Senin, 26 Desember 2011

43 What's the difference between private and public company reporting

A public corporation is a business whose securities are traded on the public stock exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. A private company is held solely by its owners and is not traded publicly. When the shareholders of a private...
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Budgeting

Ugh, budgeting is one of those topics we'd rather avoid, but in business, it's an absolute necessity. To prepare a reasoned and thoughtful budget, an accountant must start with a broad-based critical analysis of the most recent actual performance and...
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Depreciation

Depreciation is a term we hear about frequently, but don't really understand. It's an essential component of accounting however. Depreciation is an expense that's recorded at the same time and in the same period as other accounts. Long-term operating...
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Quasar software

Accounting has become more and more complex as have the businesses that use accounting functions. Fortunately, there are several excellent software packages that can help you manage this important function. Quasar is one such package.All versions of...
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What is accounting fraud?

Accounting fraud is a deliberate and improper manipulation of the recording of sales revenue and/or expenses in order to make a company's profit performance appear better than it actually is. Some things that companies do that can constitute fraud are:--Not...
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Investing and financing

Another portion of the statement of cash flows reports the investment that the company took during the reporting year. New investments are signs of growing or upgrading the production and distribution facilities and capacity of the business. Disposing...
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What Is Accounting Anyway?

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 out the bills that keep the business running. They do a lot more than that, though. Sometimes referred to as "bean counters" they...
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Balance sheet

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 fall into two separate groups that are reported by an accountant. They are profit-making activities, which includes...
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Parts of an Income Statement, part 1

The first and most important part of an income statement is the line reporting sales revenue. Businesses need to be consistent from year to year regarding when they record sales. For some business, the timing of recording sales revenue is a major problem,...
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What is acid test ratio and ROA ratio?

Investors calculate the acid test ratio, also known as the quick ratio or the pounce ratio. This ratio excludes inventory and prepaid expenses, which the current ratio includes, and it limits assets to cash and items that the business can quickly convert...
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Careers

There are many different careers in the field of accounting ranging from entry-level bookkeeping to the Chief Financial Officer of a company. To achieve positions with more responsibility and higher salaries, it's necessary to have a degree in accounting...
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Profit and Loss

It might seem like a no-brainer to define just exactly what profit and loss are. But of course these have definitions like everything else. Profit can be called different things, for a start. It's sometimes called net income or net earnings. Businesses...
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Depreciation reporting

In an accountant's reporting systems, depreciation of a business's fixed assets such as its buildings, equipment, computers, etc. is not recorded as a cash outlay. When an accountant measures profit on the accrual basis of accounting, he or she counts...
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What happened at Enron?

Everyone knows at least a little about the Enron story and the devastation it created in the lives of is employees. It's a story that belongs in any discussion of ethical accounting processes and what happens when accounting standards and ethics are...
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Parts of an Income Statement, Part 2

Of course profit and cost of goods sold expense are the two most critical components of an income statement, or at least they're what people will look at first. But an income statement is truly the sum of its parts, and they all need to be considered...
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Minggu, 25 Desember 2011

What is a corporation?

Most businesses start out as a small company, owned by one person or by a partnership. The most common type of business when there are multiple owners is a corporation. The law sees a corporation as real, live person. Like an adult, a corporation is...
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What is forensic accounting?

Forensic accounting is the practice of utilizing accounting, auditing, and investigative skills to assist in legal matters. It encompasses 2 main areas - litigation support, investigation, and dispute resolution. Litigation support represents the factual...
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What is earnings per share

Publicly owned companies must report earnings per share (EPS) below the net income line in their income statements. This is mandated by generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP). The EPS gives investors a means of determining the amount the business...
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What are other ratios used in financial reporting

The dividend yield ratio tells investors how much cash income they're receiving on their stock investment in a business. This is calculated by dividing the annual cash dividend per share by the current market price of the stock. This can be compared...
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Bookkeeping

So what goes on the accounting and bookkeeping departments? What do these people do on a daily basis? Well, one thing they do that's terribly important to everyone working there is Payroll. All the salaries and taxes earned and paid by every employee...
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Assets and Liabilities

Making a profit in a business is derived from several different areas. It can get a little complicated because just as in our personal lives, business is run on credit as well. Many businesses sell their products to their customers on credit. Accountants...
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What are independent auditors?

