The Basics of Accounting

Accounting, often referred to as “the language of business”, is a critical process in any organization or company. It involves the systematic recordation, assessment, and communication of financial information. Proper understating of the basics of accounting can lead to efficient decision making and effective financial management.

Accounting revolves around three basic activities. These are identifying, recording, and communicating the economic events of a company. Identification involves selecting those economic events relevant to a company. Accounting helps to capture these ‘economic events’ in the form of transactions and measuring them in monetary terms. Recording is often called bookkeeping. It involves systematically noting down the identified economic events. Lastly, communication involves the preparation and distribution of the recorded economic information to the potential users by means of financial statements.

Financial Statements

The primary goal of accounting is to prepare four basic financial statements: The Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, and the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity. These statements provide an overall financial snapshot of the business, from profitability to assets and liabilities.

Accounting Cycle

The process of accounting follows a series of steps known as the accounting cycle. This cycle begins with the occurrence of a transaction and ends with its reflection in the financial statements. It involves steps like journal entry, ledger posting, trial balance preparation, and final accounts preparation.

Double-Entry Bookkeeping

In the basics of accounting, double-entry bookkeeping is a crucial component. In this system, every financial transaction affects at least two accounts. If a company borrows money from a bank, its assets (in the form of cash) increase, and its liabilities (in the content of a bank loan) also increase.

Understanding these basics principles of accounting can not only guide in maintaining accurate financial records but also help in evaluating a company’s health and making informed decisions. Modern businesses incorporate modern technology to streamline these accounting practices. One such technology is the fixed asset management software.

Importance of Fixed Asset Management Software

The fixed asset management software plays a crucial role in accounting. Fixed assets like buildings, machinery, or equipment involve significant investment, and their proper management can have a massive impact on the company’s financial health and profitability.

The fixed asset management software allows organizations to manage, track, and record these fixed assets. It helps businesses ensure compliance, prevent asset theft or loss, obtain accurate financial reporting, calculate depreciation, and plan for future asset investments. Without this software, manually tracking assets can be challenging and time-consuming. With a better understanding of the resources available and their value, organizations can make more informed strategic and financial decisions.

In conclusion, understanding the basics of accounting is vital to any business operation. Applying these basics in combination with technologies like fixed asset management software can provide a comprehensive and accurate financial picture, facilitating better decisions and strategies for future growth.

Understanding the Value of an Accounting Bachelor’s Degree

Accounting is a fundamental aspect of a successful business. With an increasing globalization and complex tax and regulation systems, the scope of this discipline is not restricting itself to just business environments but is spreading to non-profit organizations and government bodies as well. An accounting bachelor’s degree serves as a primary ticket to pave a path for a diverse range of career opportunities in sectors such as public accounting, government, education, corporate finance, and more.

A comprehensive bachelor’s degree in accounting gives a strong foothold in a range of foundational areas like financial accounting, management accounting, auditing, taxation, and many others. This course proactively aims to build technically competent professionals who also possess strong ethics and a commitment to the service of public interest.

An integral part of this program that has seen a surge in demand in recent years is the application of accounting techniques to information technology platforms. One such platform that an accounting graduate frequently maneuvers is QuickBooks Online.

Given the current situation, where businesses are increasingly adopting digital platforms for management, the integration of accounting principles with digital tools is inevitable. In this realm, QuickBooks Online is a leading accounting tool that helps manage revenues, expenses, and a wide variety of other accounting needs of a business.

One of the fundamental concepts that a graduate with an accounting bachelor’s degree needs to comprehend and work with is fixed assets. Fixed assets are long-term tangible pieces of property or equipment that a company owns and uses in its operations to generate income.

Fixed assets in QuickBooks Online allow professionals to track, depreciate, and dispose of the assets of a company effectively. Fixed assets tracking is not just about cost management, but it is equally crucial for financial reporting, forecasting, and taxation purposes. For example, a restaurant’s fixed assets might include kitchen equipment and tables; a manufacturing firm would account for its production equipment as fixed assets.

Detailed tutorials and practice classes on handling fixed assets in QuickBooks Online are an integral part of an accounting bachelor’s degree curriculum, which endorses graduates with a concrete understanding and hands-on experience in this blend of technology and accounting.

Another aspect of this program is centered on developing leadership skills and improving the decision-making process in a dynamic and uncertain business environment. Furthermore, students get to develop abilities in critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and negotiation through practical case studies, internships, and real-time projects.

Identifying the growing demand for accountants with a broad skill set in this information-driven business environment, universities have revamped their accounting bachelor’s degree curriculum. They have included modern accounting software tools, data analytics, cybersecurity, corporate governance, and sustainability reporting, among other modern topics in the study program.

