Zakat: An Effective Instrument for Elimination of Proverty

Zakat or 'Poor Due' is a distribution system devised by the Creator and introduced by His Messengers from the very beginning of the civilization. The prime objective of Zakat is to eradicate poverty by equitable distribution of wealth. Zakat is not a donation rather right of the poor in the wealth of the rich. The latest version of Zakat was revealed through Holy Quran and introduced by Prophet Mohammed (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The outcome of Zakat under Islamic system was observed at the end of the reign of Hazarat Omar bin Abdul Aziz (Allah be pleased with him) in the first Muslim state of Madina when it was difficult to find out a person to pay Zakat.

Over the period with the changes in socioeconomic environment, numerous direct and indirect taxes veiling Zakat were either enforced or adopted in the Muslim dominated countries. Consequently, Zakat has turned from an effective distribution system to an alms distribution festival. Zakat is one of the 'Five Pillars of Islam'. Zakat is 'Fard' (compulsory) for every adult, mentally stable, free, and financially able Muslim male and female. The Quran says that only those who pay Zakat are in the "brotherhood of faith". Zakat is a 2.5% levy on most valuables and savings if their total value is more than a basic minimum known as 'Nisab'. Cash at bank and the release value of bonds, securities and shares in any form are Zakatable if they are purchased as an investment. There is no zakat on dwelling house, household furniture, carpets, car, etc for personal use. The obligation of Zakat is raised after passing of a time span of one lunar year (a lunar year is approximately 355 days) with 'Nisab' money and resources in the control of its owner. The owner of wealth is allowed to deduct any amount of money he or she borrowed from others. Each Muslim calculates his or her own Zakat individually. Zakat is also leviable upon crops, animals and stock in trade.

One of the most important principles of Islam is that Allah (SWT) is the absolute owner of all resources of the world and human being is simply the custodian thereof. Accordingly, a wealthy Muslim requires to pay the dues of the poor from the assets under his/her custody. l Zakat on self known as Zakat-ul Fitr is a per head payment equivalent to the cost of around 2.25 kilograms of the main food of the region (this may be wheat, dates ,rice or grapes, depending on the place) paid during the month of Ramadan by the head of a family for himself and his dependents to the zakat collector (amil).l Zakat on wealth known as Zakat -ul-Mal comprises all other types of zakat, such as on business, on savings, on income, on crops, on livestock, on gold, on minerals, on hidden treasure unearthed, etc.

Zakat is ditributable among the following 8 categories of people:

l Faqir - One who has neither material possessions nor means of livelihood.l

Miskin- One with insufficient means of livelihood to meet basic needs.

l Amil - Workers associated with the collection and distribution of Zakat.

l Muallafathul Quloob- One who converts to Islam. Literally those whose hearts are softened. Some scholars claim this also refers to poor non-muslims who do not have enmity towards Muslims.

l Riqab- One who wants to free himself from bondage or the shackles of slavery.

l Gharmin- One who is in debt (money borrowed to meet basic, halal expenditure)

l Fisabillillah- Literal meaning 'In the way of Allah', but it is used for Jihad.

l Ibnus Sabil- One who is stranded in journey outside his territory.

Zakat encourages honest earning and honest living. Since Zakat is a prayer, payment of the same out of illegal income is not acceptable. Allah (SWT) has clearly pronounced this in the following verse of the holy Qur'an:

'Do not acquire anything wrongfully or on false pretences: do not hoard or bury or amass wealth for its own sake but use it freely for good. Whether for yourself or for your neighbours; and be particularly careful not so waste it for idle purpose, but only so that many fructify for the goods of the people.' 9 (34)

There are provisions for tough punishment in eternity for the non-payment of Zakat:

'On the Day when heat will be produced out of That (wealth) in the fire of hell, and with it will be Branded their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs.`` This is the (treasure) which ye Burried for yourselves: taste ye, Then, the (treasure) ye buried ! 9 (35).

Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said: "Any owner of gold and silver who does not deliver from them their right, on the Day of Quiyamah (Day of Judgement), (the gold and silver) will be shaped as foils of fire. Then, it will be heated in the fire of Hell; (and) then with it he will be ironed on his side, his forehead, and his back" (narrated by Muslim).

The Governments of all Muslim majority countries are under religious obligation for collection and distribution of Zakat.

Zakat and Income Tax

Income tax is a tax on the income of an individual, association of persons, corporations or other legal entities. Universally, the accounting term income is synonymous to revenue. For better understanding of income one of the best accounting definitions has been quoted herein under from International Accounting Standards:

Payment of income tax is mandatory for all citizens generally with an income in excess of prescribed limit. There are provisions for penalty and punishment for the evasion of income tax.

Income tax is leviable on income whereas Zakat is leviable on surplus assets. There is a strong controversy among Muslims of Bangladesh regarding payment of income tax in a situation Zakat is mandatory as per religion. Since, Islamic sariah has restricted Zakat and its benefits only to 8 categories of beneficiaries, Zakat cannot be utilized to run state wheel and for infrastructure development. Therefore, income tax can not be considered as substitute of Zakat and vise versa.

Those who are paying Zakat are subject to double taxation. There is a provision for contribution to Govt. sponsored Zakat Fund. The provision is restricted to small limit and tax credit is allowed only upto 10% of contribution.

The practice of Zakat in Bangladesh

About 89% of 140 million population of Bangladesh is Muslim. Out of total 125 million Muslims around 62.5 million are below poverty line and therefore they do not pay any Zakat, while majority of the remaining 62.5 million pay Zakat ul Fitre and a small portion thereof pay Zakat ul Mal. Though Zakat is equally leviable upon crops, animals and all agricultural products and livestock most of the farm owners are not even aware of the mandate. There are hundreds of millionaires who practice Islam but most of them are paying symbolic Zakat on the basis of own assumption.

The concept of Zakat has turned very complicated because of the development of multifarious financial instruments and changes in economic system. Many of those who are with religious education and conversant with Zakat know little about economic system while the persons driving the economy of the country take little interest in Zakat. Consequently Muslim populace is with mounting ambiguity about computation and distribution of Zakat. People are rarely paying Zakat as poor due rather alms. The poor and destitute people collect Zakat from door to door. The wealthy people in general pay Zakat annually at the time of holy Ramadan calling the poor and destitute to their door. Death of Zakat seekers by stampede in the race to collect Zakat is happening almost every year.

