In late evening, when I had just pressed the shut down button of my workstation, a colleague of mine entered the office chamber (Officially allotted to me to work).Hello, was the first word uttered out by her and before I could ask the purpose, she herself expressed that she planned to have my company while walking back to home, at least the part of distance that was common to we both. I welcomed the idea and also thanked her for the same. Thus the journey homewards started. While on walk the momentary silence was done away by my colleague, when she requested the permission to ask question that was coming to her mind. I agreed to help her to the limited capacity of mine.

Probably it was the prices of yellow metal that were troubling her and my colleague wanted to know, where the prices are expected to move in future and why. This I am inferring from the talks that continued.

She started the conversation by posing her curiosity as ahead: “Where do you see the price of gold going in the days to come?”

Since, at that moment, I was not exactly focusing on ‘investment advisory’, so I responded by saying that “on a broad level, the price are supposed to continue their northward journey.”

It seems that my response confused her a bit, as she soon came up with another question that “what I mean, when I say a broad level.”

I got the point and then explained to her that “the prices of any commodity do not move in a straight line. When I say on a broad level, it means that the prices will keep moving northwards, but in between they may drop as well, but they will pick up again, and thus will continue to scale up.”

It seems, that she was not ready to buy anything that I said, therefore, she questioned that what lay behind my confidence, which she visualized while I was answering her first curiosity.

Suddenly I realized that majority of investors; rarely scan the external and vital economic variables that are often of political nature. This made me aware that now I need to go bit detailed and also in a manner that she could easily comprehend.

“Well, I was just reading through some material and I realized that there is another solid reason for gold prices to go up,” I told her.

“Is it something other than all the money printing that is happening and is likely to happen in the days to come, all around the world?” she asked.

“Yes”, I answered.

“So what is this new reason?” she was now more curious.

Now I started by posing a question as ahead “Ever heard of Hugo Chavez?” Pat came the reply, “nope” with a supplementary question that now who’s he?

“He is the President of Venezuela, a country in South America.”                                

Probably she got a bit more confused and said that she knew that, but expressed her surprise on the issue that what “Venezuela” has got to do with the price of gold.

This made me aware that now my job was to explain history, international polity, and international trade, cost of transaction and accounting to her, and all this in very limited time of few minutes. I knew that I may be bombarded with whorls of questions.

 I started with letting her know that Venezuela has the 15th largest gold reserves in the world amounting to 401.1 tonnes. A lot of this gold is lying abroad in banks in New York, London and Zurich.

“But why will a country keep its gold overseas?” she interrupted.

 I started to introduce her with history. I said that “a part of the reason comes from history. Till August 15, 1971, the world was on a gold standard. Paper currencies were ultimately convertible into gold. This meant that countries had to settle their deficits in gold.” I followed this by giving an instance from international trade. I asked her to assume that England and Germany are exporting and importing goods from each other. At the end if France exports more to England than England to France, there is a deficit.” This means that England had to pay France. This payment was to be made in gold. A look at her face made me feel that she has now started picking up what I was attempting to explain. I carried on by adding that “now this meant that gold had to be physically moved from England to France, which of course was a pain. Movement meant cost of insurance as well as security.”

She was prompt in asking that “what was the way out?”

 I added for these reasons “a lot of this gold is simply stored overseas at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (a part of the Federal Reserve of the United States, the Central Bank of the US).”

“How do you think this is going to help?”

It’s simple; I added and just narrated what Peter Bernstein writes in his book “The Power of Gold”. For example, if England lost gold to France, a guard at the Federal Reserve had merely to bring a dolly to England’s closet, trundle the gold to the French closet, and note the change in the bookkeeping records.’

She got the point, and allowed my request to take her back to Hugo Chavez.

The deliberations continued further, certainly with some statistical inferences. Estimates suggest that nearly 211 tonnes of the 400-odd tonnes of gold that Venezuela has are with banks abroad. Chavez has asked this gold to repatriated back to Venezuela.”

Now this brings a twist in the story, and the discussion to follow will also attempt to answer possible reason for Hugo Chavez’s such an act.

 ”Chavez has had an anti-US stance for years and may feel that because of that Venezuela runs the risk of its gold being seized.”

“Gold Seized? Why would such happen and does the possibility of such an act exist?” was the latest in series of questions.

“It sure is. I explained the same by making her aware of the ongoing Libyan foreign exchange reserves crisis, which happens to be an outcome of its foreign reserves being seized by allied nations with declaration of war earlier this year.”

 “But what has all this got to do with the price of gold? To me it’s as simple as me wanting to have gold in my own locker rather than the bank locker.”

I agreed to her statement, while continuing to explain by adding that all is not that straightforward as concluded by her, though to some extent she was correct. The straight forward part of transaction would be limited to 99 tonnes of total 211 tonnes lying abroad, as this 99 tonnes are deposited with the Bank of England in London. Repatriating that back to Venezuela would be a straightforward process.”

Now comes the not so straight forward part, which happens to be of the tune of 112 tonnes of the gold and same is lying abroad with what are known as bullion banks. J P Morgan is one of them. Estimates suggest that Venezuelan gold worth $807 million (or around 450,000 ounces of gold) is lying with it.”

 She was instant, and argued that this should also be as straight forward as it is in the case of Bank of England, London, while simultaneously her facial expressions conveyed me that she wanted to know, if I dare to differ from her opinion. Certainly, I had to differ, and added that things are not always as simple as they seem to be. The statistics again came handy in quoting that “estimates suggest that the total amount of physical gold with J P Morgan currently stands at around 338,303 ounces (1 troy ounce equals 31.1 grams).“

Now, it seemed that she was out of reasons, as she expressed her ignorance about having to come across any news in media regarding, such a huge bank robbery in which approximately 1,11,697 ounce or 3473.8 kilo grams worth gold was looted.  I had to instantly chip in by saying that, this is not a case of bank lifting, but a way of functioning of financial system in general and banking sector in particular. Let me add an example to illustrate it? I sought her permission. The phenomenon goes as explained ahead [the attempt was to explain the process by making it as easy as possible, so that even a novice can understand].

“Central banks around the world had a huge amount of gold lying in their vaults, not earning any return. The end of 2007 witnessed the stock of gold with central banks around the world rising to 32,000 tonnes of gold.”

 I requested her to be more attentive to whatever I was going to add now. Out of the 32,000 tonnes gold held, the Central Bank lent approximately 14,000 tonnes to Bullion Banks like J P Morgan. James Turk and John Rubino in their coauthored book The Collapse of the Dollar, have argued that “lending, for instance, involves the central bank transferring gold to a major private bank, known as bullion bank, which pays the central bank a small-but-positive interest rate, then sells the gold in the open market.”

In this manner “central banks convert the gold into cash and then deploy this cash, somewhere to earn some positive rate of return. This based on a very fundamental assumption that idle assets provide no return, and there is fair possibility that such assets may ultimately add up some cost to the holder.” These costs may range from cost of storage to cost of security. As per meaning conveyed by the operative word “lending”, since the gold has been lent, therefore, the central banks have all the rights to, and can demand it back, whenever they want.

She chipped in by adding that probably “this is what Venezuela is doing right now”; and thus conveyed me a feeling that she was sincerely following the every single word uttered by me. 

 I nodded in agreement and continued further by adding that, since, the bullion banks have promised to return the borrowed gold to the central banks so they will have to return the same. In prevailing situations these bullion banks are not having the volume of gold that was lent to them by Central Bank. In financial and monetary world, this position is conveyed by the term ‘short’, and this means that these bullion banks are ‘short’ gold.

Now comes a significant turn in events, that may work as catalyst to force the prices of gold to break the roof. As the situation deliberated above suggests that, in case, sometime in future, these bullion banks are asked to deposit the volume of  gold lent to them by central bank, they will be left with no choice and would be obligated to buy gold in order to repay the central banks’.”

“So, as I can get, it goes like, that in such a scenario the bullion banks like J P Morgan will now have to buy back gold from the market in order to repay the Venezuelan government, given the situation that Venezuela has around 450,000 ounces of gold deposited with J P Morgan, whereas J P Morgan at present has only 338,303 ounces of gold in its accounts/ record books,” she added.

Exactly, I said in agreement, and carried the deliberations forward by adding, that this buying will lead to the price of gold rising further. I knew that now she has got answer to her question, but then too, I continued it by saying that this is only one part of the story.

Much like a child, who is curious to know about everything, she was now eager to learn that what the remaining part of story was now. She requested me to unfold the other part of the story.

I continued by giving her a reference of a report titled “Thing That Make You Go Hmmm” , and told that this report points out, ‘Chavez’s move could set in motion a chain of events whereby Central banks who store the bulk of their gold overseas in ‘safe’ locations scramble to repossess their country’s true ‘wealth’. If that happens, the most high-stakes game of musical chairs the world has ever seen will have begun’,” I said.

“This sounds very scary”, she added.

“Yes, you are very much correct while mentioning that the report further states that ‘any delay in repatriating Venezuela’s gold could potentially start a frantic scramble by central banks to claim their physical. God save the scenario, but if it actually happens, rest assured that gold price will be on fire. A scenario will take place, which has neither been seen in past, nor even imagined.

It will give birth to an economic tsunami of magnitude, which will turn the great economic recession witnessed by world or even the jasmine revolution and contribution of social media to same to seem dwarf.

Don’t be surprised if I that there is enough in media to believe U S Govt. Manufactured Fake Gold

Perhaps, there are only few who can imagine the magnitude of risk, specifically if they are not linked to foreign trade. Let me illustrate it. It’s one thing to counterfeit a twenty or hundred dollar bill. The amount of financial damage is usually limited to a specific region and only affects dozens of people and thousands of dollars. Secret Service agents quickly notify the banks on how to recognize these phony bills and retail outlets usually have procedures in place (such as special pens to test the paper) to stop their proliferation.

