How does government protect you from identity theft

How Does Government Protect You From Identity Theft?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the federal financial institution regulatory agencies have sent to the Federal Register for publication final rules on identity theft «red flags» and address discrepancies. The final rules implement sections 114 and 315 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003.

According to a report of the President’s Identity Theft Task Force, identity theft (a fraud attempted or committed using identifying information of another person without authority), results in billions of dollars in losses each year to individuals and businesses.

The final rules require each financial institution and creditor that holds any consumer account, or other account for which there is a reasonably foreseeable risk of identity theft, to develop and implement an Identity Theft Prevention Program for combating identity theft in connection with new and existing accounts. The Program must include reasonable policies and procedures for detecting, preventing, and mitigating identity theft and enable a financial institution or creditor to:

Identify relevant patterns, practices, and specific forms of activity that are «red flags» signaling possible identity theft and incorporate those red flags into the Program;

Detect red flags that have been incorporated into the Program;

Respond appropriately to any red flags that are detected to prevent and mitigate identity theft; and

Ensure the Program is updated periodically to reflect changes in risks from identity theft.

The agencies also issued guidelines to assist financial institutions and creditors in developing and implementing a Program, including a supplement that provides examples of red flags.

The final rules also require credit and debit card issuers to develop policies and procedures to assess the validity of a request for a change of address that is followed closely by a request for an additional or replacement card. In addition, the final rules require users of consumer reports to develop reasonable policies and procedures to apply when they receive a notice of address discrepancy from a consumer reporting agency.

The final rule-making is issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision. The final rules are effective on January 1, 2008. Covered financial institutions and creditors must comply with the rules by November 1, 2008.

The government is doing its best to combat identity theft. Keeping one step ahead of the thieves by checking your free credit report will ensure that no one has stolen your identity. The government is doing what it can, but you are the first line of identity theft defense.

How do you measure the risks and rewards that are associated with your business

How Do you Measure the Risks and Rewards That are Associated With your Business?

Entrepreneurs are risk takers by nature. Whether it is the formation of a new venture or the expansion of existing business, entrepreneurs face different types and degrees of risk before any rewards can be realized. In pursuit of their dreams, entrepreneurs come to realize the delicate balance that exists between risks and rewards.

It’s a given fact that starting and running your own business is inherently risky. In fact, according to the Small Business Administration, the risk of failure is extraordinarily high for entrepreneurs starting new ventures. Nearly 10% of all firms fail each year and nearly 61% of manufacturing firms close their doors within the first five years of operation.

The small business failures are sobering statistics. So, before you “bet the farm” on that new business venture or the expansion of your existing business, calculate and understand the potential risks and rewards. First, it’s critical that you understand and assess how much risk you can tolerate in your new venture or the expansion of your existing business. Make sure you have a realistic view of your business opportunity and the upsides and downsides associated with pursuing it.

The rewards for launching a new business or expanding an existing business, however, can be great. Studies show that entrepreneurs account for a large proportion of the country’s wealth and entrepreneurs have higher savings rates than that of traditional workers.

It is important to determine how much risk you can withstand in a new venture or the expansion of an existing business. Before you even consider launching or expanding an existing business, you need to have strategies in place to offset potential losses or unforeseen challenges. As you assess your potential risk factors, be brutally honest and consider these questions:

* How many years can you go without making a profit?

* Can you tolerate possible financial loss?

* Can you survive the loss of all your invested capital?

* Have you taken steps to mitigate risk with insurance?

* Are you sharing personal risk with investors?

* Have you set aside savings to cover potential losses or dry spells?

* Do you have a contingency plan if you lose a key client or employee?

* Can you afford to risk your capital, services, and reputation?

A feasibility study is a great tool that can help you to assess risk and reward. It provides a detailed investigation and an analysis of factors that influence your project to determine whether or not the project is viable. The study examines the economic, marketing, technical, managerial, and financial aspects of your proposed business idea. The feasibility study is based on a cost benefit analysis of your actual business, and the study is used to support your decision-making process. A feasibility study is an effective way to safeguard against the waste of resources of time, people, or money that may be exhausted before an idea or project is deemed viable.

Whether you are applying for a SBA business loan, seeking funds for expansion or plant modernization, or deciding which steps come next in growing your business, a detailed feasibility study will give you the professional support that you need to make your case. A thorough feasibility analysis investigates the impact that each of following issues can have on your idea or project:

* Economic (labor, utilities, transportation, economic impact, etc.)

* Marketing (availability, plans, competition, targets and potential, etc.)

* Technical (site, equipment, modernization, constraints, etc.)