The Muslim population of Bangladesh with an assets upto 'Nisab' could be categorized under three Groups in respect of their practice and perception of Zakat. The first Group being inclined to religion but due to poor knowledge on state affairs is ignoring taxes with a plea that those are un-Islamic, while the moderate Group with less commitment in religion declining to pay Zakat with an understanding that they are compensating the same paying income tax. In reality these two Groups are using the parallel existence of Zakat and Income Tax as an excuse to avoid sometime both. The 3rd and the smallest Group having love for the country and loyalty to religion have turned into the victim of double taxation. One for state, other for poor; one to avoid mischief of laws, and other to get rid of the fire of the hell.

There is no structured organization in Bangladesh for the collection and distribution of Zakat. The Government has established Zakat Fund long back. In absence of transparency and accountability people are reluctant to contribute their Zakat to this Fund. There are number of private volunteer organizations mostly with orphanages for religious education. Since they are collecting fund utilizing religious sentiment of the people, in maximum cases they are avoiding productive and constructive program for poverty eradication.

The greed to get more and more creates unlimited demand for resources. To satisfy this endless demand generally human being are locked into the race for the accumulation of resources, Resulting from difference in capacity this caused concentration of resources in the hand of few and throws the masses to the poverty.

So far, hundreds of researches were conducted on poverty and different factors have been cited to explain why poverty occurs. However, no single explanation has gained universal acceptance.

Poverty in Bangladesh

Most of the causes of poverty noted in clause 2.01 are prevailing in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has almost half of its 140 million population below the poverty line. It has the highest rate of malnutrition in South Asia and one of the lowest adult literacy rates in the world (WB 1997). About 57 per cent of the adult population is illiterate. There is only one doctor for every 4,903 people and one hospital bed for every 3,473 people (FFYP) 1997). About 80 percent of the country's population live in the rural areas and are dependent, in one way or other, on agriculture. Although the contribution of agriculture to GDP is on decline (32 per cent in 1995-96 from 42 per cent in 1984-85), it continues to play a major role in the economy of Bangladesh as it accounts for nearly 62 per cent of the total domestic employment.

The size of the civilian labour force in Bangladesh is 56 million (in 1995-96) of which 45.8 million are rural and 10.2 million are urban. The number of men that constitutes the labour force is 34.7 million while the number of women is 21.3 million. The number of unemployed population is 1.4 million but of the total employed population, more than one-third is under employed (BBS 1996).

Environmental degradation in Bangladesh has reached an alarming state threatening the prospects of poverty eradication and promotion of sustainable development. The current agricultural practices are causing severe damage to the agro-ecosystem affecting productivity, stability and economy of production as well as human health.

It can be said, therefore, that mass poverty in Bangladesh stems from structural deprivation. It is caused by the interplay of several factors such as unequal distribution of productive assets; inequitable distribution of income; unemployment and under-employment; low level of human resource development; lack of access to public institutions and services; interlocked, imperfect and distorted market operation; patriarchal social system; environmental pollution and degradation; lack of good governance and bypassing the poor in mainstream development projects.

The author is a faculty member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh for the last 17 years. He can be reached at akhalek@bergerbd.com

Cheesy pasta and vegetable bake

Serving size: Serves 4

Cuisine type: Modern Australian

Cooking time: Less than 60 minutes

Special options: Kid friendly

Course: Main

Favourite flavours: Cheese

INGREDIENTS
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil4 small (240g) baby eggplants, cut into 1cm slices200g Swiss brown mushrooms, quartered750g jar tomato and basil pasta sauce1 cup (250ml) vegetable stock300g short pasta (such as pipe rigate, elbows, shells, penne)1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley½ cup (40g) grated parmesan cheese200g bocconcini, drained

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced.Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the eggplant and mushrooms, cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned lightly.Add the pasta sauce and stock; cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender; drain.Add the pasta, parsley and half the parmesan to the tomato sauce mixture; mix well.Spoon mixture into a shallow 2.5-litre (10-cup capacity) ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the top with torn pieces of bocconcini and the remaining parmesan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until browned.Serve with rocket salad, if desired.Not suitable to freeze or microwave.

Recipe of Tandoori Roti

Tandoori roti is made with whole-wheat flour and traditionally cooked in a clay oven or tandoor. This recipe uses a regular home oven with pizza or baking stone witch provides a similar effect to the tandoor.

Recipe make 4 Rotis

Ingredients:

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour (maida)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup yogurt
About 1/4 cup of water as needed
Also needed:

1/4cup whole-wheat flour for rolling
2 tablespoons ghee (clear butter)
Method:

Mix the flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt together.
Next add the oil and yogurt and mix to make crumbly dough.
Add water as needed and mix to make smoother dough.
Knead the dough for about a minute. Set the dough aside and cover it with a damp cloth.
Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 500 degrees with a pizza stone (baking stone) for about thirty minutes so the stone becomes hot. Using a baking/pizza stone will help to give roti close to same kind of heat as tandoor.
Next turn the oven to high broil.
Divide the dough into four equal parts.
Roll each dough piece into a smooth ball and press flat. Take each ball and press it into the dry flour on both sides makes it easy to roll.
Roll each dough piece into 6-inch circles.
If the dough sticks to the rolling pin or rolling surface, lightly dust the dough with dry flour.
Before putting the rolled dough into the oven, lightly wet your palms and take the rolled dough and flip them between your palms before placing them onto your baking/pizza stone in the oven.
You can place about 2 pieces of rolled dough on the baking/pizza stone at a time. The roti will take about 2 minutes to cook, depending upon your oven. After the roti is baked, there should be golden brown color on top.
Take roti out of the oven and brush lightly with clear butter (ghee).
Wait for 2 to 3 minutes before baking the next roti to allow the oven to reheat.
Serve the roti hot
Serving Suggestions:
Serve roti with dal, or any gravy base dish and a side of sukhi subji complimented with chilled yogurt raita.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a company-wide computer software system used to manage and coordinate all the resources, information, and functions of a business from shared data stores.[1]

An ERP system has a service-oriented architecture with modular hardware and software units and "services" that communicate on a local area network. The modular design allows a business to add or reconfigure modules (perhaps from different vendors) while preserving data integrity in one shared database that may be centralized or distributed.

