bank reconciliation process in several steps. The first step is to adjust the balance on the bank statement to the true, adjusted, or corrected balance. The items necessary for this step are listed in the following schedule: Step 1. | Balance per Bank Statement on Aug. 31, 2010 | | Adjustments: | | Add: Deposits in transit | | Deduct: Outstanding checks | | Add or Deduct: Bank errors | | Adjusted/Corrected Balance per Bank | Deposits in transit are amounts already received and recorded by the company, but are not yet recorded by the bank. For example, a retail store deposits its cash receipts of August 31 into the bank's night depository at 10:00 p.m. on August 31. The bank will process this deposit on the morning of September 1. As of August 31 (the bank statement date) this is a deposit in transit. Because deposits in transit are already included in the company's Cash account, there is no need to adjust the company's records. However, deposits in transit are not yet on the bank statement. Therefore, they need to be listed on the bank reconciliation as an increase to the balance per bank in order to report the true amount of cash. Outstanding checks are checks that have been written and recorded in the company's Cash account, but have not yet cleared the bank account. Checks written during the last few days of the month plus a few older checks are likely to be among the outstanding...
Words: 1106 - Pages: 5
...Holding Cash l l l l l l Reasons for Holding Cash Determining the Target Cash Balance Managing the Collection and Disbursement of Cash Investing Idle Cash Summary & Conclusions l Transactions motive Compensating balances 0 1 Determining the Target Cash Balance Costs of Holding Cash l l l The Baumol Model The Miller-Orr Model Other Factors Influencing the Target Cash Balance Costs in dollars of holding cash Total cost of holding cash Opportunity Costs Trading costs C* 2 Size of cash balance 3 The Baumol Model – Opportunity Cost F = The fixed cost of selling securities to raise cash T = The total amount of new cash needed K = The opportunity cost of holding cash: this is the interest rate. The Baumol Model – Trading Cost F = The fixed cost of selling securities to raise cash T = The total amount of new cash needed K = The opportunity cost of holding cash: this is the interest rate. C C 2 The opportunity cost of holding C is C × K 2 2 C The trading cost is C 2 T ×F C 1 2 3 Time 4 1 2 3 Time 5 1 The Baumol Model The Baumol Model Total cost = C T × K + ×F 2 C Opportunity Costs The optimal cash balance is found where the opportunity costs equals the trading costs C ×K 2 Opportunity Costs = Trading Costs C T × K = ×F 2 C Trading costs C* Size of cash balance The optimal cash balance is found where the opportunity costs equals the trading costs T ×F C Multiply...
Words: 1012 - Pages: 5
...in terms of this great new power that the US had become is that of tyranny and the abuse of such power, in not only the US but the world. In order to insure that our government did not turn into a dictatorship with the president being the one with all of the power, James Madison came up with a solution. James Madison was aware of the threat of what is called “tyranny of the majority” which means that the majority rules and the fear is that this would negatively affect individual rights. Therefore, Madison’s solution was a system, included in the Constitution, of Checks and balances and the separation of powers. This means that not one branch of the government holds all of the power but rather three do, and in regards to checks and balances each branch has some sort of pull over limiting another branch when necessary. The branches become a system that work together...
Words: 559 - Pages: 3
...considering the acceptance of a job. Billy has been put in a difficult situation to make a decision to keep the position he has already accepted with Tick and Check LLP, or to break his promise and commitment with Tick and Check and take a job with his preferred employer of choice, Foot and Balance LLP. Many times in life we are faced with a decision to choose between our obligations and desires. Billy Tushoes should accept the offer from Foot and Balance because it is the job he prefers. If Billy chooses to keep the job he accepted with Tick and Check there is a high possibility that his job performance will be affected negatively. In certain circumstances it is okay to back out of a promise that you have given to someone else. For example, if the promise made in the first place is unethical. This is seen when a promise goes against someone’s moral code. Another example would be if keeping the promise is going to affect a person’s well-being and their quality of life then they should not feel obligated to keep their commitment. As in Billy’s case, if he keeps the job with Tick and Check his job performance will most likely be affected negatively because he would regret not taking the job that he was really hoping to get with Foot and Balance. The two main stakeholders in this case are Tick and Check and Foot and Balance. Both companies are interested in hiring the best candidate possible for the position that is open. Billy is also a stakeholder in this case. His interest is...
Words: 722 - Pages: 3
...with the keeping of financial (accounting) records, using a software package for personal computers called QuickBooks (QB). CHAPTER 1: BASIC CONCEPTS IN ACCOUNTING The Two Main Financial Statements The two main end products of accounting are the two financial statements which are presented to investors and creditors outside the business: the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement (which QB calls Profit & Loss). All the other reports you prepare in this course are for internal use by accountants and managers. The Profit & Loss report shows the revenues (QB calls them income) the business earned by performing services or delivering goods to customers during a given period of time, together with the expenses incurred (what was used up) in the process of earning the revenues. Revenues and expenses are both part of owner equity, because the owner is responsible for whatever the business does. Revenues increase the owner’s equity and expenses decrease it; the owner hopes for a net increase in his equity (called a Net Income) but may suffer a net loss from the operation of the business during the period. The Balance Sheet shows, as of a given point in time, the company’s assets and the...
Words: 14665 - Pages: 59
...The lifeblood of each is what makes each branch work without competition for control. When a power assigned to a certain branch, the others cannot participate without constitutional providing it to do so. In all the separation of powers, and the branches having have common characteristics of power in some areas, this is to ensure that a strong system of checks and balances is in place. Since the executive and federal branches have enlarged their powers past the Founders’ anticipations, they have done so to maintain with modern times. Checks and balances permits and encourages tension and disagreement among the branches and also can be helpful sometimes, “ and our Constitution smiles upon it” (Documents of...
