Factor That Affects Accounting Practice in Nigeria

FACTORS AFFECTING ACCOUNTING PRACTICE IN NIGERIA AND THE WAY OUT Accounting Practice refers to the routine manner in which the day-to-day financial activities of a business entity are gathered and recorded. A firms accounting practice refers to the method by which its accounting policies are implemented and adhered to on a routine basis, typically by an accountant and/or auditor or a team of accounting professionals. In another context, an accounting practice is intended to enforce a firm’s accounting guidelines and policies. It exists as the daily recording of financial data that is important to the evaluation and monitoring of the firm’s economic activities. Accounting practice refers to the normal practical application of accounting†¦show more content†¦Attracting and retaining young talents has been an issue for many years. The practice need to make a more concerted effort to fundamentally change work precise otherwise, the profession will witness talent drain. * Specialisation: Practitioners often see specialization as a tool for winning clients confidence and quality service deliveries. Generally the profession rendered services in Auditing, Tax Practices, Liquidation, Bankruptcy amp; Executorships, Financial managements and lots of others. Trust of which field to focus on has posed lot of problems to the practice. While some peg their competence in a particular area, others provide skills for all professional services. However, the size of a firm often determine how many products/services a firm can offer to clientele as a large firm will surely have pools of competent hands for each field than a small firm. Notwithstanding, the primary function is to render a deserved quality service to clients. For small and medium firms with few competent hands who offer a one-shop service to their clients, it is better to take advantage of training opportunity available so as to serve their customers better. * Remuneration: Compensation isShow MoreRelatedImpact of Ict on Accounting Practice in Nigeria1663 Words   |  7 PagesThe impact of ICT on accounting practice in Nigeria CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1.1  Ã‚  Ã‚   Background of the study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the recent past centuries, before the inception of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the accountants of an organization were using a socially acceptable behavioural method of reporting accounting and economic reports, carried out during accounting year ends, the preparation of accounting records, book such as the profit and loss account, the balance sheetRead MoreAgency Theory and Accounting Choice1142 Words   |  5 Pagesanalyses the effect of the agency theory and accounting choice usually been made by managers of Nigeria listed companies. It (agency theory and accounting choice) can be demonstrated in the modern day companies where management is usually separated from the ownership of business. The professional managers are supposed to make decisions and take actions that are consistent with the objective of maximising shareholders wealth. But this may not be happen in practice because the managers may have goals tha tRead Morecompany accounting ch1 tut working Essay1704 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿AYB340 COMPANY ACCOUNTING TOPIC 1 - SOLUTIONS TO TUTORIAL QUESTIONS CASE STUDIES Case Study 1 - Accounting Policies The board of directors has resolved to change the accounting policy for treatment of advertising expenditure. Previously, advertising expenditure has been expensed as incurred. 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TheRead MoreAn Appraisal of the Application of Cost and Management Accounting Techniques in Nigerian Manufacturing Companies: a Case Study of Benue Breweries Company Limited2637 Words   |  11 Pages AN APPRAISAL OF THE APPLICATION OF COST AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING TECHNIQUES IN NIGERIAN MANUFACTURING COMPANIES: A CASE STUDY OF BENUE BREWERIES COMPANY LIMITED TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page - - - - - - - - - - i Approval Stage - - - - - - - - - ii Dedication - - - - - - - - - - iii Acknowledgement - - - - - - - - iv Table of contents - - - - - - - - - v Abstract - - - - - - - - - - vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1. Background of the study - - -

THE ART OF DELEGATION Essay - 1060 Words

There is a limit to the amount of work that you can do on your own. There is only so much value that you can deliver to your company or organization without the help of other people. If you are successful in your career, at some stage the demands on you will become greater than you are able to cope with on your own. When this happens, you are forced to rely on the help of others, you are forced to delegate. Delegation is a process by which a manager examines the various responsibilities and tasks at hand, and rather than assuming and completing those tasks and responsibilities on his or her own, that manager decides to assign the work to other employees. Effective managers must be willing to entrust a task, power or responsibility to†¦show more content†¦Each policy advisor then has an administrative assistant to whom he or she can further delegate tasks if warranted. If not, the administrative assistant is responsible to assisting the policy advisor in completing the task i n order to satisfy the needs of the constituent or Arkansas citizen. The process within our office illustrates how delegation is the downward transfer of formal