Origin of the term

MRP vs. ERP — Manufacturing management systems have evolved in stages over the past 30 years from a simple means of calculating materials requirements to the automation of an entire enterprise. Around 1980, over-frequent changes in sales forecasts, entailing continual readjustments in production, as well as inflexible fixed system parameters, led MRP (Material Requirement Planning) to evolve into a new concept : Manufacturing Resource Planning (or MRP3) and finally the generic concept Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)[2]

The initials ERP originated as an extension of MRP (material requirements planning; later manufacturing resource planning) and CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing). It was introduced by research and analysis firm Gartner in 1990. ERP systems now attempt to cover all core functions of an enterprise, regardless of the organization's business or charter. These systems can now be found in non-manufacturing businesses, non-profit organizations and governments.

To be considered an ERP system, a software package must provide the function of at least two systems. For example, a software package that provides both payroll and accounting functions could technically be considered an ERP software package
Examples of modules in an ERP which formerly would have been stand-alone applications include: Product lifecycle management, Supply chain management (e.g. Purchasing, Manufacturing and Distribution), Warehouse Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Sales Order Processing, Online Sales, Financials, Human Resources, and Decision Support System.

Overview of ERP Solutions
Some organizations — typically those with sufficient in-house IT skills to integrate multiple software products — choose to implement only portions of an ERP system and develop an external interface to other ERP or stand-alone systems for their other application needs. For example, one may choose to use human resource management system from one vendor, and perform the integration between the systems themselves.
This is common to retailers[citation needed], where even a mid-sized retailer will have a discrete Point-of-Sale (POS) product and financials application, then a series of specialized applications to handle business requirements such as warehouse management, staff rostering, merchandising and logistics.
Ideally, ERP delivers a single database that contains all data for the software modules, which would include:
Manufacturing
Engineering, bills of material, scheduling, capacity, workflow management, quality control, cost management, manufacturing process, manufacturing projects, manufacturing flow
Supply chain management
Order to cash, inventory, order entry, purchasing, product configurator, supply chain planning, supplier scheduling, inspection of goods, claim processing, commission calculation
Financials
General ledger, cash management, accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets
Project management
Costing, billing, time and expense, performance units, activity management
Human resources
Human resources, payroll, training, time and attendance, rostering, benefits
Customer relationship management
Sales and marketing, commissions, service, customer contact and call center support
Data warehouse and various self-service interfaces for customers, suppliers, and employeesAccess control - user privilege as per authority levels for process executionCustomization - to meet the extension, addition, change in process flow
Enterprise resource planning is a term originally derived from manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) that followed material requirements planning (MRP).[3] MRP evolved into ERP when "routings" became a major part of the software architecture and a company's capacity planning activity also became a part of the standard software activity.[citation needed] ERP systems typically handle the manufacturing, logistics, distribution, inventory, shipping, invoicing, and accounting for a company. ERP software can aid in the control of many business activities, including sales, marketing, delivery, billing, production, inventory management, quality management and human resource management.
ERP systems saw a large boost in sales in the 1990s as companies faced the Y2K problem in their legacy systems. Many companies took this opportunity to replace their legacy information systems with ERP systems. This rapid growth in sales was followed by a slump in 1999, at which time most companies had already implemented their Y2K solution.[4]
ERPs are often incorrectly called back office systems indicating that customers and the general public are not directly involved. This is contrasted with front office systems like customer relationship management (CRM) systems that deal directly with the customers, or the eBusiness systems such as eCommerce, eGovernment, eTelecom, and eFinance, or supplier relationship management (SRM) systems.
ERPs are cross-functional and enterprise wide. All functional departments that are involved in operations or production are integrated in one system. In addition to manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and information technology, this would include accounting, human resources, marketing and strategic management.
ERP II means open ERP architecture of components. The older, monolithic ERP systems became component oriented.[citation needed]
EAS — Enterprise Application Suite is a new name for formerly developed ERP systems which include (almost) all segments of business, using ordinary Internet browsers as thin clients.[citation needed]
Best practices are incorporated into most ERP vendor's software packages. When implementing an ERP system, organizations can choose between customizing the software or modifying their business processes to the "best practice" function delivered in the "out-of-the-box" version of the software.
Prior to ERP, software was developed to fit the processes of an individual business. Due to the complexities of most ERP systems and the negative consequences of a failed ERP implementation, most vendors have included "Best Practices" into their software. These "Best Practices" are what the Vendor deems as the most efficient way to carry out a particular business process in an Integrated Enterprise-Wide system.[5] A study conducted by Lugwigshafen University of Applied Science surveyed 192 companies and concluded that companies which implemented industry best practices decreased mission-critical project tasks such as configuration, documentation, testing and training. In addition, the use of best practices reduced over risk by 71% when compared to other software implementations.[6]
The use of best practices can make complying with requirements such as IFRS, Sarbanes-Oxley or Basel II easier. They can also help where the process is a commodity such as electronic funds transfer. This is because the procedure of capturing and reporting legislative or commodity content can be readily codified within the ERP software, and then replicated with confidence across multiple businesses who have the same business requirement.[citation needed]