This is the most sacred of all commodities because it is thought to be the most trusted reliable and valuable means of saving wealth.

A recent discovery — in October of 2009 – has been suppressed by the main stream media but has been circulating among the “big money” brokers and financial kingpins and is just now being revealed to the public. It involves the gold in Fort Knox — the US Treasury gold — that is the equity of our national wealth. In short, millions (with an “m”) of gold bars are fake!.Who did this? None, but the United States Government, as claimed by Chinese Authorities.

Background
In October of 2009 the Chinese received a shipment of gold bars. Gold is regularly exchanges between countries to pay debts and to settle the so-called balance of trade. Most gold is exchanged and stored in vaults under the supervision of a special organization based in London, the London Bullion Market Association (or LBMA). When the shipment was received, the Chinese government asked that special tests be performed to guarantee the purity and weight of the gold bars. In this test, four small holed are drilled into the gold bars and the metal is then analyzed.

Officials were shocked to learn that the bars were fake. They contained cores of tungsten with only a outer coating of real gold. What’s more, these gold bars, containing serial numbers for tracking, originated in the US and had been stored in Fort Knox for years. There were reportedly between, 5600 to 5700 bars, weighing 400 oz. each, in the shipment!

At first many gold experts assumed the fake gold originated in China, the world’s best knock-off producers. The Chinese were quick to investigate and issued a statement that implicated the US in the scheme.

What the Chinese Uncovered

Roughly 15 years ago — during the Clinton Administration [think Robert Rubin, Sir Alan Greenspan and Lawrence Summers] — between 1.3 and 1.5 million 400 oz tungsten blanks were allegedly manufactured by a very high-end, sophisticated refiner in the USA [more than 16 Thousand metric tonnes]. Subsequently, 640,000 of these tungsten blanks received their gold plating and WERE shipped to Ft. Knox and remain there to this day.

According to the Chinese investigation, the balance of this 1.3 million to 1.5 million 400 oz tungsten cache was also gold plated and then allegedly “sold” into the international market. Apparently, the global market is literally “stuffed full of 400 oz salted bars”. Perhaps, its worth is as much as, 600-billion U S dollars.

Always Yours — As Usual — Saurabh Singh

 RELATED LINKS FOR READERS WHO WANT TO GO IN MORE DETAILS TO BEFORE COMMENTING ON STORY

1. 
   http://etfdailynews.com/2011/08/17/venezuelan-president-hugo-chavez-sends-precious-metal-etfs-a-wakeup-call-gld-iau-slv-gdx-agq/
   
2. 
   http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/2011/08/hugo-chavez-gold-runs-bank-runs-and-bank-holidays/
   
3. 
   http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/chavez-officially-nationalizes-venezuela-s-gold-industry-174207
   
4. 
   http://notime4bull.com/aggregator/sources/13
   
5. 
   http://mikepiro.com/blog/as-chavez-pulls-venezuelas-gold-from-jp-morgan-is-the-great-scramble-for-physical-starting/
   
6. 
   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/traders-brace-for-venezuela-gold-transfer/article2134031/print/
   
7. 
   http://www.bighaber.com/haber/chavez-to-nationalize-venezuelan-gold-industry-1072000.html
   
8. 
   http://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/global_082611.php
   
9. 
   http://americasfinancialmeltdown.blogspot.com/2010/11/below-is-antiwar_4391.html
   
10. 
    http://mikepiro.com/blog/ron-paul-audit-federal-reserve-gold-stores/
    
11. 
    http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/061976-2009-11-26-us-govt-manufactured-fake-gold.htm
    
12. 
    http://www.the-boondocks.org/forum/index.php?t=msg&&goto=157202#msg_157202s
    

Wall Street is set to close its worst three months in a year as July draws to a close next week after a roller coaster ride for markets. Whacked out fund managers hitting the beach in August may find themselves fiddling with their BlackBerrys more than the little umbrella in their cocktails.

“I need a vacation, man. After all the stuff that’s happened in the last three months I’m pretty much shot, I’m getting weird,” said one New Jersey-based fund manager, who was packing his bags for a destination in the Caribbean as temperatures topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit in New York City.

With euro zone leaders having reached a deal for yet another bailout for debt-laden Greece, investors will be free to chew over the rancor in Washington with even more attention.

Negotiations between President Barack Obama and the top Republican in the House of Representatives, John Boehner, still looked far from a deal to avert a looming US default, lawmakers said on Friday, raising the likelihood of more volatility next week if no solution is reached over the weekend.

“It’s likely an agreement in any form will cause a relief rally for equities,” said global head of sales trading at Dahlman Rose in New York.

“Coming on the heels of overall pretty good earnings numbers and some sort of resolution in Greece and that could make for a rally in the market,” he said.

But on the other side of the coin, the prolonged and partisan dispute over solving the country’s debt crisis means there is still a big downside risk.

“Who knows where that is going to go,” as per an analyst at MF Global in Chicago. “We’re vulnerable to a buyers’ strike if we don’t get any news.”

In addition, the corporate earnings season suggests other risks could dog the market. Despite generally good results so far, there have been some worrisome signs. The S&P 500 rallied 6% in the run-up to reporting season, but earnings misses from big industrial names like Rockwell Collins and Caterpillar Inc weighed on the Dow and S&P 500 on Friday.

Earlier in the week several big consumer names such as Whirlpool and Pepsi warned about sluggishness in developed markets, sending their shares sharply lower.

“The market still has a high degree of skepticism in it,” said the analyst, summing up the earnings season so far.

As per him, he will be closely following earnings from sector and economic bellwethers next week. Those include the package delivery company UPS, chipmaker Texas Instruments, and online retailer Amazon.

Around 30 percent of the S&P 500′s USD 12.3 trillion market caps have reported earnings so far. They have outpaced consensus estimates by 3.8%, and only 7% have missed estimates, according to data from Morgan Stanley.

But share prices of those that have fallen short of estimates have taken a severe beating. Given the fragile sentiment a few more prominent misses could derail the market.

“The market is punishing these misses more than it is rewarding beats, an asymmetry we have been calling for and we forecast will continue,” wrote Morgan Stanley’s US equity strategist in a note to clients.

“Our view remains that first half of the year numbers are achievable but the second half of the year looks challenged,” he said.

Next week is also a big week for economic data. Fears of a slowdown in the economy have been a large driver of market volatility over the last few months, and the coming releases will be parsed very closely.

They include early regional manufacturing data from Chicago and New York, a reading of consumer sentiment, and a first reading of US growth for the second quarter, expected to show the economy grew just 1.9% in the period.

Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Blackrock, one of the world’s largest fund managers with around USD 1.6 trillion of equities under management, said this week that the US economy is at a critical juncture.

Doll points out that since 1960 every time year-on-year growth has fallen under 2% the US economy has gone into recession.

“Our bottom line view is that investors should maintain a reasonably constructive bias toward risk assets, but should also be prepared to scale back exposure if evidence of economic growth acceleration does not materialize.”

Always Yours — As Usual —- Saurabh Singh

Note: Compiled from published News and Views

“Crude oil prices peaked to US $ 100 – 115 a barrel in April and May 2011 and moved downwards after that to touch a rate of US $ 90 – 92 per barrel in June 2011. In such a scenario, price increase by the Union Government should have been announced in April – May 2011, but the same did not occur. The Government found June 2011 to be the auspicious time for announcing price hike when the prices had nearly normalized. What could have been the motive for doing so? Simple answer is that April – May 2011 was the time when five states were going to elect the assembly members. The states being, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry. ”

“If one goes by what the campaign managers of Congress had to say on the Rahul Gandhi’s much publicized kisan padyatra-(which as claimed was undertaken to champion the cause of the farmers of the region) -  was conceived to detract the public attention from the issue of hike in petroleum products and their possible spiraling effect on inflation. This yatra detracted the lot of electronic media attention from the campaign that opposition forces such as BJP and Left were seeking to build up on the oil price hike related issues. ”

“Since the Oil shock of 1973, USA strategically took measures to control the oil market by keeping continued focus on West Asian Region. In 1980, Jimmy Carter, the then President of USA declared Persian Gulf an exclusive zone of American influence and created a rapid deployment of forces, which latter turned into what is known as US Central Command or CENTCOM.  ”

“As is being believed by majority that skirmish in Libya is behind recent spurt in prices, should correct their facts. Libya produces less than 3 per cent of global petroleum output. Where as Saudi Arabia has already made up for the current shortfall and its excess stocks are more than that of Libya and Algeria put together. In fact in present situation too oil production at many of Libyan facilities continues even in civil war there. ”

“The argument being forwarded by few is that rising demand from China and India has forced an upward trend in oil prices is also unjustified. Though these two countries do account for growing share of global demand, but then same is counterbalanced by slower demand from USA and Europe.”

“There is still a wide spread perception that cartel of Oil Exporting Countries can manipulate and influence the prices by changing the level of their supplies. Reality today is much different. The OPEC has turned from being a cartel to being a minor player today. Non OPEC countries now account for increasingly significant proportion of global supply. Russia has already snatched the title of being largest supplier of crude oil from Saudi Arabia since 2009.  ”

Many more such instances may be quoted. It’s not being quoted in anticipation that the variety of above instances is good enough to comprehend that nearly none of the factors assumed or arguments forwarded are capable of forcing any kind of hike in prices of the crude oil.

Then what is it, which is responsible for hike in crude oil price?

…….any guesses, if not, then storm your grey matter and keep visiting this place in hope of getting answer to this simple question.

Always Yours — As Usual —- Saurabh Singh

Image on Economy

The Reserve Bank of India had raised concerns about high overseas borrowings in its recent Financial Stability Report. Shares of many companies are trading at a fraction of the price at which Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) are to be converted into shares. If prices recover, investors can convert the bonds into equity shares. That looks unlikely. If prices don’t recover, the companies can redeem the bonds by paying off investors. That appears impossible given the stretched balance sheets of many companies. Then, companies will have to issue fresh bonds in lieu of the old ones, negotiating a new set of conditions — revised conversion price, extended tenure and reset interest rates.