authority from superior to subordinate. We all realize that delegating involves working with an employee to establish goals, granting them sufficient authority and responsibility to achieve the goals, often giving them substantial freedom in deciding how the goals will be achieved, remaining available as a resource to help them achieve the goals, assessing their performance (the quality of their effort and attainment of the goals), addressing performance issues and/or rewarding their performance. Delegation is primarily about entrusting your authority to others. This means that they can act and initiate independently; and that they assume responsibility with you for certain tasks. One of the main phobias about delegation is that by giving others authority, a manager loses control. Even when you delegate the work, you still maintain the accountability. Ultimately, the supervisor retains responsibility for the attainment of the goals, butShow MoreRelatedThe Art of Delegation817 Words   |  4 PagesThe Art of Delegation: Five Behaviors of Effective Delegators Ben F. Soares, Zoua Yang, Thomas Manning, Ziad Shamma MGT/521 September 13, 2013 James Sternieri The Art of Delegation: Five Behaviors of Effective Delegators Managers of companies of all varying sizes often will have multiple tasks to perform. Good managers need to decide which tasks they will perform themselves and which tasks will be delegated to others. When managers delegate assignments they mustRead MoreThe Key Parts That Create Effective Delegation967 Words   |  4 Pagesremember the key parts that create effective delegation. 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This process can be challenging as well as a learning experience to gain proficiency in delegation and maintain the safety and well being of theRead MoreDelegation Of The Nurses Association ( Ana )1289 Words   |  6 Pages Delegation in Nursing Practice The subject of delegation inevitably is discussed when considering the demands on Registered Nurses. Registered Nurses are the hub of communication regarding the patients’ condition, treatment, and well-being. The doctor, family, lab, radiology, respiratory, physical therapy, dietary, and even billing and housekeeping rely on the nurse for information and the transmission of information to others. 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An Essay on Film Style and History

Question: Describe about the topic Technological determinism offers an insufficient explanation of developments in cinema.Discuss with reference to the development of either early cinema or sound.? Answer: The essay discusses on the given with reference to the development of either early cinema or sound. Initially the essay highlights upon the development of sound, thereby focusing on the way the concept emerged. This would be related with the invention framework, diffusion, and innovation that provides a potential methodology for analyzing the emergence of any technology (Baumgarten, 2009). A single approach towards technological change would take into consideration the greater economic aspect and this may be incorporated in the technological history of cinema from the perspective of sector economics. The foremost steps within the analysis of a specific technological change include creating the basic structure of the industry under consideration, and it closet competitors during the time before such technological change. Cinema is said to always embrace innovative approaches to view the world, realizing both technological as well as technical innovation. It has also realized the potential of every development (Yau Shuk-ting, Kinnia, 2009). From the statement, it is interpreted that technological determinism or advancement is inevitably one of the key reasons of increased development in the cinema in the terms of sound. The evolution of sound has been a long and continued process since years and has been possible only on advent of the technological determinism. However development in cinema has been brought about not only with the emergence of sound but there are other major reasons as well. In order to assess the statement, it is important to reflect upon the various aspects of the statement. It is a common consideration that sound movies began to be released ever since 1928 with the release of The Jazz Singer by Warner. Certainly it is the first notable film using sound, but it is needed for us to g o back to the age of invention of cinematograph for realizing that experiments had been conducted using sound as well as picture ever since the beginning. In one of the papers of Edison, he had written that he had received an idea in 1887 to develop an instrument. The diagrams as well as pictures of early works of Edison reflect the involvement of phonograph for delivering sound with pictures. Eugene Lauste as well as Lee De Forest also worked upon sound systems for accompanying pictures but their systems actually printed the sound photographically onto the film. In the year 1923 Petersen as well as Poulsen laid a potential demonstration of sound upon film system during the Palads Cinema Copenhagen. In fact, The Jazz Singer after release had set the industry talking that sound movies have arrived. Though sound upon disc was actually the first successful system, it did not last for long (Harpole, 1980). It was soon replaced by Movietone sound on film system. Whichever be the chosen s ystem by the theatres, both relied upon amplifiers as well as speaker horns for delivering the sound to the theatre, and so the manufacturing division of Bell Telephone Laboratories synonymous