Top Reasons To Consider A Precious Metals Gold IRA In This Economy

Understanding the economy is often confusing for most people as there are many key factors to understand. The first step would be to understand the current monetary system and where it is headed. The current monetary system is known as a fiat system which means that there is no direct backing by gold or silver as there was before 1970.

Why all fiat monetary systems end:

It is important to remember that all fiat monetary systems throughout history never last more than 30 to 40 years. The current one is going on to around 46 years now which means it is due to end and change to a system that is backed again by hard assets such as gold and silver. If you currently own an IRA then it can be quite risky to hold it in dollars which can be devalued overnight or be reduced significantly in purchasing power due to hyperinflation. One option is to transfer into a precious metals or gold IRA as this will offer the additional protection from inflation. Gold has never gone to zero in value however currencies such as the dollar can go to zero through the process of hyperinflation. A gold IRA can be a smart way to protect your future retirement account from hyperinflation and also potentially make significant gains.

Gold has outperformed the stock market in the last 15 years and many analysts believe that this will continue for the foreseeable future. Many billionaires today are openly admitting to increasing their investments in gold so this is a key sign that they believe gold will rise significantly in the next few years. There are many great companies that offer a precious metals backed IRA but you do need to do your research to find the best ones. Be sure to check their Better Business Bureau rating as well as any complaints received in the last few years. Do not risk your IRA with companies that do not have a good record with the BBB. Also keep in mind that the current monetary system will most likely shift to a hard assets backed system and thus a precious metals backed IRA is ideal to protect yourself from any devaluation of the currencies which can lower the purchasing power of your IRA if held in dollars. There are many options available to invest in precious metals and if you already own an IRA then it can be a smart option to rollover into a gold IRA.

Source by Kelvin Jansones

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/top-reasons-to-consider-a-precious-metals-gold-ira-in-this-economy/

Differences Between COBIT and Agile IT Governance

After introducing the traditional IT governance frameworks, I would like to point out some differences between them and an agile approach. I’ll examine the COBIT model:

1. COBIT is a generally applicable and accepted standard for IT governance focused more on control, less on execution. Control, inherently induces the need for documentation and contract negotiation. Agile IT Governance, on the other hand, emphasizes execution and the collaboration between individuals to achieve execution. COBIT could be strengthened further by emphasizing the latter as much as the former.

2. COBIT requires that policies, plans and procedures that drive an IT process are documented, reviewed, maintained, approved, stored, communicated and used for training. This comprehensive documentation can be disastrous if the documented process is inherently flawed and cannot adapt to rapid changes in the business environment. Agile IT Governance emphasizes the need for working governance vs. comprehensive documentation on governance processes. COBIT could benefit from a balanced emphasis on just-enough process documentation for legal compliance and baseline business activity.

3. COBIT says to successfully deliver services to support the enterprise’s strategy, there should be a clear ownership of the requirements and deliverables. Of dozens of managers in a business unit, which individuals have the right level of subject matter expertise? Or the organizational relationships to enable clear ownership and direction of the requirements? The answers to these questions can vary widely depending on who you ask. COBIT could benefit from the consideration that identifying the wrong owner can lead to flawed governance. Agile IT governance mitigates this risk by focusing on identifying the right person who fits the role of “the owner” for the right stage of the project.

4. COBIT believes that processes and tools make enterprises quick to adapt. Processes and tools can only be as effective as the people who design them. Plus, they can be effective only for a specific period of time. Processes and tools often lack the ability to adapt to changing business environments. The emphasis on individuals and interactions help overcome these challenges because they allow teams to maneuver with agility, and adapt to the circumstances at that point in time. COBIT could benefit from consideration of Agile principles which emphasize individuals and interactions over tools and processes.

5. To satisfy business objectives, COBIT emphasizes complying with the laws, regulations and contractual arrangements to which the business process is subject. The emphasis is again on contract negotiation, not on collaboration. The word “contract” often awakens adversarial feelings and can lead to counter-productive behavior. While a framework for Agile IT Governance appreciates the value of contracts, it laments the fact that there is no mention of the word “collaboration” in COBIT.

