Strategic Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic Analysis - Research Paper Example However, the company particular focuses to target United States and sustain it edge in the industry. The company is currently facing criticism that Voss contains similar sources as the tap water due to which the company is currently struggling to sustain its positioning in the industry. However, the competition in the bottled water industry is becoming intense with the passage of time. The present document strategically analyzes Voss Water and its positioning in the industry. In order to determine the positioning of the company, industrial analysis, PESTLE analysis and PORTER five forces analysis have been conducted to determine strategic positioning of Voss Water in the  Bottled Water industry (Anon., 2014). The overall trend in Bottle Industry has significantly improved that has significantly affected the sales of the bottled water. According to a report of International Bottled Water Association (2014),  "Bottled Water Industry in the United States has showed significant growth during 2012-2013 after the Great Recession 2009  (IBWA Report, 2014)".  Despite the fact that the United States  has slower economic recovery but has high-income level due to which the consumer are comfortable to spend money on discretionary items, including bottled water. It is predicted that the improvement in the economic conditions will cast  positive impact on the revenues of bottled water industry (Hamphell, 2013). The consumer’s response is improving with the passage of time (2008-2009) due to which the some of the consumers that were distracted from the high-calorie beverages are also now getting back to the same category. On the contrary, the low-income Americans that were also disprop ortionately affected are currently struggling for employment due to which they are inclined towards discounted bottled water. In 2013, the off-trade value sales of bottled water have increased by 2 percent. However, the prices of the bottled water have

American Accounting Scandals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

American Accounting Scandals - Essay Example 55, 2009). Interestingly, this is not the first time in the history of United States that its accounting practices, approaches and system has received criticism and strict scrutiny from its stakeholders. After the bankruptcy of Enron and WorldCom in 2001 and 2003, respectively that was also the biggest accounting scandals of their time, the US accounting practices made the headlines all over the world (Ketz, pp. 234, 2003). This paper is an attempt to explore the accounting standards whether they are too flexible or too rigid. The discussion would include looking over the causes of Enron’s bankruptcy rooted in its accounting problem, debate between rules based accounting and principles based accounting and the problems with the possible convergence of accounting standards all over the world. ... 144, 2006). Non-transparent and unethical accounting was the most important cause attributed to the failure and downfall of Enron. In the year 2004, McLean wrote Enron scandal that, â€Å"The Enron scandal grew out of a steady accumulation of habits and values and actions that began years before and finally spiraled out of control† (Silverstone & Sheetz, pp. 22, 2007). Furthermore, another writer in an attempt to explain these â€Å"habits and values† wrote that, â€Å"the primary motivations for Enron's accounting and financial transactions seem to have been to keep reported income and reported cash flow up, asset values inflated, and liabilities off the books. (Duska, Duska, & Ragatz, pp. 74-75, 2011)† Without any doubts, Enron had some of the smartest minds in the company, as its executives and accountants, who were spot on in tweaking and twisting, the accounting laws to their advantages (Rapoport & Dharan, pp. 106, 2004). They used off balance sheet vehicles , complex financial structures and others to hide their debts and inflate their incomes. Furthermore, the mark to market accounting further allowed the company to manipulate its financial figures for deceiving the shareholders, creditors and other stakeholders. More importantly, Enron used the ambiguities and gaps in the mark to market accounting to inflate its income (Rezaee, pp. 175, 176, 2002; Mulford & Comiskey, pp. 44-46, 2005). Mark to Market accounting method requires showing the net present value of the cash flows from any long-term project and adjust the values of market assets according to the current market value. However, the problem with this method is that under certain situations and for certain projects, correct, accurate, and timely predictions about their future