Anyone who's worked in an office at some point or another has had to go to accounting. They're the people who pay and send ... in business as a profit and loss statement, or an income statement.
Accounting has been defined as, by Professor of Accounting at the University of Michigan William A Paton as having one basic function: ... their own systems for accounting; the result would be chaos!
If everyone involved in the process of accounting followed their own system, or no system at all, there's be no way to truly tell whether ... of lives, as in the cases of Enron, Rite Aid and others.
So what goes on the accounting and bookkeeping departments? What do these people do on a daily basis? Well, one thing they ... furniture, computers, even the smallest items such as pencils and pens.
It might seem like a no-brainer to define just exactly what profit and loss are. But of course these have definitions like everything ... these and what income they'll have on a company's performance.
Most people probably think of bookkeeping and accounting as the same thing, but bookkeeping is really one function of accounting, while ... the bookkeeping for a fiscal year to a close and summarized.
If you have a checking account, of course you balance it periodically to account for any differences between what's in ... subject to taxes after personal exemptions and deductions are factored in.
Accountants are responsible for preparing three primary types of financial statements for a business. The income statement reports the profit- ... a company, but management of other assets as well.
Making a profit in a business is derived from several different areas. It can get a little complicated because just as in our ... , depending on whether the business has paid with cash or credit.
It would probably be ideal if business and life were as simple as producing goods, selling them and recording the profits. But ... one-time losses or gains very visible in their income statement.
A balance sheet is a quick picture of the financial condition of a business at a specific period in time. The activities of a business ... the close of business on the last day of the profit period.
In most businesses, what drives the balance sheet are sales and expenses. In other words, they cause the assets and liabilities in ... period and the receivables at the end of the same period.
Inventory is usually the largest current asset of a business that sells products. If the inventory account is greater at the ... can't enjoy growth in revenue without incurring additional expenses.
Depreciation is a term we hear about frequently, but don't really understand. It's an essential component of accounting however. ... business's fixed assets, then the higher its depreciation expense.
In an accountant's reporting systems, depreciation of a business's fixed assets such as its buildings, equipment, computers, etc ... That occurred when the business invested in those tangible assets.
Another portion of the statement of cash flows reports the investment that the company took during the reporting year. New investments ... flows. These are reported as gross figures, rather than net.
Building a financial cushion for your business is never easy. Experts say that businesses should have anywhere from six to nine ... rather than discovering your losses five or six months too late.
If you don't keep track of how much money you're making, you have no idea whether your business is successful or not. You can't tell ... have gone under for this very reason -- don't be one of them.
The FASB is one organization that provides standardized guidelines for financial reporting. The mission of the Financial ... nature and limitations of information supplied by financial reporting.
Accountants and auditors help to ensure that the Nation's firms are run efficiently, its public records kept accurately, ... , financial institution examination, or budget analysis and administration.
Forensic accounting is the practice of utilizing accounting, auditing, and investigative skills to assist in legal matters. It ... Accounting Masters Degree link on the left-hand navigation bar.
Forensic accounting financial investigative specialists work with financial information for the purpose of conveying complicated issues in a ... visual aids and written summaries for use in court.
Financial statements are the backbone of a complete financial report. In fact, a financial report is not complete if ... disclosure standards adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board.
Financial managers can do certain things to increase or decrease net income that's recorded in the year. This is called profit ... expense this year is balanced by more expense the next year.
Ugh, budgeting is one of those topics we'd rather avoid, but in business, it's an absolute necessity. To prepare a ... in the budgeting process but also help managers in making strategic decisions.