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Wahid’s Belief – learn which accounting method is superior for your big business

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Wahid’s Belief – learn which accounting method is superior for your big business

Author comments: I have expressed about an ‘Accrual basis accounting and cash basis accounting’ method and the difference between these methods through a short, essay & plain approach in one of my articles “Wahid’s guess” I believe the learners would have understand about both of accounting method,

 

Now, in this article I have presented that which accounting method is better for an organization accounting structure, Again I have explained the meaning of two methods and others important elements for comprehend an students and readers so as to  below

 

Introduction: In cooperation Accrual and Cash are methods are approved by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for small business. Only the Accrual method is acceptable for large businesses. For the reason that of Social Security Administration’s (SSA) dealing of income from self-employment, one method may be beneficial over the other, during this article I have mentioned which accounting method is better for an organization accounting structure

 

 

Meaning Accrual basis Accounting:

It is a method of accounting in which transaction are entered in the books of accounts, In accrual basis accounting, income is reported in the financial period it is earned, anyway when it is received, and expenses are deducted in the financial period they are incurred, In the Accrual method of accounting transactions are recorded when they happen rather than when the money is received or paid. This makes the accounting slightly more difficult because business  are dealing with goods that have been purchased but not paid for and sales that have been made but the cash has not been collected. Business record both revenues and expenses when they occur. For that reason, the focus is on the recording of flow of resources like labour, goods, services and capital. The related cash flow may take place after some time or it may or may not take place in the same accounting period.

 

Meaning Cash basis Accounting:

In the Cash method of accounting the business is run like a checkbook. When goods and services are purchased and paid for, they are recorded. When products are sold and the cash collected No consideration is given to the “due” fact of the transaction. This system of accounting is simple to understand and as such needs less skill on the part of the accountant. Its whole focus is on cash management. The recognition trigger is simply the flow of cash. Budgetary and legislative compliance is easier under this system. An example of the cash basis would be a sale of goods in January, but the money is not received from the customer until February. Under the Cash Basis of accounting, this would be considered income in February. If attendance at a trade show was planned for May but had to be paid for in March, in a cash basis accounting it would be expensed when it was paid for in March. This method of accounting.

 

 

Recompense or Advantages of the Accrual method Accounting

 

The method of Accrual Accounting as retaining the advantages of the Cash Accounting System overcomes its limitations or restrictions by addition of Cash Flow Statement in the Financial Statement of the entity. The major rewards are as below

 

I. As the accrual method shows the recede and flow of business income and debts more exactly, it may depart you in the gloomy as to what cash funds are obtainable,

 

II. Accrual accounting helps in the measurement of financial presentation by properly reflecting surplus/deficit as all expenses whether paid or not and all incomes whether received or not are duly accounted for.

 

III. Accrual accounting afford comprehensive information on expenses which helps in knowing the cost consequences of policies and enables comparison with different policies. Also, information about calculation of financial assistance can be extracted from the accounts, which helps in its validation. This ensures the adoption of best policy, which in turn assures best use of sparse resources. It also helps in determining the future sustainability of programmes

 

IV. Accrual method provides disclosures on account of dependent assets and dependent liabilities so that risk connected with the guarantees issued and letters of console given can be better assessed by the user of the financial statements

 

V. Accrual method discloses the Accounting Policies used in the groundwork of Financial Statements for better accepting and approval of the Financial Statements.

 

Restrictions Limitations of Accrual method accounting: this could result in serious cash flow problem. For case in point, your income ledger may show thousands of dollars in sales, although in reality your bank account is empty for the reason that your customers haven’t paid you yet.

 

The Restrictions or limitations of cash method accounting:

 

The method of cash accounting gives a wrong picture of income received, as advance tax receipts are recognized as income the major Restrictions or limitations are as below

I. It does not provide the complete picture of the financial position i.e. information on assets and liabilities are not available for fixed assets (land, building, machineries, heritage assets etc.)

