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An investigation into the audit exemption and developments in the auditing sector
Get PDFWith the audit exemption thresholds rising in 2006, this poses the question whether it will \ud
have impact on the auditing sector. Presently there is a lot of interest in this area, with the \ud
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in the United \ud
Kingdom (UK) launching a consultation exercise on the impact the audit exemption has \ud
had on their auditing sector. While the United States (US) has gone under major \ud
restructuring to its auditing sector, due to the income from auditing diminishing and the \ud
profession had to alter its products. \ud
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Therefore, this research explores the development of the audit exemption, and the \ud
evolution and progression of the auditing sector. The purpose of this research is to \ud
determine why the audit exemption was established and to investigate its impact on the \ud
auditing industry. It also investigates if the auditing sector has developed alternatives \ud
services that could be provided to the public. The researcher did an extensive literature \ud
search on the area audit exemption and sent questionnaires the top twenty accounting \ud
firms. The researcher also interviewed the three Irish accounting bodies to discover their \ud
views on the area. \ud
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The literature shows there is a shift in the activities being performed by auditors \ud
internationally. Professional bodies have responded to the changing environment by \ud
updating the professional practices framework and expanding the skills and knowledge \ud
required to provide assurance in the future. The research has found that more than 50 \ud
percent of respondents felt an impact from the recent rise in audit thresholds, with 40 \ud
percent of respondents revenue decreasing and 50 percent saying it had decreased the \ud
number of audits performed by them. This research has also identified a clear gap for \ud
providing alternative services to the audit, such as assurance services, with 90 percent of \ud
respondents feeling they could be provided in Ireland. However, the demand for the \ud
services was highlighted as a concern by the accounting bodies. In conclusion, the top \ud
twenty accounting bodies have felt an impact by the recent rise in the audit exemption \ud
thresholds, and this research has identified potential alternative services
An investigation into the effects of the Celtic Tiger on the demand for financial products and the implications of the "credit crunch" on Irish consumers of financial products in the North Western region
Get PDFThe Irish economy has undergone vast economic restructuring over the years\ud
particularly over the last decade. This dissertation reviewed the economic development\ud
in Irish history from the 1930’s to the “Celtic Tiger” era. The key enabling factors that\ud
lead to the “Celtic Tiger” were analysed. The rise in personal borrowing and\ud
consumption levels of Irish consumers were identified with particular emphasis on the\ud
role of Irish financial service providers during this era. The review concluded with an\ud
evaluation of the impact o f the recent Credit Crunch on Irish financial service providers.\ud
Primary and secondary research methodologies were utilised to investigate the impact\ud
of the “Celtic Tiger” and the recent “Credit Crunch” on the demand levels for financial\ud
products and consumer confidence. Primary research was under taken through an\ud
empirical qualitative methodology in the form of semi structured interviews and\ud
anonymous questionnaires. The secondary research was carried out by critically\ud
evaluating relevant published material such as academic books, journals, web sites,\ud
documentaries and newspapers.\ud
Key findings were identified from the research. Over the last decade it is evident that\ud
the majority of Irish consumers have some level of debt liability to a financial service\ud
provider. The re-emergence of a savings culture was evident. The majority of Irish\ud
consumers surveyed were unable to define the term “Credit Crunch” however the\ud
majority said that the current economic climate has negatively affected the demand for\ud
mortgages and personal loans. The findings concluded that confidence in the Irish\ud
financial sector still remains positive
An exploratory study into supporter orientation in the League of Ireland : with specific interest in the factors of servicescape, competition, season structure and relationship marketing
Get PDFThe purpose o f this research is to examine the factors that affect supporter orientation\ud
and the Football Association o f Irelands’ League o f Ireland, the national senior\ud
championship o f association football in the Republic in Ireland. Specifically the\ud
research paper examines servicescape, competition / season structure and relationship\ud
marketing between supporters and the League and its member clubs and how these\ud
factors impact upon supporter orientation. A literature review provides the foundation\ud
