Bismarck rallied the German speaking people within the former Holy Roman Empire where they for centuries looked to local noblemen for leadership. They later followed Bismarck’s call to nationhood based upon their common German language and shared culture. This included their heritage of victories and failures built into their history and myth, dating back to the Roman Empire. The United States on the other hand is comprised of many different cultures, including race, language, various heritage, income levels, etc. But we consider ourselves a nation too, despite our diversity. We celebrate our national heritage in acts of patriotism; flags, parades, military service, etc. What is the comparison between nationalism and patriotism? If the Germans argue the legitimacy of their nation based on the shared heritage of the German people, then what is the common heritage of the American people? What makes us a nation?

You are thinking of making an investment in a new factory. The factory will generate revenues of $ 1 comma 250 comma 000$1,250,000 per year for as long as you maintain it. You expect that the maintenance costs will start at $ 60 comma 000$60,000 per year and will increase 5 %5% per year thereafter. Assume that all revenue and maintenance costs occur at the end of the year. You intend to run the factory as long as it continues to make a positive cash flow​ (as long as the cash generated by the plant exceeds the maintenance​ costs). The factory can be built and become operational immediately and the interest rate is 6 %6% per year. a. What is the present value of the​ revenues? b. What is the present value of the maintenance​ costs? c. If the plant costs $ 12 comma 500 comma 000$12,500,000 to​ build, should you invest in the​ factory?

1) 10000 lb/h of a 40.00% NaoH solution is crystallized through a combined evaporator-crystallizer process. The feed enters an evaporator which concentrates it to 50.00% NaOH. The concentrated solution then enters the crystallizer with a built in filter. The crystal product is 95% NaOH crystals with the remaining 5% as adhering mother liquor solution. The mother liquor, containing 45.00% NaOH, is mixed back to the feed before entering the evaporator. Determine the recycle flow rate.

2) Resolve the problem, now considering if the mother liquor is not recycled, but the entire process still generates the same amount of product (crystals) as the original problem. Retain all concentrations given. Determine the amount of feed needed if the recycle stream was removed. Compare the recovery ratio (lb NaOH recovered as crystals/lb NaOH in feed) for the two cases to see the importance of the recycle stream.

From the following artical, prepare the answer for question no. 1

Bookkeeping educational qualifications have undergone an overhaul, following a review of existing Certificate IV qualifications.

The Department of Education and Training has announced a new Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping, superseding the Certificate IV in Bookkeeping and Certificate IV in Accounting.

The changes follow an extensive review by PwC Skills for Australia on behalf of the Financial Services Industry Reference Committee, endorsed by the Australian Industry and Skills Committee.

The bookkeeping industry has also been vocal on the state of education standards in recent times.

The new Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping removes duplication in the previous qualifications and now has eight core units and five elective units.

According to the review, several units of competency in the previous qualifications were identified as out of date, with skills gaps in understanding GST and processing payroll for bookkeeping.

In addition to the new Certificate IV, a new Diploma of Payroll Services has also been introduced, after the review found that existing payroll training was not sufficient for industry requirements.

“Despite payroll’s importance, only limited nationally recognised training is currently available. In addition, no nationally recognised payroll qualifications exist to provide learners with the suite of skills required for a payroll administrator or payroll manager,” the review stated.

Registered training organisations (RTOs) will be given 12 months to develop new resources to align training outcomes in line with the new requirements.

Institute of Certified Bookkeepers chief development officer, Rick Van Dyk, said the changes were welcomed and reflected the modernisation of the profession.

“The Certificate IV in place at the moment simply needed to be modernised and some of the learning outcomes of the current Cert IV needed to be reviewed so it would be more applicable to today’s requirements for a professional bookkeeper,” said Mr Van Dyk.

Having been involved in the consultation process, the ICB believes the new competency units, such as 'FNSACC416 Set up and operate a computerised accounting system' and 'BSBSMB412 Introduce cloud computing into business operations', will provide more contemporary training for bookkeepers.

"There is a unit of competency called ‘set up and operate a computerised accounting system’ – that was a core unit in the Cert IV of Accounting but was not a core for Cert IV in Bookkeeping, but that is very much a core function for bookkeeping,” said Mr Van Dyk.

“Also, in the previous Cert IV there was typically a couple of units where they would get their hands dirty in the software and that would be the payroll unit and the cash and accrual unit.

“Ninety per cent of the training organisations would use MYOB desktop software so the student goes through the whole Cert IV learning process using desktop software and not being educated on what are the options for the cloud,” he added.

“One of the skill sets a bookkeeper really needs is if they are dealing with a client who is using a desktop system, they have to do a business case on why that client is beneficial to switch to the cloud and in that unit it actually has what are the benefits to the business, what are the various options and costing.

“That unit is great because it develops their skill on creating awareness on what cloud solutions are out there, and talking to the business owner and developing a business case, and how to implement that.”

‘The only way is up’

The new chief executive of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), Rochelle Park, was particularly pleased with the new Diploma of Payroll Services.

“If bookkeepers are wanting to expand, this certainly provides them with the confidence that they are recognised for their skills and knowledge,” Ms Park said.

“I think it’s also an indication of the continued maturity of our profession,” she added.

Ms Park noted the Fair Work Ombudsman has made it “very, very clear” that it won’t tolerate non-compliance with payroll obligations, and that inadequate education or ignorance is not a defence.

“Bookkeepers navigating the world of payroll services have never had this level of education available to them in a formalised format. It will very much help towards navigating a complex regulatory environment,” Ms Park said.

Question 1 - 9 marks (1,500 words)

The CEO has forwarded to you an interesting article and requires you to provide her with a deeper theoretical understanding of the issues discussed so that she can fully engage in the lively discourse at an upcoming conference.

You are required to find a newspaper article or web page report of an item of accounting news, i.e. it refers to a current event, consideration, comment or decision that has been published after the 1st of January 2018. Your article could also come from one of the professional journals. The article should not come from an academic journal. Academic journals generally do not contain news articles or articles of less than one page and are usually only published 2 or 4 times a year. If you are having a problem ensuring that your article is from an appropriate source contact your subject coordinator.

You then need to explain the article that you have found in your own words and clearly relate the concepts, ideas and facts within the article to one or more of the theories or topics that you have studied this session. Support your analysis of the assumptions and implications of the topic or theory as appropriate with reference to sources in APA 6 style. For example, this article from the Sydney Morning Herald in April 2016 could be linked to the topics of accounting regulation and measurement (and perhaps others). You must provide a copy of the article or web page, with details of the source, date and page number with your answer.

- The average total cost of production

a) equals total cost of production multiplied by the level of output.

b) equals total cost of production divided by the level of output.

c) equals the explicit cost of production.

d) is the extra cost required to produce one more unit.

- The law of diminishing marginal returns

a) ultimately explains why production displays diseconomies of scale.

b) sets in because not all workers are equally productive

c) applies only in the short run.

d) holds even when there are no fixed factors.

- The law of diminishing marginal returns

a) causes the difference between average total cost and average variable cost to get smaller as output increases.

b) explains why the average total cost and marginal cost curves are U-shaped in the short run.

c) explains why the average total cost, average fixed cost, and the marginal cost curves are U-shaped in the short run.

d) causes average total cost to rise at a decreasing rate as output increases.