Most companies worth their salt will try to work out some solution either by raising fresh money to redeem the FCCBs along with redemption premium or by restructuring the bonds. This is because they know a default or legal tussle would blacklist them in the foreign market. It will also downgrade their credit rating. That’s why the companies, whose stocks are trading at a discount to the conversion price, are already in talks with investors, says Ashutosh Maheshwari, head of investment banking at Motilal Oswal.

Assam Company and Suzlon are two such examples. “We are looking at restructuring our outstanding FCCBs,” says Sanjay Sharma, finance head of Assam Company, whose FCCBs worth $32 million will mature in November. Offshore Investors Watching Closely .The stock of the Kolkata-based tea company has been hovering at around15, a good 48% discount to the conversion price of 28.75 that the company had fixed when it issued bonds in 2006.
The Suzlon spokesperson says the company does not foresee any problems with FCCBs. Suzlon’s $300 million worth FCCBs will mature in June and October next year. The Suzlon stock is quoting at 50% discount to the conversion price. Reliance Communications has the largest chunk of outstanding FCCBs worth $925 million (about 4,150 crore).

These bonds are unlikely to be converted into equity shares when they mature in March, as the stock is trading at 86% discount to the conversion price of . 661. RCOM will try to raise bank loans to repay bondholders, says a person close to the company. That will add to the company’s ballooning debt burden of 35,000 crore. RCOM did not comment on the issue. “Offshore investors are watching how India Inc behaves. If pragmatism prevails over greed, then invariably restructuring will work,” says H Jayesh, founder-partner of law firm Juris Corp. At the same time, there is a lingering fear that this could easily turn into a minefield of disputes. “We fear some Indian promoters will neither agree to convert at a lower price — as it will dilute their stake, nor repay the money,” says a bondholder, who had subscribed to FCCBs of a handful of companies in 2007.

Akil Hirani, managing partner of legal firm Majmudar & Company, expects some bondholders to have disagreements with the promoters on revision of the conversion price, leaving them with no option but to take legal recourse against the companies. If the companies want investors to give heavy discounts, the matter is likely to go to courts, according to Huzefa Nasikwala, managing partner, Nasikwala Law Office. “Agree to a conversion at a realistic price and most investors will effectively extend the maturity period by a few years, if not more,” is what Juris Corp’s Jayesh advises companies.

A month ago, a Singapore-based hedge fund, 3 Degrees Asset Management, moved the RBI against Karur KCP Packagings, a Tamil Nadubased cement bag maker. Karur KCP had raised $10 million in April 2006 through FCCBs bearing a 2% interest rate and conversion price at  75. The bonds were due to expire on April 27, 2011. Backed by majority of the bondholders, the tenure of the security was extended by another 10 years and coupon was cut to zero. The hedge fund has alleged fraud and manipulations in the company’s exemption scheme. The foreign fund is planning to initiate legal proceedings against the issuer.

Two years ago, US-based hedge funds DE Shaw and Citadel Investment Group had filed a winding-up petition against Chandigarh-based Venus Remedies after the company defaulted on an FCCB issue. However, the matter was resolved last year. Beginning 2006, FCCBs captured the imagination of promoters of Indian companies who exploited it as the cheapest source of finance. It was a simple bet: the stock market will continue to rise and issuers will not be driven to a point where they will have to pay back the money; once the stock of the issuing company touches a pre-agreed price (conversion rate), the bonds will be converted into shares. The bet backfired as the stock market dipped — the bellwether Sensex has fallen 15% this year — and the stocks are struggling at a fraction of the conversion price. Some small and mid-caps are now trying different ploys to hold back payment. A few have entered into messy court feuds, one of the firms has allegedly falsified accounts to overstate losses and moved the BIFR while another has taken refuge in complaints by local investors. Bonds worth 31,500 crore are due for redemption by March 2013, according to a Crisil Research study of S&P CNX 500 and BSE 500 companies. Of this, Rs 16,000 crore of bonds will mature by March 2012.

Market participants say the numbers could double if all mid and small-cap companies are taken into consideration. Among the top 500 companies, it looks like 70% of outstanding bonds may not be converted, says Crisil’s Koparkar. Of this, the “real worry” is bonds worth 2,000 crore, he adds. But the figure is at least  5,000 crore if all small and mid-cap stocks are taken into account, says a bondholder, not wanting to be named. Three years ago, some companies defaulted in paying FCCB investors. The bondholders, in turn, took them to courts. The list included Wockhardt. Its bondholders had filed a winding up petition against the company.

Always Yours — As Usual — Saurabh Singh

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=ETNEW&BaseHref=ETM/2011/06/27&PageLabel=1&EntityId=Ar00100&ViewMode=HTML

IFRS for SMEs  — What is IFRSs and IFRSs for SME

Scope of IFRS All International Accounting Standards (IASs) and Interpretations issued by the former IASC (International Accounting Standard Committee) and SIC (Standard Interpretation Committee) continue to be applicable unless and until they are amended or withdrawn. IFRS sets out recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure requirements of transaction and events in general purpose financial statements. IFRSs apply to the general-purpose financial statements and other financial reporting by profit-oriented entities i.e. those engaged in commercial, industrial, financial, and similar activities, regardless of their legal form. Entities other than profit-oriented business entities may also use IFRSs with certain changes in terminologies. General purpose financial statements are intended to meet the common needs of shareholders, creditors, employees, suppliers, government and the public at large for information about an entity’s financial position, performance, and cash flows. IFRS apply to consolidated as well as separate financial statements. If an IFRS allows both a ‘benchmark’ and an ‘allowed alternative’ treatment none of them is preferred treatment. However, in developing Standards, IASB intends not to permit choices in accounting treatment. Further, IASB intends to reconsider the choices in existing IASs. IFRS presents fundamental principles in bold face type and other guidance in non-bold type (the ‘black-letter’/'grey-letter’ distinction). Paragraphs of both types have equal authority. IFRS does not prescribe as who should apply IFRS. It left upon the national standard setters to decide which entities would be bound to comply with IFRS. The focus of international standard setting is on profit-oriented reporting entities, including non-corporate entities such as mutual funds. Despite concentrating on profit-type entities, the IASB envisages that non-profit entities in the private and public sectors may nevertheless find its Standards an appropriate basis for financial reporting. The specific needs of the public sector have been acknowledged by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), whose Public Sector Committee has on its agenda the preparation of standards based on IFRS, for use by public sector entities. However, a non-profit entity that states compliance with IFRS should comply with IFRS in full. A profit-oriented reporting entity is one that reports to users, who rely on the financial statements as a major source of financial information about the entity. Financial Statements are directed to the information needs of users such as investors and potential investors, employees, lenders, suppliers, creditors, customers, governments and the public at large. The term financial statements refer to statements that display different aspects of the entity’s financial performance and position. Financial position is reflected in the statement of financial position and a statement of changes in shareholders’ equity (excluding transactions with shareholders). Financial performance is reported in the income statement and liquidity position in the cash flow statement. These statements are supplemented by a series of detailed notes. Some Standards permit different treatments for certain types of transactions or events. One treatment is designated as the benchmark treatment, and the other the allowed alternative. Neither is designated as the IASB’s preferred approach. The Board intends to develop future Standards that require similar transactions and events to be accounted for in the same way. The IASB intends to reconsider the choices given in current IFRS with a view to reducing and potentially eliminating them. Structure of IASB The IASB is organised under an independent Foundation named the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF). That Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation created under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America, on 8 March 2001.

Components of the new structure of IASB are as follows:

1. International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) – has sole responsibility for establishing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). 2. IASC Foundation – oversees the work of the IASB, the structure, and strategy, and has fundraising responsibility. 3. International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) – develops interpretations for approval by the IASB. 4. Standards Advisory Council (SAC) – advises the IASB and the IASCF. 5. Working Groups – expert task forces for individual agenda projects. 6. Monitoring Board of Public Authorities- effective 01.02.2009 Accounting Standards in India are issued by Accounting Standard Board (ASB) of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and are largely based on IFRS. However, India has not been able to keep pace with the amendment and additions made in IFRS from time to time. This is largely because of its sensitivity to local conditions including the conflicting legal and economic environment. However, with the opening of Indian economy in near past, the convergence to IFRS has become unavoidable. Keeping this in view, ASB decided to form an IFRS task force in August 2006. Based on the recommendation of this task force, the Council of ICAI, in its 269th meeting decided to fully converge with IFRS from the accounting periods commencing on or after 1st April 2011. At initial stage, this convergence will be mandatory for listed and other public interest entities like banks, insurance companies, NBFCs, and large sized organizations with high turnover or annual income.

Why this convergence?

Converging with IFRS will have multiple benefits for Indian entities especially those who aspire to go global. Some of the benefits of convergence with IFRS are explained below:

a) Accessibility to foreign capital markets

The force of globalization has enabled the concept of ‘open economy’ and increasing numbers of countries has opened doors for foreign investment and foreign capital. Many Indian entities expanding and making their presence felt in international arena. Huge amount of capital commitment are required in this process for which entities have to list their shares in various stock exchanges around the world. Majority of stock exchanged either require or permit IFRS complaint accounts. Adaptation of IFRS will enable Indian entities to have access to international capital markets.

b) Reduced Cost

At present when Indian entities list their securities abroad they have to make another set of accounts which are acceptable in that country. Convergence with IFRS will eliminate this need for preparation of dual financial statements and thereby reduce the cost of raising capital from foreign markets.

c) Enhance Comparability

If the Financial statements of Indian entities are made in lines of IFRS, they will have greater comparability and will enable foreign companies to have broader and deeper understanding of the entities relative standing. This will also facilitate mergers, amalgamation and acquisition decisions.

d) Boon for multinational group entities

Entities in India may have a holding, subsidiary or associate company in some other nation. Compliance with IFRS for all group entities will enable the company management to have all the financial statements of the group in one reporting platform and hence will facilitate the consolidation process.

e) New Opportunities for the professionals

Migration to IFRS will not only be beneficial for Indian corporate, it will also be a boon to Indian accounting and other associated fields. India is a country with immense human resource. With knowledge of IFRS Indian professional can immerge as leading accounting service provider around the globe. This convergence will also open the flood gate of opportunities for valuers and actuaries as IFRS is fair value based accounting standard.