Words: 620 - Pages: 3
...problems, they all agreed on one thing, no tyranny. Tyranny is a cruel and oppressive government or rule. An example of this would be king George. He was not giving the colonists their unalienable rights. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in many ways. These include federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and The Great Compromise. The Constitution guarded against tyranny through federalism. Federalism is the federal principle or system of government. James Madison wrote about federalism. He wrote about it because he wanted to get people to ratify the constitution. Doc A is an excerpt from Madison’s Federalist Paper 51. Federalism guarded against tyranny because as Madison put it “Liberty requires that the three great departments should be separate and distinct” (Madison, Federalist Paper #47). The evidence says it all. We MUST have the three departments...
Words: 756 - Pages: 4
...limited government which would essentially help to avoid tyranny and protect the liberty of citizens. Neustradt stated that it was the institutions that are separate and not the powers. If the branches were totally separate, power would be difficult to exercise especially with the use of checks and balances. Instead there is a separation of personnel, where not one member of one branch can work within another branch. So all in all, the US government created a doctrine of ‘shared powers’, where checks and balances are needed. Madison agreed with this, and said: ‘you must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place oblige it to control itself’. Some of the checks and balances include: the president checking congress by presidential veto; the presidential veto is checked by congressional override; the supreme court uses judicial review to decide whether legislation or actions are unconstitutional; presidential appointments are confirmed, and treaties ratified by the Senate; and finally the president is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, but only congress can declare war. Checks and balances are needed alongside the separation of powers. Checks and balances are essential for the scrutiny of the three branches of government, however they come with some disadvantages. There is often a divided house within government which subsequently results in gridlock when passing legislation or when each branch exercises their powers. It is not uncommon...
Words: 1064 - Pages: 5
...also be known as honesty. Accountability is very significant in the health care industry. There is not an organization that is able to function properly without accountability. There are new facts that prove that accountability affects an organization worse than any other factors and has cost the health care industry billions of dollars and these numbers continue to rise on a daily basis. According to Porter-O’Grady (2007), accountability is the most commonly used and misinterpreted element of management now. This paper will discuss the importance of accountability, how an employee’s accountability is measured in a health care industry, how accountability applies to the ethical considerations in leadership and management, what a checks-and-balances process looks like in a successful organization, how accountability affects an organization's working culture, and how to maintain a positive working culture and avoid a working culture of blame. Why is accountability important in the health care industry? Accountability is vital since it helps improve the organization with performance management, the improvement of employees, and improvement of procedures. Organizations are able to grow when accountability is shown in the organization. This is including all departments, employees, administration staff, and units. Everyone has their own accountability role and is responsible for that role. If anyone is not taking accountability for their own roles they are putting many lives at...
Words: 1406 - Pages: 6
...principle of the US Constitution. Basically, separation of powers assigns one group of people as task and another group another task. This helps in many ways, primarily it makes sure that each group is skilled at the powers assigned to them. It also paves the way for Checks and Balances. | Checks and Balances | Checks and Balances is an elaborate system that is written into the US Constitution that requires the divided branches of government to all work together to make any major decisions. Originally, this system was designed so that no one branch of government overpowered the others. A single branch cannot act decisively without the support of the other branches. The three branches of government in the US are designed to overlap so that Checks and Balances can succeed. | Checks and Balances Over the years, the US system of Checks and Balances has had its share of ups and downs. The Checks and Balances system is meant to be used as a buffer between the three branches of the US Government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) to make sure no one branch over powers the others. The issue that I see with this is party divides. Although the Constitution wrote the three branches and checks and balances into it, they...
Words: 1108 - Pages: 5
...What is 'Checks and Balances?' Checks and Balance is a procedure set in place to reduce mistakes or improper behavior. Checks and balances usually ensure that no one person or department has absolute control over decisions, and clearly defines the assigned duties. The existence of checks and balances within an organization prevents any one person or department from having too much power, and forces cooperation in completing tasks. We can also define Checks and Balances in a corporate organisation as below Internal control mechanism that guards against fraud and errors due to omission. In a system with checks and balances, the authority to make a decision, and the associated responsibility to verify its proper execution, is distributed among different departments. These department are kept logically and physically apart, and no one department can complete a transaction all on its own. For example, the purchasing department orders goods, the stores-department receives and compares them with the respective purchase orders, the quality assurance department inspects and verifies their quality, the accounts department verifies the invoice amount, and only then the comptroller authorizes the payment for the purchase. This process emphasizes interdependence without interference, and creates a data trail or paper trail for auditing. While we can define it in a Government parliament as Governmental Extension of the separation of powers doctrine, under which each branch of a...
Words: 645 - Pages: 3
...In what ways did Constitution do to guard us against tyranny? The Constitution was created with many checks and balances to prevent any single group from getting too much power. Whether the group is of many or of very few doesn’t matter, if all the power is in the hands of one group, it’s tyranny all the same. (B) The constitution was written 1787 by a group of 55 individuals gathered in Philadelphia for a Constitutional Convention. The constitution was created in order to replace the Articles of Confederation, which wasn’t working out too well. The Articles gave the national government too little power, and didn’t even give the the the power to tax the states. The new Constitution now gave the government more power than previously with the Articles, like as having there be many checks and balances for each branch of government. Another way they gave more power to the federal government is that the power is now being shared more equally between the states and the central government than previously with the Articles. In the Constitution one way to protect against tyranny is that most of the powers were divided between the central government and the states. This type of government is...
Words: 843 - Pages: 4
