Questões para Concursos

Atenção : Considere o texto abaixo para responder às questões de números 61 e 62.

Defining the Role of a Tax Auditor

The core function of a tax auditor is to examine financial records and supporting documentation against the figures reported on official returns, whether for individuals or corporations. This examination seeks to verify every line item, from gross receipts and reported income to specific deductions claimed for ordinary and necessary business expenses. A primary goal is to confirm that the taxpayer's stated liability aligns precisely with the relevant federal or state tax law.
The auditor works to identify discrepancies or misapplications of the law that may lead to an underpayment of taxes due. They scrutinize documentation that supports deductions, such as receipts for charitable depreciation claimed or substantiation for contributions. The auditor ultimately determines if the taxpayer owes additional tax, is due a refund, or if the return is accurate as filed.

(Adapted from https://legalclarity.org/what-is-a-tax-auditor-and-what-do-they-do/ )

Atenção : Considere o texto abaixo para responder às questões de números 69 e 70.

Why Audits Fail: A Story of Missteps and Lessons Learned

24 January 2025

Let's look at three common reasons why audits fall apart and see what we can learn from them.

1. ___[subtítulo]___

Picture an auditor walking into a company with a checklist and a laptop, ready to make sense of the chaos. But instead of finding clarity, they're handed a series of false assumptions. Maybe management paints an overly rosy picture of their processes. Or worse, the evidence provided is incomplete or outright fabricated. Imagine the frustration of trying to solve a puzzle when pieces are deliberately hidden or swapped out.
Sometimes it's not malicious - management might not even realize their statements are misleading. But the result is the same: the auditor can't do their job, and critical issues go unnoticed.

2 . A Lack of Skilled Resources

Now imagine the audit team itself. Maybe they're new, overwhelmed, or simply don't have the expertise needed to navigate the complexities of this organization. Instead of spotting red flags, they miss them - or worse, don't even know where to look.
Auditing isn't easy. It takes specialized knowledge to dig into systems, spot gaps in controls, and interpret what the data is really saying. Without skilled resources, even the most thorough audit plan can fall apart.

3 . No Support from the Organization

Finally, imagine the company itself. The audit team asks for access to critical systems but gets stuck waiting for approval. Employees avoid answering questions because they're either too busy or worried about saying the wrong thing. The systems in place are outdated, making it impossible to track down reliable data. At this point, it's like the auditor is running a race with their shoelaces tied together.
Auditors can't succeed without support. They need access to systems, cooperation from employees, and tools that make their job easier - not harder. When the organization doesn't provide this support, even the most well-intentioned audit is doomed.

How to Avoid a Failed Audit

So, how can we change the ending to this story? It comes down to preparation and collaboration. Here are a few things every organization can do:
- Be Transparent: Don't hide problems. Audits are there to help, not punish.
- Invest in Skills: Train your audit team and give them the tools they need to succeed.
- Foster a Supportive Culture: Make sure employees see audits as opportunities for growth, not something to fear.

(Adapted from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-audits-fail-story-missteps-lessons-learned-morfa-itil-cobit-5-1rghe/)

Atenção : Considere o texto abaixo para responder às questões de números 65 a 68.