Implementation
Businesses have a wide scope of applications and processes throughout their functional units; producing ERP software systems that are typically complex and usually impose significant changes on staff work practices. [7] Implementing ERP software is typically too complex for "in-house" skill, so it is desirable and highly advised to hire outside consultants who are professionally trained to implement these systems. This is typically the most cost effective way. There are three types of services that may be employed for - Consulting, Customization, Support.[8] The length of time to implement an ERP system depends on the size of the business, the number of modules, the extent of customization, the scope of the change and the willingness of the customer to take ownership for the project. ERP systems are modular, so they don't all need be implemented at once. It can be divided into various stages, or phase-ins. The typical project is about 14 months and requires around 150 consultants. [9] A small project (e.g., a company of less than 100 staff) may be planned and delivered within 3-9 months; however, a large, multi-site or multi-country implementation may take years.[citation needed] The length of the implementations is closely tied to the amount of customization desired. [10]
To implement ERP systems, companies often seek the help of an ERP vendor or of third-party consulting companies. These firms typically provide three areas of professional services: consulting, customization and support. The client organisation may also employ independent program management, business analysis, change management and UAT specialists to ensure their business requirements remain a priority during implementation.
Data migration is one of the most important activities in determining the success of an ERP implementation. Since many decisions must be made before migration, a significant amount of planning must occur. Unfortunately, data migration is the last activity before the production phase of an ERP implementation, and therefore receives minimal attention due to time constraints. The following are steps of a data migration strategy that can help with the success of an ERP implementation: [11]
Identifying the data to be migrated
Determining the timing of data migration
Generating the data templates
Freezing the tools for data migration
Deciding on migration related setups
Deciding on data archiving

Process preparation
ERP vendors have designed their systems around standard business processes, based upon best business practices. Different vendor(s) have different types of processes but they are all of a standard, modular nature. Firms that want to implement ERP systems are consequently forced to adapt their organizations to standardized processes as opposed to adapting the ERP package to the existing processes.[12] Neglecting to map current business processes prior to starting ERP implementation is a main reason for failure of ERP projects.[13] It is therefore crucial that organizations perform a thorough business process analysis before selecting an ERP vendor and setting off on the implementation track. This analysis should map out all present operational processes, enabling selection of an ERP vendor whose standard modules are most closely aligned with the established organization. Redesign can then be implemented to achieve further process congruence. Research indicates that the risk of business process mismatch is decreased by:
linking each current organizational process to the organization's strategy;
analyzing the effectiveness of each process in light of its current related business capability;
understanding the automated solutions currently implemented.[14] [15]
ERP implementation is considerably more difficult (and politically charged) in organizations structured into nearly independent business units, each responsible for their own profit and loss, because they will each have different processes, business rules, data semantics, authorization hierarchies and decision centers.[16] Solutions include requirements coordination negotiated by local change management professionals or, if this is not possible, federated implementation using loosely integrated instances (e.g. linked via Master Data Management) specifically configured and/or customized to meet local needs.
A disadvantage usually attributed to ERP is that business process redesign to fit the standardized ERP modules can lead to a loss of competitive advantage. While documented cases exist where this has indeed materialized, other cases show that following thorough process preparation ERP systems can actually increase sustainable competitive advantage.[17][18]

Configuration
Configuring an ERP system is largely a matter of balancing the way you want the system to work with the way the system lets you work. Begin by deciding which modules to install, then adjust the system using configuration tables to achieve the best possible fit in working with your company’s processes.
Modules — Most systems are modular simply for the flexibility of implementing some functions but not others. Some common modules, such as finance and accounting are adopted by nearly all companies implementing enterprise systems; others however such as human resource management are not needed by some companies and therefore not adopted. A service company for example will not likely need a module for manufacturing. Other times companies will not adopt a module because they already have their own proprietary system they believe to be superior. Generally speaking the greater number of modules selected, the greater the integration benefits, but also the increase in costs, risks and changes involved.
Configuration Tables – A configuration table enables a company to tailor a particular aspect of the system to the way it chooses to do business. For example, an organization can select the type of inventory accounting – FIFO or LIFO – it will employ or whether it wants to recognize revenue by geographical unit, product line, or distribution channel.
So what happens when the options the system allows just aren’t good enough? At this point a company has two choices, both of which are not ideal. It can re-write some of the enterprise system’s code, or it can continue to use an existing system and build interfaces between it and the new enterprise system. Both options will add time and cost to the implementation process. Additionally they can dilute the system’s integration benefits. The more customized the system becomes the less possible seamless communication becomes between suppliers and customers.

Consulting services
Many organizations did not have sufficient internal skills to implement an ERP project. This resulted in many organizations offering consulting services for ERP implementation. Typically, a consulting team was responsible for the entire ERP implementation including planning, training, testing, implementation, and delivery of any customized modules. Examples of customization includes additional product training; creation of process triggers and workflow; specialist advice to improve how the ERP is used in the business; system optimization; and assistance writing reports, complex data extracts or implementing Business Intelligence.
For most mid-sized companies, the cost of the implementation will range from around the list price of the ERP user licenses to up to twice this amount (depending on the level of customization required). Large companies, and especially those with multiple sites or countries, will often spend considerably more on the implementation than the cost of the user licenses -- three to five times more is not uncommon for a multi-site implementation.[citation needed]
Unlike most single-purpose applications, ERP packages have historically included full source code and shipped with vendor-supported team IDEs for customizing and extending the delivered code. During the early years of ERP the guarantee of mature tools and support for extensive customization was an important sales argument when a potential customer was considering developing their own unique solution in-house, or assembling a cross-functional solution by integrating multiple "best of breed" applications.

"Core system" Customization vs Configuration
Increasingly, ERP vendors have tried to reduce the need for customization by providing built-in "configuration" tools to address most customers' needs for changing how the out-of-the-box core system works. Key differences between customization and configuration include:
Customization is always optional, whereas some degree of configuration (e.g. setting up cost/profit centre structures, organisational trees, purchase approval rules, etc.) may be needed before the software will work at all.
Configuration is available to all customers, whereas customization allows individual customer to implement proprietary "market-beating" processes.
Configuration changes tend to be recorded as entries in vendor-supplied data tables, whereas customization usually requires some element of programming and/or changes to table structures or views.
The effect of configuration changes on the performance of the system is relatively predictable and is largely the responsibility of the ERP vendor. The effect of customization is unpredictable and may require time-consuming stress testing by the implementation team.
Configuration changes are almost always guaranteed to survive upgrades to new software versions. Some customizations (e.g. code that uses pre-defined "hooks" that are called before/after displaying data screens) will survive upgrades, though they will still need to be re-tested. More extensive customizations (e.g. those involving changes to fundamental data structures) will be overwritten during upgrades and must be re-implemented manually.
By this analysis, customizing an ERP package can be unexpectedly expensive and complicated, and tends to delay delivery of the obvious benefits of an integrated system. Nevertheless, customizing an ERP suite gives the scope to implement secret recipes for excellence in specific areas while ensuring that industry best practices are achieved in less sensitive areas.