Indpendent CPA auditors are like referees in the financial reporting arena. The CPA comes in, does an audit of the business's accounting system and methods and gives a report that is attached to the company's financial statements. Publicly owned businesses...
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Parts of an Income Statement, Part 3

While some lines of an income statement depend on estimates or forecasts, the interest expense line is a basic equation. When accounting for income tax expense, however, a business can use different accounting methods for some of its expenses than it...
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Who uses forensic accountants?

Forensic accounting financial investigative specialists work with financial information for the purpose of conveying complicated issues in a manner that others can easily understand. While some forensic accountants and forensic accounting specialists...
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Bookkeeping Basics

Most people probably think of bookkeeping and accounting as the same thing, but bookkeeping is really one function of accounting, while accounting encompasses many functions involved in managing the financial affairs of a business. Accountants prepare...
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What does an audit report contain?

Most audit reports on financial statements give the business a clean bill of health, or a clean opinion. At the other end of the spectrum, the auditor may state that the financial statements are misleading and should not be relied upon. This negative...
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Managing the Bottom Line

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 how well your marketing is working. And I don't just mean you should know the amount of your total sales or gross revenue....
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Building Cash Reserves

Building a financial cushion for your business is never easy. Experts say that businesses should have anywhere from six to nine months worth of income safely stored away in the bank. If you're a business grossing $250,000 per month, the mere thought...
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Accounting Principles

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 a company was profitable or not. Most companies follow what are called generally accepted accounting principles,...
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What are auditors?

Accountants and auditors help to ensure that the Nation's firms are run efficiently, its public records kept accurately, and its taxes paid properly and on time. They perform these vital functions by offering an increasingly wide array of business and...
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Disclosure

Financial statements are the backbone of a complete financial report. In fact, a financial report is not complete if the three primary financial statements are not included. but a financial report is much more than just those statements. A financial...
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Revenue and receivables

In most businesses, what drives the balance sheet are sales and expenses. In other words, they cause the assets and liabilities in a business. One of the more complicated accounting items are the accounts receivable. As a hypothetical situation, imagine...
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How is accounting used in business?

It might seem obvious, but in managing a business, it's important to understand how the business makes a profit. A company needs a good business model and a good profit model. A business sells products or services and earns a certain amount of margin...
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Sabtu, 24 Desember 2011

What does an audit do?

If a business breaks the rules of accounting and ethics, it can be liable for legal sanctions against it. It can deliberately deceive its investors and lenders with false or misleading numbers in its financial report. That's where audits come in. Audits...
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What is financial window dressing?

Financial managers can do certain things to increase or decrease net income that's recorded in the year. This is called profit smoothing, income smoothing or just plain old window dressing. This isn't the same as fraud, or cooking the books.Most profit...
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Senin, 19 Desember 2011

Read a Map

Knowing how to read a map isn't innate. The symbols, topography lines and direction helpers all require some understanding before you can read a map effectively. So, when Google Maps deserts you and you're left holding a real map, here is what to do....
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Hitchhike

Whether Hitchhike getting a lift to the corner shop, covering the four corners of the world or simply just in case, there is a method Hitchhike to the madness of hitchhiking. The following instructions have been collected from the experiences of many...
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Food for Vegetarians

Getting the correct Food for Vegetarians sources of nutrition and sustenance is essential to any diet. It can be a challenge to buy food for vegetarians if you are not familiar with this type of diet. You may end up making them sick due to unfamiliar...
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Great Cooking

Great Cooking - Do people grimace at your food when it's your turn to cook? Do you feel hopeless in the kitchen? Follow these steps, and next time people may grin when it's your turn to great cooking! Here's Tips On How to Be a Great Cooking :Visit...
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