with film sound. Since the early days of sound on film, firms had been investigating into the possibilities of stereo sound. Introduction of sound was possible only due to the technological advancements. Although Edison did not himself invent film, he had conceived that the visual medium as well as phonograph could be meshed to make sound film, and he tried inventing sound film ever since the birth of cinema around 1885. Inventors as well as entrepreneurs had to overcome many issues prior to acceptance of sound. Initially the audiences of silent film seemed quite happy and contented. Gradually it started taking a different turn. Besides dissatisfaction of the audiences, the key problem that arose was the technological difficulty of matching sound as well as visuals in a manner that every audience could hear it. So the key problems were synchronization as well as amplification (Kindem, 1981). Even after successful invention, it presented several issues. The previous sound cameras as well as equipment were too noisy and huge, and needed to be kept in a blimp which is a soundproof room. The diagrams as well a s pictures of early works of Edison reflect the involvement of phonograph for delivering sound with pictures. Eugene Lauste as well as Lee De Forest also worked upon sound systems for accompanying pictures but their systems actually printed the sound photographically onto the film. Latest technologies have always been and even to this day continue to be developed to be applied in the world of cinema. Right from the invention of the projector to digital film-making, the continuous evolution has considerably changed the near future of the art form; however none perhaps so much as the introduction of sound. The story how sound concept emerged and how it became the inevitable requisite of filmmaking is quite interesting, and just like other anecdotes about early cinema, the concept centers around big deals, market control, and money. The sound concept that is used in the present generation has not been invented by any single person; in fact, it had evolved through a series of steps of l abored advancements in engineering; however one key hurdle yet to be overcome for exhibiting films to mass audiences was amplification. On receiving a viable solution, the Big Five Studios were not really too keen to make the transition since it would mean problem of high-priced ticket due to construction of sound studios, record equipment, wiring theaters, etc (Kindem, 1981). The film The Jazz Singer by Warner Bros. had achieved huge international success being the first sound film. The addition of this feature of sound into the cinema has been an innovative experience altogether. Sound does not only mean that actors would be able to talk ut it meant a great change in the manner films started getting produced. Actors had to be the paragons of fluency and articulateness as well as pantomime artists. Several exotic characters became less fashionable, since foreign accents were difficult to be interpreted with age-old microphone as well as amplification technologies. Some verbal comed y, typically that of Marx Brothers was impossible without sound. It is true that the development of sound in cinema has been the outcome of the technological determinism; however it would be incorrect to state either that development of cinema has taken place only due to the emergence and introduction of sound concept. Rather, development of cinema has been the result of several key factors. Some of these factors are development of color, cinematic technique, the rise of features, sound for silents, actors and acting and some other postwar developments (Harpole, 1980). The most popular way of inducing color into silent films was by tinting as well as toning. Tinting meant running the preferred footage by a bath of color dye, giving an overall color for any specific image. On the other hand, toning included a chemical process which replaced the black silver image with various colored metallic compound. Many directors used long shots for presenting theatre-like composition in most scenes and allowed actors to move along the stage. D.W. Griffith who was one of the first directors for recognizing how effective the modern techniques could be, had insisted to apply those techniques into filmmaking. He increased number of scenes where actors moved towards or away from the camera. He also staged various actions upon different planes of depth in the scene instead of one single line. He even broke scenes into many shots with placing of camera at different location. His work and innovative ideas and techniques impressed others and gradually those became the usual norms of filmmaking. With gradual passing of time crowd for cinema also increas. All silent cinemas were presented with background music. Many musical arrangements were made at different small and big theatres (Rodney Mader, 2009). The ear of 1910s was marked by the rise of actors and their acting skills that created a brand for themselves. Those actors had to be skilled enough to portray thoughts as well as emotions and avoid exaggeration in front of the camera. With some exceptions, cinema has always been focusing on its aspects of entertainment over artistic pretensions. People became interested in experiencing a popular form of art. Its impact was profound. By the mid 1910s, soon after invention, the various concepts of cinema had matured to greater extent. Such major improvements and developments in the film evolution like color, image ratio, sound, cinematic techniques, etc have resulted in the enhanced experiences