What is IFRSs?

 International Financial Reporting Standards comprise: – IFRSs – standards issued after 2001 – IASs- standards issued before 2001 – Interpretations originated from the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) – issued after 2001 – Interpretations of Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC) – issued before 2001

Effective IFRSs as on date

• No of standards issued – effective 29 (total 41) IASs , 8 IFRSs • No of interpretations – effective 15 (total 18) IFRIC Interpretations, effective 11(total 33)SIC Interpretations • No of Financial Reporting Standards in force as on date – 63

Grouping of IFRSs into eleven parts:

1. Preface and framework

Preface a. Objectives of the IASB b. Scope and authority of IFRSs c. Due process d. Timing of application of IFRSs e. Language

Framework a. Introduction b. Qualitative characteristics of financial statements c. The elements of financial statements d. Recognition of the elements of financial statements e. Measurement of the elements of financial statements f. Concepts of capital and capital maintenance

2. Other literature

a. IASC Foundation Constitution b. Due process Handbook of IASB c. Due process Handbook of IFRIC d. Glossary

3. Presentation of Financial Statements

Standard Number Standard Name IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows IAS 33 Earnings Per Share IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors IAS 10 Events after the Reporting period IAS 21 The effects of changes in foreign exchange rates IAS 29 Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary economies SIC 7 Introduction of the EURO IFRIC 7 Applying the restatement approach under IAS 29 Financial Reporting in Hyper inflationary Economies

4. IFRSs on Interim Financial Statements

IAS 34 – Interim Financial Reporting

5. IFRSs on Group Reporting Standard

Number Standard Name IFRS 3 Business Combinations IAS 27 Consolidated and separate financial statements IAS 28 Investment in Associates IAS 31 Interest in joint ventures

6. IFRSs on Assets

Standard Number Standard Name IAS 2 Inventories IAS 16 Property, Plant & Equipment IAS 40 Investment Property IAS 38 Intangible Assets IAS 32, IAS 39, IFRS 7 Financial Assets / Financial Instruments IAS 41 Biological assets IFRS 5 Non-Current Assets held for sale & Discontinued operations IAS 17 Leases IFRS 6 Exploration and Evaluation of Mineral Assets

7. IFRSs on Expenses and Liabilities

i. IAS 19 – Employee Benefits ii. IFRIC 14- IAS 19 – The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction iii. IAS 37 – Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets iv. IFRIC 1 -Changes in Existing Decommissioning, Restoration and Similar Liabilities v. IFRIC 5- Rights to Interests Arising from Decommissioning, Restoration and Environmental Rehabilitation Funds vi. IFRIC 6- Liabilities Arising from Participating in a Specific Market – Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment vii. IAS 12- Income Taxes viii. SIC 21 – Income Taxes – Recovery of Revalued Non-Depreciable Assets ix. SIC 25- Income Taxes – Changes in the Tax Status of an Enterprise or its Shareholders x. IFRS 2- Share-based Payment xi. Financial liabilities / Financial Instruments a. IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation b. IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement c. IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosure

8. IFRSs on Income

i. Construction contracts (IAS 11) ii. Revenue (IAS 18) iii. Agriculture income (IAS 41) iv. Service concession arrangements – IFRIC 12 & SIC 29 v. Customer loyalty programmes – Customer reward credit or points IFRIC 13

9. IFRs on Disclosure

A.  IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures B. IFRS 8 Operating Segments

10. IFRSs on Industry

i. IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts ii. IAS 26 Accounting and Reporting by Retirement Benefit Plans

11. IFRSs on First time adoption – IFRS 1

IFRSs for SME

History

In Sept 2003: World Standard Setters survey n June 2004: Discussion Paper (117 comments) n April 2005: Questionnaire on recognition and measurement (94 responses) n Oct 2005: Roundtables on recognition and measurement (43 groups) n Feb 2007: Exposure Draft (162 comments) n Nov 2007: Field tests (116 real SMEs) n Mar – Apr 2008: Board education sessions n May 2008 – Apr 2009: Redeliberations n May 2009: Near-final draft posted on IASB website n 1 June 2009: Ballot draft sent to the Board n 9 July 2009: Final IFRS for SMEs issued

Why IFRSs for SME

A. Topics not relevant to SMEs are omitted. B. Where full IFRSs allow accounting policy choices, the IFRS for SMEs allows only the easier option. C. Many of the principles for recognizing and measuring assets, liabilities, income and expenses in full IFRSs are simplified. D Significantly fewer disclosures are required. E the standard has been written in clear, easily translatable language.

What is SME as per IFRSs

SME Small and medium-sized entities are entities that:  Do not have public accountability, and o Publish general purpose financial statements for external users. Examples of external users include owners who are not involved in managing the business, existing and potential creditors, and credit rating agencies. General purpose financial statements are those that present fairly financial position, operating results, and cash flows for external capital providers and others. An entity has public accountability if: o Its debt or equity instruments are traded in a public market or it is in the process of issuing such instruments for trading in a public market (a domestic or foreign stock exchange or an over-the-counter market, including local and regional markets), or o It holds assets in a fiduciary capacity for a broad group of outsiders as one of its primary businesses. This is typically the case for banks, credit unions, insurance companies, securities brokers/dealers, mutual funds and investment banks.

Contents of IFRSs for SME – divided into 35 sections

1. Small and Medium-sized Entities 2. Concepts and Pervasive Principles 3. Financial Statement Presentation 4. Statement of Financial Position 5. Statement of Comprehensive Income and Income Statement 6. Statement of Changes in Equity and Statement of Comprehensive Income and Retained Earnings 7. Statement of Cash Flows 8. Notes to the Financial Statements 9. Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements 10. Accounting Policies, Estimates and Errors 11. Basic Financial Instruments 12. Additional Financial Instruments Issues 13. Inventories 14. Investments in Associates 15. Investments in Joint Ventures 16. Investment Property 17. Property, Plant and Equipment 18. Intangible Assets other than Goodwill 19. Business Combinations and Goodwill 20. Leases 21. Provisions and Contingencies 22. Liabilities and Equity 23. Revenue 24. Government Grants 25. Borrowing Costs 26. Share-based Payment 27. Impairment of Assets 28. Employee Benefits 29. Income Tax 30. Foreign Currency Translation 31. Hyperinflation 32. Events after the End of the Reporting Period 33. Related Party Disclosures 34. Specialised Activities 35. Transition to the IFRS for SMEs Glossary Derivation Table Basis for Conclusions – published in a separate booklet Illustrative Financial Statements and Presentation and Disclosure Checklist – published in a separate booklet

Omitted topics in IFRSs for SME The IFRS for SMEs does not address the following topics that are covered in full IFRSs: n Earnings per share n Interim financial reporting n Segment reporting n Special accounting for assets held for sale

Examples of options in full IFRSs NOT included in the IFRS for SMEs n Financial instrument options, including available-for-sale, held-to-maturity and fair value options n The revaluation model for property, plant and equipment, and for intangible assets n Proportionate consolidation for investments in jointly-controlled entities n For investment property, measurement is driven by circumstances rather than allowing an accounting policy choice between the cost and fair value models n Various options for government grants.

Conclusion

To conclude IASB put lot of efforts in coming out IFRSs for SME. IASB has received 162 comments on Exposure Draft for IFRSs for SME. IASB follows transparent approach for formulation of standards.

JUSTIFY PAYMENT OF NON COMPETE FEE, SEBI TELLS E. LAND s

The Securities & Exchange Board of India, or SEBI, has told a South Korea’s $7-billion textile chain E. Land, which in process of acquiring Mudra Life Style by an open offer, to justify the payment of a non-compete fee of 25% to the promoters of Mumbai-based Mudra Lifestyle.

