CPA vs. Non-CPA Essay Example for Free

CPA vs. Non-CPA Essay Many people may ask, â€Å"What are the differences between being a CPA and just being a non-certified CPA,† there are actually a lot of differences between the two. A CPA or Certified Public Accountant is someone who has a license to practice public accounting that is issued by their State Board of Accountancy. CPA’s, in contrast, have normally studied or majored in accounting during college, sat for the CPA exam, worked in an accounting firm for at least two years, and completed 500 hours of auditing work in order to earn their certification. CPA’s are also required to complete a certain number of continuing education hours in order to keep their CPA license. A CPA can complete all three types of financial statements including: audited, reviewed, and compiled. â€Å"Non-certified accountants can simply hang up their shingle and open their doors for business† (Day). For non-certified accounts there are no educational requirements, however, in order for them to prepare taxes most states require that they complete a certain number of hours of the study of accounting and also complete continuing education hours per year. Non-certified CPA’s can only complete the last type of financial statements which is complied. The main question is how to choose whether to choose a CPA or non-certified CPA. â€Å"It has to do with the concept of free enterprise. Remember the old adage, Caveat Emptor? It means let the buyer beware† (Day). It is the client’s responsibility to choose the most qualified professional. Obviously, the auditing and review types of financial statements cost more than a complied one but some banks require a review of your books in order to receive a bank loan, so it would be in the clients best interest to have a CPA they trust already. Work Cited John Day. Theme: CPAs vs. Non-CPAs. 2008. Web. 27 November 2011. http://www.reallifeaccounting.com/pubs/Article_Theme_CPAs_vs_Non_CPAs.pdf

The Importance of Audit Independence

The Importance of Audit Independence 1. Introduction As the development of the modern business, audit is playing a more and more important role to insure the trueness of the financial report and help report users to make proper decisions. Consequently, it is very important for auditors to remain independence in body and mind when conducting an audit based on a public limited company. To expound this topic clearly, the essay is divided into the following parts: Firstly, it makes a literature review of audit independence and concluded the viewpoint into four categories; secondly, it introduces the definition of audit independence in body and mind and stated the important of both of them separately; Finally, it analyzes why it is important to remain audit independence from many angles such as shareholders, creditors, government, operators and other stakeholders. 2. Literature review When it comes to the audit independence, many scholars have conducted systematic research in this topic. Some scholars pointed out that auditor has two kinds of independence- body and mind, lack of the former one may shake the publics confidence on independence and lead to interest conflicts, and lack of the latter one means auditors lose their professional ethics and this is very dangerous (Carmichael Swieringa, 1968). Salehi have emphasized that the cornerstone for the auditing profession is audit independence. The auditors opinion is suspect without independence and the third parties think that there is no need for external auditors without independence (Salehi, 2009). Due to highly publicized audit failures, the topic of auditor independence has gained increasing attention from academics, regulators, and practitioners around the world in recent years (Hope Langli, 2008). Under the background of many high profile companies fraud cases exposure such as Enron, Adelphia, WorldCom, the importance of audit independence to improve corporate governance is getting more and more attention (Rezaee. 2003). As the no-audit services has become a more and more important lucrative business for CFA firms, audit independence is somewhat influenced, which make it even more crucial to maintain audit independence for auditors (Gul, Tsui Dhaliwal, 2006). Besides, Bou-Raad G. emphasized the significance of audit importance from the value -added prospect. Internal auditors are not just a traditional audit for supervision but also a valuable access to assisting managers to execute the objectives of the organization. In other words, corporate management benefits from audit quality (Bou-Raad. 2000). From the literature above, the importance of audit independence can be categorized into four reasons: Firstly, audit independence can hold the public confidence and avoid interest conflicts; Secondly, audit independence can help auditors to provide high quality financial report and avoid scandals like Enron bomb; Thirdly, the development of no-audit services make it more difficult but more important to maintain audit independence; Lastly, audit independence can improve the quality of audit and it can assist managers to make strategy formulations. 