Essay - July 2016 - Marketing Artie's Patties

Background

Artie’s Patties is located on the third road on the left on entering Diego Martin and is in close proximity to St. Finbar’s R.C. Church, St. Anthony’s College and several small businesses which are located along the same stretch of roadway. All of these organisations serve approximately several hundred persons within a week.

On the other side of the road, that is the entrance to the street on which Artie’s Patties is located, there are a gas station, a police station (West End Police Station) and two roads with at least three lanes moving in both directions which access Diego Martin proper and Petit Valley.  Over the years, these main roads and highways were expanded and reconfigured to allow residents with and without vehicles better access into and exit out of this general area.

In addition to the aforementioned organisations, there are several multi storey apartment units within a five (5) mile radius of Artie’s Patties, some of which were constructed at least twenty years ago.  Also there are at least twenty (20) housing developments with several apartment units within a twenty five (25) mile radius of the Diego Martin and Petit Valley area. In addition to these there are numerous yachting facilities in the Chaguaramas area.

Outside of these areas, Artie’s Patties are known by party organisers, families with large numbers of children and grandchildren, groceries and road side vendors. (To confirm via marketing survey, and subsequently via survey monkey on FB page).

Strengths and weaknesses

 The brand is known for several products which may be produced internally and or locally. However the new areas of operation may not be known to the public or those who may patronise the store. To confirm via marketing survey and subsequently via survey monkey on FB page).

The new areas of operation appear to be still in the embryo stage and given the nature of the business in which the company operates, assistance may be needed to “market” the company, the products and the lines which are being offered. (To obtain financial information to understand the profitability of the various lines of operation of the business)  

 Compliance with Laws and Legislation – In light of changes over the years in laws and legislation, challenges in the food industry internationally, be it food recalls, the advent of small businesses which are also in the embryo stage of operation, there may be a need to perform the following:

                     i.            Ensure that the company is complaint with the Health and Safety guidelines with respect to handling of food. This area includes:

Ø   Display of goods such as pre made food items and raw produce  which are received from vendors

Ø  Pricing of repackaged dry goods to comply with the VAT Act of Trinidad and Tobago and the Food and Consumer Standards

Ø  Pricing of patties and other meats to comply with the VAT Act of Trinidad and Tobago and the Food and Consumer Standards as to quantities, prices, ingredients, weights, sell by dates, supplier and address of same.

Ø  Drills, Muster Points - Occupational Health & Safety – Food Badges, registers and so forth.

                               ii.            Compliance with other Statutory Requirements, such as the Board of Inland Revenue, National Insurance, Ministry of Health

 Business Development:

a.       New Markets and

b.      New Products

c.      CARIRI – Use of testing and findings of the body to support the legitimacy of the goods

d.      Bureau of Standards – ISO Compliance

e.      Information Technology and the benefits to the company such as Linx, Facebook,    Accounting Software, scanners

f.    Documentation of Processes both those that are in use and those that are being developed so that there are savings for the company, retention of knowledge and adoption of best practices.

copyright: Jennifer N Bailey
email:jennifernbailey24d@gmail.com

The River - A photo Essay from July 2016

It was one of those days when I was trying to decide if I could continue to behave as a teenager or what I could do to become a little more grown up.

I walked towards the bridge gingerly, as there was a slight incline in the walkway,  some cracks in the concrete pavement, along with some missing rails on the barrier. This was not a good place for brisk walking or for stumbling….

Once I got past the main piece of the barrier with the missing railing, I placed my hands on the uppermost piece of the railing and leaned over.

In the previous weeks I had seen pieces of debris, some partially submerged, some lying close to the surface of the water, all of which were differently sized and coloured. 

Some of these pieces appeared to be interlocked, either due to the shapes of the parts or the composition of the items. These pieces of debris seemed to slow down the flow of the water and trap other pieces of debris. The depth of the river could not be ascertained as the water appeared to be dark. This may have been  due to absence of  light in the early morning or due to the build up of silt in this last section of the river.

This river is wide and leads to the sea. Over the years the banks have been reinforced with concrete to protect the land on either side of the river. In close proximity to the river bank, higher up the river is a sub district water processing plant which has the option to release water into the river. However, this may not be done as this plant is one of the main processing areas in the district and to lose water might mean reducing the flow of water to some of the consumers in a valley where rain has been inconsistent for some time.