Big Techs

When tax bills are in the millions or even billions, some individuals will go to any lengths to avoid paying up
RS, HMRC, FTS or CRA: whatever you like to call him, there's no hiding from the taxman. No individual or institution is immune from the annual tax deadline, although many aim to reduce what they pay as much as possible through regulatory loopholes and profit redistribution schemes.
When that tips over into illegal territory, though, it becomes a major problem. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that over $600bn is lost every year due to tax avoidance, with the US, China and Japan named as the greatest culprits.
Multinational technology companies including Google, Apple and Amazon have been slapped with multiple allegations in recent years regarding non-payment of taxes in Europe. In 2016, Apple was ordered to pay $15.4bn in back taxes to Ireland after it was revealed that the company paid just one percent tax on its European profits in 2003, down to 0.005 percent in 2014. That same year Google was accused of using two regulatory loopholes, nicknamed the 'double Irish', allowing it to pay just six percent corporation tax rather than the required 19.3 percent.
The Double Irish arrangement was a base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) corporate tax avoidance tool used mainly by United States multinationals since the late 1980s to avoid corporate taxation on non-US profits. (The US was one of a small number of countries that did not use a "territorial" tax system, and taxed corporations on all profits, no matter whether the profit was made outside the US or not, in contrast to "territorial" tax systems which tax only profits made within that country.) It was the largest tax avoidance tool in history. By 2010, it was shielding US$100 billion annually in US multinational foreign profits from taxation, and was the main tool by which US multinationals built up untaxed offshore reserves of US$1 trillion from 2004 to 2018.
Despite US knowledge of the Double Irish for a decade, it was the European Commission that in October 2014 forced Ireland to close the scheme, starting in January 2015. However, users of existing schemes, such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Pfizer, were given until January 2020 to close them.
At the announcement of the closure, it was known that multinationals had replacement BEPS tools in Ireland, the Single Malt (2014), and Capital Allowances for Intangible Assets (CAIA) (2009):
- Single malt is almost identical to the Double Irish, and was identified with Microsoft (LinkedIn), and Allergan in 2017;
- CAIA can provide up to twice the tax shield of Single Malt, or Double Irish, and was identified with Apple in the 2015 leprechaun economics affair, i.e., a huge statistical distortion in Ireland's GDP caused by Apple's tax restructuring. The company transferred intangible assets to its Irish subsidiary, which artificially inflated the country's GDP by more than 26.3% in a single year (later revised to 24.6%), an absurd leap for a relatively small economy. This growth did not reflect real production, but rather Apple's tax inversion of about US$ 300 billion of its intangible assets (mainly intellectual property) to Ireland.

(Adapted from https://www.worldfinance.com/wealth-management/top-5-tax-scandals)

A new William Hope Hodgson blog

Welcome to Hodgsoniana, a new blog about the life and works of author William Hope Hodgson (1877- 1918). The aim of this blog is to provide a home for articles and new research on Hodgson, details of Hodgson-related happenings, and just generally act as an up-to-date (hopefully) resource that’s open to anyone interested in this remarkable literary figure. At time of writing, there is a lack of other active websites covering this subject, which is why starting a blog seemed a worthwhile endeavour. At the very least, it gives me a place to post some Hodgson-related thoughts and findings I’ve been meaning to write up! My hope is that others may be moved to contribute also.
Before going any further, I want to recognise the work of the late Hodgson scholar Sam Gafford, and in particular his excellent Hodgson blog williamhopehodgson.wordpress.com. I first stumbled upon Sam’s blog back in 2016, and his work opened my eyes to the depths and complexities of Hodgson’s history and writings. I entered into brief correspondence with Sam at that time, and his enthusiasm and encouragement were key factors in starting me on the path of pursuing my own Hodgson studies.
Sam Gafford sadly passed away in 2019, leaving his site dormant. It remains a valuable treasure trove of information, and I will certainly aspire to follow Sam’s example in exploring and documenting all matters Hodgson.
2027 will see the 150th anniversary of William Hope Hodgson’s birth. There is still much to discuss regarding his work, and many areas of his life remain obscure and in need of further investigation. I hope this site can help in encouraging and chronicling such efforts.
Source: https://hodgsoniana.wordpress.com/2025/06/22/a-new-william-hope-hodgson-blog/ access on 28 february 2026.

A new William Hope Hodgson blog

Welcome to Hodgsoniana, a new blog about the life and works of author William Hope Hodgson (1877- 1918). The aim of this blog is to provide a home for articles and new research on Hodgson, details of Hodgson-related happenings, and just generally act as an up-to-date (hopefully) resource that’s open to anyone interested in this remarkable literary figure. At time of writing, there is a lack of other active websites covering this subject, which is why starting a blog seemed a worthwhile endeavour. At the very least, it gives me a place to post some Hodgson-related thoughts and findings I’ve been meaning to write up! My hope is that others may be moved to contribute also.
Before going any further, I want to recognise the work of the late Hodgson scholar Sam Gafford, and in particular his excellent Hodgson blog williamhopehodgson.wordpress.com. I first stumbled upon Sam’s blog back in 2016, and his work opened my eyes to the depths and complexities of Hodgson’s history and writings. I entered into brief correspondence with Sam at that time, and his enthusiasm and encouragement were key factors in starting me on the path of pursuing my own Hodgson studies.
Sam Gafford sadly passed away in 2019, leaving his site dormant. It remains a valuable treasure trove of information, and I will certainly aspire to follow Sam’s example in exploring and documenting all matters Hodgson.
2027 will see the 150th anniversary of William Hope Hodgson’s birth. There is still much to discuss regarding his work, and many areas of his life remain obscure and in need of further investigation. I hope this site can help in encouraging and chronicling such efforts.
Source: https://hodgsoniana.wordpress.com/2025/06/22/a-new-william-hope-hodgson-blog/ access on 28 february 2026.