3. The introduction of audit independence in body and mind When it comes to remaining independence in body, it can be also called physical independence, external independence or surface independence. Auditors should take the role of independence auditors on front of the third parties. And it is the direct evidence for the public judging the independence of auditors. Once report users think that auditors have some current or potential relationship that damages the independence with the consigner such as employment, business partner, family or relatives and so on, it will definitely decrease the audit function as they probably do not depend on those reports so much (Law, 2010). Auditors should have no specific relationships with entity, and they mustnt hold equity stakes of the entity and should not be on the senior position of it. In order to avoid misunderstanding and enhance the trust, auditor must avoid or diminish this threat to a level which is acceptable. Independence in mind is hard to improve and the public can only infer the independ ence of auditors from the body like relationships with the entity and other stakeholders. Actually, even if auditors maintain independence in mind, as long as the public think they take sides with the entity or any other parties, no matter how precise the audit result is it is useless. As for remaining independence in mind, it demands that there is no stake between auditor and the consigner intrinsically. In the whole auditing process, auditor should keep an unbiased attitude that makes a professional decision and never succumbs to any external pressure. It comes up with higher requirement for auditors mindset. They are required to be neutral, objective and fact-based. Actually, those two concepts are different but integrative. They reflect both external and internal sides. Only remaining independence in body and mind can make sure the auditing result persuasive. Also, the function and value of conducting audit can be realized. 4. The importance of remaining audit independence Stakeholders make economy decisions by taking advantage of reports. Whether those reports are related and reliable are questions. Audit can help to solve this problem. However, auditor fails to fulfill the duty if they cannot remain independence in the conducting process. On one hand, report users will doubt this kind of dependence if they thought auditor and consigner belong to the same party. On the other hand, when auditor cannot keep an unbiased mindset, the auditing opinion probably gets wrong. For example, auditor fails to find out the information is cooked and issues unqualified opinion. This result is easy to mislead related report users for decision making. They may bear loss because of depending on this audit opinion. As the situation varies from Stakeholder to Stakeholder, the following analysis in the importance to remain independence in body and mind is based on different Stakeholders. 4.1 The importance of audit independence for the shareholders Shareholders are the direct beneficiary of companies and they will get more bonuses if the companies operate successfully. Consequently, shareholders have high demand for audit independence. Actually, when the company is in poor operation, controlling shareholders are not willing to public the truth, and then hurt the interest of minority shareholders. Controlling shareholders dont have the incentive to employ high independence auditors, and this phenomenon is called Entrenchment Effect (Fan Wong, 2002). As the shareholders right separates from the management right, owners do not involve into the daily management to the company. They employ staff to operate their company and enjoy the profits. Usually, shareholders care much about the profitability, efficiency, going concern, and solvency and so on. Those indexes reflect how well manager operates the company. Also, shareholders can assess managers performance according to the information. Generally speaking, they obtain the information from the reports prepared by managers. However, the report may involve fraudulence because it is manager who makes those reports. It has the possibility that managers cook the report so as to cover up their mistakes, bad performance and other situation where they fail to fulfill their responsibility. At this time, auditors work helps answer the question that how much report users can depend on the report information. But if auditor is unable to keep independence, it probably arouses the doubt to audit opinion from report users. Obviously, audit loses the value under this condition. Without unbiased and objective audit opinion, report users are unable to acquire useful information to know the companys condition and assess managers performance. Once shareholders lose control to the company, this business mechanism will definitely go disorder as managers probably make their own benefits by taking advantage of shareholders resource and power and regardless of the limitation from regulation and law (Agbejule, 2009). In the end, the company probably goes to liquidation or bankruptcy. 