for the paper. Qualitative methodology was the approach taken to find primary\ud
information and examined three sample groups in relation to their perspective o f\ud
supporter orientation and the League o f Ireland. The research found that although on\ud
field activities such as quality and winning are the greatest attractions to supporters,\ud
o f f field factors, like servicescape, competition / season structure and relationship\ud
marketing between supporters and the League & its member clubs, do have an impact\ud
upon supporters perception o f the League o f Ireland. I f the League o f Ireland is more\ud
aware o f these o ff field aspects, the League can become more supporter orientated\ud
and by doing so, both retain and create supporters for the League o f Ireland
Incineration as a sustainable municipal waste management option for Dublin
Get PDFThe management o f Dublin’s municipal waste is currently undergoing a period o f\ud
transformation, as landfill is no longer the cheap and acceptable option that it has been\ud
for many years. Changing our Ways, DoELG (1998) recognised that one o f the key\ud
priorities for Ireland’s waste management regime was to reduce its reliance on landfill as\ud
it “limited the development o f integrated waste management approaches (and) inhibited\ud
waste recovery and recycling options”. Since 2001, Ireland’s performance in waste\ud
management has improved, with recycling levels tripled and a recycling waste collection\ud
service in operation during that period.\ud
However, landfill is still the only method o f disposal o f municipal waste utilised in\ud
Dublin and Ireland with this resulting in a chronic strain on the landfills accepting waste.\ud
Landfill is at the bottom o f the waste management hierarchy, and this should be reflected\ud
in how Dublin’s waste is managed. The scope o f this dissertation is to focus on the\ud
management o f municipal waste in the Dublin region, and to determine whether the\ud
introduction o f incineration as a management tool will be sustainable and beneficial to\ud
the region.\ud
The management o f waste is a key factor in sustainable development. Sustainable waste\ud
management has many impacts and these need to be considered in terms o f the role\ud
incineration can play in the Dublin region
Graphical excellence in environmental impact statements: applying data visualisation principles to environmental impact assessments
Get PDFGraphical Excellence in Environmental Impact Statements\ud
applying data visualisation principles to environmental impact assessments\ud
Planning and development involves balancing potentially conflicting goals. Development\ud
control systems attempt to optimise the trade-offs between ecology, economy and society.\ud
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is one o f the tools used to improve the way in\ud
which decisions to develop are made. E IA is now well established in national and\ud
international legislation and declarations, and in policy and practice. As implemented in\ud
Ireland, E IA is carried out by statutory planning and licensing authorities, with the\ud
assessment based on the information provided in Environmental Impact Statements (EIS).\ud
There is scope for improvement in the effectiveness o f communication o f graphic, text and\ud
tabular information, which would benefit the assessment and decision-making process.\ud
Data visualisation theory is considered in the context o f the prediction o f environmental\ud
impacts, and the following suggestions are made for best-practice in graphical presentation\ud
in EISs:\ud
Use horizontally-oriented histograms to illustrate impact significance.\ud
Compile the predicted impacts in ‘small multiples’ o f histograms.\ud
Use sequential colour schemes.\ud
Avoid tones that cannot be differentiated by colour blind viewers.\ud
Use double-ended colour schemes to encode the adverse-to-beneficial data range.\ud
Use techniques such as ‘TableLens’ to aggregate and summarise the data.\ud
Illustrate additional characteristics, such as uncertainty, using bullet graphs
An investigation into the use of tallow as a thermal fuel in Ireland
Get PDFThe study investigates the use of tallow as a thermal fuel in Ireland, focusing on its\ud
suitability as a fuel in steam raising boilers. The legislative position of such use with\ud
regard to the protection of health is discussed under the requirements of the Animal By-\ud
Products Regulations. The protection of the environment is discussed in respect of the\ud
applicability of waste legislation, the emissions trading scheme and emission of air\ud
pollutants.\ud
The quantity of tallow available for use as a thermal fuel is determined and the practical\ud
application of the Animal By-Products Regulations at plant level is described. This is\ud
further enhanced by a case study of a plant already using tallow as a thermal fuel. The\ud
attitude of industry toward fuel usage and particularly tallow is investigated by means of\ud
a survey of IPPC licensed facilities in the Food and Drink industry.\ud
Findings show that the Animal By-Product Regulations is competent in providing the\ud