INTRODUCTION OF STAKEHOLDERS E. LAND TEXTILE CHAIN OF SOUTH KOREAN ORIGIN

E. Land is a South Korean $ 7 Billion Textile Chain. The textile house is in midst of the process of taking over Mudra Lifestyle. E.Land Group (is a South Korean conglomerate headquartered in Chanjeon-dong Mapo-gu Seoul, Korea. It started as a 6 sqm small clothing shop on a fashion street in front of Ewha University in Sinchon in 1980. E.Land Group became a USD 7 billion group of companies, creating the phrase “Myth of 6 sqm (hangul)”. E.Land Group now takes part in retail malls, restaurants, hotels and construction businesses as well as its cornerstone, fashion apparel business. It has operations worldwide through its subsidiary E-Land World, including China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the United States and Europe. History In the 1980s, E. Land Group revolutionized the retail channel by pioneering new markets using a franchising system. Franchising system is one of the most profitable forms of retail distribution due to its low initial investment requirement when opening new stores. Its first ever brand was called “England”, which later changed to “E-Land” due to restrictions on trademark registration. During the Asian financial crisis of 1997, E. Land Group successfully carried out several corporate reform initiatives, including corporate restructuring, overhaul of its finances and transformation of its management system. As a result, E. Land Group became the 37th largest corporation in Korea (excluding SOE’s) with assets totaling over 2 billion USD as of the end of 2005. E. Land Group transformed Korean apparel retailing, which was historically divided into high-priced department stores and low-priced traditional markets, by creating a new medium-priced market using street shops. This market has now grown to over USD 20 billion in 2006. E. Land Group currently takes part in fashion apparel, hyper-mart retail, fashion outlet malls, department stores, hotels and restaurant businesses. Vertical Integration It currently focuses on vertical integration of production and distribution of consumer goods that include apparel, groceries and house wares. Products are sold through two different channels, namely, approximately 5,000 franchise stores and E. Land Group owned stores consisting of 25 premium fashion discount stores, two department stores and 32 discount stores. The strength of E.Land Group lies in its ability to generate synergies between its fashion and retail businesses, and this strategy being implemented through a business portfolio that includes infant wear, children’s wear, women’s wear, sportswear and underwear and a multitude of channels such as outlets, department stores and super supermarkets. Retail E. Land Group is currently the second largest retailer in Korea based on number of stores as of September 2006 (Source: Korea Rating). The Group’s current retail business comprises Homever, Kims Club, NC Department Store, NewCore Outlet and 2001 Outlet. 2001 Outlet In 1994, E.Land Group introduced the first outlet in Korean market by opening the first store of 2001 Outlet. It took a form of mullti story outlet stores with groceries, houseware and apparel. NC Department Store & NewCore Outlet In 2003, E.Land Group purchased a 75% stake in NewCore, a department store operating in 25 different locations in Korea. Following the acquisition, NewCore was transformed to and operated as two department stores and 15 fashion premium outlets. Homever (ex. Carrefour) In April 2006, E. Land Group acquired the entire South Korean operations of Carrefour which operated 32 discount stores. Carrefour Korea, despite its global presence and experiences overseas, struggled to understand the local Korean culture. Carrefour was rebranded to Homever by E. Land Group after the acquisition. The acquisition moved E. Land Group from 6th to 2nd largest discount/outlet operators with respect to total number of stores. Using experiences accumulated from prior operations of 2001 Outlet and NewCore Outlet, E. Land Group successfully integrated its winning strategy to revive the stores after the acquisition. During 2007, E-Land received media attention regarding new Korean non-regular protection laws. E-land laid off more than 900 non-regular female cashiers at its affiliate retailers, Homever and New Core, just before the law went into effect on July 1 2007. The group, instead, outsourced their jobs to workers from temporary agencies. The new law requires a company to grant its non-regular employees regular status after they have worked with the company for two years. On 14 May 2008, the British retail group Tesco, which already operated in Korea, agreed to purchase 36 hypermarkets with a combination of food and non-food products from E-Land for $1.9 billion (976 million pounds) in its biggest single acquisition, making Tesco the second largest retailer in the country. The majority of the E-Land stores formerly belonged to French retailer Carrefour before 2006 and most of the stores will be converted to Tesco Homeplus outlets. Tesco’s South Korean discount store chain, Home Plus, currently has 66 outlets.

MUDRA LIFESTYLE BUSINESS

Mudra Group started its operations in 1986 and is in the textile industry having facilities for fabrics & garments manufacturing, processing, design development and sampling etc. It manufactures fabrics and garments for domestic and export market. The brand MUDRA has built a strong goodwill for itself in the domestic market and commands a premium. It’s gradually moving towards garment manufacturing mainly in the designer shirts and ladies wear segments to capitalize on the huge opportunity unleashed by the removal of quotas.

MUDRA LIFESTYLES’ PRODUCT PORTFOLIO CONSISTS OF:

• Finished fabric • Processing • Garments  Mens Wear :Shirts  Ladies Wear : Tops, Skirts  Kids Wear

PROMOTERS:

Mr. Murarilal Agarwal, aged 49 years, Chairman and Managing Director, is a commerce graduate. He is the founder of the MUDRA group and has over 25 years experience in various facets of the textile industry.

Shri Agarwal, as Executive Chairman, overlooks the entire working and affairs of the company’s management.

Mr. Ravindra Agarwal, aged 46 years, Joint Managing Director, has done his M.A. (Gold Medalist) from Mumbai University. He has experience of over 18 years in the textile industry. He heads the Finance and Marketing Functions of the company. He is supported by a team of experienced professionals.

Mr. Vishwambharlal Bhoot, aged 65 years, is a matriculate and has experience of over 38 years in the textile industry. He controls the company’s administration and accounting functions. He is supported by a team of experienced professionals.

THE BOARD COMPRISES THE FOLLOWING DIRECTORS:

S. No. Name Designation

1 Mr. Murarilal Agarwal Chairman and Managing Director

2 Mr. Ravindra Agarwal Joint Managing Director

3 Mr. Vishwambharlal K. Bhoot Executive Director

4 Dr. Surendra Ambalal Dave Independent Director

5 Mr. Subhash Chandra Bhargava Independent Director

6 Mr. S. P. Pandian Independent Director

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA SECURITIES & EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA (frequently abbreviated SEBI) is the regulator for the securities market in India. It was formed officially by the Government of India in 1992 with SEBI Act 1992 being passed by the Indian Parliament. Chaired by C B Bhave, SEBI is headquartered in the popular business district of Bandra-Kurla complex in Mumbai, and has Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western regional offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmadabad.

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE:

Chandrasekhar Bhaskar Bhave is the sixth chairman of the Securities Market Regulator. Prior to taking charge as Chairman SEBI, he had been the chairman of NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited) ushering in paperless securities. Prior to his stint at NSDL, he had served SEBI as a Senior Executive Director. He is a former Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1975 batch…

THE BOARD COMPRISES

Name Designation As per C B Bhave Chairman SEBI CHAIRMAN (S.4(1)(a) of the SEBI Act,1992)

KP Krishnan Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance Member (S.4(1)(b) of the SEBI Act, 1992)

Anurag Goel Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs Member (S.4(1)(b) of the SEBI Act, 1992)

Dr G Mohan Gopal Director, National Judicial Academy, Bhopal Member (S.4(1)(d) of the SEBI Act, 1992)

MS Sahoo Whole Time Member, SEBI Member (S.4(1)(d) of the SEBI Act, 1992)

Dr KM Abraham Whole Time Member, SEBI Member (S.4(1)(d) of the SEBI Act, 1992)

Mohandas Pai Director, Infosys Member (S.4(1)(d) of the SEBI Act, 1992)

Prashant Saran Whole Time Member, SEBI Member (S.4(1)(d) of the SEBI Act, 1992)

FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES SEBI

SEBI has to be responsive to the needs of three groups, which constitute the market:

1. The issuers of securities

2. The investors

3. The market intermediaries

SEBI has three functions rolled into one body quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial and quasi-executive. It drafts regulations in its legislative capacity, it conducts investigation and enforcement action in its executive function and it passes rulings and orders in its judicial capacity. Though this makes it very powerful, there is an appeals process to create accountability.

There is a Securities Appellate Tribunal [SAT] which is a three-member tribunal and is presently headed by a

Former Chief Justice of a High court – Mr. Justice NK Sodhi.

A second appeal lies directly to the Supreme Court. SEBI has enjoyed success as a regulator by pushing systemic reforms aggressively and successively (e.g. the quick movement towards making the markets electronic and paperless rolling settlement on T+2 basis).

SEBI has been active in setting up the regulations as required under law.

MUDRA LIFESTYLE:

STOCK PROCES AS ON JANUARY 28, 2010 BSE : Jan 28, 17:30 Open Price 57.00 Volume 351495 High Price 59.00 52 Wk High 62.80 Low Price 53.00 52 Wk Low 33.50 Prev. Close 57.65 Open Price 58.00 Volume 293989 High Price 58.00 52 Wk High 59.95 Low Price 53.85 52 Wk Low 28.05 Prev. Close 57.50 NSE: Jan 28, 17:30

THE SITUATION

In a first-of-its-kind deal in the local textile sector, the South Korean fashion and garment conglomerate had agreed to and is in the process of acquiring the promoter’s stake in Mudra Lifestyle and also take management control. The Korean firm has already acquired a 25% stake in the company and appointed directors on its board. It has also unveiled an open offer to buy 20% equity from shareholders at Rs 60 per share. It would pay Rs 75 a share to the company’s promoters for a controlling stake. The differential pricing to the promoters is on account of a non-compete fee. An acquirer can pay a seller non-compete fee of up to 25% of the price offered to shareholders in an open offer. Anything more than 25% has to be included in the open offer price. According to officials in investment banks, SEBI has asked SBI Caps, which is managing the open offer, to justify a higher or differential price in the form of non-compete fee to the promoters. “The regulator is still examining the submission. The company had filed for an open offer approval in October. Payment of non-compete fee is increasingly turning out to be a contentious issue with the market regulator vetting several such cases. This may also have to do with the recent recommendation of a committee on takeovers, which said non-compete fees should be done away with as according to it promoters were the sole beneficiaries. “SEBI is hostile towards non-compete fee as it is looking at reforming this aspect of companies’ takeover. More often than not it short-changes minority shareholders. While SEBI allows this to go up to 25%, under the Indian Contract Act it is invalid. However, the Securities Appellate Tribunal has said that if the law allows it, then it is justified.

Merchant Banker to the ISSUE:

SBI Caps or SBI Capital Markets Legal Arm of Merchant Banker: Amarchand Mangaldas Usual Time Taken by SEBI to settle Such Cases: One Month Time being Consumed by SEBI in this Case: It has already been nearly four months since the Company had filed for an open offer approval in October 2010

ISSUES INVOLVE

1. SEBI is hostile towards non – compete fee.

2. While SEBI allows it to go up to 25 per cent, in case of Indian Contract Act it is invalid.

3. Securities Appellate Tribunal says that if law allows, then it justified. But in majority of case ‘it is control premium’ that is paid in disguise of ‘non – compete fee’.

VIEW OF AN ECONOMIC LAW PRACTITIONER

SEBI does not have much jurisdiction to decide whether the fee is justified, if it is not above the prescribed limits.

