The Importance of Basic Accounting Knowledge in Business

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After completing my first year of business classes at West Chester University, I realized how important accounting knowledge is for any business major. Regardless of the field of business that you choose to pursue, whether it be marketing, management, economics, or finance, you will need to be able to have at least a basic understanding of accounting. Every business has to deal with observing and understanding source documents, income statements, balance sheets, and statements of retained earnings in order to be successful in today’s business world. Anyone interested in entrepreneurship who is looking to start their own business will have a definite advantage if they can understand financial statements of accounting. The truth is that accounting exists in our every day lives whether you realize it or not, so being educated in the field will do nothing but help you in a future business career.

The process of accounting will almost always begin with source documents. In the past, most of the source documents that CPA’s (Certified Public Accountants), auditors, and other accountants would have to deal with were tangible paper documents such as receipts from a recent purchase at a store. The accountant would then have to transfer these source documents into a journal to start the accounting process. Today, most of the source documents are electronic. When a purchase or sale is made between any two businesses or consumers, it is filed into a computer on an electronic database. This method has made accountant’s jobs far more simplistic, as they can they place the transaction directly into an electronic journal on Microsoft Excel.

The basic accounting equation that anyone who works in business should know, is that Assets= Liabilities + Equity. Assets include accounts such as cash, land, building, equipment, office supplies, inventories, and accounts receivable (money owed to you by a customer). The normal balance for these assets are a debit, which means if you are gaining any of the previous, you debit that amount of money towards that account. For example, if a sale is made in your store and a customer pays fifty dollars cash, then you would debit the cash account for fifty dollars. Liabilities include accounts payable (what you owe others on account), unearned revenue (you have been paid but haven’t performed a service), salaries payable (salary money owed to your employees), taxes payable, and interest payable. The normal balance that increases these accounts is a credit, unless the account is a contra account in which the opposite normal balance applies. Equity accounts include dividends (money owed to your stockholders), revenues and expenses. The normal balance for owner’s equity is a credit, but expenses made by your business are always treated as contra accounts. So for a transaction where a customer purchases something from your store on on account, you would debit accounts receivable and credit revenue. Each transaction is then recorded into a journal organized by month.

At the end of each month, the totals are added up from the journal and are placed into what are called “T-Accounts”. These are T-shaped charts with the debits on the left side and credits on the right. It is used to more easily find the ending balance of each account at the end of the month. After the totals of each account are found, you can now make an income statement to determine your amount of money lost or made during the month. The amount of income can be found by subtracting the expenses from your revenues. This is one of the most important financial statements that accountants have to deal with. Your income statement helps you determine if you are making profits or if you are losing money and need to improve a sector of your business.

Once you have transferred all of your journal entries into T-accounts and have made an income statement, you are then prepared to make a balance sheet. This is the basic accounting equation in which you make sure that Assets = Liabilities + Owner’s Equity. When you sum all of your asset accounts they should be equal to all of the liability and equity accounts as well. This is why anyone in any type of business should always have a basic understanding of the accounting process. With the knowledge of how money flows throughout a business, you can make wiser, more experienced decisions with your business, and protect yourself from losing money. It also allows you to take risks with your business and potentially gain a big return when it comes to the bottom line of your income statement. I’m pleased to say that I can now understand a company’s financial statements and comprehend the transactions that go on in every day business. Any business student will be more successful in their future career if they learn the crucial basics of accounting.



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The Solution Is Accounting Outsourcing

Are you tired of employee drama?
Looking for ways to get ‘actionable numbers’ in real time on your desk?
Looking for ways to cut back office cost in your business?

Over the last 10 years hundreds of thousands of small businesses have sub contracted their bookkeeping function to a local accounting office.

The solution is called accounting outsourcing!

The time you save in managing the bookkeeping function will allow you to spend more time….

Building relationships with customers, staff and vendors
Allows you to take the time to create systems in your business so it runs like a franchise.

Outsourced bookkeeping can include bill payment, sending invoices, payroll and advanced functions like Chief Financial Officer tasks.

Outsourced Bookkeeping

If you looked back to the beginning of your business – could you justify ever putting the time energy and money into setting up a bookkeeping department again.  Most owners say they wish outsourcing was common 5 or 10 years ago – they would have saved years of employee drama and bad numbers.

Working on tasks your customers don’t know about like payroll, accounts payable or buying advertising is plum nuts – focus all your effort on building a loyal client base if you want to be successful.