This morning though, some of these items had been removed. Although there had not been any rain in the night before or in the early hours of the morning which would speed up the flow of water and bring more debris into the area, there was little to no movement on the surface of the water.

Then, I spotted a small set of ripples in the middle of the water just where the sun was beginning to shine through.  These ripples then started moving quickly in the direction of the bridge.

I waited, trying to see what was causing the ripples in the deep blue section of the river. After what seemed like an eternity, the ripples separated into small sections of movement along the water.

In the area below the bridge, where the sunlight was brightening the water, I saw small to medium sized fishes swimming close to the surface of the water. It was a sign that there was hope for the dwellers on both sides of the river. After all, fish in the fresh water meant no mosquitos

copyright: Jennifer N. Bailey
email: jennifernbailey24d@gmail.com

I am now reading Oct. 2016's AB' - Technical Update by Keith Nuthall - Swiss Tax Transparency

I am now reading Oct. 2016's AB' - Technical Update  by Keith Nuthall - Swiss Tax Transparency 

This Technical page consists of small posts on tax matters which  can impact on the world in one way or the other. 

This is important for us in Trinidad as Trinidad and Tobago has a Provision of Relief Treaty a.k.a. Avoidance of Double Taxation Treaty with Switzerland and before banking was known to me "Swiss"  was associated with chocolate. Eventually, the word Swiss,  became associated with Nestle and milk for me.

However, here  is an extract and details on links to articles for further reading. 

 "OECD's Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax purposes.... has judged St. Lucia to "be largely compliant" with the OECD's standard for exchanging tax information with foreign tax authorities on request. (OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).

There were other countries and other content in the article, however I am focusing on providing information on St. Lucia.

Disclaimer: I have not read all of the updates on the OECD's  Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax purposes, however I have disclosed the above in light of St. Lucia being a member of CARICOM. 

If you are interested in reading more on the articles which are covered on the page, here are links:
bit.ly/Switz-tax
bit.ly/OECD-GFT
bit.ly/tax-growth
bit.ly/Apple-ruling
bit.ly/EU-VAT

copyright: Jennifer N Bailey
email:jennifernbailey24d@gmail.com

I've been reading: ACCA's Accounting & Business's March 2017's issue - Integrated Reporting

I've been reading: ACCA's Accounting & Business's - Integrated Reporting which is listed in March 2017's issue which I received on March 17, 2017

At this time, my mind is juggling the how to's with respect to "The how-to of integration" (by Sima Varsani and Vicki Wright - consultants at creative agency and consultancy Flag) and the practical concepts of copyright and use of another person's work.

In light of the above, let me cover a few of the essentials:

Layout and display

The article is laid out over three (3) pages in the magazine. There are three (3) fairly large diagrams, one of which was extracted from Duchy of Cornwall annual report (the article  in AB indicates that  the diagram  was reproduced from page 19 of the report,). I have linked the post to the article which contains some of the information which is included in the ACCA's article: http://duchyofcornwall.org/assets/images/Duchy%20ARA%202016.pdf. There are two diagrams in the report, with the second one being closer to that which is included in the ACCA's article.  By the way, the Duchy's financial year ends in March, so another report will be due soon. The language of the first diagram provides insight into the style of writing which can be used in the Integrated Report. The language can also be linked to key performance indicators (KPI) which are everyone's business in a business.

The second and third diagram's will take some more "thinking through" for me to absorb what is being communicated as I may not be as familiar with those industries, concepts and focus as I did a little bit of reading on the information which is captured in Diagram 1.

References 

There are at least four (4) references inserted into the article which allow persons  who are practicing writing in another style to practice and remember that style of writing. The references also add a bit of depth to the article in that you can read the reports, develop knowledge and assess the information which is being presented, thus my MBA skills are coming in handy. See the end of the post for details on the links.

Content

The businesses which are discussed operate in the fields of information technology, environmental management and farming and water. These businesses also operate in different countries and one may be classified as a multinational in its trading activity.


One of the other important areas which struck me in the article was the use of the term capitals and more specifically the six capitals (financial, manufacturing, human, social and relationship, intellectual and natural) which are deemed to be of use by a business and which may be necessary to operate successfully and to create value. 