DEAD FISH IN THE POND

There is an old saying regarding a dead fish in the pond. In same manner or on the similar lines one of recent and matching issue was of acquiring of Mysore Cements. In this case SEBI had asked the acquirers not to pay differential prices to promoters at the expense of other Share Holders. The Regulator was of the view that payment of non – compete fee was not justified in this case as company was classified as a sick company.

ANNEXURE – 1

E. LAND GROUP OWNS IN EXCESS OF 60 BRANDS IN KOREA

Casual • Brenntano • Underwood • Hunt • R.Athletic • Teenie Weenie • Who.A.U • Shane Jeans • So Basic • There’s • Coin • C.o.a.x • Prich • G-Star Deco & Netishion (Women’s) • Deco • Ana Capri • Telegraph • XIX • Dia • EnC • 96 New York • A6 Women, kids, underwear and accessories • E-Land Junior • Underwood School • Ohoo • Little Brenn • Roem Girls • The Day Girl • Cocorita • Usall • New Golden • Hunt Kids • Caps • Vianni Kids • Cheek • Entetee • Celden • Hunt Innerwear • The Day Underwear • Eblin • Petit Lin • Body Pop • Roem • The Day • 2Me • Teresia • Fiorucci • Clovis • Lloyd • Clue • Vianni • Eco Mart • Paw in Paw • OIX • Vicman • OIX Milano • NIX21 • Marie Claire • OST • Beall Eland also operate the following global brands under license • Berghaus • Ellesse Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Land accessed on Jan 29, 2011 at 1237 Hours IST.

Annexure – 2

TERMS DEFINED NON –

COMPETE FEE

This fee is a differential price being paid to promoters over and above the price being paid to ordinary shareholders.

TRADITION & REASON BEHIND NON COMPETE FEE

This fee is paid by the acquirer to ensure that the former promoters of the company do not compete directly in same line of business for specified time period.

ACCEPTED AMOUNT

An acquirer can pay seller a Non – Compete Fee of up to 25 per cent of the price being offered to share holders in the Open Offer of Acquisition. Anything more than 25 per cent has got to be included in the open offer.

Always Yours — As Usual — Saurabh Singh

Several African nations are now growing at a rapid pace. So, this way Ghana also is no exception. It’s unique only in a way that, no nation is witnessing the growth in GDP rate as high as Ghana. Since a long

time, unflattering adjectives like ‘worst managed’, ‘disastrous’, etc., were used when it came to talking of Ghana; but now they do not hold true. The Ghana of today has come a long way ahead in its journey towards prosperity and has earned the status of being the world’s fastest growing economy today. Ghana’s economy is growing at a phenomenal rate of 20.15 per cent. Ghana is oil-rich, has large gold and diamond deposits, while at the same time, the boom that is being witnessed by its tourism sector has added more glitter to its diamonds.

QATAR

Qatar is an oil- and gas-rich nation with world’s third largest gas reserves. It has undoubtedly enjoyed the status of being a nation which is world’s largest exporters of petroleum, and has got something more remarkable added to it. The growth in GDP of Qatar has helped it in achieving a new distinction, and that is of being the world’s second fastest growing economy growing at a rate of 12.337 per cent. 

The economy of Qatar isprimarily oil-based. High oil and gas prices have boosted the economy of this Gulf state over the last few years. The per capita income of Qataris stands at $66,100, which in comparative terms makes it, a nation with sixth highest per capita in the world, and still Qataris do not know a phenomenon known as Income Tax .

TURKMENISTAAN

Turkmenistan is also not far away when it comes in terms of being blessed with reserves of natural gas. In this context Turkmenistan stands at the rank of being world’s fourth-largest nation in terms of owning the reserves of natural gas. In present story it has earned slot at number three, due to it being the world’s third fastest growing nation with a GDP growth rate of 12.18 per cent. Although oil and gas is the biggest revenue generator for Turkmenistan, agriculture too accounts for a healthy percentage of its GDP. Citizens in Turkmenistan get 120 liters of petrol free every month for car drivers, while

truck/bus drivers get 200 liters of petrol free. Apart from this, electricity too is subsidized for the citizens. Probably, one should not expect beyond this and turn greedy.

CHINA

China, which in this story has earned a slot at number four, also happens to be the world’s fourth fastest growing economy at 9.908% GDP growth rate. In monetary terms, it turns out to be of order of amazing $6 trillion. However, now certain not so desired elements have started to raise their heads. The rising inflation rate in China is a new challenge, which stands in way of growth, of the economy of the country. China’s gross domestic product grew 9.6 per cent in the third

quarter as compared to the same period last year. The growth rate slowed down from 11.9 per cent in the first quarter and 10.3 per cent in the second quarter.

LIBERIA

Even though, the nation still continues to live with dubious and infamous distinction of being one of the poorest countries on earth; Liberia has recorded robust economic activity in past couple of years. This African nation, despite of all said and done, has managed to steal the fifth rank when it comes to the list of world’s fastest growing economies. The Liberia, now as world’s fifth fastest growing economy

has a GDP growth rate of 9.003 per cent. It is a $1.05 billion economy. The nation has rich reserves of iron ore, and also exports rubber. In the last few years, it has been receiving a lot of foreign direct investment which has resulted in higher employment, better infrastructure and spurt in economic activity.

————Always Yours — As Usual — Saurabh Singh

[i.e., Bank of Japan in Stimulus Mode]

The case of Bank of Japan and that of the Federal Reserves at USA turns to be a clear example of  two events, i.e, First being What is Meaning of Zero Interest Rate Regime and Second it demonstrates a great wide valley of interest rate deferential being created among Developed Economies on one side and Emerging Nations Economies on other side. The same was very much visible in the recently concluded IMF Meet of Finance Ministers and Central Banker of these two clear groups.

The two self styled protagonists to name United States of America for Developed Economies and the other one being China for Emerging Economy Nations, could not reach any point of consensus to overcome currency war spread across the Globe. In the ensuing blame game, on one hand USA was requesting IMF-World Bank to make and keep a through visible on currency valuation and exchange rate in China; China spread its worry and held United States of America responsible for destablinsing the economies of the nations grouped as emerging economies. China claimed that it was not only the alone case of what USA managed in Brazil, but China and India too are not being spared.

Few of nations coming under Emerging Economies out of a list of Twenty Eight now are taking the measures to start putting a tax regime on certain kind of cash inflows as well as inflows above a certain volume too. If all the emerging nations are going to be forced to adopt such measures, then very fabric of Global Markets and Globalization as process will become extinct soon and defeat the objectives of the agreements already signed in this direction. But then, this is a situation as on date, which has a very small but sure probability of  shaping out, given the behavior and turn being witnessed in the fiscal as well as monetary policies of Developed Economies.

In an effort to conclude the write up so as it could be gone through easily the is being turned to Indian Markets. Indian Markets may get saved from the damage that huge amount of Cash Inflows are capable of causing. But till the task is not over, the torchbearers at Indian Economic Infrastructure, may not afford a sound sleep.

As per the expectations and sentiments in Indian Economy at present, launch of a large number of IPOs is being expected and awaited. These IPOs may provide a cushion by working as antidotes against huge cash inflows, that may result due to the reasons of a Huge Interest Rate differential.

Its not all over, and will or may continue for longer time with or without time interval, but at the moment I would love to say—————————————————

Always Yours ————— As Usual ———————-Saurabh Singh

The Lowell Mills offer a lesson in the perils of focusing on labor costs at the expense of technology.

The building of Samuel Slater’s mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1793 marked a genuine paradigm shift: the transition of cloth-making from the home to the factory. A decade or so later, wealthy Bostonian Francis Cabot Lowell followed Slater’s example by surreptitiously copying English spinning and weaving technology. After visiting the cotton mills of Manchester, England and taking copious mental notes, he returned to Boston and raised $400,000 from wealthy friends and family to recreate what he had seen in Great Britain.

Thus began the American Industrial Revolution, and with it, another sort of shift. The new cloth-making business put both capital and labor to work on a scale that demanded not just new machines, but new management. Unfortunately, the accounting and financial technology of the day wasn’t up to the task. Financial managers of the time focused on the familiar — costs of labor and materials — but oddly enough, often ignored the potential challenges of maintenance, obsolescence and technological change that came with their new machines. Without a good understanding of the importance of depreciation and reserves, writes one historian, “The known expense of labor received more attention than the largely unknown problems of capital expense.”

Initially, however, a management focus on labor seemed a happy development. An idealist, Lowell did his utmost to improve upon the grim working conditions he had witnessed in England, where, in the early 1800s, English laborers had no minimum wage and generally worked twelve to fourteen hours a day, six days a week.

Lowell set about creating a worker’s utopia. He recruited girls and women, ages 15 to 35, from surrounding farming communities and promised their understandably wary families that they would live in chaperoned boardinghouses and have access to a church, a library, and healthy social activities. They would receive weekly wages, an unheard-of luxury for a farm girl, even if she did have to work six 10- to 12-hour days (almost as long as her English counterparts) to earn it.

Lowell’s five-story factories were a brilliant early construct of vertical manufacturing. Each mill had machines to clean the raw cotton, turn it into yarn and thread, weave it into cloth, and then print the finished cloth with colorful designs. The U.S. Congress helped matters considerably by imposing prohibitive tariffs on imported cloth, protecting the Massachusetts producers from their British competition.

If the water wheels powered these mills along the Merrimack, treasurers ran them. Sitting at the top of the largest early American companies, treasurers (not presidents) held shares in their organizations and conveyed the wishes of the shareholders in Boston to the agents who managed the mills in Lowell. Although flawed, the structure made sense. For agents, labor costs were paramount, while shareholders worried most about the cost of raw cotton and the price of cloth — the most important U.S. export of the early 19th century. Detailed accounting information provided essential communication between managers and investors separated by the miles between Boston and Lowell.