II. It does not give the full information on current assets e.g. accrued income like outstanding royalty, fees, service charges, tax arrears etc. other than No information about capital work-in-progress like dams, power plants, roads and bridges etc. is available

III. It ignores certain transactions by not recording expenditure already incurred but payment not made e.g. supplies made, salary, telephone charges, overdue interest etc. and also revenue earned but cash not received e.g. license fees, services delivered (electricity, water etc.)

IV. It gives a wrong picture of income received, as advance tax receipts are recognized as income.

V. It provides room for fiscal opportunism e.g. tax revenues can be collected in excess during a particular period followed by high incidence of refunds together with interest, payments can be easily deferred and passed on to the next financial year, revenue due in the future could be compromised by providing for one time payments.

 

Due to the above disadvantages, it is not potential to get the real picture of the management financial performance and position.

 

Recompense or Advantages of the cash method accounting: the cash method provides a more exact picture of how much actual cash your business has; it may offer a confusing picture of longer-term profitability. Under the cash method, for case, firm books may show one month to be hugely profitable, when really sales have been slow and, by coincidence, a lot of credit customers paid their bills in that month. To have a firm and true thoughtful of business’s finances,

 

Mode of choosing an Accounting Method: When, how, & why we can choose whichever accounting method from both. (Accrual & cash method accounting) Most small businesses (with sales of less than million per year) are free to accept either accounting method. When we must use the accrual accounting method. We must use the accrual method if: our business has sales of more than million per year, or our business stocks an inventory of items that we will sell to the public and our  gross receipts are over million per year. Inventory includes any commodities our sell, as well as supplies that will physically become part of an item intended for sale. Either method we use, it’s important to realize that either one gives we only a partial picture of the financial status of our business

 

Techniques to choose which accounting method is better for organizations accounting structure

 

The cash method and the accrual method (sometimes called cash basis and accrual basis) are the two principal methods of keeping track of a business’s income and expenses. In most cases, we can choose which method to use. In this article I have explain. How they work and the advantages and disadvantages of each. so we can choose the better one from both accounting method for our business.

 

These methods are different only in the timing of when communication, including sales and purchases, are credited or debited to your accounts. Here’s how each works: the cash method. The cash method is the more normally used method of accounting in small business. Under the cash method, income is not counted until cash (or a check) is actually received, and expenses are not counted until they are actually paid.

 

Case in point: One of the businesses finishes a job in November, and doesn’t get paid until three months later in January. Beneath the cash method, we would record the payment in January. Beneath the accrual method, we would record the income in our November books.

 

The accrual method transactions are counted when the order is made, the item is delivered, or the services occur, regardless of when the money for them (receivables) is actually received or paid. In additional income is counted when the sale occurs, and expenses are counted when we receive the goods or services. We don’t have to wait until you see the money, or actually pay money out of our checking account, to record a transaction.

 

Another case in point: We purchase a new computer on credit in October and pay ,000 for it in December, two months later. Using the cash method, we would record a ,000 payment for the month of December, the month when the money is actually paid. Under the accrual method, we would record the ,000 payment in October, when we take the computer and become obligated to pay for it.

 

Why Accrual Accounting vital?

 

The extent of economic events that occur over a period of time has become more and more complex in the 21st century. There is now a common shove near accrual accounting as a technique of growing the international comparability of national economic accounting standards.

 

For this reasons of equally government and corporate decision-making strategy as well as fundamental analysis, it is important to calculate economic trial in the time period when they essentially occur as opposed to the period when monetary dealings are made. In some cases, payments under government social programs, such as Medicaid grants, are dependent on formulas attached to personal income; inaccurate revenue inference may lead to beneath- or overpayment of curriculum settlement. Further commonly, accrual dimension of economic series is significant for the accurate estimate of economic trends over time.