The Power of Partnering with an outsourced accounting firm

Accounting is far more difficult then most business owners believe.  Plus, as a group we are reluctant to hire expensive top notch staff.   By using our services you only pay for what you need, but more important we have 5 levels of staff on each account.   80% of all outsourced accounting work can be done by low paid people.  That way you can afford to put a few hours in at the sr. bookkeeper and maybe one hour a week at the CPA level each to make sure your numbers are ‘actionable.’

Focus on your business when you have a dependable local firm managing your back office

We have an indepth staff to provide accounting outsourcing for your firm.  You will finally be able to stop worrying about the bookkeeping function as we take care of all staffing, quality and cost factors on your behalf.   You’ll no longer have to hire, train or worry about retention as we provide a total team for each client.

Other benefits of accounting outsourcing and outsourced bookkeeping

Accounting outsourcing cuts your capital expense as you no longer need the overhead
Accounting outsourcing stops your wasted hours of management time dealing with staff
Accounting outsourcing delivers real time accounting that is accurate

The Question is Not Whether to Outsource But What to Outsource

The reason we went into outsourced accounting as a business ten years ago was the answer to the three main questions from the Outsourcing Research Council:

If you were starting the company today, would you elect to perform this function internally?
Are you so good at performing this activity that others would hire you to do it for them?
Will tomorrow’s CEO come from that skill set?

Very few small businesses answer these questions any other way then, “NO.”   In our business we strive to outsource everything off the owners desk that cost under 0 per hour to get done.  We move everyting off our staffs’ desk if it cost less then 30 an hour. Outsourced bookkeeping starts under so it is a prime target for cutting cost.

Cut back office infrastructure with outsourced accounting

So in the accounting function you have low level tasks such as entering a bill and paying a bill, followed by receivables and bank account reconciliation, then payroll all the way up to CFO level cash and asset management.

You may be wise to start your outsourced accounting relationship with the very basic work and review your local accountants service before asking them to help you in more advanced services.

Most small business owners want to do the transactions themselves or have the spouse do them because it seems easy.  This is a giant mistake.  One little thing goes wrong and the entire set of books are at question.   Bad numbers = guessing on what’s working in your business.

Accounting Outsourcing has dividends for a small business of 1 to 100 staff

Accounting outsourcing provides a series of benefits according to the  The Outsourcing Institute.

Focus on customers not back office. Accounting outsourcing frees you up to put time and energy into customer acquisition and resales.

A local accounting firm has the capabilities already in place –Accounting outsourcing firms use multiple staff for each client with an expert on payables handling your bills while someone else who knows payroll takes that problem.  You get the best staff for the lowest cost when you outsource bookkeeping and accounting.

Go Paperless.  Most outsourced accounting firms use Delegation Magic to manage your documents and work flow.  This will reduce your back office cost and improve your business systems. As far as we can tell it is the best document management system for a small business outsourcing accounting and other low level tasks.

Shared Capital Expenses.  When you are outsourcing your accounting you will tap into the software, training, skill set, experience and communication skills of a team that has been around for some time. Setting all this up in your business, by yourself can take years of effort – that you don’t need to waste time on.

Cutting cost:  Although you will pay an outsourced accounting firm more per hour then in house staff, it generally takes them about half the time to do your work as an in house employee takes.  On average your in house bookkeeper takes 15 minutes to complete a transation when you consider all time and effort.  Outsourced bookkeeping firms using document management systems and on line connectivity can do the same work in 3 to 7 minutes.   You capture economy of scale cost reduction because your tapping into someone elses infrastructure.

The bottom line:  Outsourcing accounting will provide you with lower cost, better and actionable numbers you can use daily to run a better business and best of all no more employee drama

 

KC Truby

 

Career Opportunities in Accounting

 There are a lot of things one can learn from a career in accounting. One of the most important lessons is learning how businesses work. To point out, one of the many successful businessmen were previously accountants who decided to work their way in business. Why? It is because accounting is the language of business. Accounting is the system, which quantifies business activities, transforms information into reports and communicates the output to top level management. So, here are some of the career options in accounting.

Public Practice. One may start his or her career in accounting as a public accountant. These are accountants who render services with a fee as well as staff accountants employed by them. Public accountants coordinate or work in partnerships, which offer their accounting services to individuals, businesses and governments. However, one should be a certified public accountant to be able to practice individually or as members of public accounting firms. The work of public accountants includes auditing, taxation and management advisory services. It should be noted that public accounting has been the frequently traveled path of most accountants as it provides excellent opportunities to achieve business experiences, which are multifaceted.

Education. Accountants may also be hired as researchers, professors or reviewers. These people make sure that there is continued development of the profession through making an effort to clear out and face emerging issues by doing research and distribute the obtained results to all.

