Picatho's causeries

General Motors has desperately taken a bid to shed 30,000 jobs by 2008 in order to cut overheads by US17b annually and stave off bankruptcy. Reported The Australian. GM's huge wage, health care and pension costs have seen it struggle against mean and lean Asia competitors such as Toyota, and it's products have failed to keep capturing the imagination of consumers.

GM's Chairman Rick Wagoner said that the slashing billions of dollars in costs is necessary to save the company, and bring it back to profitability. But he admitted it will be difficult for suppliers, employees, and the towns where they work.

The quality and cost of a product are determined largely by the effectiveness and efficiency of the production system. When a business has become sour, most probably the cost of business operating is taken in blames. So a layman's tramp such as cost cutting will be the priority footstep to think about.

In the 1980s, cost-cutting efforts by US companies have typically relied on such approaches as plants closing, downsizing operation, laying off production workers, and selling off problem child units. Experts argue that American firm focus on capital investment as a mean of reducing labor costs rather than improving quality, reducing inventories, and tapping the potentials of good labor force.

As R.Wayne Mondy et al [isbn:0-205-12700-2] cited in the Management Concepts, Practices, And Skills p576, that Basically American managers have been underutilizing their human capital - pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into equipment and technological advancements rather than keeping and retraining valuable employees and gearing their efforts to improve the relationship between work and productivity.

What have made the tendency of layoff workers to become the primary implementation in US? Perhaps it lies on the culture and salutary of workers. Analysts say GM's highly paid workers are well-protected by ample and glamorous benefits, and this cost makes GM cars more expensive than those from foreign competitors.

This tendency becomes much more significant if you take a comparison between US and Japan of the behavior of work force. Japanese companies typically have a group-oriented culture in which workers are taking concern to help in finding and solving problems for company; they love their company with one accord with everybody agreeing. While American teamwork involves group members in one management activity rating other group's performance; they protect their own unit's standing rather than the company as a whole. In such a situation, the cost of human resources formed as the major portion of total costing.

Traditional Chinese-oriented and Japanese-oriented workers have their beautiful side, these workers are not only hardworking but patriotic to their own company. They tend to work as crews with boss on a same boat and treat company as a family. Perhaps the less cumbersome workmen regulations and welfares make them be rational. Naturally the quality and cost of product are determined by this scenario.

Let assume you've hired several workers who are skivvies and are just looking for paid-leave and bonus. They are cleverly doing a simple job by group with whistling. What would you do when your net profit is written in broad reded figures? Certainly you'll follow suit of what GM was doing. Is that Right?

What if the MAS's situation was just like the above phenomenon, could the curtailment performed by GM be imitated?

Self assessment system (SAS) for partnership and individuals is with us and indeed has been with us since 2004. The objective is to infuse a practice of voluntary compliance by taxpayers while at the same time reducing the workload of the Inland Revenue Board (IRB). In the accountancy world, accountants were anticipating the change with some excitement and impact.

This has the consequential effect of shifting the responsibility of determining the taxpayer's tax liability from the IRB to the taxpayer. Hence tax audits which would be a routine activity of the IRB, have become a feature of SAS.

Together with tax audits, comes penalty of almost 60% on top of payable tax for understatement or escape of income if discovered during an audit.

For those who get chosen for an audit, possible penalties may just be one expense. Accountancy cost for the redresses or remedies will not come cheap if they are likely to develop into a protracted detailed investigation.

During this two years, there have been cases of tax audits. Being selected for an audit does not in any way indicate that you have committed an offence. But in most cases, it has eventually turned into a probe.

We may well be wondering how we coped with our previous archaic and imbalance system. In the meantime, the changeover will probably be painful for the majority of taxpayers.