4.2 The importance of audit independence for creditor Nowadays, debtor-creditor relationshipÂÂ  is very common and necessary. Debtors want to loan in order to expend production or develop new market, and creditors want to obtain interest using their spare money. And what the creditors concern most is the debtors ability to pay for the debt. The debtors financial reports can offer some information such as some ratios which can reveal the debt paying ability. And if the company has a bad financial result, creditors can consider calling in a loan ahead of the expiry day to insure their money is safe. However, those reports are made by the debtor. Therefore, creditors may raise the doubt whether there exists the possibility that debtor offer false information to diddle money or conceal the fact that they have no ability to pay that money back. At this time, auditors work can eliminate or alleviate this doubt. However, audit cant work out if auditor were unable to remain independence when conducting the audit. Creditors are likely to ma ke a wrong decision due to the failed audit opinion. When creditor lends money to unqualified debtor, it probably bears a lot of bad accounts and toxic asset as consequence (Siddiqui, 2002). Consequently, audit independence which can help to provide true financial reports is very crucial to creditors. 4.3 The importance of audit independence to government As a company operates within one country, it uses the infrastructure construction and investment environment offered by the government. It should take on tax responsibility. The financial statement provided by companies is the evidence for government to decide whether levy or not and how many to levy. For example, business tax is based on the gross income of the company which can be found on the income statement. And the income tax is based on the profit also from income statement. If company cooks the financial reports in order to save tax cost, the government will be suffered directly. Therefore, government will conduct audit in case of tax evasion. Moreover, lacking of audit independence would influence government indirectly. If auditors provided fake financial reports, the pubic will be suffered. They will have less confidence on the trueness of the operation of the company, and the stakeholders will feel betrayed. If their interests are impaired, conflicts would emerge, and it is bad for the stability of the society. That is why the government published the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act after the Enron Bomb. 4.4 The importance of audit independence for operator Many people may misunderstand that auditor is enemy to operator referring to manager in this essay and the existence of audit is a stone in the way. This idea is partial and shallow. The role of audit plays is to increase the dependence to the information and check whether the whole business activities are in accordance with the regulation. To some degree, it serves to obtain superior management (Shih, 2006). Sometimes, auditors will come up with solutions to the existing management problems. For example, the internal control has leak which may incur situation where damages the whole benefits of company. Going details, the design of regulation may give a chance for embezzlement. Or auditor finds out some staff goes against regulation. Cases like that should call managers attention for better management. If auditor cannot keep independence when conducting audit, it will pose the threat to the company such as damage the company benefits. For example, the auditor is a brother to the cas hier. When this auditor conducts audit to cash, he cant remain independence or his independence has been affected. He may conceal the fact if the cashier had some guilt and issues unqualified opinion (Fadzil, 2005). Because of this opinion, managers cant notice this threat. It may have a bad effect on their working performance and company development. 4.5 The importance of audit independence for the other stakeholders The existence of a company has to bear many responsibilities. Therefore, the stakeholders can never be limited to the above mention. When a company becomes a listed company namely a public limited company, it has to fulfill more duties to the society and accept more supervision from the public. It raises fund by stock shares. Its public investors sell or buy the shares in the stock exchange, and their decision usually relies in the financial reports. However, those reports perhaps cannot reflect the financial position and income condition. Audit opinion is very important in their decision making process. If auditor could not remain independence, the audit opinion will mislead the users. Investors will lose money if they invested a loss company. For example, the collapse of Enron results from the accounting firm Andersen failed to remain independence. In the end, the share price cannot reflect the value of the company (Abbott, 2000). Stock market will go wrong and the economy will fal l apart. 5. Conclusions The most important responsibility for auditors is to provide high quality financial report which can help report users to make right decisions. The authenticity and reliability of the financial report is very crucial because it directly decides the strategies of stakeholders. The trueness of financial report which is also the quality of audit is decided by two factors: professional competence of auditors and audit independence, and the latter is more important. Audit failures caused by lack of audit independence have led to many companies fraud cases. Audit independence is also the need of shareholders, creditors, government, operators and other stakeholders. All in all, it is really important for auditors to remain independence in body and mind when conducting an audit.