 

Conclusion: The best represents the authentic condition (in other words the “true and fair” view) should be used. If proceeds from tax is not calculable and is vague or complicated to understand, then the accurate standard would be to identify such income on cash basis. The accrual-based system that basically follows the ethics of conservatism and measurability requires that we “expected no gains, but afford for losses”. In the background of government accounting, recognizing expenditure on accrual basis meets the criteria of conservatism, measurability and achievability

 

MHOHAMMAD WAHID ABDULLAH KHAN

S/O MOHAMMAD SAADULLAH KHAN

Dhaka, Bangladesh

 

Mr. Mohammad Wahid Abdullah Khan is the Project director of “Max Textiles Ltd”.Mr. Wahid has been in accounting field since 1999. Prior to that he had completed over ten (10) years in various fields of Business like – Accounts, Finance, Internal & External Audit, project budgeting and project costing related positions in some of the largest group companies & the join venture companies in Bangladesh.

 

He consults about small- medium business owners and services professionals, business consulting service and project process. He is most experience in Financial Risk Assessment, Financial analysis, Financial Advising and Project Cost Analysis. He has published more than 100 articles & case study in different international journals. Such as Business, finance, personal finance, international finance, auditing, Risk assessment topic and performance & industrial related,

 

Mr. khan’s most popular articles is  ”WAK” Model - The way of best solution for an organization internal audit process,( 1st,2nd,& 3rd part) WAK” Model- for successful financial resource , “Wahid khan“- cost analysis,Wahid theory the key of dynamic series for successful financial consulting, Wahid techniques – the Significance and dependability manner for Performance audit(1st,2nd,& 3rd part) Wahid’s Opinion - non-conformity among the performance audit and financial audit,Wahid’s view- The cogent task and the confront of financial/economic analysis in the modern business decision making , Wahid’s outlook- The Business Financial Analysis Should Be Included several required Documents with the analysis report or plan, WAHID’S JUDGMENT- difference strategic plan as opposed to an operational plan ,WAHID’S METHODthe charismatic and fruitful guideline for financial investment decision making ,WAHID’S MEASURE - the influential and evaluated of similarity between profit & non- profit business planning

& Wahid’s philosophy- The examined & careful consideration of strategic planning against business planning, PPBS MODEL,

 

 

he has consulted with more than 25 service & product companies,  in recent years Mr. khan has been spending most of his professional time for financial consulting , Mr. Wahid is the owner of “WAM” Associates and “WAK” business solutions;

 

 


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The fundamentals of accounting explained in a couple of minutes
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January 9, 2011   No Comments

Dynamic Culture of Accounting Profession

Dynamic Culture of Accounting Profession

Dynamic Culture of Accounting Profession

Sean Lowery

Cost Accounting 303

October 25, 2009

In the business world, the Accounting profession has been referred to by many as the “language of business.” The field is defined as the study of how businesses track their income and assets over time. Duties involve preparing financial statements, computing costs, and developing certain tax strategies. Accountants, today, work as consultants in business. They advise management in many different financial decisions and are involved in many business transactions.  An accountant must possess a wide variety of skills. Analytical skills, computer skills, and communication skills are all necessary to have in the profession.  The changing atmosphere of the accounting profession has resulted in a more demanding curriculum, but allows for many diverse job options in accounting.

Accounting has undergone many changes over the past several decades that have changed the field drastically. Globalization is a key factor that changed the profession and how it is defined. Since many companies are now going overseas, the need for a set international standard of accounting is needed. For example, more investors are looking overseas for possible investment opportunities, so reliable information from an international company is needed.  Accounting professionals must keep up with globalization by providing more accurate and up-to-date information.  They must understand foreign companies’ business practices and business laws. Another factor that contributes to the changing environment of the field of Accounting is the increase regulations and government control. Financial accounting usually is overseen by the Federal Accounting Standards Board, FASB. Accountants must also conform to the principles which are outlined in the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, GAAP. In the past decade, a handful of incidents have called for changes in regulations. Major scandals include the incident of Enron and TYCO electronics. In response to these scandals, the federal government has created the Sarbanes Oxley Act. This law set new standards that would enhance companies’ reliability and accuracy in their financial reporting. Many aspects of the legislation provided significant changes, particularly in how auditing is conducted. These changes call for companies to spend millions of dollars to keep in compliance of the new legislation. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 also allowed for changes that greatly affects internal users such as managers and executives.  New industries have also called for major changes in the Accounting profession.  In the future, changes will occur that will increase the outlook for accounting majors. Many current accountants are retiring or a few years away.