Why a taxpayer is picked for investigation? This could be involved with insufficient record keeping or due to one or more of the following reasons:-

• Charge out of expenses which is not related to the business.
• The obvious fluctuation of stock figures in the balance sheet.
• The margin of the gross profit is significantly fluctuated.
• Some items of expenses appear too huge to be factual.
• The conspicuous absence of expenses distinguished from the conventional items.
• Creditors appear to be too large in amount to be true.
• There is an outstanding substantial amount of amount owing to directors.
• The amount of equity is overturned.
• Drawings account is insubstantial in amount to be supported the taxpayer's financial commitments.
• There is a blazing purchase of expensive cars and houses.
• There is an extensive and expensive renovation to residential house.
• Personal's total net worth is not sustainable by the total apparent income over a period of time.
• A taxpayer with a very high public profiles.
• A company suddenly goes listing with bad tax background.
• A particular trade is to be investigated and the taxpayer happens to belong to that trade.
• Informer's report to IRB.

Reacting to these abnormal entries could present a boring test for the accountancy profession.

Self-interest is but the survival of the animal in us. Humanity only begins for man with self-surrender. ~ Henri Frederic Amiel

The idea that people act to promote their self-interest is not surprising, but what is remarkable are Malaysia Parliament's deliberations that the actions of these representatives, driven by the desire to make themselves better off with media exposure, result in nonsense welfare.

"MPs slam ad as mocking monarchy" and "DAP's rocket symbol sparks off war of words" reported by TheStar today, has proved to be a remarkably coffee shop convention, forming an unsavory characteristic of Malaysian Parliament. Yet still cannot shake off that nagging shit patent!

Some of them have turned our House into a chi-chat hall. We can't make the nation strong when it is held together with self-interest and folderol. Too often they think that democracy is only in terms of getting one's right. There are a lot of social and economic issues holding back for resolutions. But instead, many oddly issues such as public toilet, tudong, college ranking, English teaching etc ... have become hot topics. I wonder can't it be productively put on resolutions towards social illness, financial order and nation's living standard.

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Credit card has made it easier for people to make themselves insolvents or even bankrupt. Malaysian, especially young consumers are just can't resist the lure of plastic. Over the past few years, personal debt has soared to a high level.

The household lending has expanded at an average rate of 14.3% yearly, according to BNM. Before we even think about loans and mortgages, the average Malaysian householder debts have also increased tremendously. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that personal bankruptcies are increasing.

Issues surrounding consumer debt is not new to the media in Malaysia. There have been reports of soaring bankruptcy rate; the blames on card issuers; the blames on Loan Sharks etc. The phenomenon is that it's easier to obtain credit then it has ever been and free credit cards have flooded the local market.

Politicians and policy makers, and consumers protection groups who feel that consumers need protection from easily went bankrupted. And the amendment of the Bankruptcy Act 1967 came into force on Oct'03 to amend one of its sections as - an increase in the minimum debt which enables a person to be declared bankrupt from RM10,000 to RM30,000. Also the establishment of the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency by BNM, who undertakes credit counseling and loan restructuring for individuals, is scheduled to commence operations in 2006.

What lies beneath the problems of bankruptcy? A common trait is that consumers are vulnerable to persuasive advertising and marketing campaigns promoting credit cards and luxury life styles, thus putting them at risk of accumulating more and more debts that would eventually become unmanageable. Actually the perpetrator is the government's policy to pocket more revenue from public spendings; since because of exports souring, the time has come to boost domestic demand, and one way to do that is to promote the use of credit card.

"Pleasure first, suffered later" is seemed a "debt culture" that has rooted into the minds of teenagers. Chasing after the 5C (car, card, condo, cash & club) and stylish personal image, is now being a Malaysian phenomenon. Although some of the 5C have become essentials but the question is to what degree do they pursue them? For example, some aspire for platinum card or BMW as a status symbol. "Enjoys first, pay later" is also one of the factors of "debt culture". For example, car purchasing without down payment and free interests.

Many young entrepreneurs are doing their live like doing "ah pong" pastry business (typically cooked by using several pots with fewer covers). They just have many debt's holes to be covered perpetually, and the rotating use of credit card and personal loan has become the vehicle of the coverage. At last these financial tools have become rolling bigger and bigger like a rolling snow leading to disaster.