The blend of this modern accounting curriculum with traditional accounting principles makes a bachelor’s degree holder in accounting fit for thriving in the contemporary business landscape. These professionals are equipped to assist in major business decisions, help structure the financial framework, enhance operational efficiencies, lead successful audits, and more.

Moreover, with the right certification and experience, a graduate’s career trajectory may even lead to positions such as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or other high-ranking executive roles. Therefore, an accounting bachelor’s degree serves as a gate pass that gives you the key to a prosperous future in the world of business, finance, and beyond.

Tax Return Online Helps You Calculate Your Tax Returns Promptly

by

Michelle Barkley

Preparing taxes can be quiet difficult for you, if you do not have a proper knowledge about calculation of taxes. Everyone wants to pay their taxes in time during the tax paying season in America. There are two ways of going about it. You can either get a CPA to do the work for you or you can calculate the amount you have to pay as tax yourself. Preparing your tax return online is one option that you can utilize for calculating your taxes. There are several sites on the web where you can calculate your tax return.

Calculating your tax return online can in fact turn out to be of a huge advantage for you. Filing of taxes online makes the entire process very easy for you. Everybody faces shortage of time and if you can actually prepare and file your tax returns online, this will be immensely beneficial to you. The work will be done promptly and you will have the satisfaction that all your calculations have been done properly. After all it will be you only, doing the work. By filing your tax return online you will not have to deal with an accountant or CPA to do the work for you. The tax calculating season witnesses a heavy influx of customers to the office of their accountants and CPAs. This means that the accountants are overburdened with work related to the tax calculations and preparation of tax returns. And that is not all; you will not have to pay the accountant for calculating your tax return. Online tax returns are processed at much faster rate then tax returns filed manually. The entire tax return is calculated automatically as you start filling up and complete the form. Also, this is convenient as you can have access to tax return online at any time of the day. So, whenever you are free you can file your taxes online anytime at your convenience. Ideally, you will not have to depend on anyone for filing your tax returns. If you find that you are entitled to a refund from the tax department, you can get this refund very soon if you file the tax return online. Anything that is done online on the web is processed very fast as compared to the same work done manually. So, the advantages of tax return easily outnumber the advantages of filing your tax return manually. Well, you will have to actually file tax return online to get to know firsthand about all the advantages of this process.

Michelle Barkley is a CPA working for Ifrworld.She specializes in Accounting Outsourcing ,Bookkeeping Outsourcing and

Tax Return Online

.To know more and to use the services visit

ifrworld.com

Article Source:

Tax Return Online Helps You Calculate Your Tax Returns Promptly

Euroland to score an own goal over Corporation Tax ?

by

Brendan Wilde

At times of deep recession and high unemployment, one of the traditional measures to which governments aspire in order to stimulate their economies is a reduction in Corporation Tax rates. The reasons are two-fold. First, lower CT rates make individual countries more attractive to overseas companies looking to open new offices and / or factories. Secondly, the more profits that corporations can retain in their businesses, the more they have available to re-invest in new expansion and job creation.

If ever anyone wanted proof that this policy works, one need only look at the Irish experience. In Ireland, relatively very low Corporation Tax rates ( currently only 12.5 % ) succeeded in persuading a host of major companies like Dell and Google to set up shop there. Similarly, a steady reduction in rates by the UK’s new Coalition Government is clearly arresting a small exodus of companies to lower tax environments overseas. The only problem is that when most countries are under the same pressure, they can end up in a beggar thy neighbour auction wherein everyone is attempting to underbid everyone else. Also, countries with left leaning governments obviously have a problem cutting business taxes at a time when Joe Public’s finances are under pressure. This dilemma has already raised its head in France where the new socialist President, Francois Hollande, has indicated that he wants all EU countries to adopt a common rate of Corporation Tax. This policy has, in fact, already just been voted through by the European Parliament. Since France’s basic rate of CT is an eye-watering 33.1%, it’s clearly in its interests to make sure no other European countries can undercut it. It will certainly be interesting to see how the UK reacts to this idea. It has gone to great lengths to encourage large overseas corporations to expand here and the government’s Eurosceptic wing will have a field day if this proposal starts to gain any traction. One group which is bound to come out smelling of roses if these socialist inspired tax rates take hold are the numerous tax havens like the British Virgin Islands where huge global corporations can still legitimately shelter a large part of their earnings via some imaginative creative accounting.

Baker Tilly is an independent firm of chartered accountants and business advisers with a specific focus on

corporate business tax.

Article Source:

Euroland to score an own goal over Corporation Tax ?