Accounting and Accountancy

Accounting and accountancy are about money. The accounting process as we know it today is based on double-entry bookkeeping first practiced by Italian mathematician, Luca Pacioli in 1494. It was a revolutionary idea at the time because it corrected mistakes and oversights in past calculations by transferring the errors to other accounts. Nowadays, accounting includes keeping records of assets and debts, preparation of financial statements, tax planning and management of the business assets.

In the world today, accounting is an extremely important profession. There are so many jobs available in accounting, because it is a very broad field. Accountants keep the financial records of public companies, and they also answer to the board of directors. They advise the board of directors on financial issues and make recommendations to them on what they should do or not do with their business transactions. If you want to be a successful accountant, you will need a lot of education as well as practical experience. To become an accountant, you must earn your degree in accounting and pass your CPA exams by taking extra courses that best prepare you for those exams. To have a successful career, you must also have good communication skills as you will need to explain financial statements to your clients and customers.

Accounting involves the management, analysis and reporting of information about the assets, liabilities, income and expenses of persons or entities.  Accounting is an essential part of business decisions because it provides the information for decision-making that is used by both managers and shareholders. Accountants are relied upon for this vital information and their expertise in using it to make financial decisions that affect business operations. Accountants may be employed directly by a business or corporation or may offer their services on a contract basis to businesses needing assessment services.

There are many accounting careers available. Accounting jobs include accountants, auditors, controllers and financial analysts who provide various services to different types of organizations and corporations. These occupations have very specific educational requirements and qualifications, but many accountants continue in their career by furthering their education and training.

Accountant careers demand a high level of intelligence, foresight, honesty and loyalty to employers. Many accountants are independent contractors or professionals who work for others or on a contract basis for particular clients or customers. Others may be members of a CPA firm that employs others who may also be contract employees or working as employees for the accounting firm on a regular basis or for each client assignment.

Accountants work in a variety of business settings, from retailers' accounting departments to auditors' offices and financial consultants. They might be employed as accountants and controllers for large companies like Fortune 500 firms or small businesses. Accountants are also employed by government agencies and various nonprofit associations. Accountants who serve as auditors and controllers may do so for other types of organization, including banks, manufacturing companies or utility service providers. Accountant careers are one of the most versatile ones that exist in the world today. Many accountants hold positions with accounting firms that employ several other occupations within these firms including auditors, tax specialists and financial analysts who serve a variety of clients.

In order for an accountant to succeed, he or she must have a thorough understanding of the field of accounting and its application to various business practices. It is necessary to understand the fundamentals of accounting, starting with its essential components like assets, liabilities, income and expenses. 

Accounting emphasizes the following:

Accounting principles always assume that people are honest and truthful.

One of the critical elements in effective accounting is accurate financial statements. In order to prepare accurate statements, accountants require three things: a conceptual framework for understanding financial transactions, the ability to perform various calculations in order to record transactions efficiently and accurately, and information on higher-level items needed for more complex transactions such as cash flows and investment considerations.

Accounting has a number of applications to serve different needs of organizations. Its uses in accounting include: 

Federal regulations and business practices have led to the evolution of a highly technical field within the field of accounting called regulation. This evolution has been driven by federal regulation, which is also a result of political pressure from various interest groups (such as organized labor) and lobbies (such as banks). Regulation involves the application and interpretation of accounting standards.

Regulation provides the basic measurement requirements for financial statements, with little flexibility in how these requirements are met. Federal regulations cover all CPA firms, while most states regulate other accountants working in public practice such as public accountants or state employees. A key principle of regulation is that, in any given year, a firm must meet the standards that have been mandated for the year, which limits the flexibility of a firm in how it measures or reports financial results. 

Accounting in government has also evolved as accounting standards are applied to managing public sector organizations. These standards are often developed by private sector organizations such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). 

The principles of regulation accountixe relate to financial accounting. The application of these principles to specific items involves analysis and judgment. Thus regulations change over time as new needs arise and are evaluated by individual CPA firms. Currently, because of new legislation, regulation is evolving rapidly.

Accountants and auditors generally fall into the following six categories:

Accounting is an important aspect of the bookkeeping profession. An accountant may also be referred to as a bookkeeper or compterized accountant. Depending on the knowledge level, an accountant can perform various tasks in his or her capacity as a bookkeeper. These tasks may include tracking inventory record keeping, maintaining purchase and sale records, payroll management and bank reconciliations (to name only a few). Bookkeepers play an important role in their organization, providing information which in turn enables their organizations to make informed business decisions.

In order to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, a person must first complete an undergraduate degree (usually a BS in Accounting or a BA in business with accounting) and then apply for a state-approved licensure examination. To sit for the exam, most states require that individuals be at least 18 years old and must have completed at least two years of college coursework. Generally, this requirement is satisfied by enrolling in an undergraduate program where courses are taught at the professional level. The best way to determine if a school is certified by an approved agency is to look online or contact the state government agency that is certifying educational programs.

Conclusion:

Accounting is a complex field of study where students are exposed to many different subjects and disciplines, but they must remember that they are here to learn accounting. Learning how to prepare financial statements and how businesses work is only the beginning of accounting. As students advance through their educational process and into the workforce, new information will be added to their knowledge of accounting. Accountants will be faced with challenges in their field, such as changes in legislation or new rules by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which is an organization that creates standards for financial reporting. In order to succeed in this discipline, accountants must have strong analytical abilities and be able to solve problems based on heuristics.