A new William Hope Hodgson blog

Welcome to Hodgsoniana, a new blog about the life and works of author William Hope Hodgson (1877- 1918). The aim of this blog is to provide a home for articles and new research on Hodgson, details of Hodgson-related happenings, and just generally act as an up-to-date (hopefully) resource that’s open to anyone interested in this remarkable literary figure. At time of writing, there is a lack of other active websites covering this subject, which is why starting a blog seemed a worthwhile endeavour. At the very least, it gives me a place to post some Hodgson-related thoughts and findings I’ve been meaning to write up! My hope is that others may be moved to contribute also.
Before going any further, I want to recognise the work of the late Hodgson scholar Sam Gafford, and in particular his excellent Hodgson blog williamhopehodgson.wordpress.com. I first stumbled upon Sam’s blog back in 2016, and his work opened my eyes to the depths and complexities of Hodgson’s history and writings. I entered into brief correspondence with Sam at that time, and his enthusiasm and encouragement were key factors in starting me on the path of pursuing my own Hodgson studies.
Sam Gafford sadly passed away in 2019, leaving his site dormant. It remains a valuable treasure trove of information, and I will certainly aspire to follow Sam’s example in exploring and documenting all matters Hodgson.
2027 will see the 150th anniversary of William Hope Hodgson’s birth. There is still much to discuss regarding his work, and many areas of his life remain obscure and in need of further investigation. I hope this site can help in encouraging and chronicling such efforts.
Source: https://hodgsoniana.wordpress.com/2025/06/22/a-new-william-hope-hodgson-blog/ access on 28 february 2026.

Text CB1A2

Currently, the Digital Euro has not been launched — though there are signs that a launch may be coming sooner rather than later. By October 2025, the ECB (European Central Bank) has indicated a second phase of the preparation for the Digital Euro. By then, the ECB will have prepared an outreach plan, procurement standards, and technology providers.
The Digital Euro has potential downsides, many of them echoed in the other launches of central bank digital currencies. For example, the central bank will become a technology company focused on procurement with central points of failure. This was a breeding ground for corruption for the bureaucrat fortunate enough to make these technical choices in China.
While the Digital Euro is slated to “coexist” with cash, this also comes when EU (European Union) nations are voting on ending end-to-end encryption (a critical digital privacy tool) and have started to restrict cash with limits being placed on how much you can spend in cash to accelerate its slow demise.
User privacy is said to be the ECB’s “chief concern” as it has been designing the central bank’s digital currency. Certainly, the ECB is aware of public perception that has negative surveillance, control, and privacy implications in mind. The ECB has been at pains to say that the Digital Euro will “coexist” with cash and that unlike the e-CNY (China’s central bank digital coin) it will not be tied to a “social credit” score or place limits on how money is spent.
A big part of the ECB’s drive towards the Digital Euro is to compete and pry Europeans away from Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and “stablecoins”.
Central bank digital currencies are a direct liability of the central bank. Since the central bank has the power to issue currency, this means that the central bank can essentially create “digital euros” if it wishes to. The architecture and data within a central bank digital currency are usually built completely by the central bank supported by private vendors of its choice. In China, the central bank has turned away from a distributed ledger technology to a centralized data store, in which the technical details are pretty scant. Hence, the central bank controls everything, and the system has no external access.

Internet: http://www.forbes.com/sites (adapted).

Atenção : Para responder às questões de números 21 a 23, oonsidere o texto a seguir.