protection necessary for health and that the applicability of waste legislation to the\ud
combustion of tallow is likely to end because of a review of the Animal By-Products\ud
Regulations. Tallow was found to be a cleaner fuel than mineral oils with the\ud
exceptions of particulates and carbon monoxide, but these still within the emission limit\ud
values of air quality standards.\ud
In conclusion, the study found that tallow is more sustainable than fossil fuel and some\ud
renewable fuels. As cost was the primary consideration in fuel choice for the\ud
respondents of the survey, the suitability of tallow as a thermal fuel is restricted for\ud
economic reasons to those companies using mineral fuel oils and particularly those with\ud
Greenhouse Gas permits, due to its zero carbon rating
Political marketing : an Irish investigation
Get PDFThe following document provides an investigation on political marketing. To\ud
facilitate this, a number o f areas in the parent domain o f marketing are first looked to,\ud
as they build the foundations for understanding the origins and evolution o f political\ud
marketing.\ud
In this particular study there is a concentration on the Irish political domain and while\ud
the secondary desk research incorporated a global experience o f the marketing\ud
typology the primary research is specific to Ireland.\ud
Marketing has received criticism for its validity in the political domain but it was\ud
clear in the study its strategic potential is continually being recognised. The internet\ud
was a major focus in the research as it was deemed to be pivotal in the marketplace by\ud
the researcher.\ud
The primary research took the form o f in depth interviews with key personnel o f the\ud
Irish political parties chosen for the study, namely the Green Party, Fianna Fail and\ud
Fine Gael. These interviews were recorded and analysed for the purpose o f the\ud
research. A number o f issues were highlighted through the interviews. While\ud
countries like America are moving toward a world o f political marketing consultants\ud
Irelands political scene is still predominantly made up o f volunteers and activists and\ud
many o f the parties are reliant on the expertise o f its members. While all parties made\ud
claim to having a marketing philosophy and mindset in place, others such as the\ud
Fianna Fail respondent were dismissive o f voters being involved at every level, which\ud
he believed a complete marketing philosophy to entail. The internet featured more in\ud
parties such as the Greens while Fine Gael were experimenting with what the internet\ud
had to offer, but Fianna Fail were critical o f the opportunities in this technology.\ud
The second part o f the primary research involved looking to the consumer side of\ud
politics. Within this a questionnaire was administered among three samples o f voters;\ud
one questionnaire was self administered on O Connell street Sligo, another was\ud
administered via email to an average internet user group and the third sample\ud
involved in the research were respondents to a link to the questionnaire which was\ud
placed on an Irish politics site. The three samples were strategically selected so there\ud
would be a holistic collection o f voter’s perceptions. Interestingly while not many\ud
respondents agreed they had already used the internet to contact a pojitician many\ud
agreed they would consider it in the future. While the secondary research had\ud
identified online news channels as the main source o f political information for internet\ud
3\ud
users, the research specific to Ireland highlighted that Irish users first choice were\ud
party political sites, then You Tube and finally news channels. As manipulation o f the\ud
media and how candidates are portrayed via this external media was a key feature in\ud
the marketplace, an opportunity was identified for Irish political party’s to reach their\ud
target market directly via their websites. As a result o f this the author composed the\ud
political marketing sphere (adopted from the political marketing triangle Kotler 1994)\ud
which illustrates the main marketing uses in Irish politics. The internet can be seen at\ud
the middle o f the diagram as an interactive, inter connective medium that creates an\ud
opportunity for Irish politics
Renewable energy generation: development of a software tool to analyse the possible synergies of an integrated bioenergy park
Get PDFThe concept of a Bioenergy Park is that renewable energy processes are integrated to\ud
maximise the total energy production potential while ensuring environmental sustainability.\ud
The three processes selected are a) Biodiesel production, b) Straw Pelleting and c) Anaerobic\ud
Digestion. The aim o f the study is to develop a software tool to analyse the possible synergies\ud
of the integrated processes within the Bioenergy Park\ud
The study has shown that the Bioenergy Park system can operate at a profit margin o f 29%\ud
and is thus considered viable both in terms of economics and environmental sustainability.\ud
Glycerine, the main by-product of the biodiesel process, is identified as a significant\ud
