How to write Effective Email

how can you ensure that your email writing skills are up to standard? Here are some general tips I’d like to share with you:

1. Subject Line

Always have a subject line that summarises briefly and clearly the contents of the message (example: Re: Summary of Our Meeting with ABC Suppliers).

2. Simplified Sentences

Don’t make your email look overcrowded by trying to use too many technical terms or long words. It is good to use complex and compound-complex sentences, but ensure that they are easy to understand.

The most common mistake that many of our students make is to translate directly from their own language. This can often lead to confusing sentences. A popular rule that you could adapt is to use the KISS Test – Keep It Short and Simple.

3. Think of who your reader is going to be

Is it a colleague, a client or your boss? Should the email be informal or formal? Most business emails these days have a neutral tone. Note the difference between Informal and Formal:

Informal – Thanks for emailing me on 15th February
Formal – Thank you for your email dated 15th February

Informal – Sorry, I can’t make it.
Formal – I am afraid I will not be able to attend

Informal – Can you…?
Formal – I was wondering if you could….?

Some emails to colleagues can be informal if you have a long working relationship and know them well. This is the style that is closest to speech, so there are often everyday words and conversational expressions that can be used. For instance, ‘Don’t forget’, ‘Catch you later’, ‘Cheers’.

The reader may also accept or overlook minor grammatical errors in informal emails. However, if the email is going to a client or senior colleague, bad grammar and an over-friendly writing style will most probably not be acceptable.

4. Be very careful of capital letters, punctuation, spelling and basic grammar

While these can be tolerated in informal emails, they are very important in business emails as they are an important part of the image you create. Give yourself time to edit what you’ve written before you push that Send button.

In today’s busy world, it’s very easy to send out many emails without checking them thoroughly: as an English learner, you should make a conscious effort to double check before sending.

5. Think about how direct or indirect you want to be

In some cultures, it is common practice to be very direct in email correspondence. However, this can cause a problem if you’re writing to someone in another country and in a language that is not your mother tongue. They might find your directness rude and possibly offensive.

Consider these:

Direct – I need this in half an hour.Indirect and polite – Would it be possible to have this in half an hour?

Direct – There will be a delay
Indirect – I’m afraid there may be a slight delay.

Direct – It’s a bad idea
Indirect – To be honest, I’m not sure if that would be a good idea.

By adjusting your tone, you are more likely to get a positive response from your reader.

6. Be positive!

Look at these words: helpful, good question, agreed, together, useful, I will do my best, mutual, opportunity.

Now look at these: busy, crisis, failure, forget it, I can’t, it’s impossible, waste, hard.

The words you use show your attitude to life, so choose your words wisely.

7. Get feedback

Try and get some feedback on the emails that you write. This could be from your English Teacher or someone you know whose English is at a good level.

Study the English in any emails you receive. If it is a well-written email, look carefully at some of the language used. Start your own phrase book by collecting a bank of phrases from what you hear or read all around you; they may be useful in the future.

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Quality of Team Leader

The 10 Effective Qualities of a Team Leader

An effective team leader has a variety of traits and characteristics that encourage team members to follow him. Team leaders naturally possess certain qualities, such as compassion and integrity, or learn leadership skills through formal training and experience. The qualities of an effective team leader inspire the trust and respect of the team and stimulate production within the workplace.

Communication

Effective team leaders communicate clearly. Quality verbal and written communication skills allow leaders to present expectations to team members in a way workers can understand. Effective communication skills also allow team leaders to listen to the input of others.

Organization

Effective team leaders possess exceptional organizational skills. Organizational skills help team leaders plan objectives and strategies, which allow team members to perform optimally. Organized team leaders put systems in place that maintain order and guide team members toward meeting company goals and objectives.

Confidence

An effective team leader is confident in his abilities, as well as confident in the abilities of his team members. A confident leader is secure in the decisions he makes that affect his team. A self-confident team leader also reassures team members of his authority within the organization.

Respectful

A quality team leader is respectful of his team members. A respectful leader empowers employees by encouraging them to offer ideas about decisions that affect them. This lets team members know that the leader respects their input and opinions.

Fair

A quality team leader treats team members fairly. He is consistent with rewards and recognition, as well as disciplinary action. A fair leader ensures all employees receive the same treatment.

Integrity

An effective team leader is honest and open with his team members. Leaders who possess integrity gain the trust of team members because he does what he says he will do and treats others the same way he wants to be treated.