Climate change can affect mental health. Now these Californians are doing something about it

by Shreya Agrawal
October 10, 2023

The facts of climate change can lead to feelings of hopelessness and despair. Some California activists are creating communities for people to talk about those feelings.
Maksim Batuyev's college studies on the climate crisis left him feeling depressed.
"I was questioning the sheer gravity of it all and how all of it is systemic. None of it has an easy solution, he said. "That really started to bring me into some dark places."
During his senior year at Michigan State University, in 2020, he started talking online to people from around the world about their emotions related to climate change, which ranged from feeling overwhelmed and scared about the future to grieving the parts of nature that have already been lost.
"They sounded just like me," he said. "And it sounded like too much for one person to take on."
He decided to do something about it. ln 2022, he and climate activist Cindy Pace started informal gatherings in Los Angeles to talk about climate emotions. These groups, commonly known as climate cafes, encourage various kinds of people to come together and talk about their climate feelings in moderated discussions.
Those meetups represent one of the small ways young Californians are beginning to address the global climate crisis as a mental health crisis. Popular organizations and nonprofits are offering community-based therapy solutions, such as climate cafes, urban gardens and other events where people can come together and talk. Some are turning to nature-based therapy, also known as ecotherapy, which involves spending time in nature to enable growth and healing.
But mental health advocates say the largely popular-driven efforts are not nearly enough to meet the needs of younger generations. Mental health advocates say they need more resources and funding to build stronger community-based systems and provide a good alternative to therapy, which can often be expensive and less accessible.
"lt's clear young people are focused on climate change and for good reason. A lot of past policies, actions, and inactions have created a situation that has folks very worried about the future, and I share that worry," said state Senator Ben Allen, the Redondo Beach Democrat who sponsored the 2021 budget item that funded the school program. "I hope that elected officials, industry leaders, and others in positions of power listen to what they're asking for and respond with the urgency it demands."
But the ultimate cure to eco-anxiety, Batuyev said, is "to solve the climate problem."

(Adapted from https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2023/10/climate-change-california-youth-mental-health/)

Atenção: Para responder às questões de números 29 e 30, considere o texto a seguir.

lt's time for innovation to transform education

lt's no secret that the U.S. education system is facing numerous challenges. The standardized, one-size-fits-all approach focuses on memorization and rote learning styles, often failing to cater to the unique needs and talents of individual students. This lack of personalization can lead to disengagement and poor outcomes, leaving students feeling unmotivated and unprepared for life outside of school.
Innovation in education needs funding. But there's a catch: To receive funding, entrepreneurs usually need to show proof of concept - that their idea works.
That can be tricky for education entrepreneurs who want to think outside of the box. ln the United States, the trusted old models receive funding from legislators because they use old measures and assessments to decide "what works" in traditional models. But it's exactly those old models and measures that need to be transformed.
Academic achievement among American students continues to fal1 behind their global counterparts: According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. students rank 28 out of 37 across international countries in math proficiency and similarly low in reading and science.
The fact is, in the U.S., education, from 1st to 12th grade, has long been more about tradition than innovation. For generations, our schooling experience has experienced little change. Our school may look the same as our parents' schools and their schools looked the same as their parents' did. lt was more about listening to lectures, memorizing facts, and writing essays than it was about exploring the things that make you uniquely you.
What if education and imagination could be synonymous? That is the vision the VELA Education Fund wants to serve through their work providing backing for a variety of education models for U.S. school system students.
This nonprofit has flipped the script from handing large amounts of money to a select few individuals to offering millions of dollars in smal1 grants to thousands of everyday entrepreneurs. This model generates new approaches to education in founders' communities. These creatives share a self-starting spirit, a desire to meet the needs of the learners and families they serve, and a willingness to stretch the canvas on the "where, how, and when" of school.
VELA 's model is unique because it instills trust and encourages autonomy in these educators, believing that those closest to the problem should be designing its solutions. Unlike other grants, VELA doesn't require as much proof of concept ahead of investment, allowing for funding to drive the outcomes - not the other way around. By giving out smaller grants to a larger pool of applicants, it is able to fund a more diverse array of ideas, experiences, and types of education institutions. These smaller grants also allow recipients to take more risks and get more creative.
"We limit our potential when we limit the people who have access to opportunities, to drive social change," said Meredith Olson, president of VELA. "A few thousand dollars to the right person can fuel innovation to a scale we never expected was imaginable."
So far, VELA has given out more than $35 million in grants to nearly 2,500 recipients - including microschool founders, homeschool leaders, and many others - who are serving more than 5 million students nationwide. The organization's continued support sends a strong message to other education funders: Trust that families and educators know how to support their learners best, and empower them with opportunities to do so.

(Adapted from Why we need more innovation in education & VELA Education Fund Catalyzes lnnovation in Education)

Atenção : Para responder às questões de números 24 a 27, considere o texto a seguir.