Defragmenting Computer Geeks :: Computer Geeks Nerd Essays

Defragmenting Computer Geeks What constitutes a computer geek? Take a second to formulate an image of what a computer geek is. What does he/she look, act, and sound like? Mark is currently enrolled at JMU, and this is his second semester away from home at college. Mark, a skinny pale Caucasian male has his face two inches away from the computer monitor. He is playing the most up to date popular Star Trek video game on his newly acquired Pentium 5 processor. Ring Ring Ring†¦.the phone rang, his eyes still fixated on the screen, he adjusts his glasses, and then went back to his game while the ringing had stopped. The first five words that popped into my head when picturing a computer geek were Caucasian, skinny, antisocial, timid, and glasses. The thoughts running through my mind were typical stereotypes of a nerd and a geek. In my definition, a computer geek is an outcast of society whom are obsessed by computers and everything that has to do with technology. The reason I depicted a geek in such a physically weak manner is from stereotypes that I acquired through high school up until the present. From elementary school to high school the so-called â€Å"popular† kids were always bullying around the intelligent, who were typically skinny, weak, and introverted. Their skin would have no pigment and pale because they never get enough sunlight. Geeks and nerds are very smart compared to the average and often have glasses on because of their damaged eyes from the bright monitor. In the intro, I pictured that he did not pick up the phone, which shows that the geek is antisocial and c aught up in the game. He would most likely act strange and awkward in social situations. After I read the Luddite vs. Fetishist article and learned the term of fetishist, I have always pictured the â€Å"computer geek† as an introverted and anti-social character (Henderson 36). I am obviously stereotyping against people with introverted personalities. My opinion of an outgoing person is one who interacts in social events rather than sitting alone in front of a piece of machinery, wasting his or her life away playing games, and browsing the web. My assumption may be because of the act of sitting in front of a computer, it is an antisocial non-interactive act rather than a social activity like shooting pool, and conversing over the dinner table.

Scotts experience on the moon in Waliking on the Moon by David R. Scott :: essays research papers

Scott's experience on the moon in "Waliking on the Moon" by David R. Scott â€Å"WALKING ON THE MOON† by David R. Scott, an American astronaut, is an account of his experiences on moon which he has narrated by the use of figurative language. He has described each aspect with deep detail in order to portray the moon which is merely seen afar. He has employed various techniques to describe the moon and to make his experiences comprehendible to all and sundry. HE compares, every now and then, his experiences on the moon with the earth. Scott, with his companions in Endeavour, made twelve revolutions around the moon. It took them, two hours to complete one revolution which they did in one hour of illumination and one of darkness. He beautifully describes the darker part of the moon which was suffused with â€Å"earth shine†. The light which the moon received from earth was much intense and bright than the moon light visible from earth. Therefore, they could easily view the mountains and the craters in the earth light. Stars embellished the sky, ahead and above them, with their â€Å"icy fire† and an â€Å"arc of impenetrable darkness blotted the firmament†. Then at dawn â€Å"barely discernible streamers of light† gradually illuminated the moon. Then within a second the sun scattered its intense light and brightened everything and â€Å"dazzled† their eyes. In the â€Å"lunar morning† the surface of the moon appeared to be of â€Å"milk chocolate colour† The pointed shadows highlighted the hills and craters. The writer delineates the changes in colour. As the sun rouse higher and higher the colour of mountains became gray and the shadows reduced in size. The writer describes the moon as an â€Å"arid world†. The lunar day and night continued till 355 earth hours. The moon seemed to be preserved in the time of its creation. Craters formed by the striking of meteorites, millions of years ago, were conspicuous. As the writer saw at the dark sky he caught a glimpse of the earth gleaming in space, â€Å"all blue and white, sea and clouds.† The earth looked brightly lit in the cold and limitless emptiness of space. Scott surveyed and photographed the moon. On the moon there were â€Å"incredible variety of landforms.† The lunar mountains stood in â€Å"noble splendor†. There were ridges and mountains 11000 feet high. The canyons and gorges were more than one thousand d feet deep.