School children are tended to have a "debt culture" behavior too. For example, they opt for new high end notebook rather than usable one. Stylish ma! a reason was given by a schooling child of my client: a 2nd handed P3 notebook bought by the father, produced grumbling about outdated, ineffective and unpresentable; a new expensive notebook paid by instalments later on brought to the child's joyfulness. Oh, the poor father!

Malaysia private consumption continued to drive domestic demand, contributing significantly to economic growth of 6.7% (Q4'04). And is expected to grow by 10.1% increment next year thanks to the people who are taking pleasure first and be suffered later.

Anyway, card holders must take pride in being a responsible credit card user and must make sure that you never overspended. You must avoid using cash-advance privileges to live well materially in advance.

One of my clients asked me this morning about children's education. He has 2 children who are supposed to complete Form v and Form vi simultaneously. He is much worrying of the coming happenings of his children's academic excellency; which future college (oversea or local) be they attended; how much fund be adequate to support the education etc.

He is considered as one of the contemporary anxious parents who has bound with onerous duty. Most typical contemporary anxious parents are contaminated with ideological "tuition syndrome" and "chasing paper syndrome"!

Parents who have striven to keep their progenies' minds open to every possibility and opportunity automatically assigned themselves with commitment to set aside enough education money for each of their children to go to colleges. Most of their worries anchor to assumptions and expectations rather than facts.

They are just eager to make their children be graduated with U degrees as an entry level before their children could make a first footstep into the work-places. They also sacrifice their time a long way to guide and observe their children as a priority in their life. Some are even struggling more for not only keeping their offsprings be facilitated with good tuition money. They also have to support aging parents financially. Hence allow themselves to live at subsistence way.

It's really amazing how voguish ideas about life planning have become.

Most of my clients don't think about whether their commitments make sense. They think these are expected of them, and they're worried that they haven't yet been able to accomplish them. By the time they turn fifty five; the time that above and beyond retirement. Often they're found astounded with empty saving box! Worst even their children are still due to be graduated!

I accent the foolishness of trying to do more than is possible, and the attribution of comparing yourself to others. At some point in your life you must accept the fact that you are not hero and must come to terms with your own limitations. Unless you're lucky enough to become a successor of a golden hill!

Come on parents, you should set aside the question of whether or not you should give whatever resources to your children for higher education. The simple truth is you probably won't be able to do that. And the answer isn't to give up; it's to do the best you can financially if you have weighed the pros and cons and have justified with your retirement plan.

I'm not belong to a member of any political party. I'm bore to take concern on who is who is in the authorities. I'm only concern on how to sustain enough bread and butter in today's economic and ecological niche. Therefore please don't bark me for not showing a happy concern, okeh!

Having passed through decades of life here, experience and notion has taught me on how to perceive and accustom gradually to attitude of living under some circumstances of limitation/custom. So I have had smelt the smoke!

In society many things are said and sometimes what is said is perceived to be a statement made by a crow-kind person to people. More so when these are social and not domicile matters.

Crow-kind people are incertitude and have a changeable stand withal. You kinda have to be prudent to point out real or perceived flows against his points. But don't ever tease the dog with a stick!

If we could examine his real aspect to a complete degree, would recognize his infamous act, whatever large pick apart could then be diluted with the way of "cool management"; "don like to comment" or "dump it with a smile". Probably it will make a big issue to become a small issue and gradually become a null issue.

And because it is of his designing bug and damage. A third party will easily read through his slippery device. A feeling of public antipathy would eventually be emerged because audience is not all poor fishes.

Once upon a time, there was a story of a father and a son riding a donkey into a town. At first they were walking and leading the donkey, after that they were taking turn to ride the donkey. Susceptibly they kept riding up and down upon the donkey.

No matter how they acted, people would always have a say.

If they unloaded the donkey, they would be laughed stupid by not making use of the donkey; If the father took the ride, he would be accused of child abusing; If the son took the ride, he would be teased with no respect to the old; And if they fully loaded the donkey, they would be grumbled of animal torturing. At the end, they were still inextricably finding no clue for the best way to act upon.

From this story, can you find out which is the best fit?

Actually, if a man is doing thing rightly in accordance with his own principle and humanity, what causes him trouble from being criticized?