of cinema and modern films. It was the new innovative concepts of filmmaking of some of the most capable and innovative directors and individuals that led to the increased development of the cinema(Nie and Liu, 2014). Thus besides technological advancements, there are other factors as well that led to the development of the cinema. The foremost steps within the analysis of a specific technological change include creating the basic structure of the industry under consideration, and it closet competitors during the years before such technological change. Nevertheless, it cannot be either denied that latest technologies have always been and even to this day continue to be developed to be applied in the world of cinema (Rodney Mader, 2009). Right from the invention of the projector to digital film-making, the continuous evolution has considerably changed the near future of the art form; however none perhaps so much as the introduction of sound. The story how sound concept emerged and how it became the inevitable requisite of filmmaking is quite interesting, and just like other anecdotes about early cinema, the concept centers around big deals, market control, and money. Thus, to conclude, technological determinism had proposed that the key driving force in the modern developments has been the technology. Once, technological advancements become available for a factor or something, change, improvement and enhancements are inevitable. However, the only problem with this is that may not happen every time. For instance, the authentic Edison phonograph patented in 1878 was evolved as a device to dictate business. It took almost a decade to be used for popular entertainment. This refers to the existence of other causes as well besides pure technological explanation, in adoption of innovative technology. Cinema is said to always embrace innovative approaches to view the world, realizing both technological as well as technical innovation. It has also realized the potential of every development (Rodney Mader, 2009). The evolution of synchronized sound with The Jazz Singer in the year 1928 was a major step; however some iconic filmmakers considered it to be re trograde measure for the artistry of the medium. In the same manner, color films satisfied logical form of destiny, although some have resisted. References Baumgarten, M. (2009). Science neutrality and technological determinism - a debate on technoscience; by Renato Dagnino.RECIIS, 3(2). Hacking: digital media and technological determinism. (2009).Choice Reviews Online, 46(10), pp.46-5659-46-5659. Jordan, T. (2009). Hacking and power: Social and technological determinism in the digital age.First Monday, 14(7). Nie, S. and Liu, Y. (2014). Discussion on the Digital Cinema Technology and its Development Trends.AMR, 989-994, pp.4226-4228. Rodney Mader, (2009). Print Culture Studies and Technological Determinism.College Literature, 36(2), pp.131-140. Yau Shuk-ting, Kinnia, (2009). The Early Development of East Asian Cinema in a Regional Context.Asian Studies Review, 33(2), pp.161-173. Harpole, C. (1980). Ideological and Technological Determinism in Deep-Space Cinema Images: Issues in Ideology, Technological History, and Aesthetics.Film Quarterly, 33(3), pp.11-22. Kindem, G. (1981). The Demise of Kinemacolor: Technological, Legal, Economic, and Aesthetic Problems in Early Color Cinema History.Cinema Journal, 20(2), p.3. Rodney Mader, (2009). Print Culture Studies and Technological Determinism.College Literature, 36(2), pp.131-140.

The Boundless Carbon Cycle free essay sample

Tom J. Battin, Sebastiaan Luyssaert, Louis A. Kaplan, Anthony K. Aufdenkampe, Andreas Richter and Lars J. Tranvik The terrestrial biosphere is assumed to take up most of the carbon on land. However, it is becoming clear that inland waters process large amounts of organic carbon and must be considered in strategies to mitigate climate change. A tmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increased from ~280 ppm before the industrial revolution to over 384 ppm in 2008 (ref. 1). This increase reflects only about half of the CO2 emissions from human activities; the other half has been sequestered in the oceans and on land2,3 (Box 1). Although the location and magnitude of continental carbon sinks remain uncertain4, they are assumed to lie within the terrestrial biosphere. We argue that inland waters have a significant role in the sequestration, transport and mineralization of organic Box 1 | Balancing the carbon cycle carbon. Integration of these fluxes into the traditional carbon cycle is needed for appropriate CO2 management and climate change mitigation. We will write a custom essay sample on The Boundless Carbon Cycle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Inland waters — such as ponds, lakes, wetlands, streams, rivers and reservoirs — permeate terrestrial ecosystems and often shape the Earth’s landscapes. Although only about 1% of the Earth’s surface is assumed to be covered by inland waters, their collective contribution to global carbon fluxes is substantial compared with terrestrial and marine ecosystems5–10. Specifically, current estimates carbon dioxide sinks Since 1750, continuously increasing anthropogenic CO2 emissions and land-use change have perturbed the natural carbon cycle. Of the 9. 1 Pg C yr–1 (1 Pg C = 1 petagram or 109 metric tons of carbon) emitted in this way between 2000 and 2006, 4. 1 Pg C yr–1 have accumulated in the atmosphere, 2. 2 Pg C yr–1 have been assigned to marine sequestration and the residual 2. 