The accounting field is increasingly becoming more demanding. To keep up with the dynamic culture of accounting, the curriculum and standards for accounting has become stricter. The highest certification for an accountant is passing the Certified Public Accountant exam, CPA. This rigorous exam is composed of four parts, which include auditing, financial accounting and reporting, regulation, and business environment. Before, people gained the certification by simply passing the four part exam. However, in the past decade, new requirements have been set before a person can sit for the exam. For many states, it is now required to have 150 semester hours and two years experience in public accounting. Specifically in Pennsylvania, the 150 hours and two years of public accounting experience will be implemented in the 2011. The reason for this change is to make the accounting field a more technical field. It also allows people to be better prepared to work in the changing environment of businesses today. They will be better prepared to tackle new challenges in the field such as working with advancing technology and dealing with more complex business decisions. The 150 hour requirement eliminates any inconsistencies between state-to-state regulations. Accountants will be able to work in other states without conforming to the specific standards the state has in place. The new consistency of standards between states is needed in today’s high tech, global environment. The new requirements benefits business is so many ways. After finishing a bachelous degree in Accounting, many go on to get a Masters in accounting or get an MBA, Masters of Business Administration. The added education illustrates the commitment to the profession which can only be a benefit.  Even though there will be an increase demand for accountants, many people are choosing not to enter the major because of the increase in requirements for CPA’s and government regulations. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, AICPA, stated that between 1996 and 2000, the number of students pursuing an accounting degree decreased by 25%. However, the percentage of people who pass the CPA for the first time had increased. The decrease of people pursuing an accounting degree is contributing to a likelihood of substantial salary increases for CPA’s This can be explained by the implementation of the 150 hour rule.

Accounting offers many opportunities and job options. Many new opportunities have been created due to the changing culture of Accounting. Before, accounting graduates would enter into the field with a good mindset of what they were going to do. For many who obtained their bachelors in Accounting, they were most likely going to work in a big four firm, attempt to certified, and advance within the career. The Big Four firms include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, and KPMG. Specifically, the new industries created in the past decade helped to offer more opportunities in Accounting. New industries lead to more specialization in Accounting. Instead of accountants doing a wide variety of tasks at a big firm, Accountants are working in small or mid-sized CPA firms. These smaller firms focus on a specific type of company or size of company. Examples of these firms include BDO Seidman, Grant Thornton, and RSM McGladrey. Biotechnology, environmental business, telecommunications all require accountants to operate efficiently. A new trend for accounting majors is the increase in non accounting field. Many accounting majors end up working in careers related to finance, management, marketing, or even computer science. Accountants, in the past, were not necessarily considered to be consultants. They explained costs and assets, but were not in control over profit gaining. Making accountants influence in revenue generation allows for more options in the career. Many accountants take jobs as in budget analysis. Budget analysis involves developing and managing organizations financial plans.  Managerial Accounting very much involves consulting with top management on strategies to maximize profits. A popular trend in the Accounting field is tax strategy. Accountants who have knowledge on federal tax regulations may pursue career options in developing tax strategies and increasing profits. Women are especially experience more opportunities in Accounting. There has been a large increase of women accounting graduates and many go on to work in variety of different careers. Some women accountants end up working in financial institutions, education, health care institutions, etc. Many Accounting majors are pursuing careers in the FBI. Many accountants who work for the FBI work as forensic accounting. Forensic accounting involves investigating white collar crime. The need for forensic accounting is increasing as a result of white collar scandals in the past decade.

In conclusion, the accounting profession has undergone many changes, which calls for a more demanding curriculum and more job options. Accounting remains to be and will always be considered to be the language of business. The field is now more than just how businesses track their income. Accountants carry a wide variety of skills, many of which who have developed new skills in the past few decades. It is correct to say that accountants are now consultants who are involved in advising management.