feedstock, having a high energy generation potential when added in small quantities (<6%) to\ud
the anaerobic digester. There is a significant over-supply of thermal energy (172% to 393%)\ud
generated within the integrated system. This potential remains unexploited in the context of\ud
the Bioenergy Park as described.\ud
When bundled together, the output of ten local Bioenergy Parks can supply from 7 to 14% of\ud
the National Biofuel target. Ten Bioenergy Parks could generate sufficient straw pellets to\ud
replace 2.1% of home heating oil, based on 2006 National oil consumption figures. The\ud
carbon emission reduction potential of ten bundled Bioenergy Parks is marginal (0.48%)\ud
when measured against the national targets carbon emission reduction targets of circa 64\ud
million tCO₂
An investigation into the nature of the financial work undertaken by general managers in the Donegal hotel industry
Get PDFOverview \ud
The hotel industry represents an important part of the wider tourism and hospitality \ud
industry in Ireland. Although it takes more than one person to effectively manage a \ud
hotel, the person with the overall responsibility for running the business is the general \ud
manager of the hotel. Hotel financial experience has become mandatory for general \ud
managers in the modern day hotel industry, but there are concerns over the nature of \ud
the financial work undertaken by general managers and where these skills were \ud
attained. \ud
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Purpose \ud
This paper explores the actual nature of the financial work undertaken by general \ud
managers in Irish hotels, and more specifically in the County Donegal region. It \ud
specifically focuses on the financial work carried out by general managers, \ud
determining where financial skills and competencies were attained, discovers what \ud
financial work is outsourced by hotels and investigates the areas where general \ud
managers lack financial expertise. \ud
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Findings \ud
General managers were found to undertake a wide range of financial tasks as part of \ud
their job. Financial work was deemed to be important to the work of hotel general \ud
managers, although concerns were raised over the possession of these financial skills, \ud
particularly accountancy related skills among general managers. A combination of \ud
qualifications and work experience were identified as the most common methods used \ud
for attaining financial skills. Accountancy was discovered to be highly suitable for \ud
outsourcing, but suffered from low implementation rates in Donegal hotels. \ud
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Future research \ud
Further research is required to analyse the usefulness of the material taught during \ud
courses in order to evaluate how closely aligned these courses are to the required \ud
industry standards for the work of hotel general managers. Another subject that would \ud
merit further research would be the whole area of delegation of financial work to lower \ud
level manager
The irish language in branding: an evaluation of current practices in irish business
Get PDFThis research was undertaken in order to examine the current practices in relation to \ud
the use of the Irish language in manufacturing and internationally traded services. The \ud
research focuses specifically on company and brand names in Irish. The aim of the \ud
research was to identify the motivations for the use of Irish as well as the benefits and \ud
limitations associated with its use. The research also examined the use of Irish in \ud
marketing communications and its effectiveness in this area of business. \ud
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A survey was used to examine the views of the companies in relation to their use of \ud
the Irish language. Depth interviews were then used to further explore the key issues \ud
with a number of companies and industry experts. \ud
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The research highlighted the companies’ wish to support the use of the Irish language \ud
and also identified customer loyalty and awareness as key benefits. The fact that \ud
companies believe customers do not often use Irish was identified in the research \ud
however they do believe that customers value companies using Irish. The research \ud
also identified that companies associate major difficulties with the use of Irish in \ud
marketing communications, specifically the effectiveness of Irish in marketing \ud
communications and the ease of running a full marketing campaign in Irish. \ud
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The government needs to increase the level of support for businesses in their use of \ud
Irish as well as developing further measures to increase the use of the language within \ud
the country as a whole. Companies seem to be unaware of the benefits that Irish can \ud
bring them and increased levels of market research within companies may help to \ud
improve their perceptions of Irish within business