8 Pg C yr–1 have been assigned to sequestration within the terrestrial biosphere3. At regional and continental scales the terrestrial carbon sink has been evaluated by top-down and bottom-up carbon balances20,21. stimating from the top down In the top-down approach, the carbon balance from an atmospheric perspective is compiled by running an atmospheric transport model (the so-called inverse model) back in time. The distribution of sources and sinks at land and ocean surfaces is then optimized for observed atmospheric CO2 concentrations. This approach has confirmed the location of the residual carbon sink over continents. However, state-of-the-art inverse models have a spatial resolution too coarse to account for mo st inland waters. Therefore, CO2 outgassing from inland waters is assigned to terrestrial ecosystem respiration, blending the carbon sink in inland waters with the terrestrial carbon sink. scaling from the bottom up The bottom-up approach compiles the carbon balance by scaling up site-level observations of sinks and sources of croplands, grasslands and forests as the main land-use types. Inland waters are usually not considered among the main land-use types, with the exception of reservoirs for the carbon sink of the coterminous US4. Furthermore, study sites are typically located in uplands to catch a terrestrial signal with little interference from aquatic ecosystems. Consequently, carbon export from terrestrial ecosystems to inland waters is not typically accounted for in regional estimates that scale-up from the bottom-up approach. This in turn contributes to the discrepancy between estimates based on the bottom-up and top-down approaches. 598 suggest that inland waters transport, mineralize and bury ~2. 7 Pg C yr? 1 (ref. ; Fig. 1). This is similar to the size of the terrestrial carbon sink for anthropogenic emissions of 2. 8 Pg C yr? 1 (ref. 3). So far, carbon fluxes into and out of inland waters have received little attention in global-scale analyses. However, their quantification could prove critical for constraining estimates of terrestrial ecosystem fluxes, adequately integrating all vertical and lateral carbon fluxes over regional and global scales, and predicting feedbacks to climate change6,11,12. For example, because inland water fluxes are lateral, their consideration may reconcile the often large discrepancies between estimates of continental carbon balance measured at different scales (Box 1); such discrepancies are pronounced when it comes to the European11 and Amazon12 carbon budgets, for example. Furthermore, because the water cycle is exceptionally sensitive to climate change, water-borne carbon fluxes will inevitably respond to climate change. For example, larger storms will mean more intense erosion–deposition fluxes, which will transport a greater proportion of terrestrial carbon to inland waters. watery grave Approximately 0. 6 Pg C yr? 1 is buried in inland water sediments5 — this is equivalent to approximately 20% of the carbon assumed to be buried in terrestrial biomass and soils. Still, these estimates do not include long-term net carbon burial in floodplains and other near-water landscapes — a poorly constrained, but most probably signific ant, flux13. Sedimentary carbon often accumulates over thousands of years5,14 and thus represents a long-term carbon sink. Furthermore, in stable continental sedimentary basins some of the buried carbon may eventually enter the lithosphere. The greater prevalence of bottom-water anoxia in inland waters, nature geoscience | VOL 2 | SEPTEMBER 2009 | www. nature. com/naturegeoscience  © 2009 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved commentary compared with the ocean, inhibits sedimentary carbon decomposition and the release of carbon back into the atmosphere. The loss of organic carbon from terrestrial ecosystems and its subsequent burial in inland waters represents a redistribution of carbon sinks that must be taken into account in climate change mitigation strategies. The first step in managing carbon sequestration is to understand where it occurs and the processes that enhance and maintain it. For example, in regions with high erosion rates one might underestimate wholewatershed carbon sequestration by focusing exclusively on carbon accumulation rates in soils and terrestrial biomass. Furthermore, carbon buried in aquatic sediments will probably respond very differently to regional climate and land-use changes than carbon stored in soil. For example, when soil erosion is high, carbon sinks are more likely to shift from the land to inland waters. Consequently, sediment loads to inland waters increase, but reservoirs and impoundments retain and bury the sediments and their associated carbon5,9, ultimately reducing their transport to the ocean. It remains unclear, however, whether burial in inland waters represents a net increase in carbon sequestration rather than simply a translocation of a sink that would otherwise have occurred on land or, eventually, in the oceans15. The ‘conventional carbon cycle’2 blends outgassing from inland waters with fluxes of terrestrial ecosystem respiration, and underestimates the potential for lateral transport (Box 1). But terrestrially sourced organic carbon can also fuel secondary production by heterotrophic biota in inland waters. Globally, these biota respire 1. 2 Pg of terrestrial carbon each year and release it to the atmosphere5,6,8,10,. This flux is not recognized in the ‘conventional carbon cycle’, which pipes organic carbon from the land to the oceans, rather than processing it through biologically active inland waters2,8. When this outgassing source is considered in the continental carbon balance, ecosystem production — that is, the difference between annual terrestrial photosynthetic uptake and respiratory release — must be increased from the conventional estimate of 3. 