The Hindu Business Line : Re-opening the accounts when stakes are high

COMPANY Law Institute of India Pvt Ltd (www.cliofindia.com) has brought out a revised edition of its handy guide for direct tax compliance, titled, Tax Management 2005, by S. Rajaratnam. The book begins with the question `who is a tax executive', and ends with one of the most recent tasks thrust on the tax executive, that is, the Fringe Benefit Tax.

The author's forte is easy communication, despite the mandatory references to Section numbers. For instance, when insisting that adjournment letter should be `a speaking one', rather than being carelessly or routinely worded, he writes, "Never ignore any notice under Section 143(2) or 142(1)." Rajaratnam adds value to his work by citing case laws, both old and new, as also foreign ones. For example, the paragraph that advises the checking of whether income offered is in the right year refers to a 2004 decision of the apex court in the Karimjee P Ltd case. The court did not accept the contention that it was not permissible to create extra reserve after P&L A/c is finally drawn up, explains the book. "Opportunity for correcting the accounts by reopening the matter may have to be taken in cases where the stakes are heavy," counsels the author. Essential addition to professionals' bookshelf.

Barber on bribery

TO KARAN Thapar, his barber Pritam has this wisdom to offer: "Such poocho to bahut hi kum log chor hein. Asl mein chor banaiye jaate hein. Ya moke ke karan ya majboori ke." Karan recounts this in his new book, Sunday Sentiments, from Wisdom Tree (www.wisdomtreeindia.com), and adds, "His comments made me sit up sharply and think. How would I have reacted if someone came to me with a brown paper bag full of old hundred rupee notes and asked for a favour that was well within my powers to do with little risk of being caught out or embarrassed... The thought was so shocking I started to sweat." The book brings together pieces from his column in Hindustan Times, and cover a variety of topics. On the bribery aspect, Karan cites from a 1952 judgment of Madras High Court thus: "Where a man has not demanded a bribe and he's only suspected to be in the habit of taking bribes and he's tempted with a bribe just to see whether he would accept, that would be an illegitimate trap."

Racy read.

The most damaging problem

SELF-DECEPTION is the inability to see that one has a problem, notes Leadership and Self Deception, from The Arbinger Institute, published by Tata McGraw-Hill (www.tatamcgrawhill.com). This is the most common and also the most damaging one in organisation, says the book. "Led by philosopher Terry Warner, a team of scholars has broken new ground in solving the age-old problem of self-deception, or what was originally called `resistance'," one learns. "The problem is this: How can people simultaneously (1) create their own problems, (2) be unable to see that they are creating their own problems, and yet (3) resist any attempts to help them stop creating those problems?" A book with solutions!

Take a call

HOW is 35 = 10? "A thirty-five-year-old American's brain and IQ is the same as a ten-year-old Indian's brain. This will help you understand your clients. You need to be as patient as you are when dealing with a child," is how the equation is explained by a character in Chetan Bhagat's One Night @ the Call Center, from Rupa & Co.

"There are four kinds of bosses in this world based on two dimensions: a) how smart or stupid they are, and b) whether they are good or evil," explains Vroom elsewhere in the book. "Only with extreme good luck do you get a boss who is smart and a good human being." India has a billion people, but at night, 99 per cent of them are fast asleep, writes Chetan in chapter 26. The land, then, belongs to `a chosen few' such as "truck drivers, late shift workers, doctors, hotel staff and call centre agents." Hear also this philosophy about job and pay: "Call centres pay more, but only because the exchange rate is in the favour of Americans. They toss their loose change at us. It seems like a lot in rupees. But jobs that pay less could be better. There could be jobs that define me, make me learn or help my country... " A book worth taking a call on, if you are looking for entertainment.

The tweens' world

TWEENS span the pre-adolescent years through to the age of about 14, explain Martin Lindstrom and Patricia B. Seybold in Brand Child, from Kogan Page (www.vivagroupindia.com). "No other generation has ever had as much disposable income as this one." It seems close to half the world's tween generation has access to the Net, and about one in five has his or her own mobile phone. The authors divide tweens into four groups — edges ("the independent rebellious tweens"); persuaders ("their decisions are adopted by the group"); followers ("the mainstream"); and reflexives ("an out-group... they rarely pick up fashion trends and almost never go out"). The book identifies six core values driving all successful marketing to tweens. These are: Fear, mastery, fantasy, love, stability, and humour. Must read for marketers!

Subs aren't your enemies

SUSAN Pape and Sue Featherstone provide `a practical introduction' in Newspaper Journalism, from Sage (www.sagepublications.com). Chapter 1 opens the newsroom door to get familiar with the different roles. For instance, "The news editor is the first point of contact when a reporter is out on the road." And the sub-editors, or subs, edit the paper. "One of their most important responsibilities involves checking a reporter's copy... They check for accuracy and will correct spelling mistakes and any other grammatical errors.

Subs also check copy for potential libel or contempt. That is not to say a reporter can hand in sloppy work thinking that the sub will automatically correct it for them." Useful advice for reporters is not to treat subs as "the enemy who are going to pull a story to pieces," but to think of them "as another pair of eyes on a story." Educative material.

Tailpiece

"Have you paid royalty... ?"

"For what?"

"For the car-reversing tune from a popular number?"

ReadingRoom@TheHindu.co.in

D. Murali