Commerce and Industry. Any corporation whether big or small has an accounting group. The accounting group organizes and prepares financial statements; keeps track of costs, takes care of tax issues and works on international transactions. Over time in practicing accounting, one may be hired as vice presidents for the finance department. They could also be hired as chief accountants, cost accountants, internal auditor or budget officer. The responsibilities and the scope of the activities within this field of accounting vary widely dependent on the size of the company and the level of position.

Government Service. Accountants in the government service either work at the local or state level or the federal level. Government accountant manage and put together budgets, keep track of government costs and analyze programs of the government. Their work can improve the conditions of the public. However, there is higher tendency for it to be political; thus, their work is subject to bureaucratic impediment. The work of government accountants is very crucial. It is in government accounting that provides great development to a lot of organizations to controller and most probably to higher administrative positions. Government accountants are largely employed at the federal level. These include the Department of Defense, the General Accounting Office as well as the Internal Revenue Service.

So, there you go. Those were some of the myriad opportunities in the accounting profession. But one must always remember that success is not always attached to the accounting profession. If one wishes to attain success, one must work hard for it.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Accounting

Public Accounts 2010_1


Image by BC Gov Photos
BC Finance Minister Colin Hansen released the 2009/10 Public Accounts July 8, 2010, showing the Province ended the fiscal year with a smaller deficit than forecast.

Accounting Tips Small Businesses Canada Accountant Oakville

Accounting Tips for Small Businesses in Canada by Accountant Oakville Mississauga

If you own a small business in Canada, then you must read this article. As an Accountant in Mississauga and Oakville, I will share the best accounting tips that will put your business on the path to financial success.

Accurate Books and Records

Account Tip #1 for Small Businesses in Canada – Keep accurate books and records

As a small business owner it’s very important that you keep accurate books and records in order to:

- Assess the profitability of your business
- Evaluate the financial health of your business
- Cut costs by identifying excess spending
- Have peace of mind when audited by the Canada Revenue Agency
- Apply for a long by presenting accurate financial statements to your bank

Review Financial Reports – Accounting Tips for Small Businesses in Canada – Accountant Oakville Mississauga

Accounting Tip #2 for Small Businesses in Canada – Review financial Reports Regularly

A proper accounting system should provide you with accurate, monthly financial reports such as:

• Income statements
• Balance sheets
• Goss margins by product
• Inventory listing
• Cash flow statements
• Budgets
• Financial statements by company division / department

With monthly cash flow statements you can identify the sources and uses of cash, which enables you to better manage company resources.

With monthly budgets for your small business in Canada, you can better plan for the coming months, and effectively manage cash inflows and cash outflows.

With departmental financial statements you can assess the profitability and financial health of each department.

If your current accounting system cannot produce appropriate financial reports, then you should seek the advice of an accountant in Mississauga or Oakville.

Purchase an effective accounting software package

Accounting Tip #3 for Small Business in Canada – Buy the right accounting software

Your small business in Canada requires an effective accounting software package to produce reliable financial reports.

“I recommend accounting programs such as QuickBooks Pro or Simply Accounting, both of which are great for small businesses,” says Allan Madan, Accountant Mississauga & Oakville.

In addition to the right accounting program, your small business in Canada requires an excellent bookkeeper. If you have a good accounting software package, but you lack a capable bookkeeper, then the information produced by the accounting system will not be reliable or useful.

Financial Controls – Accounting Tips for Small Business in Canada – Accountant Oakville Mississauga

Accounting Tip #4 for Small Business in Canada – Implement strong financial controls

Effective financial controls are a must for a small business in Canada. A lack of financial controls can lead to unreliable business intelligence, poor financial information and fraud.

Examples of financial controls are:

- Keep receipts for expenses. Without receipts you have no proof of purchases made.

- Maintain a separate credit card for business purchases only. The last thing that you want is a grocery bills or movie tickets appearing on your credit card. Imagine if a tax auditor saw that.

- Have a separate business account for your deposits and your business expenses. There should not be any personal expenses whatsoever in your business account.

- Keep a daily sales log and a deposit book so that you can track sales deposits. This will reduce the chance of employee theft.

- Dual signatures should be required on company cheques. If only one person has signing authority, then that person has the ability to commit fraud by writing cheques for invalid expenses.

- Review and approval all employee expense reports before they are paid, which will keep spending under control.

- Regularly backup your electronic financial data so you don’t permanently lose it

Consult with your accountant in Mississauga / Oakville on how to improve your small business’ financial controls.