Cuddy, B. (1992, Summer). New career paths in accounting. Massachusetts CPA Review, 66(3), 8. Retrieved October 24, 2007, from Business Source Premier database.

Business Credit. (2002, October). Working Smart: New Education Requirement Poses Challenges for Accounting. Business Credit, 8. Retrieved October 24, 2007, from Business Source Premier database.

Warner, J. (2007, September). The New Specialists. Directorship, 44(7). Retrieved October 24, 2007, from Business Source Premier database.


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December 24, 2010   No Comments

Accounting Principles

Accounting Principles

In all, there are nine accounting principles that are used to prepare all business accounts. Any business accounts that are created using any of these principles, are deemed by the professionals in the accounting world, as accounts that were prepared with principles that are generally accepted by all accountants throughout the world.

If these principles were not used, and financial data was just thrown together haphazardly, then the accounting for your companies accounts, would be complicated to say the least. All of these nine accounting principles will help to keep your corporate accounting needs straight, and in a methodical method that every accountant will be able to understand.

The mother of all accounting principles is the accrual principle, and will ensure that all of the business revenues and expenses are methodically recorded when the money is earned, and not when it is paid for. There is a set way that money is recognized in the accounting world of high financed businesses, and the principles of revenue recognition are followed to make sure the recognition is interpreted right.

Accountants will use a historical cost principle when they are filling in the financial data for your business accounts. These accounts can glace at a balance sheet, and see what the price of the item that was sold, cost the company that they are recording business accounts records for. There are other account transactions that might be confused with this principle, and that is the current cost accounting feature.

For financial records to be consistent, accountants often require their clients to methodically record their financial transactions using the consistency principles. This way their financial information is recorded the same, time after time, and there will be no confusion over the entries after a long period of time.

If other principles are mixed with the constancy principles, the end result may provide the wrong financial figures. Tax auditors find that this will be the case in businesses that are performing illegal activities, and do not want to leave a lot of financial information that can be easily traced, and legitimate business do not want to leave this bad impression on such a major faction such as the Internal Revenue Service.

To keep financial accounting of business records from becoming confused with other expenditures made by the business owner, accountants like to use the separate legal entity concept when they are performing financial services for a company, and the personal banking transactions of a person that is small business owner. Some business owners get confused and make withdrawals from their business accounts for personal use, and make the wrong entries in both sets of checkbooks.

Alex Radyushin is an editor-in-chief for All Acronyms – top acronyms and abbreviations dictionary.

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Final segment in series of 17 videos describing the essential ideas typically covered in early weeks of a university-level accounting principles course. This explains reversing entries.

October 3, 2010   1 Comment

Follow the Magical Accounting Rules

Follow the Magical Accounting Rules

To make sure that financial statements are easy to understand, there is a set of rules and practices that is established, which is known as the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). This has been developed to provide a basic guideline for the rules of accounting because I think it’s fair to say that it can get confusing at times. There are a lot of variations to the meaning so here is the best answer. It’s the generally accepted accounting rules and procedures that are necessary to define accounting practice.

Basically it’s a set of theories that accountants come to accept, and there are always controversies with some methods between accountants like any other field of study. Accounting is a discipline that is always growing and changing so it’s a good idea to keep up to date with all of the trends that are going on. Since the management prepares the financial statements of a company it is possible that a financial statement can be altered to give a company a particular boost. So, that’s why the companies that sell their ownership to the public needs to get their financial statements audited by a public certified accountant. A certified public accountant (CPA) are licensed through the sate for the same exact reason lawyers and doctors are, so they and protect the public by providing the highest quality of professional service possible. The reason why CPAs are used is because they have no connection with the company and are independent. They have zero financing ties with the company.