As early as 1826, Lowell’s utopia began to give way to competitive pressures. England, which bought much of America’s raw cotton, continued to turn it into cotton cloth at a ferocious pace. In response, the U.S. mills tried to increase productivity by speeding up production and productivity. A woman who had once tended one loom soon found herself tending four.

In 1834, the Lowell Mill’s directors tried another tack — cutting fixed labor costs. When management announced that the women would have their wages cut, the Lowell Mill girls, as they were called, went on strike, or in the language of the day, they “turned out.” After only a few days, the strike collapsed and their attempt to forestall the wage cut failed.

Two years later, management decided it had to cut costs again, though not its own, and again it targeted its women operatives. Pay was to be cut by $1 a week, and simultaneously, the amount the girls paid the company for their rooms in the boardinghouses was to increase. At the time, they were sleeping two to a bed and eight to a room. This time, over a thousand women turned out, striking for several weeks.

Throughout, the women’s efforts to improve their working conditions were undermined by the willingness of later immigrants, first Irish, then Italian, to take whatever wages were offered. Ultimately a six-year depression that began in 1837, brought on by overly easy bank credit and rampant real estate speculation, ended any attempt at labor organization. Jobs disappeared by the thousands, and what little power the fledgling labor movement had evaporated.

Of course, if savings on labor costs created intolerable conditions for mill workers, the demand for cheap cotton had bred an even more ghastly system. The raw material used in the mills came from the South, and was grown and picked by slaves. Two-thirds of the Southern cotton was sold to England. The other third was shipped north to New England. Many workers sympathized with the plight of slaves and supported abolitionism, but also suffered themselves when the Civil War broke out. Realizing that they would make more selling raw cotton than by making cloth, Lowell’s mill owners closed their mills and sold off the contents of their warehouses.

Many of the mills reopened after the war, but eventually most moved to the South themselves. Although most attribute this development to the lure of cheaper labor and proximity to raw materials, another factor played a part. As the management hierarchy of the mills suggests, investors focused on finance and labor. Responsibility for technology — specifically, the machines that spun, wove, and finished the cloth — was relegated to an outside superintendent. As Steven Lubar reports in “Managerial Structure and Technological Style: the Lowell Mills, 1821-1880,” shareholders challenged the need for skilled (and therefore costly) managers for these machines. Neither the management system nor the accounting systems (this was before the day of useful cost accounting) fostered an appreciation for the role technology played in operations. As a result, the Lowell mills were slow to repair and slower to invent more efficient machinery. In the end, operators found it simpler to start over in a new location than to repair old machinery.

Today, of course, even the southern mills are closed, with almost all textiles made overseas. But you can still visit the remarkable cotton mills of New England. They’re museums.

Finance in History: Blood and Treasurers

Those who guard the crown jewels need good internal controls.

Roget’s Thesaurus has made a bizarre word familiar to many college students who have found themselves at a loss for words. Compiled by Dr. Peter Mark Roget and published in 1852, Roget’s Thesaurus is a vast categorization of English words — and their friends, siblings, and relatives.

But how did he come up with a word like “thesaurus?” Simple. It’s the Latin word for “treasure.” Back in the 15th century in Scotland, treasurers were called “thesaurers,” and the royal thesaurer had the plum job of guarding the royal treasure trove.

To become thesaurer, a fellow clearly had to be known for his honesty, strength, courage, martial experience, suspicious mind, and self-restraint. One wonders how often the inventory of the royal thesaury (treasury) was conducted and whether the King and Queen were there to congratulate themselves on their fine thesaurus.

Besides the psychological comfort of knowing you have a pile of jewels in a vault nearby — and a trusted thesaurer to make sure they don’t wander off — the king’s jewels must have helped convince lenders of his creditworthiness. A bit like Fort Knox when the United States was on the gold standard.

The flaw in that idea, though, is that crown jewels are anything but a liquid asset. They represent, instead, the classic buy-and-hold strategy. The British gem collection is a 900-year long position in precious stones and metals.

Despite the manifold and elaborate precautions taken by the thesaurus, an audacious brigand almost got away with stealing Britain’s crown jewels in 1671. The perpetrator was an Irishman with the improbable name of Colonel Blood, and he did it by preying upon the Assistant Keeper of the Jewels, an elderly dupe named Talbot Edwards. Revenge certainly played a part in the bloody plot, seeing that the British had taken Blood’s land in Ireland.

Disguising himself as a humble man of the cloth, a parson, Blood made several preliminary visits to the Tower of London, intent on insinuating himself into the good graces of the assistant jewel keeper. Like so many visitors to London who were soon to follow, he took the Tower tour to give the crown jewels a good once-over. The jewels first went on display in the 1600s, and even back then the jewel keeper was allowed to make some money on the side acting as tour guide.

After several increasingly chummy visits, Blood went so far as to propose that his nephew marry Edwards’s daughter, a nice match considering he claimed the nephew was worth 300 pounds a year. The assistant jewel keeper and his wife thought this sounded like a bit of all right.

A few days later, Blood brought his “nephew” (actually his son), to meet Edwards, and they were accompanied by two of their friends. While supposedly waiting for Blood’s wife to join them, Blood persuaded the jewel keeper to show him, his nephew, and their two companions the jewels one more time.

Once Edwards unlocked the vault, they decided the time was especially opportune to bash him in the head with a mallet and stab him to death. Scooping up the jewels, Blood crushed the king’s crown, the better to hide it under his frock. Before they could make their pious exit, however, Edwards’ son stumbled in on them and raised a hue and cry. The plunderers were apprehended, probably by a cohort of the Tower guards, the Beef eaters. The lucky king reclaimed his jewels and dented crown.

Besides housing the crown jewels, the Tower of London was the home of many famous prisoners. Some, including Richard III’s two nephews, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Sir Thomas More, and Guy Fawkes, never left. Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Rudolph Hess, on the other hand, were only temporary residents.

Weirdly enough, Colonel Blood never joined their ranks. King Charles II met with him after his disastrously botched heist, gave him back his confiscated Irish estates, and is thought to have taken him into his service as a spy. The moral of the tale, apparently, is that the bold entrepreneur often ends up a whole lot better than the treasurer.

Finance in History: Bankruptcy

Chapter 11 may be tough, but it beats death, dismemberment, slavery, exile, prison, and other insolvency solutions.

“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.” (Charles Dickens, David Copperfield)

Misery indeed. Bankruptcy is no picnic even today, but through the ages it has been the source of much literal pain. The word “bankruptcy” comes from an Italian practice of the Middle Ages — “banca rotta” — which means “bench-breaking.” The term describes the punishment administered to businesses that failed: local fiscal authorities came to the market and smashed the bankrupt business’s table.

Through the ages, people or businesses have gone bankrupt in two ways, either running out of money and thus being unable to repay debts, or being forced to close as a result of fiscal mismanagement. Either way, bankruptcy has often carried a punitive dimension.

Death, dismemberment, slavery (for the debtor and family members), indentured servitude, exile, and debtors’ prison have all been used as punishment. Dickens did not use the word “misery” lightly.

And yet the first known effort to regulate bankruptcy was surprisingly modern in its approach. Appearing in the Code of Hammurabi, which dates to Babylon around the 18th century B.C., the law stipulated that a bankrupt’s possessions were to be divided among creditors in proportion to the amount of money each was owed.

Alas, those would soon come to be seen as the good old days, because by 621 B.C., when Draco ruled Athens, the punishment meted out to “deadbeats” (literally, one who is “completely exhausted”) was death. Or they and their families might be sold into slavery, with the proceeds going to creditors. If that strikes you as Draconian, well, consider the source.

A generation later the Athenian statesman and poet Solon decided this was perhaps a bit too severe. Under his legal reforms the bankrupt and his family had to give up their citizenship but not their freedom — or their lives.

The Romans, however, soon turned back the sundial. Under the Twelve Tables of Rome, promulgated in 451 B.C., maiming became the appropriate sanction. Instead of getting his money back, the creditor was given a pound of flesh — or perhaps more, depending on how much was owed. Debtors were cut up and their parts distributed among creditors on a pro rata basis. (The Roman writer Petronius would later satirize this practice in The Satyricon, a portion of which describes a plutocrat whose will decrees that any friend, parasite, or hanger-on who wants to collect his inheritance must eat a piece of the dead man’s corpse.)

Fast-forward to Renaissance England, where Henry III established the practice of imprisoning debtors in the 13th century. By the time of Henry VIII, in the mid-16th century, the first bankruptcy statute (as opposed to insolvency law) was enacted. It applied only to merchants and traders, since they were considered the only people who had a legitimate reason to borrow money, and provided a way for their debts to be addressed (sans death, torture, or even prison) in the event that a storm at sea sank their boats and thus their fortunes, or similar circumstances beyond their control led to bankruptcy.

That statute did not get the common man off the hook, however. And once someone landed in debtors’ prison it was often nearly impossible to get out. Family or friends might come forward to pay the prisoner’s debts; if not, debtors had to rot, presumably coming to appreciate, as they did, the error of their ways.

The absurdity of debtor’s prison, of course, is that a bankrupt’s ability to repay his creditor from prison is precisely nil. That may be why, in some countries, creditors were required to pay the costs of incarcerating their debtors. The open-ended prison sentence could be cut short, therefore, should the creditor tire of throwing good money after bad.

If you were lucky you might end up a “peon,” a term that originally described a bankrupt person condemned to work without pay for a creditor until the debt was paid off.

While bankruptcy was generally a bigger problem for the debtor than for the creditor, that wasn’t true in every case. In the 14th century, Italian bankers unhappily discovered that England’s Edward III was an unreliable credit risk, but couldn’t do much about it. And in the 18th century, English goldsmiths, the principal bankers of the era, slid into bankruptcy after the Stuart kings found it inconvenient to pay back their loans. Worse, if the bankers were deemed to be charging too much interest their fingers would be burned.