Influential

Influential leaders help inspire the commitment of team members to meet company goals and objectives. Influential leaders also help manage change in the workplace by gaining the confidence of workers through effective decision making and communication.

Delegation

Effective team leaders know how to share leadership through delegation. Delegating certain tasks to trustworthy team members allows the leader to focus on improving workplace functions and production.

Facilitator

Effective team leaders are powerful facilitators. As a facilitator, team leaders help workers understand their goals. They also help organize an action plan to ensure team members meet their goals and objectives more efficiently.

Negotiation

Team leaders utilize negotiation skills to achieve results and reach an understanding in the event of a workplace conflict. Team leaders who negotiate effectively streamline the decision-making process, as well as solve problems for the best interest of everyone involved.

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Accountant Interview Question and answer

Q: Why do capital expenditures increase assets (PP&E), while other cash outflows, like paying salary, taxes, etc., do not create any asset, and instead instantly create an expense on the income statement that reduces equity via retained earnings?

A: Capital expenditures are capitalized because of the timing of their estimated benefits – the lemonade stand will benefit the firm for many years. The employees’ work, on the other hand, benefits the period in which the wages are generated only and should be expensed then. This is what differentiates an asset from an expense.

Q: Walk me through a cash flow statement.

A. Start with net income, go line by line through major adjustments (depreciation, changes in working capital and deferred taxes) to arrive at cash flows from operating activities.

·         Mention capital expenditures, asset sales, purchase of intangible assets, and purchase/sale of investment securities to arrive at cash flow from investing activities.

·         Mention repurchase/issuance of debt and equity and paying out dividends to arrive at cash flow from financing activities.

·         Adding cash flows from operations, cash flows from investments, and cash flows from financing gets you to total change of cash.

·         Beginning-of-period cash balance plus change in cash allows you to arrive at end-of-period cash balance.

Q: What is working capital?

A: Working capital is defined as current assets minus current liabilities; it tells the financial statement user how much cash is tied up in the business through items 

such as receivables and inventories and also how much cash is going to be needed to pay off short term obligations in the next 12 months.

Q: Is it possible for a company to show positive cash flows but be in grave trouble?

A: Absolutely. Two examples involve unsustainable improvements in working capital (a company is selling off inventory and delaying payables), and another example involves lack of revenues going forward.in the pipeline

Q: How is it possible for a company to show positive net income but go bankrupt?

A: Two examples include deterioration of working capital (i.e. increasing accounts receivable, lowering accounts payable), and financial shenanigans.

Q: I buy a piece of equipment, walk me through the impact on the 3 financial statements.

A: Initially, there is no impact (income statement); cash goes down, while PP&E goes up (balance sheet), and the purchase of PP&E is a cash outflow (cash flow statement)

Over the life of the asset: depreciation reduces net income (income statement); PP&E goes down by depreciation, while retained earnings go down (balance sheet); and depreciation is added back (because it is a non-cash expense that reduced net income) in the cash from operations section (cash flow statement).

Q: Why are increases in accounts receivable a cash reduction on the cash flow  statement?

A: Since our cash flow statement starts with net income, an increase in accounts receivable is an adjustment to net income to reflect the fact that the company never actually received those funds.

Q: How is the income statement linked to the balance sheet?

A:  Net income flows into retained earnings.

Q: What is goodwill?

A: Goodwill is an asset that captures excess of the purchase price over fair market value of an acquired business. Let’s walk through the following example: Acquirer buys Target for $500m in cash. Target has 1 asset: PPE with book value of $100, debt of $50m, and equity of $50m = book value (A-L) of $50m.

·         Acquirer records cash decline of $500 to finance acquisition

·         Acquirer’s PP&E increases by $100m

·         Acquirer’s debt increases by $50m

·          Acquirer records goodwill of $450m

Q: What is a deferred tax liability and why might one be created?

A: Deferred tax liability is a tax expense amount reported on a company’s income statement that is not actually paid to the IRS in that time period, but is expected to be paid in the future. It arises because when a company actually pays less in taxes to the IRS than they show as an expense on their income statement in a reporting period.

Differences in depreciation expense between book reporting (GAAP) and IRS reporting can lead to differences in income between the two, which ultimately leads to differences in tax expense reported in the financial statements and taxes payable to the IRS.

Q: What is a deferred tax asset and why might one be created?

A: Deferred tax asset arises when a company actually pays more in taxes to the IRS than they show as an expense on their income statement in a reporting period.

·         Differences in revenue recognition, expense recognition (such as warranty expense), and net operating losses (NOLs) can create deferred tax assets.

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