So again,  bearing in mind the above with respect to  copyright and use of another person's work, here are the references which are included in the article if you would like to read up on the topic of Integrated Reporting or on the businesses which were referred to in the article:

bit.ly/DuchyCornwall
bit.ly/AnglianWater
bit.ly/CrownEstates
bit.ly/SAPanalysis

copyright: Jennifer N Bailey
email: jennifernbailey24d@gmail.com

Perplexing Things - Part I - March 6, 2017

As indicated in my Curriculum Vitae, I have had many interests (over the years) with most of them occurring in my work life where I was exposed to:

• Taxation - which had its own level of materiality as compared to auditing,
• Corporate secretarial records  - where there were different due dates and information which dealt with other parts of legislation,
• Accounting - which had: end of year inventory counts, financial statements, schedules and notes to support financial statements,
• Audit - reports, statutory audits, audit planning, and plans, reviews, client meetings, audit files and records,
• Human resource management - annual performance plans, performance reviews,
• Consulting - projected cash flow statements,
• Payroll - end of year close, monthly payroll, statutory payments
• Internal audit - rotation plans for testing of systems.

So in my last position at the R.C. Archdiocese of Port of Spain - Parish of Maraval, as one of the responsibilities of  the role, I visited the church where I spent some time looking up at the stained glass windows and there was one, to the back of the altar on the right side of the wall which bore the name Alvarez and the period of his life. Having worked with a lady whose surname and geographical history were similar, I was like, o.k., I need to stop and look at things.

To put a little more background to the post, here are three (3) factors which impacted on my "being" at that time;

1. Coming from CREDI, where there was talk of "Tracer Studies". research, papers and such which were necessary for a Catholic Tertiary institution to have as part of its documentation and focus, there were lots of bridging concepts on my mind... How to let the two institutions go forward together.
2. Understanding from starting my Master's degree, that research was a necessary component of attaining some Masters and doctorate degrees (which priests need to move up in the hierarchy of the church) and I may have had to rethink my choices with my Masters.
3. I wanted to document the sacramental information in a software and with  things were getting in the way, I started documenting with gusto, some sacramental information relating to Baptisms, First Communion, and some confirmation records depending on the age of the person whose record was  being entered.

After working on some of the burial records as it related to plots in the cemetery, some information on leases I realized that I needed to stop  and refocus.

I decided to start looking at some additional information, death records from the 1900's going forward.. At that time, the death records contained a certain amount of information, while records of approximately 100 years later contained additional information which the earlier ones did not contain or were not included in those which I was viewing. That is when I started asking questions, such as:

i) Where did a person who was 89 or 90 years old in the early 1900's come from?

ii) Were they Catholic before dying?

iii) Where was the sacramental information documented?

iv) How did they arrive in Trinidad and Tobago? Was it by boat? Or were they born here?

Having left the parish, with its 150+years of records and knowing that there are parishes of similar age and knowing that there are no answers, I am even more in the dark as I do not have:

I) The technical knowledge to write a programme which will sort and match the information with existing legal records...

II) I cannot possibly enter all of the records on deaths and weddings in a reasonable time frame to start entering the sacramental records in the prescribed manner...

III) How do I link the names in both records without persons coming forward  to provide data which can be relied upon going forward?

Anyway, here is a link with the dates on which some of the churches in some of the parishes were established, so that you can have an idea as to the number of parishes for which records are to be entered for lengthy periods. P.S. I do not know how many of them have cemeteries to maintain records for that area of operation.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ttowgw/research/churches_catholic.htm

After attending the Non Violence session which was held at Living Water on Saturday 5th March 2017. where there were presentations by persons of different faiths, I am curious as to the record keeping of the Hindu Community in Trinidad and Tobago as it relates to recording deaths and burnings... Would they need a special key board to capture the language in Excel or how do we bridge the gap to retain the records in a culture which is part of our society... Here is a link to one of the alphabets which I found on the web  https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=iQblP5gW&id=9BB350872ED01D7FCE848C95DFC31FBD92173AD5&q=what+does+hindi+words+look+like&simid=608045286053119307&selectedIndex=0&qpvt=what+does+hindi+words+look+like&ajaxhist=0

copyright: Jennifer N Bailey
email:jennifernbailey24d@gmail.com