Cats are Better Pets than Dogs :: Cat Feline Pet

"A dog is man's best friend." That common saying may contain some truth, but dogs are not the only animal friend whose companionship people enjoy. For many people, a cat is their best friend. Despite what dog lovers may believe, cats make excellent housepets. In the first place, people enjoy the companionship of cats. Many cats are affectionate. They will snuggle up and ask to be petted, or scratched under the chin. Who can resist a purring cat? If they're not feeling affectionate, cats are generally quite playful. They love to chase balls and feathers, or just about anything dangling from a string. They especially enjoy playing when their owners are participating in the game. Contrary to popular opinion, cats can be trained. Using rewards and punishments, just like with a dog, a cat can be trained to avoid unwanted behavior or perform tricks. Cats will even fetch! In the second place, cats are civilized members of the household. Unlike dogs, cats do not bark or make other loud noises. Most cats don't even meow very often. They generally lead a quiet existence. Cats also don't often have "accidents." Mother cats train their kittens to use the litter box, and most cats will use it without fail from that time on. Even stray cats usually understand the concept when shown the box and will use it regularly. Cats do have claws, and owners must make provision for this. A tall scratching post in a favorite cat area of the house will often keep the cat content to leave the furniture alone. As a last resort, of course, cats can be declawed. Lastly, one of the most attractive features of cats as housepets is their ease of care. Cats do not have to be walked. They get plenty of exercise in the house as they play, and they do their business in the litter box. Cleaning a litter box is a quick, painless procedure. Cats also take care of their own grooming. Bathing a cat is almost never necessary because under ordinary circumstances cats clean themselves. Cats are more particular about personal cleanliness than people are. In addition, cats can be left home alone for a few hours without fear. Cats are Better Pets than Dogs :: Cat Feline Pet "A dog is man's best friend." That common saying may contain some truth, but dogs are not the only animal friend whose companionship people enjoy. For many people, a cat is their best friend. Despite what dog lovers may believe, cats make excellent housepets. In the first place, people enjoy the companionship of cats. Many cats are affectionate. They will snuggle up and ask to be petted, or scratched under the chin. Who can resist a purring cat? If they're not feeling affectionate, cats are generally quite playful. They love to chase balls and feathers, or just about anything dangling from a string. They especially enjoy playing when their owners are participating in the game. Contrary to popular opinion, cats can be trained. Using rewards and punishments, just like with a dog, a cat can be trained to avoid unwanted behavior or perform tricks. Cats will even fetch! In the second place, cats are civilized members of the household. Unlike dogs, cats do not bark or make other loud noises. Most cats don't even meow very often. They generally lead a quiet existence. Cats also don't often have "accidents." Mother cats train their kittens to use the litter box, and most cats will use it without fail from that time on. Even stray cats usually understand the concept when shown the box and will use it regularly. Cats do have claws, and owners must make provision for this. A tall scratching post in a favorite cat area of the house will often keep the cat content to leave the furniture alone. As a last resort, of course, cats can be declawed. Lastly, one of the most attractive features of cats as housepets is their ease of care. Cats do not have to be walked. They get plenty of exercise in the house as they play, and they do their business in the litter box. Cleaning a litter box is a quick, painless procedure. Cats also take care of their own grooming. Bathing a cat is almost never necessary because under ordinary circumstances cats clean themselves. Cats are more particular about personal cleanliness than people are. In addition, cats can be left home alone for a few hours without fear.

