In India, Ward particularly likes software firms, which are globally competitive and typically use U.S. GAAP accounting, and consumer-goods distribution companies, many of which are locally listed subsidiaries of shareholder-friendly multinationals.

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Facing down early skeptics, she merged two failing yeast companies, streamlined distribution, cleaned up the accounting and put them in the black after a year.

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In the early 1990s, manufacturers began to see the value of single enterprise-wide resource planning solutions that integrated manufacturing, logistics, distribution, inventory, shipping and accounting.

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The corporate labs, offices, factories, warehouses, distribution centers, retail outlets, customer service, repairing outlets, and finance and accounting departments exist because of me, to serve and accommodate my needs and desires.

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Meanwhile, uncorrupt, globally competitive companies like Matsushita, Toyota and Sony are accounting for an ever greater share of Japan's GDP while inefficient, corrupt sectors like construction, distribution and agriculture wither.

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Some states mandate tedious inventory and accounting rules for probate, while others allow the beneficiaries to simply sign off on the executor's proposed distribution.

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AbbVie will likely pay the larger dividend, but with overseas markets accounting for a significant portion of operations, the company could incur a tax bill to repatriate profits to cover the distribution.

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