2 Pg C yr–1 (ref. 2) to 4. 5 Pg C yr–1 to offset this release and close the carbon budget (Fig. 1). However, present emission estimates from inland waters are provisional and low because of difficulties associated with measuring the areal extent of inland waters and the partial pressure of CO2 and Atmospheric accumulaton 4. GPP: -120. 0, R: 115. 5 4. 5 (-4. 1 Ant, -0. 4 Nat) Weathering 0. 2 1. 2 GPP: -92. 2, R: 90. 7 1. 5 (-2. 1 Ant, 0. 6 Nat) 9. 1 Anthropogenic sources Ocean accumulation 2. 2 Land accumulation 2. 2 2. 7 Inland waters accumulation 0. 6 0. 2 0. 2 0. 9 Lithosphere Figure 1 | The ‘boundless carbon cycle’. The schematic highlights carbon fluxes through inland waters5, and also incl udes pre-industrial2 and anthropogenic3 fluxes. Values are net fluxes between pools (black) or rates of change within pools (red); units are Pg C yr–1; negative signs indicate a sink from the atmosphere. Gross fluxes from the atmosphere to land and oceans, and the natural (Nat) and anthropogenic (Ant) components of net primary production — the net uptake of carbon by photosynthetic organisms — are shown for land and oceans. Gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (R) are poorly constrained18,19; we therefore modified respiration to close the carbon balance. Non-biological dissolution of anthropogenic carbon dioxide by the oceans is included in these fluxes2. Fluxes to the lithosphere represent deposition to stable sedimentary basins, and the flux from the lithosphere to land represents erosion of uplifted sedimentary rocks2. inland outgassing gas exchange rates16,17; all these factors contribute to the underestimation of CO2 outgassing. Improved and higher estimates of CO2 emissions from inland waters will thus require even higher ecosystem production to close the carbon balance. A larger flux to the land would fit better with current independent regional estimates of net CO2 uptake by terrestrial ecosystems using bottom-up approaches18 (Box 1). Furthermore, expected land-use changes could exacerbate the climatic impact of inland outgassing. Most carbon mineralized in inland waters is released as CO2, but lakes, wetlands, and particularly reservoirs, also release methane — a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat more efficiently than an equal amount of CO2. The creation of reservoirs for hydroelectric power and agriculture will increase methane production5. However, dam removal to restore fisheries and riparianzone reforestation, with subsequent stream widening to improve water quality, may have the opposite effect. pportunities and challenges The significance of inland waters to carbon fluxes on land needs to be recognized. Rivers, lakes and wetlands are important factors for climate change, which should have a place in conceptual models of the global carbon cycle. A broader concept of a ‘boundless carbon cycle’ should motivate future working groups of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to pla ce inland waters on the map of global carbon cycling. The contribution of inland waters to global carbon cycling is not recognized within the Kyoto protocol. Based on our assessment, though admittedly preliminary, we argue that post-Kyoto negotiations should include inland waters as part of the 2009 United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen. Our concept of a ‘boundless carbon cycle’ would encourage policymakers to better appreciate the couplings between land and water and between the hydrological cycle and the carbon cycle. This would be a necessary step towards subsuming traditional land management under integrated watershed management as a tool to mitigate climate change. Integrated watershed management connects land and water when considering the effects of soil erosion, urbanization, riparianzone restoration and dam construction or removal, on carbon burial in — and outgassing from — inland waters. The ‘boundless carbon cycle’ would also promote the scientific exploration of fluxes of organic carbon across the 599 nature geoscience | VOL 2 | SEPTEMBER 2009 | www. nature. com/naturegeoscience  © 2009 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved commentary terrestrial–aquatic interface, its fate in inland waters and feedbacks with climate change. Collaborative investigations augmented by new observatories and experimental platforms for long-term research are necessary to achieve this. Specifically, we need to improve remote sensing of the global inland water surface area, water residence time and concentrations of organic carbon in these ecosystems. Furthermore, tropical and boreal ecosystems, potential sinks or sources of CO2, and polar ecosystems prone to loss of organic carbon from melting permafrost should receive more attention. This would address the current bias of our global estimates of aquatic carbon fluxes towards temperate ecosystems. If we decide to take up the challenge of managing the Earth’s surface carbon cycle as a way of mitigating anthropogenic carbon emissions, we cannot ignore the contribution of inland water any longer. Much work lies ahead for scientists to quantify carbon fluxes in streams, rivers and lakes, and for policymakers to incorporate these aquatic ecosystems into strategies for land-use regulations. ? Tom J. Battin1,2*, Sebastiaan Luyssaert3, Louis A. Kaplan4, Anthony K. Aufdenkampe4, Andreas Richter5 and Lars J.