All Animals Are Equal Essay

In order to understand Peter Singer’s article â€Å"All Animals Are Equal†, one has to look at his viewpoint and perspective. Singer is a utilitarian, which is someone who believes that best outcome is something that causes that greatest amount of pleasure (or the least amount of pain) for the greatest number of people. However, in this definition the word ‘people’ is used, as to mean only humans. This is the point that Singer is trying to argue. Who is to say that animals don’t feel pain or experience happiness? Singer believes in the equal consideration of interests, and that we should extend this basic principle to other species. In Singer’s first point on extending equal consideration, he poses the question, if a lesser intelligence cannot be used to morally discriminate against humans, then how can it be used to discriminate against animals? Singer explains that he’s not saying both groups should be treated exactly the same, because there are differences between species, therefore they should have different rights. Singer states, â€Å"The interests of every being affected by an action are to be taken into account and given the same weight as the like interests of any other being† (LaFollette, 110). For a being to have interests, they must have the capability to enjoy life and suffer. He points out that any animal would have an interest in not being tormented, so it does not suffer. We could be sure that animals feel pain based on the fact that they show the same signs used by humans that show they feel pain. For example, if a person would to step on a dog’s tail he might bark, t he same as if a human had their hand slammed in the door they would yell. Singer brings up the issue of sexism and racism. No matter how we may try to look at it, not all humans are equal. He argues, â€Å"†¦a person’s sex is no guide to his or her abilities, and this is why it is unjustifiable to discriminate on the basis of sex† (LaFollette, 109), and the same goes for racism – basing a person’s abilities based on the color of their skin is just as absurd. Racism and sexism are both morally wrong, therefore so is speciesism. Another point the Singer brings up is how humans let their own interests take priority over other species. The fact that we eat animals shows that we  think of them as nothing more than a â€Å"means to our ends†. This is true because there are other, more nutritional, ways to meet our needs. By doing this we cause additional suffering for animals. Moreover, the cruel behavior that we put these animals through before they are killed for us to eat. Yet another type of discrimination we perform on these animals is experimentation to see the affects of substances and if they are safe on humans. Basically, animal experimentation and consumption is wrong except if we were willing to perform the same acts on a human with similar capabilities. Singer reasons that, â€Å"a full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more rational, as well as a more conversable animal, than an infant of a day, or a week, or even a month† (LaFollette, 110). He argues that if we cannot experiment on humans with severe brain damage or defective infants, then we should not experiment on animals. Furthermore, killing animals for food would be the same as killing these humans for food. Singer is saying that if instead of treating these defective infants that don’t stand a chance, we should use them to test medical treatments, which in the end is the greater good for more people. The last aspect of speciesism that Singer talks about is philosophers trying to draw a distinct, clear line between the equality of humans and animals. However, in order to include all humans it would have to be a broad generalized definition, which could not go without including some animals also. Though an infant may not have superior characteristics to that of a dog, doesn’t mean that we can research on the infant; though it is looked at as quite all right to do research on a dog. Singer presents a sound argument on the rights of animals. As I have pointed out, all of his premises are true, and well backed up. For the most part I agree with his argument, except for the point he made on experimenting with infants or disabled humans. Though he did present his point well and backed it up, that just seemed to be the most controversial statement. I can understand his point of view of experimenting on a perfectly healthy animal who can feel pain, so why not a person who doesn’t have much of a future ahead, however I don’t agree with it. It comes down to quality of life. It might work as a hypothetical situation about some unknown infant, but what  family would actually give up their child for experimentation? Or even a loved one who may be disabled? There is an emotional standpoint that I think Singer needs to address. Furthermore, I agree that since there are other means of getting the nutrition that we need, people should make an effort to eat less meat. Nonetheless, people will continue to eat meat due to the fact that they ignorant as to what exactly the animals go through before they are killed for us to eat. Personally, I believe that that is how people like it. Then that way they don’t have to feel guilty every time they pick up a hamburger, and they can just go on enjoying it. This is a controversial topic, and Singer proved his point that animals should be extended the equality of consideration that a person shows his own species. LaFollette, Hugh. Ethics in Practice. Published 1997. Copyright 1997, 2002. â€Å"Singer’s Utilitarian Animal Rights†. April 20, 2004.