* Financial (cash flow, costs)

* Managerial (assessments, recruiting, training, and development)

The result of the feasibility study is a thorough analysis of the feasibility of your proposed business idea or project. If your idea or project is deemed feasible from the results of the study, then the next step is to proceed with a formal business plan.

Iso 9000

ISO 9001:2000 is the standard that provides a set of standardized requirements for a quality management system. ISO 9000 is a family of standards for qua;ity management systems. ISO 9000 is maintained by ISO, the International Organization for Standardisation and is administered by accreditation and certification bodies. Some of the requirements in ISO 9001 include

a) a set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business;
b) monitoring processes to ensure they are effective;
c) keeping adequate records;
d) checking output for defects, with appropriate and corrective action where necessary;
e) regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness;
f) facilitating continual improvement

16 Steps For ISO 9001:2000 Certification

1.Top Management must take a firm decision to implement Quality Management System based on ISO 9001:2000 standard.

2.Top Management must allocate proper resources to implement the above decision.

Human Resources (Management Representative {ISO coordinator} & Core Team to «prepare,implement, maintain & improve» the Quality System).
Time (minimum two to three hours per day (of core team) for initial three months till achieving ISO Certification & afterwards at-least one to two hours per week
Financial Resources. (Fees / charges for Trainings, documentation / consultancy (if outsourced) & ISO Certification / audit charges.

3. Form a core team comprising minimum two employees from each department and appoint one member of core team as a Management Representative to co-ordinate all ISO 9000 related activities.

4. Establish a Training Plan.

Awareness Training for all employees (as it is a team work and all employees are part of Quality
Documentation training for core team
Internal Auditors training, to at-least three to four members of core team

5. Implement training plan / Conduct in-house training seminars or send your employees to attend open house training seminars for above mentioned training seminars.

Awareness Training for all employees
Documentation training for core team.

6.Review the Existing Business Systems in your organization in comparison with ISO 9001 requirements. (Gap analysis exercise)

7. Formulate Quality Policy [Guiding document] and Quality Objectives [functional / departmental targets / goals]

8. Formulate Six Mandatory Quality Procedures required by ISO 9001:2000 standard.

9.Formulate other Quality Procedures (QP), process flow charts (QFC), departmental work instructions (WI) & other documents required to conduct the company operations and complete the «Quality Manual».

10. Implement the Newly established «Quality Management System» from a planned / fixed date.

11.Arrange for «Internal Quality Auditors Training» to at-least three to four members of Core Team. (Develop Self Assessment Capability)

12. Conduct first Internal Quality Audit. (After a gap of at-least 30 days from the date of implementation of system).

13. Make Application for certification to Certification Body

14. Conduct first Management Review Meeting and then call Certification Body for conducting on-site audit of your Quality System.

15. Initial Audit / Assessment by Certification Body and receiving «Recommendation Letter», (like a provisional certificate) at the time of closing meeting.

16.Receive original Certificate from Certification Body. (normal time frame — within 21 to 30 days from date of recommendation letter)

India — private investments scaling up in clinical trial industry

India — Private Investments Scaling Up in Clinical Trial Industry

Clinical trials are considered as one of the most important stages of the drug development and share a major part of the cost and time involved in the whole process. With an increasing pressure on pharmaceutical and biotech companies to increase their product pipelines and at the same time to reduce the cost involved in drug development, multinational pharmaceutical companies have started outsourcing clinical trials to emerging healthcare markets like India. RNCOS, a leading market research firm, says in its new report «Booming Clinical Trials Market in India» that India has tremendous potential to attract multinationals to invest in its clinical trials market. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 31% during 2010-2012.

With the increasing trend of outsourcing clinical trials, the private investments in the sector have also increased. Most of these investments are aimed at setting up clinical trial facilities in the country. Also, it has been observed that some multinationals have made joint ventures with the Indian companies to set up such facilities. In this regard, our research report provides complete information on the current scenario of the Indian clinical trial industry.

One of the other major advantages that India has, is the availability of large patient pool. The prevalence of diseases, like CVD, diabetes and cancer, is very high in the country, and this makes the availability and administration of patients for clinical trials very easy. Our research provides a thorough study and analysis of the Indian clinical trial industry. Besides, the report has also highlighted the importance of cost factor in the development of the industry and it provides complete details of the cost involved in various phases of clinical trials in the country.

«Booming Clinical Trials Market in India» gives a comprehensive review of the Indian clinical trial industry. Thorough evaluation of current trends and developments vital for the success of Indian clinical trials market has been done. The report also covers information on various major players present in the market. The report will prove to be a useful investment guide for our clients who are looking forward to invest in the market.

For FREE SAMPLE of this report visit: http://www.rncos.com/Report/IM564.htm

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