Extension
In this context "Extension" refers to ways that the delivered ERP environment can be extended with third-party programs. It is technically easy to expose most ERP transactions to outside programs, e.g.
Scenarios to do with archiving, reporting and republishing (these easiest to achieve, because they mainly address static data);
Transactional data capture scenarios, e.g. using scanners, tills or RFIDs, are relatively easy (because they touch existing data);
....however because ERP applications typically contain sophisticated rules that control how master data can be created or changed, some scenarios are very difficult to implement.

Maintenance and support services
Maintenance and support services involves monitoring and managing an operational ERP system. This function is often provided in-house using members of the IT department, or may be provided by a specialist external consulting and services company.

Advantages
In the absence of an ERP system, a large manufacturer may find itself with many software applications that cannot communicate or interface effectively with one another. Tasks that need to interface with one another may involve:
Integration among different functional areas to ensure proper communication, productivity and efficiency
Design engineering (how to best make the product)
Order tracking, from acceptance through fulfillment
The revenue cycle, from invoice through cash receipt
Managing inter-dependencies of complex processes bill of materials
Tracking the three-way match between purchase orders (what was ordered), inventory receipts (what arrived), and costing (what the vendor invoiced)
The accounting for all of these tasks: tracking the revenue, cost and profit at a granular level.
ERP Systems centralize the data in one place. This eliminates the problem of synchronizing changes and can reduce the risk of loss of sensitive data by consolidating multiple permissions and security models into a single structure.
Some security features are included within an ERP system to protect against both outsider crime, such as industrial espionage, and insider crime, such as embezzlement. A data-tampering scenario, for example, might involve a disgruntled employee intentionally modifying prices to below-the-breakeven point in order to attempt to interfere with the company's profit or other sabotage. ERP systems typically provide functionality for implementing internal controls to prevent actions of this kind. ERP vendors are also moving toward better integration with other kinds of information security tools.[19]

Disadvantages
Problems with ERP systems are mainly due to inadequate investment in ongoing training for the involved IT personnel - including those implementing and testing changes - as well as a lack of corporate policy protecting the integrity of the data in the ERP systems and the ways in which it is used.
Disadvantages
Customization of the ERP software is limited.
Re-engineering of business processes to fit the "industry standard" prescribed by the ERP system may lead to a loss of competitive advantage.
ERP systems can be very expensive (This has led to a new category of "ERP light" solutions)
ERPs are often seen as too rigid and too difficult to adapt to the specific workflow and business process of some companies—this is cited as one of the main causes of their failure.
Many of the integrated links need high accuracy in other applications to work effectively. A company can achieve minimum standards, then over time "dirty data" will reduce the reliability of some applications.
Once a system is established, switching costs are very high for any one of the partners (reducing flexibility and strategic control at the corporate level).
The blurring of company boundaries can cause problems in accountability, lines of responsibility, and employee morale.
Resistance in sharing sensitive internal information between departments can reduce the effectiveness of the software.
Some large organizations may have multiple departments with separate, independent resources, missions, chains-of-command, etc, and consolidation into a single enterprise may yield limited benefits.
The system may be too complex measured against the actual needs of the customers.
ERP Systems centralize the data in one place. This can increase the risk of loss of sensitive information in the event of a security breach.

FMRP NEWS

http://www.fmrp.org/
Issue: January - March 2007
• Activities of the Components and Working Groups
• Important Event
• Seminars / Workshops
• Training Corner
• New Initiatives
• Staff News
• Social Events

Staff News:
Examination Success of Ms Jhuma Laila
Congratulations to Ms Jhuma Laila. Jhuma, an Associate Member (ACA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB). Jhuma passed the final part of professional examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh at the sitting in November-December 2006 in Dhaka. She is now an ACA and already applied for full membership of ICAB. Jhuma is one of the 17 lady Chartered Accountants in Bangladesh and one of the 4 lady Chartered Secretaries in Bangladesh.

Activities of the Components and Working Groups
Component 4 (C-4):
Component 4 has continued to support the CGA in the preparation of the GoB monthly accounts and in improving the quality of the accounting information presented from the computerised accounting systems.

Assistance has been provided in reviewing accounting information recorded and presented to ensure that it has been appropriately classified.

Progress with the bank reconciliation process at the GoB accounting offices continues to be closely monitored and additional support and training is being provided where required, including liaison and instruction to the banking institutions to supply information in the format required to allow reconciliations to take place.

Component 4 has been working with Component 6 and Financial Systems Management Unit (FSMU) to commence the piloting of iBAS-TAS including planning for training and rollout over the upcoming months. They started piloting iBAS-TAS training at CAO - Fisheries and Livestock, and at DAO - Mymensingh.

Component 2 and 4
Initial work has commenced on February 25, 2006 on the preparation of a Cash Management Development Plan (CMDP). The purpose is to support the GoB to design a strategy and associated processes for managing cost effectively the government's short term cash flows and cash balances, both within government and between government and other sectors. The CMDP should assist in the overall improvement of the treasury, debt and cash management function of the GoB. The primary objective is to support the process for improved planning of cash management and ensure that government cash flow forecasts are compatible with cash inflows and borrowing plans.

Important Event :
Dr. Tareque joins as Finance Secretary
Dr. Mohammad Tareque joined as Secretary, Finance Division, Ministry of Finance on January 22, 2007. Born in 1956, Dr. Tareque joined Bangladesh Civil Service in 1981. He possesses a brilliant academic record. He did his Masters in Economics from Dhaka University. He obtained MAPE and PhD from the University of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He has a long experience in research work on different issues and has 49 publications / research and analytical papers in his credit. His area of specialisation is Fiscal Economics and Public Expenditure Management.