Child Support Enforcement: One Law Does Not Fit All

Single parents are becoming the norm these days and the government has stepped in to assist these custodial parents to make things fair. It takes two people to make a child so it seems only fair that two people support the child financially, right? I am a single mother. My daughter’s father, Donnie, and I were never married and weren’t together at the time of her birth. He wasn’t around to sign the birth certificate so I had to go through DFS to fill paperwork out to get support payments from him after our daughter (Nathalia) was born. When I filled out the CSE (Child Support Enforcement) paperwork the case was being handled by a caseworker in Jefferson City, MO. I gave the caseworker Donnie’s address about four months after our daughter’s birth. Nothing was done and I assumed they were having trouble getting hold of him. When Nathalia was five years old my case was moved to a caseworker in Columbia who called and got the information from me again and I received paternity paperwork within the month. The way it works is the noncustodial parent only has to pay from the time the paperwork showing paternity was sent. I had tried to contact Nathalia’s father to start visitation. He came around for one hour a week for about two months then just stopped. He paid the arrearage for support payments after facing criminal charges for non-payment of support payments, and being threatened with a year in jail if the support was not paid. I feel no sympathy. Now he is back to not making the payments. On the other hand I have a friend (Jessica, fictional name) who has a five year old daughter (Hannah, fictional name) whose father has been in and out of jail for child support non-payment. He has a relationship with Hannah and has care of her fifty percent of the time. The government wants to put him back in jail for arrearage on Hannah and two of his other children. Jessica has lost her health insurance due to not signing papers that would have him arrested. With these two cases the fathers are very different. One is an absentee father who quits jobs to avoid paying his support payments, the other a father who is very much in his child’s life and is a positive influence. Both fathers are being treated equally in the eyes of the State. But which father deserves the jail time? In an article by Jeff Minerd, â€Å"A Kinder, Gentler Look at ‘Deadbeat Dads’,† he states â€Å"In 1950, about 20% of children lived apart from their father; that figure is now approaching 50%† (8). This article was printed in 1999 so the percentage of children not living with their father has likely increased. The increase is due to many reasons. Some of the reasons may include death, divorce, and never-married couples. With the number of children who do not live with their fathers rising it only stands to reason that the number of cases the CSE (Child Support Enforcement) is handling is increasing as well. According to the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office of Child Support Enforcement, one of their goals is â€Å". . . to emphasize that children need to have both parents in their lives. . . † (Handbook). If this is true then why is the father who is a positive influence and is present in his child’s life having to deal with the possibility of going back to jail for past child support non-payment, but the father who wants nothing to do with his daughter and doesn’t pay his child support as ordered gets off with a slap on the wrist? Child support enforcement should look more in depth at each case before taking actions against a non-custodial father. The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office of Child Support Enforcement states â€Å"Although the function of the CSE program is to collect and distribute child support payments, throughout the Handbook [sic]we hope to give the message that children fare best when both parents play an active, supportive role in their lives† (1). The government claims that the actions they take against non-custodial parents are to assist in getting families to work together to make children’s lives better. But according to Jeff Minerd, â€Å"Government enforcement of child support can have the effect of separating fathers from their children† (8). Minerd also states that it is more supported to go after the â€Å"low-income† fathers because it gets the mothers off of State welfare monies. With â€Å"middle-class† mothers it isn’t so supported to go after the fathers because it doesn’t help the State with the amount of money being paid out because they aren’t on welfare (8). So is their mission to help keep families connected or is it to get the money back that they are giving to the low-income families? The first reason CSE should handle these cases case by case is that if actions are taken that cause the father to be resentful it could harm the relationship between the parents and the child. Actions taken by the state can come between the custodial mother and the non-custodial parent. As Cindy Elmore states in her article â€Å"On and On, Over and Over: The Gender War in Child Support Enforcement Court,† â€Å"We’re all crowded together waiting for the courtroom doors to be unlocked, but the women don’t talk to the men, and the men ignore the