Plant and Intangible Assets

  Together plant an intangible assets make up a significant part of corporate balance sheets because they represent major investments of resources. The future of many business enterprises depends on their investments in plant and intangible assets .

Plant Assets as a "STREAM OF FUTURE SERVICES"
 
  Plant assets represent a bundle of future services and thus can be thought of as long-term prepaid expenses. Ownership of a delivery truck for example may provide about 100000 miles of transportation. the cost of the truck is entered in an asset account , which in essence represent the advance purchase of these transportation services. similarly a building represents the advance purchase of many years of housing services . as the years go by these services are utilized by the business and the cost of plant asset gradually is transferred to depreciation expense to reflect the cost of using the asset to generate revenue.

Careers in accounting (part 2)

Public accounting:

  Certified public accountants offer a variety of accounting services to the public . these individuals may work in a CPA firm or as sole practitioners .
  The work of public accountants consists primarily of auditing financial statements income tax and management advisory services ( management consulting ).
  Management advisory services extend well beyond tax planning and accounting matters ; CPAs advise management on such diverse issues as international mergers, manufacturing processes. and the introduction of new products. CPAs assist management because financial considerations enter into almost every business decision.
  A great many CPAs move from public accounting into managerial positions with organizations.
  The CPA Examination : To become a CPA a person must meet several criteria including an extensive university education requirement. Passing the CPA examination , and meeting a practice experience requirement. CPA certificates are granted by 55 legal jurisdictions (50 U.S.states,Guam,Puerto Rico,the virgin islands, Washington D.C. and the Mariana Islands). The examination is a rigorous examination that covers a variety of accounting and business subjects that allow candidates to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in areas believed important for protecting the public. The exam is computer based and is offered at many testing centers throughout the United states .

Governmental Accounting:

  Governmental agencies use accounting information in allocating their resources and in controlling their operations. Therefore the need for management accountants in governmental agencies is similar to that in business organizations.

  The GAO: who audits the government?  The government accountability office (GAO) audits many agencies of the federal government,as well as some private organizations doing business with the government. The GAO reports its findings directly to congress which in turn often disclose these findings to the public.
  GAO investigations may be designed either to evaluate the efficiency of an entity's operations or to determine the fairness of accounting information reported to the government.
  The IRS: audits of income tax returns  Another governmental agency that performs extensive auditing work is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS handles the millions of income tax returns filed annually by individuals and business organizations and frequently performs auditing functions to verify data contained in these returns
 The SEC: "The watchdog" of financial reporting  The SEC works closely with the FASB in establishing generally accepted accounting principles . Most publicly owned corporations must file audited financial statements with the SEC each year .If the SEC believes that a company's financial statements are deficient in any way , it conducts an investigation . If the SEC concludes that federal securities laws have been violated, it initiates legal action against the reporting entity and responsible individuals .
  Many other governmental agencies , including the FBI , the treasury department and the FDIC (federal deposit insurance corporation ), use accountants to audit compliance with governmental regulations and to investigate suspected criminal activity . People beginning their careers in governmental accounting often move into top administrative positions.

Accounting education:

  Some accountants including your instructor have chosen to pursue careers in accounting education. A position as an accounting faculty member offers opportunities for teaching research ,consulting and an unusual degree of freedom in developing individual skills . Accounting educators contribute to the accounting profession in many ways. One of course lies in effective teaching ; second in publishing significant research findings ; and third in influencing top students to pursue careers in accounting.

Careers in accounting

Accounting along with such fields as architecture , engineering, law, medicine is recognized as profession. What distinguishes a profession from other disciplines ? There is no single recognized definition of a profession, but all these fields have several characteristics in common .

First, all professions involve a complex and evolving body of knowledge . In accounting, the complexity and the ever-changing nature of the business world, financial reporting requirements, management's demands for increasingly complex information and income tax laws certainly meet this criterion .

second, in all professions, practitioners must use their professional judgement to resolve problems and dilemmas.

Of greatest importance , however ,is the unique responsibility of professionals to serve the public's best interest, even at the sacrifice of personal advantage . This responsibility stems from the fact that the public has little technical knowledge in the professions yet fair and competent performance bye professionals is vital to the public's health safety or well-being . The practice of medicine for example directly affects public health while engineering affects public safety . Accounting affects the public's well-being in many ways because accounting information is used in the allocation of economic resources throughout society . thus accountants have a basic social contract to avoid being associated with misleading information .

Accountants tend to specialize in specific fields as do the members of other professions . Career opportunities in accounting may be divided into four broad areas (1) public accounting (2) management accounting (3) governmental accounting (4) accounting education . < I will discuss them later in a separate post >

Ratio Impact-Notes Receivable

Ratio Impact-liabilities and bad debts

Ratio Impact-Bad debts and Inventory returns

Ratiio Impact Notes Payable