Dr. Tareque held important positions within GoB and international agencies including Prime Minister's Office, Asian Development Bank, Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) etc. He has been associated with reform programmes of GoB in the economic and financial sector and played a prominent role in formulating policy in this regard. A distinguished Civil Servant Dr. Tareque played a pioneering role in introducing MTBF in line ministries. Under his able leadership a wide area network (WAN) based integrated Budget and Accounting System (iBAS) with a central database in the Ministry of Finance and back up support at CGA office is also going to be operational very soon across the country. With his leadership as Finance Secretary the FMRP reform programmes will get further momentum.

Seminars / Workshops:

Seminar on 'Public Expenditure Management' A half day seminar on 'Public Expenditure Management' organised by FMRP C-2 was conducted over 4 days to an audience of a number of mid and high level management personnel of GoB. These seminars were delivered between the March 12 and March 15, 2007 in CIRDAP Auditorium, Dhaka. Dr. Mohammad Tareque, Secretary, Finance Division, Ministry of Finance inaugurated the seminar. The keynote speaker was Mr. Ranjit Kumar Chakraborty, Project Director, FMRP and the sessions were chaired by Mr. Al-Mamoon Md. Sanaul Huq, Controller General of Accounts, Mr. S. M. Zahurul Islam, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forest and Mr. Muhammad Abdul Mazid, Member, Planning Commission, respectively. The objective of the seminar was to update high officials across the government about the latest reforms in public financial management and involve them in strengthening public expenditure management process.
A total number of 251 high officials of GoB including 41 female participated in the seminar.
workshop on 'Reforms in the Civil Accounts and Karmadokkhota' The office of CGA and C-5 jointly organised a workshop on 'Reforms in the Civil Accounts' and 'Karmadokkhota' (KDK) in February 07, 2007 at FIMA Conference Room. Mr. Asif Ali, CAG chaired the program. The main objectives of this programme were to analyse the implementation status of the strategic plans of CAG office; role of FIMA and FMRP C1 and C5 and their links with the strategic plans of the CAG.
In the first half of the workshop Mr. Al- Mamoon Md. Sanaul Huq, CGA, presented the keynote paper on Civil Accounts Reform. The second half of the workshop focused on Karmadokkhota which provided some valuable recommendations for 'On the Job Training' in government offices. Further workshops are planned outside Dhaka in the next few months.

BEHIND THE GLOBAL MARKETS’ MELTDOWN

Chart 1. Financial profits as a percent of total profits (five-year moving average)

Source: Table B-91. Corporate Profits by Industry, 1959–2007, Economic Report of the President, 2008.

The first principles, we must not forget the financial booms and busts are not a new phenomenon. What is alarming about the current meltdown is that it is in the nature of seismic earth-shaking proportions. AS international financial markets continue to tumble and national economies slip into recession, the fear of a global meltdown has begun to haunt people everywhere. The global financial crisis has its origins in the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis of August 2007. It seemed initially that it would only affect developed countries, but the so-called “decoupling phenomenon,” which predicted that developing countries would remain unaffected, has not occurred. Instead the crisis has become a global phenomenon, as the following measures indicate.

Grounds
Any explanation of the current financial turbulence begins with the housing bubble fuelled by low interest rates, increased global liquidity and predatory lending by the financial giants. According to some estimates, the annual issuance of US sub-prime mortgage backed securities increased from a mere $56 billion in 2000 to a massive $508 billion in 2005, comprising something of the order of 20 percent of total US mortgages. By 2006, the housing bubble was beginning to unravel, as higher interest rates and rising oil and food prices - and a generalized decline in consumer confidence - were starting to take their toll.

In the September 2006 Global Financial Stability Report the IMF executive board directors expressed worries that the rapid growth of hedge funds and credit derivatives could have a systematic impact on financial stability, and that a slowdown of the U.S. economy and a cooling of its housing market could lead to greater “financial turbulence,” which could be “amplified in the event of unexpected shocks.” The whole context is that of a financialization so out of control that unexpected and severe shocks to the system and resulting financial contagions are looked upon as inevitable.

This scenario, which was already beginning to be played out at the time that the above passage was written, of stagnant and falling home prices, a flood of defaults, and a global economic crisis due to financial contagion and a drop in U.S. consumption, has now become a concrete reality. Since the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in July 2007, financial distress and panic have spread uncontrollably not only across countries but also across financial markets themselves, infecting one sector after another: adjustable rate mortgages, commercial paper (unsecured short-term corporate debt), bond insurers, commercial mortgage lending, corporate bonds, auto loans, credit cards, and student loans.

What Paul Sweezy just over a decade ago called “the financialization of the capital accumulation process” has been the main force lifting economic growth since the 1970s.3 The transformation in the system that this has brought about is reflected in the rapid growth since the 1970s of financial profits as a percent of total profits (see chart 1). The fact that such financialization of capital appears to be taking the form of bigger and bigger bubbles that burst more frequently and with more devastating effect, threatening each time a deepening of stagnation—i.e., the condition, endemic to mature capitalism, of slow growth, and rising excess capacity and unemployment/underemployment—is thus a development of major significance.

Growth
Expectations of growth rates for 2008 have fallen in most countries. In October 2007, world growth was predicted to be 4.8 percent. The International Monetary Fund now predicts that it will be 3.7 percent. Expectations for 2008 growth for advanced economies now stand at 1.4 percent, down 0.8 percentage points from predictions made in October 2007. Expectations for emerging and developing country growth in 2008 now stand at 6.6 percent, also down 0.8 points from a year ago.

Expectations of 2009 growth fell everywhere between January and November. Projections of world growth for 2009 slumped from 4.4 percent in January to 2.2 percent today—effectively a global recession. Every G7 country aside from Canada is expected to contract next year and the United States and United Kingdom are already in recession. Every BRIC country (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) has seen growth expectations fall by between 1 and 3 percentage points.
Stock markets

As expectations of growth have fallen and credit has remained frozen, stock markets have been adversely affected. Dramatic drops in developed countries have been well documented, but since reaching highs in 2007 or early 2008, stock markets have fallen in every G20 country—aside from South Africa—with an average fall of 45 percent. The BRIC countries have faced dramatic collapses in their stock markets during 2008 following rapid expansion in the preceding three to four years. Stock markets for these countries are now at or below their 2005 values. Indeed, the Russia Trading System has lost 76 percent of its value so far in 2008.
Policy responses

The global credit crisis combined with collapsing share prices and the looming risk of recession have led to calls for dramatic policy interventions, including coordinated interest rate cuts, bailouts for the banking sector, and large fiscal stimulus packages. The communiqué from the world leaders’ summit on November 15 said that G20 countries would, “Recognize the importance of monetary policy support, as deemed appropriate to domestic conditions [and] use fiscal measures to stimulate domestic demand to rapid effect, as appropriate, while maintaining a policy framework conducive to fiscal sustainability.” These tools, however, have not been available to all countries. Stimulative monetary policy has only been possible in a handful of countries. Interest rate changes across a range of G20 countries in December 2007, June 2008, and December 2008.