It’s no longer a question of whether organizations should adopt an agile governance framework, but rather, why you think yours doesn’t already. What are your experiences with traditional governance frameworks? What is your opinion about an agile approach to governance?

Source by Adina Palade

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/differences-between-cobit-and-agile-it-governance/

Medical Billing – NSF or UB-92

It is no longer a question in the medical billing community of what the best method of sending claims is. Electronic billing has numerous advantages over sending paper claims including ease of transmission, lower cost, faster turnaround time and a number of other advantages. But what about the type of electronic format? The main ones today are NSF 3.01 and UB-92. So what’s the difference and is one better than another? Which one should you use? Does it make a difference? Will using one format over another give you more headaches in the long run? In this installment, we’re going to discuss the basic differences between NSF 3.01 and UB-92, including the pluses and minuses of each.

The first thing that you need to know is that NSF 3.01 has been around a lot longer than UB-92. Back in the early days of electronic billing, it was the only option. Therefore, software manufacturers had to include it with their product if they were going to compete in the marketplace. Because of this and because everybody was creating their own NSF 3.01 package, each software manufacturer had to do the best job they possibly could. Because of this, NSF 3.01 was pretty much perfected. The only differences between the software packages was the interface for transmission. The specifications themselves were pretty solid.

Today, with the two formats available and NSF 3.01 no longer being the only choice, for a medical billing agency to switch over to UB-92, there had to be a good reason. Well, there were several.

For starters, because it was a relatively new format, the software was a lot cheaper than the software to send NSF 3.01 claims. For small medical billing agencies, this was a big plus, especially if they didn’t have a large client base. Also, the cost to process these claims was cheaper because the format itself wasn’t as popular and agencies were trying to get companies to use it. But there was a downside to all this.

Because UB-92 was new, there weren’t as many pieces of software to choose from. Most of them were also untested. The early failure rate of UB-92 transmission was great. The specifications were confusing and finding good programmers to create the code was not an easy task. So finding good software was very hard.

Another problem was that because UB-92 was new, not every carrier accepted claims in this format. In the early days only private carriers accepted claims in this format. Even today, not every carrier accepts UB-92 format as a transmission method. So if you are thinking of going with UB-92, you first better check to make sure that the insurance carrier you want to bill accepts claims in that format.

Today, the differences between NSF 3.01 and UB-92 are not quite as great. Yes, there are still insurance carriers that don’t accept UB-92 claims. But more carriers are taking them. The downside is that because UB-92 is becoming more popular, the cost has gone up since the early days. So the difference in cost between NSF 3.01 and UB-92 are not as great.

In the final analysis, it all comes down to what your budget is and who you want to send your bills to. In most cases, either NSF 3.01 or UB-92 will get the job done nicely.

Source by Michael Russell

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/medical-billing-nsf-or-ub-92/

What Does Door to Door Service Mean?

Some terms in the shipping industry can be confusing for shippers to understand. Door to door delivery seems to be one of them. One of the biggest problems is that companies do not always see that door delivery means to the door, of the warehouse of course. They think that door can mean to their customer’s door which can be true only on a drop ship or direct ship, but they do not understand it to be door. So to clarify, Door to Door delivery means that the freight forwarding company will pick up the shipping container from your warehouse and bring it to the port. Then they gate it in and file the necessary paperwork and retrieve it on the other side to be brought to your consignee’s warehouse.

Since a door to door delivery means a through bill of lading that includes trucking, there will also be additional charges added on your bill of lading. Many times however, a through bill of lading will actually have lower freight rates than if you were using different shipping companies. This is definitely something to consider when trying determining if you will need a door delivery. Using separate companies means more interaction with shipping companies, but it also allows for closer managing so it will depend what is best for your company.

No matter which type of delivery you choose, it is important to know what all of your options are before shipping. Even just a small amount of legwork can save a lot of money in the end.

