Mr. Niall Douglas

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9am-9.20am: Exam results
9.20am-9.30am: How to get a better grade
9.30am-11am: Vocab and comprehension check
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11.20am-11.40am: Company Law
11.40am-12.20pm: Business vocab
12.20pm-12.50pm: Pronunciation
12.50pm-1pm: Explain tonight’s reading
1pm-1.20pm: Check on group task work plan

 Average, Max, Min in Vocab: 61%, 83%, 40%
 Average, Max, Min in Written: 64%, 90%,
55%
 Average, Max, Min in Project: 53%, 65%, 40%
 Average, Max, Min in Class: 62%, 81%, 53%

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Vocab Written Project

 People who did better in vocab tended to do slightly better in the written, but that performance in the two is not linked (0.46 correlation, 0.005 covariance)
 Tends to imply studying the vocab != studying the readings
 I figure therefore that I better explain what I look for in essays and written answers ...

 What I look for in written answers:
1.
Evidence of reading (regurgitation) = 55%+
2.
Evidence of understanding (first order inferences) =
60%+
3.
Evidence of argument (second order inferences) =
65%+
4.
Evidence of intelligence (third order inferences and beyond) = 70% and beyond+

 Each lecturer has their own personal preference for grading
 In some subjects (e.g. Languages, History, Philosophy,
Management) two lecturers can give grades varying by
20% for the same essay or exam question
 In British and Irish universities, qualitative subjects have a typical maximum grade of 75%
 In quantitative subjects (e.g. Economics, Maths) grades only vary by 5%. And the typical maximum grade is 95%!

 HOWEVER far more top grades are given out in some subjects. In Britain, 20% of Philosophy students get the top grade, so it is therefore
“worth” less (most Philosophy graduates can only find work in McDonalds or cleaning)
 Compared to just 8% for Business Students
 Compared to just 3-5% for Economics Students
 Each subject has its own peculiar style – it penalises interdisciplinary studies!!!

 Vocab and Comprehension Check

 Remember me telling you about KitKat adverts on YouTube?

 Tonight’s reading is on Company Law differences in the EU (fun!)
 So here’s how a company comes to exist ...

 There are several main types of business:
1.
A sole trader
2.
A partnership
3.
A private company
4.
A public company
5.
A Cooperative

 A sole trader is an individual who simply goes into business
 Business income is counted as personal income for taxation, BUT you can register for
VAT and therefore deduct 15-25% from your costs
 No registration is required except for VAT deductions. You could start tomorrow!

 Partnerships involve more than one person coming together to operate a business
 Business income is still taxed as personal income
 They don’t offer much more than being a sole trader
 However again, they are very easy to form – no registration required!

 A private company is a “legal person” with separate legal identity
 It can separately own property, has its own taxes and has limited liability
 In other words, no matter what happens its owners can
NEVER lose more money than they invest
 A private company has shares and lots of people can co-own the company. In the EU, a single person can own all the shares i.e. “a single member company” and if they do they can avoid holding Annual General
Meetings (AGMs) and get other advantages

 A private company must register itself with the government (in Ireland and Britain this department is called “Companies House”). It must provide to the government:
 A “governing instrument” – this is a notarised legal document specifying the rules for the company
 At least TWO directors and ONE company secretary
(the secretary can also be a director)
 Annual accounts showing the true state of the company. These must be audited if turnover exceeds
€1m each year
 Who owns what shares at any time

 A private company can take a while to be formed
 Ireland is the fastest and cheapest in the EU – just ten days guaranteed maximum and €100 fee (and maybe €500 for the solicitor to write the legal instrument)
 Poland is currently one the most expensive and slowest – taking over a year and costing €1000’s
(this is about to change, they are adopting the
Irish solution)

 Lastly, a public company differs from a private company because it must offer its shares to the public on a stockmarket
 It must also do LOTS more regulation and overheads
 And a cooperative is when a company is owned equally by its members, so one member = one share with no exceptions
 In most EU countries cooperatives are very expensive and difficult to set up and operate. Governments dislike them as they challenge governmental monopoly of power

 By the way, a company secretary is NOT a real secretary
 Historically the secretary is the most powerful person in a company because they are responsible for all legal matters and the company
 The Directors give instructions, but the company secretary has the power to fire directors or override their orders
 The Company Secretary can also be a Director

 Lastly, because companies are a separate legal person, they get their own taxes
 Corporation Tax (12.5%-45% in the EU) is charged on any profits
 “Close Company” Corporation Tax (+15%-35%) is additionally charged on any undistributed profits if the shareholders and directors are related as family
 Payroll taxes (10%-45% in the EU) are charged on any wages or salaries paid to employees or directors
 Dividend Withholding Taxes (20%-40% in the EU) are charged on any non-business payments to others OR non-salary payments to anyone who is a shareholder
 Professional Service Withholding Taxes (20%-40% in the EU) are charged to any business payment involving a non-trade person
 Investment Taxes (15%-30%) are charged on income if the company saves or invests money e.g. In a bank savings account

 With all these taxes, why bother setting up a company?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Limited liability
You can creatively deduct all sorts of “expenses” from revenues to minimise profits
You can funnel profits through Ireland to avail of its
12.5% corporation tax and funnel products through the Island of Jersey to avoid paying any VAT (this is what Amazon does)
If you’re clever, you can halve the costs of running a business (ESPECIALLY in France)

 Multiple choice Business Vocab ...

 Explain Tonight’s reading

 Check Group Task Work Plans