The United States undertook the most dramatic interest rate cut from 4.5 percent to 1.0 percent. The United Kingdom and Canada also cut their rates throughout the year. China has adopted an alternative form of simulative monetary policy and cut its reserve requirement ratios in recent months. But other countries, particularly in the developing world, have seen their interest rates rise as capital flight has taken hold and hot money has sought less-risky havens such as Treasury Bills. Brazil, South Africa, and Russia, for example, all have interest rates above 10 percent which continue to rise.

Capital flight has also had a profound impact on exchange rates. In every G20 country aside from China and Japan, exchange rates have depreciated, including falls since January of over 20 percent for Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Many currencies have faced a particularly dramatic slide in recent weeks. For example, in the month of October alone, the South African rand lost 25 percent of its value.

More countries have been able to announce rescue packages for their domestic financial sectors. Policy measures have included deposit insurance, short-term loan guarantees, the purchase of shares in financial institutions, and the removal of bad assets from bank balance sheets. The $700 billion that Congress has made available to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to buy preferred stock in struggling banks has been well documented, but many other countries have provided bailouts. This includes a $100 billion liquidity injection in Russia, $19 billion for emergency bank use in the United Arab Emirates, and $8 billion released into the banking sector in India by cutting the reserve requirement ratio.

In addition to these bailouts, sovereign governments are being encouraged to use fiscal stimulus packages to kick start their domestic economies. China announced a $586 billion package worth 14 percent of gross domestic product on November 8 [although this number has been challenged]. Britain announced on November 24 a package of tax cuts and speeded up investment measures worth 1.1 percent of GDP. The United States is expected to follow suit with a stimulus package worth 2 to 4 percent of GDP by January at the latest. Australia, Chile, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are other countries that have been able to announce stimulus packages.

Many other countries, without either reserves or the ability to increase borrowing by issuing government bonds, have their hands tied. Iceland, Hungary, Ukraine, and Pakistan have already been forced to rely on the IMF’s lending facility.
Conclusion

The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, which became a developed country banking crisis, is now a global economic meltdown. Global growth projections have fallen, stock markets have plummeted, and currencies have lost value against the dollar. Meanwhile, the call has increased for coordinated monetary policy interventions, bank bailouts, and fiscal stimulus packages.

As outlined in this briefing paper, these policy interventions are only available to the handful of countries which have the ability to defend themselves from capital flight or can fund their fiscal deficits. With the notable exception of China, most middle-income countries have struggled to make the necessary policy interventions. Least-developed countries look on with concern as necessary expansions in development assistance are threatened. Options for these countries are running out, but the costs of inaction could be even more catastrophic.

Momo (Steamed Dumpling)

Ingredients (Makes 30 momos)
4 cups: Wheat flour
750 gm: Meat minces
2 large: Onion, chopped
1 thumb-sized: Ginger, finely chopped

Coriander leaves
1 Teaspoon: Salt

Method
Mix well wheat flour with 2 cups of water and knead into a stiff paste, roll out on a floured board till it is very thin. The rolled dough should be about 2 feet square.
Cut in circle with the rim of tea cup.
Place a circle of dough on your left hand, slightly stretch the edges and place about a teaspoon of filling in the centre.
Then with your right thumb and forefinger pleat the dough together over the centre of the meat, forming a pin-wheel design. Your left thumb is used to tuck the minced meat down as you go, and the dumpling turns on your palm as you pleat around it. A special steamer locally called moktu is required.
Filled up dumplings are placed on oiled racks, slightly separated in the moktu.
Bottom of the moktu is filled with water and steam the dumplings for 20-25 min.
Momo is ready to serve hot.
Momo is eaten with meat/vegetable soup, and tomato achar.

Why is Christmas Day on the 25th December?