This type of delivery could be the best cargo shipping experience available. Start your shipping experience for door to door by submitting online your request for freight service. Requiring little more than a few keystrokes and clicks of your mouse, take advantage of this opportunity to indicate your cargo requirements and preferences in the form provided. Please make sure to indicate door to door service when signing up online and you will receive it.

When you detail all your requirements upfront, you can receive great options for door to-door. If you do not detail your requirements upfront, then you may not get the best door to door service that is appropriate and unique for your freight shipping experience. And make sure that you work with a trusted freight forwarder who can provide you with outstanding freight services that work for door to door.

Source by Steven Lerner

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/what-does-door-to-door-service-mean/

The 7 P’s of Business Phone Etiquette

Etiquette is in essence about proper conduct and presenting yourself favourably. Demonstrating good etiquette is important if one seeks to be successful. An area in which this is essential is the business phone call.

Millions of business phone calls are made every hour and day. Business people that interact solely over the phone yet never meet still form strong opinions of one another. Practising good business phone etiquette helps encourage clear lines of communication, build rapport and avoid misunderstandings.

Most of us can recollect a phone call that left us feeling frustrated or irritated. How much of this could have been attributed to poor phone etiquette? Here we explore a few simple examples of areas within business phone etiquette that should be employed when making or receiving calls.

All successful business interaction needs preparation. The phone call is no exception. It is important to know who you are calling, the most convenient time to do so, the reason for your call and what you can do for them. Be structured, short and sharp.

If the caller is not known to the receiver it is important that the purpose of the call and the caller’s credentials are established immediately. A simple introduction followed by a sentence or two not only shows good phone etiquette but allows the receiver to set the forthcoming information within a context.

Particularise your intention behind the call. Do not assume the receiver understands why you are calling them and what you expect of them. Expand upon information and specify the purpose of the call.

Pass on information that the receiver will understand, appreciate and find useful. Waffling and speaking generically will lose attention and generally reflect poorly on the caller.

Good business phone etiquette demands professionalism at all times. When speaking to someone you do not know avoid informal speech or personal questions. Once a relationship has been built it is considered polite to enquire about weekends, children or other non-sensitive personal matters.

Privacy and security around furtive issues must always be borne in mind on the phone. If it is imperative that sensitive discussions take place over the phone, business etiquette requires that you confirm with the receiver whether this is appropriate.

Be patient. Demonstrating good business etiquette relies on your staying calm, cool and collected under pressure or when facing a testing situation. Your ability to stay patient earns respect and avoids rash actions or decisions.

Although there is much more to business phone etiquette than the above 7 P’s you will find they can go a long way in contributing to an improved understanding of how to use the phone effectively in the business world.

Source by Neil Payne

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/the-7-ps-of-business-phone-etiquette/

The United States Silver Dollar Coin

On and off since the late seventeen-hundreds, the United States has produced a wide variety of dollar coins. Made of various metals at different points, including gold, silver, copper and nickel, they have been a popular denomination with both the general public and coin collectors alike. Without a doubt the most popular U.S. dollar coin is the silver dollar. For generations the silver dollar has held the interest of not only coin enthusiasts, but also those who invest in precious metals.

Generally speaking, silver dollars are made up of approximately 90% silver with an additional amount of copper added to give the coin added durability. As there was a short period of time when the content of silver in the coins was increased by a small amount in order to compete with foreign coins that had higher silver content. These coins were not generally considered to be circulating coins within the United States, and came to be known as Trade Dollars. During times of a shortage of the raw silver that was need to produce the coins, the amount of copper nickel used was increased to as much as 60% of the total content.

Silver dollars have been minted at six facilities including the mints in West Point, New York (W), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (P), New Orleans, Louisiana (O), Carson City, Nevada (CC), San Francisco, California (S) and Denver, Colorado (D).