Some firms that employ a lot of certified public accountants include Deloitte & Touch, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. An accountant with no strings attached or is independent commonly performs an audit, which is evaluating a companies financial statements, product, accounting systems, and records. The main purpose of an audit is to make sure that the financial statements have been properly prepared according to the excepted accounting rules. Keep in mind; since accounting is not a precise science it has room for interpretation according to the GAPP. However, that doesn’t mean that the accountants report should contain substantial errors in the financial report, but more like that for the most report it is reliable for creditors to take a look at. An accountant can make a decision only when the financial statements conform to the guidelines of GAAP. In the past creditors, banks, and investors tend to favor an auditor when they are deciding to invest in a company or give loans, because of their independence. The individualistic audit is an extremely crucial factor in the growth of financial markets internationally.

Also, many organizations can directly or indirectly influence a GAAP. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is the most critical body for the development and issuing of rules on accounting practice. The website I previously listed is extremely critical and you can attend seminars online for no cost, and also stay up to date with the rules. This independent body issues the Statements of Financial Accounting Standards. Next, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the official professional association for certified accountants. It’s the largest CPA organization that exists in America and heavily influence accounting practices through its senior committees. The Securities and Exchange Commission is the agency of the federal government that legally has the power to set and execute accounting practices for companies that sell security to the public, and it has a large impact on accounting practice. Next, the governmental accounting standard (GASB) is critical for accounting because its main job is to issue the standards for accounting to the local and state governments in the United States. However, a lot of these organizations are focused on the rules in regulations in the United States.

There are a lot of businesses and accountants internationally so that’s why the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) was formed. It was approved by more then 25 international agencies. The U.S laws that analyze the revenues for the cost of operating a business can also affect accounting practice. It’s no question that the major provider for income for the government comes from income tax. The income tax rules are heavily applies by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Sometimes these rules actually cause a conflict with the accepted rules of accounting. A lot of businesses use accounting practices because it’s a requirement by tax law. Also, companies can use the rules of tax law to their advantage financially. Accounting also has laws of conduct for profession, and one extremely important one is ethics. A nice website dealing with the issues of ethics is ethics.org.

It touches bases on questions that help determine if something is either right or wrong, and is based on moral decisions. Most people are faced with several ethical issues each day and, and some ethical activities could be on the range of illegal. If a business decides to use false or misleading advertising, or to bribe customers into giving them testimonials for a specific product, then they could be acting in an unethical manner. The ethics of a company could also be a result of the employees so that’s why it’s always a good idea to run a background check of who you are hiring, whether it’s online or offline.

Professional ethics is the guidelines that apply to the conduct of individuals of a certain profession. Similar to the ethical actions of a company, the ethical actions of an individual is a decision. As being a member of an organization, accountants have to take the responsibility not only to their customers and employers, but also to the general public to act in the greatest ethical way possible. Accountants are very good at following professional ethics because they are the second professional group as having the largest ethical standards, with clergy being the highest, no surprises about that one. It is important for individuals who decide to become an accountant to have the highest levels of professionalism as possible. To enforce that its prestigious members are following the rules, the AICPA along with each state have adopted some codes of professional conduct that certified public accountants have to follow.

Some simple rules are being responsible to the people that depend on the trust of accountants, such as creditors and investors. When working with people the accountant must act with integrity which means that they are honest, and the individuals gain from the visit with the accountant. The accountant must display objectivity which means that they are intellectually honest, and they must remain independent which means that they must avoid any relationship with the business or individual because it will damage the accountant’s principles.

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August 21, 2010   No Comments

Accounting Standards: Follow the Magical Accounting Rules

Accounting Standards: Follow the Magical Accounting Rules

To make sure that financial statements are easy to understand, there is a set of rules and practices that is established, which is known as the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). This has been developed to provide a basic guideline for the rules of accounting because I think it’s fair to say that it can get confusing at times. There are a lot of variations to the meaning so here is the best answer.  It’s the generally accepted accounting rules and procedures that are necessary to define accounting practice. Basically it’s a set of theories that accountants come to accept, and there are always controversies with some methods between accountants like any other field of study.