Some ways to reinvent affordable housing in a post-pandemic world
Jan 20, 2022

When more than 90 countries issued stay-at-home orders during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 1 billion people across the globe sheltered in slums and informal settlements. Yet, these necessary public health measures offer scant defence against this potentially deadly virus if housing conditions are unsafe. The urgency of the pandemic response spotlighted an inescapable truth: chronic lack of safe and affordable housing in both advanced economies and developing nations is one of the biggest drivers of health and wealth disparities in our world.
As we grapple with how to adapt to ongoing waves of the virus and move towards rebuilding healthier, more equitable societies, we must expand the global supply of affordable housing by focusing on innovations that champion public health, sustainability and scalability. These three inextricably linked pillars can drive a new global housing framework that creates more equitable access to affordable housing and, as a result, improves health outcomes, fortifies disaster resilience and mitigates environmental impact.

Strategies and mindsets to reinvent affordable housing

1. Home as a health solution
The connections between health and home have long been recognized by the medical community. Poor housing conditions have been linked to debilitating illnesses, from respiratory conditions to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and influenza, and diarrhea, which is among the leading causes of childhood death worldwide. ln many cases, simple upgrades to a home's roof, windows and floor can have a transformational impact on the health of a family and its surrounding community. A 2007 World Bank study found that replacing a home's dirt floors with concrete can lead to "a 78 percent reduction in parasitic infestations, a 49 percent reduction in diarrhea, an 81 percent reduction in anemia and a 36 to 96 percent improvement in cognitive development."
But even these small upgrades remain out of reach for many families. ln emerging markets, it is common for households to build shelter incrementally as finances allow - a process that can take up to 30 years. The work starts and stops as resources are available, often resulting in increased construction costs and inconsistent quality of materials over time.
Housing entrepreneurs are working to bring affordable, scalable solutions to families that can mitigate preventable, life-threatening health concerns and can truly reinvent affordable housing. ln Rwanda, upgrading to a concrete floor can cost more than two months' wages for the average family. Non-profit startup EarthEnable is working with African governments to support housing policy, and is using local materials and labour to provide an earthen floor altemative that delivers the sarne benefits as concrete at a quarter of the price.
As families strive to upgrade their homes, they need access - both physical and economical - to building products that will keep them safer.
2. lnvesting in sustainable methods that work
ln addition to addressing the connections between housing and health, trailblazers like EarthEnable are proving that affordable solutions can also be green solutions. By sourcing materiais locally, they are streamlining supply chains, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating employment opportunities within the community.
With the construction sector consuming over 3 billion tons of raw materials each year - more than any other industry - we need to be more intentional about leveraging sustainable and recycled supplies. Again, startups are leading the way, leveraging low-cost modernizations for everything from lighting fixtures to pavers that are five to seven times more durable than concrete. ln India, ReMaterials recycles packaging and agricultural waste into modular roof panels for families living in slums. These roofs have been shown to reduce a home's indoor air temperature by 10 degrees Celsius, improving quality of life and decreasing the risk of heatstroke.
Governments and housing non-profits have a critical role to play in ensuring that startups developing these green affordable housing innovations can scale their products and get them to vulnerable communities in greatest need.
3. Scaling to reach 1 billion homes
The need to create more adequate housing opportunities around the world continues to grow exponentially as over 3 million people move to cities every week. Therefore, we must also sustainably and rapidly scale-up new construction.
Entrepreneurs around the world are rethinking housing construction from the ground up to produce more efficient solutions.
Increasing affordable housing supply also requires us to think differently about how we use and prioritize space. By emphasizing spatial needs and constraints in planning new developments, we can improve quality of life by enabling people to live closer to where they work while reducing traffic and environmental impact. Furthermore, data shows that mixed-income neighbourhoods produce better long-term health outcomes and economic mobility for individuals and families.
Governments, corporations and civil society have important roles to play in advancing disruptive solutions to the chronic shortage of safe, affordable housing around the globe. By supporting innovators with the capacity to expand quickly and effectively, together we can embrace a new global housing framework centred on sustainable and scalable shelter solutions. Only through collaboration can we reinvent affordable housing.

(Adapted from https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/01/reinvent-affordable-housing-post-covid19-world-habitat-for-humanity/)