Ken Boyd, owner of St. Louis Test Preparation (www.stltest.net) presents part 13 of his course on Understanding Intermediate Accounting. Boyd points out that students can have success with Intermediate Accounting concepts by making connections to actual examples from business. As a former CPA, College Accounting professor and Auditor, Ken has a wealth of experience to bring to the subject.

Simple Personal Finance Checklist – Consider yourself as a Business

Why would you not consider yourself a business of ONE person? Or your family as a business of 3 or more people? Well that is exactly what you are – “Me Incorporated”, “I Inc”, “We Incorporated”. You truly must consider yourself a small family business. Like any business you have ongoing expenses (mortgage, rent, utilities, groceries), revenue (salary and other income) and major capital expenditures (house, vehicle, vacations, renovations).

Like any good ‘household business’, you need to do some planning. Set out a budget for the year, track your expenditures and retained earnings (savings). Yes, all of this looks, feels and is exactly like a well run business. On My Gosh! Don’t rush out and buy an accounting package to run your household. And no need to take a crash course on accounting or bookkeeping. You can accomplish all your financial tracking and planning requirements with some paper or by using a simple template with your favorite spreadsheet package – Microsoft Excel or even with Open Office.

Just like a well run business, your household budget and tracking your spending is best served using a visible record of events; namely, financial records, bank or check register. It is just like tracking your road trip progress using a map. If you know where you are now, then you will have some idea when you will arrive at your destination. In life, money or finances allows you to get to your personal destinations or dreams. A visible financial roadmap of your ‘Me Incorporated’ finances, mapping your progress, seems logical.

Running your ‘Household Business’, like corporate business, requires a few processes to keep track of your finances:

1) Establish a yearly and monthly household budget. Consider all your expenses – weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly outlays of money. You will be surprised at the length of this list and all the places you spend your money.

2) Track monthly your actually spending and income against the budget you established in step 1. This will help you see the ‘peaks and valleys’ of spending or seasonality aspect of your expenses. Over time, you will come to know these expense ‘peaks and valleys’ and this will help you maintain a positive cash flow. Bottom line: have money in the bank to pay all your expenses and still have some left over (retained earnings). Your single biggest challenge in running any household (or business) is always having enough money in the bank to pay the bills; especially, the unexpected ones. Having a buffer of savings will help with these ‘peaks’ in expenses.

3) Track all your bank account activity. Track and enter in your Bank or Check Register every deposit, every electronic (ATM, web, PayPal, debit machine) transaction and every analog (check, money order) withdrawal. And reconcile your bank statement every month. Know exactly how much money you have available in your bank account(s).

4) Especially track your spending through credit cards and lines of credit. These are potentially the ‘run away’ expenses. Remember only once a month do you see the visible record of your credit card spending. Compound that with the fact that most people have more than one credit card. This can easily result in multiple ‘spending surprises’ each month. Be diligent in tracking your use of credit card transactions. Breakdown the credit card expenses into their respective budget items – gas, groceries, clothing, entertainment, etc. This will help you separate normal household expenditures from other shopping incidentals. You will come to see your spending patterns and can now make adjustments. Just like your bank account, reconcile your credit card statement every month.

All this personal bookkeeping every month can be done with pen and paper or set up a personal finance and budgeting template using your favorite spreadsheet software. Using an electronic spreadsheet allows for all of the mundane calculations to be processed automatically, reducing monthly reconciliations to a simple 5-10 minute endeavour. Whether you choose an analog or digital approach to your personal finance bookkeeping, these visible records are the most effective way to plan and control your personal finances and reduce one of the major stress points in your life – Your Financial Health.

Just in case you don’t know who Jordan Goodman is…. Jordan E. Goodman is “America’s Money Answers Man” and a nationally-recognized expert on personal finance. He is a regular contributor to Public Radio International’s The Marketplace Morning Report and is a daily guest on radio and television call-in shows across the country, answering questions on personal financial topics. He appears frequently on NBC’s The Today Show, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, and Nightline. For 18 years, Mr. Goodman was on the editorial staff of Money magazine, where he served as Wall Street correspondent. While at Money, Mr.Goodman reported and wrote on virtually every aspect of personal finance. In addition, he served as weekly financial analyst on NBC News at Sunrise for 9 years and the daily business news commentator on Mutual Broadcasting Systems America in the Morning show for 8 years. He is the author / co-author of three best-selling books on personal finance including Everyone’s Money Book (over 200000 copies sold) and Barron’s Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms and The Money Answers Dictionary. His upcoming books are 6 special focus editions of Everyone’s Money Book on College, Credit, Financial Planning, Real Estate, Retirement Planning and Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds. Jordan is also a speaker and seminar leader on personal finance topics for business executives, students, associations, investment clubs, employees and others.
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