No one knows the real birthday of Jesus! No date is given in the Bible, so why do we celebrate it on the 25th December? The early Christians certainly had many arguments as to when it should be celebrated! Also, the birth of Jesus probably didn't happen in the year 1AD but slightly earlier, in about 5, 6 or 7BC (there isn't a 0AD - the years go from 1BC to 1AD!).
Christmas was first celebrated as a proper day, on the 25th December, in the 5th century, in the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). He first bought the Roman pagan 'sun-day' (the first day of the week) and the 'sabbath' (the Christians holy day) together to what we now call Sunday.
This date was probably chosen because the Winter Solstice and the ancient pagan Roman midwinter festivals called 'Saturnalia' and 'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' took place in December.
The Winter Solstice is the day where there is the shortest time between the sun rising and the sun setting. It happens between December 22nd and December 25th. To pagans this meant that the winter was over and spring was coming and they had a festival to celebrate it and worshipped the sun for winning over the darkness of winter. (The Winter Solstice in Scandinavia and some other parts of northern Europe is called Yule and is where we get Yule Logs from.)
The Roman Festival of Saturnalia took place between December 17th and 23rd and honoured the Roman god Saturn. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means 'birthday of the unconquered sun' and was held on December 25th (when the Romans thought the Winter Soltice took place). As the days grew longer from this day on, it was thought to be the birthday of the sun and the God Jupiter! (In Roman mythology, Saturn was the father of Jupiter.)! And before the Romans, the Greeks had celebrated the birthday of the God Zeus (the Romans called Zeus Jupiter) on December 25th.
The early Christians gave the festival a new meaning - to celebrate the birth of the Son of God 'the unconquered Son'!
There is another good reason why the 25th may have chosen. The 25th March was also a sacred day to the pagans, when they celebrated the coming of spring and new life. The early Christians took over this day as the day when Mary was told that she would have a very special baby, Jesus. This is called the Annunciation and is still celebrated by Christians on the 25th March. Nine months after the 25th March is the 25th December!
But that's not the only day that Christmas is celebrated around the world. Most of the world uses the 'Gregorian Calendar' implemented by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Before that the 'Roman' or Julian Calendar was used (named after Julius Caesar). The Gregorian calendar is more accurate that the Roman calendar which had too many days in a year! When the switch was made 10 days were lost, so that the day that followed the 4th October 1582 was 15th October 1582!
Many Orthodox Churches still use the Julian Calendar and so celebrate Christmas on the 7th January. And the Armenian Church celebrates it on the 10th January!! In some part of the UK, January 6th is still called 'Old Christmas' as this would have been the days that Christmas would have celebrated on, if the calendar hadn't been changed. Some pople didn't want to use the new calendar as they thought it 'cheated' them out of 10 days!
Christians believe that Jesus is the light of the world, so the early Christians thought that this was the right time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They also took over lots of other things from the Winter Solstice and gave them Christian meanings, like Holly, Mistletoe and even Christmas Carols!
St Augustine was the person who really started Christmas in the U.K. by introducing Christianity in the 6th century. He came from countries that used the Roman Calendar, so western countries celebrate Christmas on the 25th December. Then people from Britain and Western Europe took Christmas on the 25th December all over the world!
The name 'Christmas' comes from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). A Mass service (which is sometimes called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for us and then came back to life. The 'Christ-Mass' service was the only one that was allowed to take place after sunset, so people had it at Midnight! So we get the name Christ-Mass, shortened to Christmas.
Christmas is also sometimes called Xmas. Some people don't think it's correct to call Christmas 'Xmas' as that takes the 'Christ' (Jesus) out of Christmas. But that is not quite right! In the Greek language and alphabet, the letter that looks like an X is the Greek letter chi (pronounced 'kye' - it rhymes with 'eye') which is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, Christos.
The symbol of a fish is sometimes used by Christians (you might see a fish sticker on a car or someone wearing a little fish badge). This comes from the time when the first Christians had to meet in secret, as the Romans wanted to kill them (before Emperor Constantine became a Christian). Jesus had said that he wanted to make his followers 'Fishers of Men', so people started to use that symbol.
When two Christians met, one person drew half a basic fish shape (often using their foot in the dust on the ground) and the other person drew the other half of the fish. The Greek word for fish is 'Ikthus' or 'Ichthys'. There are five Greek letters in the word. It can also make up a sentence of Christian beliefs 'Ie-sous Christos Theou Huios So-te-r' which in English means "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour". The second letter of these five letter is X or Christos!
So Xmas can also mean Christmas!
It's also quite likely that Jesus wasn't born in the winter but in the spring! It can get very cold in the winter in Israel and it is thought that the Roman census that made Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem would have most likely taken place during the spring at the time of the Jewish Passover festival (which normally takes during March or April). At this festival many pilgrims, from all over the country, came to visit Jerusalem (which is about six miles from Bethlehem).
Also during the winter, it's less likely that the shepherds would have been keeping sheep out on the hills (as those hills can get quite a lot of snow sometimes!); but lots of lambs would have been needed during the Passover Festival, to be sacrified in the Temple in Jerusalem.
So whenever you celebrate Christmas, remember that you're celebrating a real event that happened about 2000 years ago, that God sent his Son into the world as a Christmas present for everyone!
As well as Christmas and the solstice, there are some other festivals that are held in late December. The Jewish festival of Lights, Hanukkah starts on the 25th of Kislev (the month in the Jewish calendar that occurs at about the same time as December) and the festival of Kwanzaa, celebrated by some Africans and African Americans takes place from December 26th to January 1st.

Vote for Cox's Bazar & Sundarban

Let's do something for our country. I think you already heard about the new 7 natural wonders of the world. Among several categories of wonders, Cox's Bazar Beach & Sundarban has been nominated as contestant.

You will be happy to know Cox's bazar & sundarban are in the top list. We need to explore our opportunity to be a member of the natural wonders so that our country can earn revenue from these beautiful tourist spot. It's a contest & need your vote. Pls. vote in favor of these two. For vote, you simply need to browse the following link.

http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/vote_on_nominees/

Now follow the following procedure:

• Write your e-mail id


• Confirm your e-mail id


• Vote-1: Select Asia. Then select Cox's Bazar.


• Vote-2: Select Asia. Then select sundar Ban.


• Vote the other fields as you prefer.


• Write the anti-spam words in the box (if required)


• Click the submit button


• Complete other fields (required)


• & submit your vote.

You will get one mail from the new7wonders team and have to click on the link to confirm your vote.

About the Chartered Accountants

At a time when organisations are increasingly focused on the bottom line, professionals with accounting qualifications are very much in demand. Not only in accounting firms, but at all levels of business and government, Chartered Accountants are valued for their commercial acumen and analytical thinking in diverse fields.

Becoming a Chartered Accountant opens doors. Whether it's in public practice or commerce, a career in Chartered Accounting gives professionals the chance to work in key strategic roles – all with great earning potential. Because the Chartered Accountant designation is recognised internationally, these professionals are also able to include overseas work experience as options in their career choices.

Chartered Accountants bring their analytic expertise to fields as diverse as strategic planning, market analysis, compliance, change management and the use of information technology. The one thing they all have in common is meeting the high academic, professional, and ethical standards for membership of The Institute of Chartered Accountants - the most-respected national professional accountancy body. These high standards are the reason Chartered Accountants are highly regarded by business, regulators, and members of the general public. Their analytical thinking is highly prized in an environment where organisations compete for an edge. It’s one of the reasons Chartered Accountants are among the best-paid professionals in the country.

On qualifying, they commit to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism and undertake continuing professional education throughout their careers. In return, Chartered Accountants enjoy some of the best professional development opportunities available, become part of an elite professional network and enjoy the career support and status Institute membership provides. Just as importantly, they get the recognition and rewards of an internationally recognised professional designation.