D196 Flashcards
(131 cards)
Accounting
quantitative information, primarily financial in nature, about economic entities that is intended to be useful in making economic decision
4 key components of accounting
1) Quantitative - relates to numbers
2) Financial - Accounting focuses on just the financial dimension.
3) Useful -accounting exists only because it is useful.
4) Decisions - it impacts decisions about the future.
Decision making process
1) Identify issue
2) Gather information
3) Identify alternatives
4) Select best option
What do accountants do in a business?
1) measure and report
2) Advise
2 primary areas of accounting
1) Managerial Accounting - Gathering and analysis of INTERNAL decision making
2) Financial Accounting - Used EXTERNALLY such as investors and creditors
Internal reports
used by those who direct the day-to-day operations of a business enterprise.
Management accounting
focuses on the information needed for planning, implementing plans, and controlling costs
Financial accounting summarized into 3 financial statements
1) Balance sheet
2) income statement
3) statement of cash flows
Balance sheet
A summary of the financial position of a company at a particular date.
Income statement
Reports the amount of net income earned by a company during a period.
The statement of cash flows
Reports the amount of cash collected and paid out by a company in the following three types of activities: operating, investing, and financing.
Key External users
Lenders
Investors
FASB
Financial Accounting Standards Board
Maintains its influence as the accounting standard setter for the United States.
Private group
GAAP
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
Authoritative guidlines that define accounting practice at a particular time in the united states
SEC
Securities and Exchange commission
regulate U.S. stock exchanges.
CPA
Certified Public Accountant
CPA label guarantees that the person has received substantial accounting training and achieved a certain level of competence in accounting.
A CPA firm is a company that performs accounting services, just as a law firm performs legal services.
IRS
Internal Revenue Service
IASB
International Accounting Standards Board
develop international accounting standards
GASB
Government Accounting Standards Board
sets the accounting and financial reporting standards for state and local governments following GAAP.
What are the role of ethics in accounting?
Accountants have a moral and an economic incentive to be ethical and to conduct themselves ethically. Their product is information, and the value of that information is related to the confidence that users have in its relevance and reliability.
purpose of the accounting cycle
to help you see how the accounting process (including the recording) turns transactions into financial statements. Begin with business transactions, which are then analyzed and input into the financial accounting system.
Steps of the accounting cycle
1) Analyze Transactions
2) Record the effects of transactions
3) Summarize effects (preparing journal entries, preparing trial balance)
4) prepare reports
Accounting equation
Assets = Liabilities + Owners Equity
Owners Equity
A method of financing resources that does not require repayment and represents ownership interests in the business