women† (397). The line of communication between the parents is destroyed by feelings of resentment and arguments that arise from court dates and state demands. Arguments between the parents also harm the child. Even if the parents do not argue in front of the child, the child will still feel the tension and know something is wrong. Feelings of resentment toward being forced to do something may also disturb the relationship between father and child. If the father is arguing about how much to pay and how often with the mother it may cause the father to stop coming around the child. In my situation Nathalia’s dad, Donnie, got upset about the amount and when I couldn’t change it he just cut all contact. The way his support amount was determined was a paper was filled out on the amount of money it took to raise Nathalia. Then the amount I made and the amount he made were taken into consideration. Since I made more my percentage of responsibility was larger. Then they take the percentage left to raise her after subtracting mine and he is responsible for that. So there was nothing I could do to request they lower the payments. We had many arguments relating to this. Another was that he was afraid the State would go after property that he owned. According to the Handbook on Child Support Enforcement liens can be placed on property the non-custodial parent owns in the county (26) and can also take State and Federal Income Tax refunds to pay back child support (29). So it could happen but not if he pays his support payments on a regular basis. When I kept refusing to ask if his payments could be lowered he stopped calling Nathalia and stopped coming to visit her. Second, if a father is active in a child’s life and is a positive influence leniency should be given. Pushing a father to make payments higher than he can make then sending him to jail until it is paid, when he is active in the child’s life, will only harm the child. In â€Å"Child Support Enforcement and Father Involvement for Children in Never-Married Mother. Families† Chien-Chung Huang states, â€Å"Although there are no studies on changes in father-child contact for children in never-married mother families over time, studies find that about one-third of children saw their fathers at least once a month but another third of children had no contact at all with their fathers† (99). If there are such big chunks of the population receiving child support that have similar situations with the non-custodial parent, shouldn’t the different types have different ways of handling the cases? A father that is helping his child with homework every other week shouldn’t be held to the same treatment as a father who has no contact with his child by his own choice. Speaking from experience, I know that if I my daughter’s father was involved in my daughter’s life in a positive way and they had a healthy relationship I would not mind so much if there was a payment missed here or there. A child’s life can be so much fuller with positive influences from both the mother and the father figures in their lives. Third, if the system states that they are trying to get fathers more active in the child’s life through child support enforcement then if they don’t see what is going on before ordering something to be done, they won’t succeed. Jeff Minerd does not think that child support should not be enforced, â€Å"However, the harsh treatment of low-income fathers may make them hostile and resentful of the mothers, children, and government authority† (8). If a low-income father is ordered to pay what the CSE considers to be fair what happens if the father isn’t even making enough to make the payments? Is he to be held to the same standards as a father that keeps quitting his job to avoid making his payments? What if the father gets remarried? According to Hans and Coleman in the article â€Å"The Experiences of Remarried Stepfathers Who Pay Child Support,† â€Å"Remarriage magnified feelings of disempowerment and introduced additional complexities to existing child support arrangements† (613). When fathers remarry it adds more financial responsibility, especially if they have more kids in the new marriage or if there are stepchildren in the marriage. When the Child Support Enforcement Agency takes harsh actions against non-custodial parents it starts a chain of events that can destroy the relationship between the parents. The resentment the father feels for being forced to comply with what the state orders can cause a rift between the father and the custodial mother. In cases like mine it may have caused a rift so large that my daughter may never see her father again. She doesn’t understand why her father doesn’t come and see her any more. A couple of months ago she made up a reason of her own, it was because he was sick. Just last week a new reason came up. She told me he died and that is why he doesn’t come over anymore. I don’t know where she got this but I do know that it is her way of dealing with her feelings. I don’t know what to tell her when she says this. If I tell her that he is alive what reason do I give her when she then asks why he doesn’t see her anymore? Perhaps if the enforcement of the child support was handled differently she would still have a father that was active in her life.