Accounting is a discipline that is always growing and changing so it’s a good idea to keep up to date with all of the trends that are going on. Since the management prepares the financial statements of a company it is possible that a financial statement can be altered to give a company a particular boost. So, that’s why the companies that sell their ownership to the public needs to get their financial statements audited by a public certified accountant. A certified public accountant (CPA) are licensed through the sate for the same exact reason lawyers and doctors are, so they and protect the public by providing the highest quality of professional service possible.  The reason why CPAs are used is because they have no connection with the company and are independent. They have zero financing ties with the company.

Some firms that employ a lot of certified public accountants include Deloitte & Touch, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. An accountant with no strings attached or is independent commonly performs an audit, which is evaluating a companies financial statements, product, accounting systems, and records.  The main purpose of an audit is to make sure that the financial statements have been properly prepared according to the excepted accounting rules. Keep in mind; since accounting is not a precise science it has room for interpretation according to the GAPP. 

However, that doesn’t mean that the accountants report should contain substantial errors in the financial report, but more like that for the most report it is reliable for creditors to take a look at.  An accountant can make a decision only when the financial statements conform to the guidelines of GAAP.  In the past creditors, banks, and investors tend to favor an auditor when they are deciding to invest in a company or give loans, because of their independence.  The individualistic audit is an extremely crucial factor in the growth of financial markets internationally.

Also, many organizations can directly or indirectly influence a GAAP. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is the most critical body for the development and issuing of rules on accounting practice. The website I previously listed is extremely critical and you can attend seminars online for no cost, and also stay up to date with the rules.  This independent body issues the Statements of Financial Accounting Standards. Next, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the official professional association for certified accountants. It’s the largest CPA organization that exists in America and heavily influence accounting practices through its senior committees. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission is the agency of the federal government that legally has the power to set and execute accounting practices for companies that sell security to the public, and it has a large impact on accounting practice.  Next, the governmental accounting standard (GASB) is critical for accounting because its main job is to issue the standards for accounting to the local and state governments in the United States.  However, a lot of these organizations are focused on the rules in regulations in the United States.

There are a lot of businesses and accountants internationally so that’s why the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) was formed.  It was approved by more then 25 international agencies.  The U.S laws that analyze the revenues for the cost of operating a business can also affect accounting practice. It’s no question that the major provider for income for the government comes from income tax. The income tax rules are heavily applies by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Sometimes these rules actually cause a conflict with the accepted rules of accounting. A lot of businesses use accounting practices because it’s a requirement by tax law.  Also, companies can use the rules of tax law to their advantage financially.  Accounting also has laws of conduct for profession, and one extremely important one is ethics.

It touches bases on questions that help determine if something is either right or wrong, and is based on moral decisions. Most people are faced with several ethical issues each day and, and some ethical activities could be on the range of illegal. If a business decides to use false or misleading advertising, or to bribe customers into giving them testimonials for a specific product, then they could be acting in an unethical manner.  The ethics of a company could also be a result of the employees so that’s why it’s always a good idea to run a background check of who you are hiring, whether it’s online or offline.  Professional ethics is the guidelines that apply to the conduct of individuals of a certain profession. 

Similar to the ethical actions of a company, the ethical actions of an individual is a decision.  As being a member of an organization, accountants have to take the responsibility not only to their customers and employers, but also to the general public to act in the greatest ethical way possible. Accountants are very good at following professional ethics because they are the second professional group as having the largest ethical standards, with clergy being the highest, no surprises about that one.  It is important for individuals who decide to become an accountant to have the highest levels of professionalism as possible.

To enforce that its prestigious members are following the rules, the AICPA along with each state have adopted some codes of professional conduct that certified public accountants have to follow.  Some simple rules are being responsible to the people that depend on the trust of accountants, such as creditors and investors. When working with people the accountant must act with integrity which means that they are honest, and the individuals gain from the visit with the accountant. The accountant must display objectivity which means that they are intellectually honest, and they must remain independent which means that they must avoid any relationship with the business or individual because it will damage the accountant’s principles.

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Financial Accounting ACG2021 Spring 2008 SFCC Crosson Chapter 4 Videos

August 6, 2010   No Comments