In the history of United States coinage, it is interesting to note that silver was in many ways as valuable as gold, and was just as difficult to come by. This is the reason that you will find that the production numbers were quite limited due to the difficulty in obtaining silver. When the value of silver had risen to a point that it made the production of silver dollars financially impractical, a halt was placed on the production of the coins. This was the case between the years of 1804 up until 1836.

Production did not resume in full until the discovery in Nevada of the Comstock Lode in 1850. The finding of such a large deposit of silver hastened the production of silver coins within the United States. Eventually, even the massive deposits found in Nevada began to dwindle, causing another slow down in production until 1904. The silver melt of 1918 once again increased the availability of the raw materials needed, although even this was somewhat temporary in nature, as silver shortages seemed to come and go as the years went on.

The United States Mint began producing the American Silver Eagle coin in 1986, a coin that is 100% pure silver weighing in at one full troy ounce. Unlike previous silver dollars the silver eagle was not intended to be a circulating coin as the silver contents are valued at least nearly five times the coin’s face value, depending on market conditions. Many of today’s investors tend to purchase silver eagles as a hedge against the falling dollar value.

Source by James Kirkwood

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/the-united-states-silver-dollar-coin/

How Business Firms Can Influence the Government In Making Favorable Monetary and Fiscal Policy

Monetary and fiscal policies are the two different tools taken by the authorities. Monetary policy is taken by the central bank of any country. And fiscal policy is taken by the government By nature two policies have different effect and implication. The economic condition, government vision etc influence in selecting what policy should be taken.

Basically the aim of those two policies is to promote and foster economic growth, increase the GDP, creating employment and over all make positive impact on the economy.Those policies are very much important and concerning matter for the business community. Business firms would be interested to expand their business and making larger investment if monetary and fiscal policy are in favor and keep interest of them.

The business firm can influence the government in the following ways to make favorable monetary and fiscal policy:

1. Collective bargaining:

Business communities sometimes arrange different trade shows, seminars and discussions where top government officials like finance minister, governor of the central bank are invited. On that meeting business communities can express their concern and try to convince in making certain policies. Sometime, delegates from the business community meet with prime minister, finance minister on this issue. This can be one way from which business can influence government

2. Private public partnership:

Business firms can offer government private public ownership in some industries. In doing this, government can save some capital that is shared by the private community. And another benefit of this, if government become partner then the policy will be in favor of the business sector. This concept is very much helpful if governmental policy is to boost up the economic growth and rapid industrialization.

3. Privately owned country service:

If the business sector (i.e. private firms) take initiative to do some country service like environmental clean up, waste management, and in return want some favor such as tax reduction on some specific business, it’s become another way to influence government in making favorable monetary and fiscal policy.

4. Creation of certain jobs and get privilege on any industry:

Creation of employment is another concern for the government. Government always tries to provide new job opportunities for the unemployed people and try to achieve higher employment in the country. Business firms also do business for profit motive. In doing this they need employees. If business firms assure the government that they will create certain new job opening in the market and wants to get some facilities for their business, then monetary and fiscal policy can go in favor of the business.

5. Assurance of incremental social responsibility:

Corporate social responsibility is another issue that business firms have to do in the global business world. Some issues like acid violence, dowry, tree plantation, awareness against some fatal disease etc. here business can help. In return they can demand government giving some facilities. Government thus makes some favorable monetary and fiscal policy.

Apart from the above issues there are something that business can influence government in making favorable monetary and fiscal policy. Those are quite unethical but it has existence in the modern world.

6. Bribe to the government officials:

Sometimes this unethical practice can be seen in some third world countries and even in some developed countries. Bribing the government officials business sometimes make favorable policies.

7. Forcing government by stop production, chaos:

Some times business firms can take negative actions like work stoppage, stop export etc to create government to give some facilities and make favorable monetary and fiscal policy.

Actually all the policies of the government trigger the benefit for the business sector. Business firm can influence the government in making those policies using the above discussed ways.

Source by Md. Masudur Rahman

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source http://blog.bigfinancial.co.uk/how-business-firms-can-influence-the-government-in-making-favorable-monetary-and-fiscal-policy/