Today bankruptcy still entails pain, if only in the form of many, many meetings with lawyers. And Dickens’s lesson still rings true: having slightly more than you need is infinitely better than having even slightly less. Unless, of course, your credit card offers rewards points and a low introductory rate.

Still to Cont……………………………………………………………………

Always Yours— as Usual———–Saurabh Singh

History is not just a forte of Kings, Emperors, Social Workers, Leaders and so on only. It keeps on silently recording the numerous developments happening in the various spheres of learning too. Sometimes, it may be in the form of thought other day it may be principles and following day may be for practices.

Finance in History

If you are doomed to repeat history, let’s hope you can pick your era. Once upon a time, business bankruptcies resulted in jail time (if you were lucky), treasurers defended their funds with a sword, and financial planning was tested by plagues and fire. Things improved during the American Revolution, when the father of our country also proved to be one of its best bookkeepers. But accounting couldn’t keep up during the Industrial Revolution, with disastrous consequences for workers. If you tend to think of history as the third quarter of the last fiscal year, it may be time to learn a little bit more about your profession’s checkered past.

The 17th-century business world revealed in Samuel Pepys’s famous diary is not so far removed from our own.

“Most happy in the keeping of all my accounts, for that after all the changings and turnings necessary in such an account, I find myself right to a farthing in an account of 127,000 pounds.” — Samuel Pepys’s diary entry, August 20, 1666

Public officials in 17th-century England had not yet refined the notion that one has to pay to play; that is, pony up political contributions to obtain government contracts or favors. But when Samuel Pepys was an important naval administrator in London during the mid-1660s, the basic idea was well understood. Like others similarly situated, Pepys gladly accepted gifts, and he recognized the debt he incurred in accepting them.

We know this from reading Pepys’s diary, regarded by many as the greatest in the English language. Between January 1, 1660, and May 31, 1669, Pepys (rhymes with “keeps”) chronicled his everyday life, from his professional concerns to his sexual escapades, from the state of the financial accounts he kept to the painful progress of his kidney stone. The practice of diary keeping began to catch on during the 17th century, according to Pepys biographer Claire Tomalin. But his is prized for its confessional insights, large cast of characters, accounts of significant events, and entertaining narrative, combining to reveal a singular sensibility.

“What is extraordinary is that he went into areas no one else considered recording, looked at himself with as much curiosity as he looked at the exterior world, weighing himself and the world equally in the balance,” observes Tomalin in Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self (2002). Writing for his eyes only, Pepys used a private shorthand and, in especially delicate passages, French. His six-volume diary was only deciphered and published in the 1820s, more than 100 years after his death.

To historians, Pepys was an invaluable chronicler of a period when the press was censored by the government of Charles II. From him we have poignant accounts of the Great Plague, which decimated England in 1665, and of the Great Fire of London, which destroyed half the city in 1666. On a more personal scale, Pepys supplied entertaining accounts of his financial wheelings and dealings as a government administrator.

“The Diary sends a beam of light into the way in which government officers and businessmen worked together, through clubs, through hospitality, through trips that mixed business and pleasure, through well-chosen and discreetly given presents and through cultivating the friendship of those in a position to be helpful in giving contracts or licenses,” observes Tomalin. “The circumstances were different, but there is something eerily familiar about it too: today’s arms and building contracts, entertainment of clients, quiet words at the club, conferences in luxury hotels, boardroom rivalries and contributions to favourite charities are all in the same tradition. Pepys was, among other things, mapping a recognizably modern world.”

Accounting for the Royal Navy

As one learns from the diary, Pepys was ambitious, intelligent, and well connected. Born in 1633, he never became a sailor, but gained an accounting post in the British Navy and turned it to steady profit. Pepys had the good fortune to capitalize on his family’s one political connection: he was a distant cousin to Sir Edward Montagu, later the Earl of Sandwich. Oliver Cromwell put Montagu in joint command of the British fleet, and the 27-year-old Pepys sailed in on Montagu’s coattails. In 1660 Pepys was appointed Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board, and as such was responsible for requesting funds from Parliament and dispensing them to build the navy and keep it afloat.

Pepys advanced steadily during the next 13 years, eventually becoming Secretary of the Admiralty. Anyone who wanted a government contract to supply the Royal Navy had to go through his office. Shipbuilders, victuallers, slopsellers, and many others did their best to curry favor with the young finance minister.

On August 16, 1660, in the first year of his diary, Pepys recorded a telling conversation he had with Lord Sandwich. Riding across town in a coach, Sandwich told Pepys that he hopes the Clerk of the Acts position will be good to him, saying “it was not the salary of any place that did make a man rich, but the opportunity of getting money while he is in the place.”

Pepys took this advice to heart. Once sworn in as Clerk of the Acts, he almost immediately found himself on the receiving end of a steady stream of gifts, from barrels of oysters, wine, and brandy to gold coins and silver plate. In 17th-century London, merchants clearly considered these donations to be money well spent, just another cost of doing business.

On April 3, 1663, the diarist described a defense used by politicians to this day, which basically consists of sticking to an absurdly literal, and narrow, truth. After a certain Captain Grove gives him a letter that he can tell contains money, Pepys wrote: “But I did not open it till I came home to my office; and there I broke it open, not looking into it till all the money was out, that I might say I saw no money in the paper if ever I should be questioned about it.”

Another business associate gave him “a present for his wife,” a package said to contain a pair of gloves. On the evening of February 2, 1664, Pepys noted: “When I came home, Lord! in what pain I was to get my wife out of the room without bidding her go, that I might see what these gloves were; and by and by, she being gone, it proves a payre of white gloves for her and forty pieces in good gold, which did so cheer my heart that I could eat no victuals almost for dinner for joy to think how God do bless us every day more and more.”

Plague, Fire, and Fortune

Ironically, biographer Tomalin says the plague year of 1665 was one of Pepys’s happiest. During it his fortune quadrupled, thanks in part to two additional appointments: treasurer for Tangier and surveyor-general of victualling for the navy. Meanwhile, as his fortune grew, so did the plague. From June to September, deaths from the disease doubled nearly every week.

“But, Lord! to see how the plague spreads,” wrote Pepys on June 16. “It being now all over King’s Streete, at the Axe, and next door to it, and in other places.” At its height, in the last week of August 1665, the plague killed nearly 10,000 Londoners. “Thus this month ends with great sadness upon the publick, through the greatness of the plague every where through the kingdom almost,” wrote Pepys on August 31. “Every day sadder and sadder news of its encrease.”

The Great Fire of London, which began on September 2, 1666, and engulfed most of the central part of the city, helped quell the plague by killing the city’s disease-infected rats. As the fire raged toward his home, Pepys packed up his gold and silver and rode by cart in his nightshirt to a friend’s, safely outside the city. What he could not transport, he buried. Luck was on his side, however, and his neighborhood was spared.

As for the Lord of Sandwich, embezzlement was his downfall. While at war with the Dutch, Sandwich’s fleet captured several Dutch ships, including some loaded with goods from the East Indies. Instead of delivering these spoils of war to the King, Sandwich let the hatches be broken and divvied up the prizes with his fleet’s captains. His share’s worth came to 5,000 pounds. When news of this reached the King, Sandwich was stripped of his command. (He would later be reappointed and died in battle in 1672.)

Pepys’s assessment of the fall of “his Lord” is less forgiving. On December 31, 1665, he wrote: “The great evil of this year, and the only one indeed, is the fall of my Lord of Sandwich. The Duke of Albemarle goes with the Prince to sea this next year, and my Lord very meanly spoken of; and, indeed, his miscarriage about the prize goods is not to be excused, to suffer a company of rogues to go away with ten times as much as himself, and the blame of all to be deservedly laid upon him.”

Fearing for his eyesight, Pepys brought his diary to a close in 1669. He would later keep two other journals before his death in 1703, but Tomalin notes that they have “none of the qualities of the first Diary. Something essential was missing — some grit that had caused him to produce his pearl.” The luster of that pearl, and the qualities of the man, can be seen in the entry for Christmas day, December 25, 1666:

“To church in the morning, and there saw a wedding in the church, which I have not seen many a day; and the young people so merry one with another, and strange to see what delight we married people have to see these poor fools decoyed into our condition, every man and woman gazing and smiling at them. Here I saw again my beauty Lethulier. Thence to my Lord Bruncker’s by invitation and dined there, and so home to look over and settle my papers, both of my accounts private, and those of Tangier, which I have let go so long that it were impossible for any soul, had I died, to understand them, or ever come to any good end in them. I hope God will never suffer me to come to that disorder again.”

Observations from Samuel Pepys’s Diary On dog days:

“By coach to St. James’s and there did our business, which is mostly every day to complain of want of money.” (July 13, 1666)

On hard work: ”How little merit do prevail in the world, but only favour; and for myself, chance without merit brought me in; and diligence only keeps me so, and will, living as I do among so many lazy people that the diligent man becomes necessary, that they cannot do anything without him.” (November 1, 1665)

On success: ”But, Lord! to see what successe do, whether with or without reason, and making a man seem wise notwithstanding never so late demonstration of the profoundest folly in the world.” (August 15, 1666)

IFRS, to introduce to new followers of the blog, is a globally accepted set of accounting norms. The same is going to be made  mandatory for the purpose of reporting the financial information of any business entity form the fiscal year starting April 2011.

Convergence of current accounting norms with IFRS will require major accounting changes and will also demand large disclosures. Presenting company’s accounts as per IFRS will involve huge cost and thus may become a great hurdle for SMEs.

The International Financial Reporting standards Board’s Draft IFRS for SMEs is already there, which is already a watered down version. This provision by IFRS board has been drafted, so as to make is easier for SMEs to comply with it, as the same can be adopted without much drain on company exchequer.

Within normal course, even before large company’s converge to IFRS, various Acts like, Companies Act, Insurance Act, SEBI Act, and RBI Acts will require amendments to be incorporated, so as to enable companies in the same and related sector to converge with International Financial Reporting standards [IFRS].