Accounting Made Easy With Small Business Credit Cards

Jaded by a routine 9 to 5 job? Stifled by your thankless work? Have you bartered your dreams away for an emotionally unsatisfying life? If you have finally decided to wrench yourself free from your shackles, it is time to take stock financially and see how small business credit cards can actually help you in starting your and running your own business.

When you set out on this exciting new journey, you are likely to face a number of challenges, and with them, teething troubles. You can avoid such stress if you make good use of the various tools specially designed to assist entrepreneurs in their ventures. Small business credit cards are by far one of the most important accounting instruments made available to you.

Small Business Credit Cards are Valuable Accounting Tools

One of the major problems that small businesses face is detailed accounting of their monetary transactions. Finances of any business must be immaculate and readily presentable, and if you haven not done such accounting before, be prepared for a tough task.

Usually, a small business suffers from insufficient manpower. Business owners assume various roles and are often under tremendous pressure to perform efficiently in a frenetic race against time to meet deadlines. Thus, opportunity for human error creeps in. But when it comes to finances, even the minor errors can spell disaster for your new baby.

Small business credit cards offer an opportunity to ease this tension and minimize errors. Whenever a transaction is done through a small business credit card, it is automatically reflected in a monthly statement. Your books can then be easily updated on time with the help of these all-inclusive statements showing specific details. A thorough account of all purchases can easily be maintained in this manner.

Managing Your Business with Small Business Credit Cards

Small business credit cards generally offer features such as online banking and round-the-clock technical assistance. This is especially handy when it comes to bill payment, downloading data, viewing expense reports, redeeming points, and overall maintenance and monitoring of transactions.

Add-on Benefits of a Small Business Credit Card

Credit card companies have bettered the deal by offering additional benefits on small business credit cards. As a business owner, you cannot afford to ignore these benefits. For example, obtaining incrementally higher credit limits can provide you with additional liquidity when required and more opportunities to expand your business products and services.

A small business credit card can also have a cash back offer that entitles the cardholder to rebates on purchases made with collaborating businesses. The refund may be reflected on the customer’s account statement or just be provided by way of a periodic rebate check. Some cards also come with airline and travel reward incentives and you can even earn frequent flyer miles with your purchases that can also be redeemed for discounts and rewards.

Small business credit cards have revolutionized the way fledgling businesses approach finance. Card statements that are usually made available online can help remove tedious accounting paperwork. Small business credit cards empower even those with the most rudimentary knowledge of accounting, freeing them up to focus on growing their respective businesses.

Accounting In Business Management

In any part of the world, engaging in business ventures to participate in the ever growing number of players who want to make their mark in the business sectors will be one aspect that needs to be carefully studied. Key aspects that include the industry that anyone is planning to penetrate, the target market and the potential buying behavior of the consumer market are only some of the factors for consideration. A thorough study of the entire matter needs to be evaluated. It is not merely a venture wherein people can simply decide to put up a business and offer a service or good. Nor is it a matter of hiring the best marketing and sales people available today to ensure a successful business venture.

A business venture entails a lot of research work to be done. It needs consideration such as currency, basic necessities, affordability and brand familiarity. It is never simply about what the management team of a company that complete the whole business mix has. The need to also consider factors as actual consumer demands, the need for substitutes for a wider selection of variants and brands is what most consumers in the market today would look at and such is something that should be considered by would be entrepreneurs and business groups.

Such are points for consideration being taken into consideration in the overall evaluation and management process for Chin Chin products that are distributed today. The demand for products in areas such as Canada, the United States and the Philippines vary in nature, especially in terms of demand. Cultural familiarity and actual needs of consumers in the regions need to be carefully analyzed. It is not merely a question of trial and error. It is identifying what a consumer wants and would purchase for a specific price. While some would disregard this consideration, it is a step towards business disaster and corporate downfall. In any business planning ordeal, the key factor of targeting the right consumer market, assessing the volume of demand and supply and focusing on the actual goods that have potential that will surely be key indicators for successful business ventures.

The price at which people pay for a certain commodity or good would depend on the overall quality of products offered in the market today. This can range from basic needs to lofty paraphernalia that most people feel to be more of a vice rather than a need. Based on the belief using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, people have changed to total viewpoint when it comes to detailing what the important needs of survival are today.

For people who are not adept in understanding the whole business methodology, there should be something more than just plain reference towards the financial statements of a company such as the Balance Sheet, Income Statement and the Cash Flows. People need to also consider the overall operations, the level of investments made and the paid-up capital before they would start bellyaching about poor corporate performance.

The operations aspect of companies should be taken into account. It is not merely relying on revenues and expenses and not overseeing what the company’s actual operations are. Administration is one thing and operations is another, and both must be addressed to have a fully operating business.

The need for broader analysis and understanding of such cases is a must. Top managers cannot simply judge from what they hear. They should be able to learn how to properly evaluate a business and financial statements do not show the entire business operations of a company.

Accounting For Home Based Businesses

Home based businesses are still businesses, and as such a financial accounting is needed for several reasons. Taxes are one of the most important reasons for a home business to keep accounting records to show money made and money paid. There are several ways to do this, and your knowledge of accounting practices is not a roadblock. Some small business owners think that since they work from home, income and expenses do not need to be tracked, but this is totally untrue.

Keeping account books and records can be done with a variety of accounting software available for sale. This type of software has easy to understand spreadsheets that make it very easy for a small home business owner to balance books and get an idea of the profitability of their home business. The software for these applications is made by a variety of trusted manufacturers, and some of these programs even have fields for important tax return information for the end of the year. These software programs greatly simplify bookkeeping for home businesses, even for someone with no accounting experience.

Some home business owners prefer to do things the old fashioned way, with a pencil and paper. With computer hackers and viruses out there, some owners would prefer not to keep their financial records on their computer. In this case, a general accounting ledger with three columns will work as effectively as the expensive software. One column can represent money that is received for the home business, one column can be used for money that is paid out on behalf of the home business, and one column can be used to keep the running balance of your home business. This accounting system is easy to use and follow, because each day every transactiion is recorded in the ledger. The ledger is also an important record for the tax preparation of your home business at the end of your fiscal year.

Accounting records are a very important part of running a home business. Whether you purchase software or just an old fashioned ledger, keeping track of the payments received and sent on behalf of your home business is a very important step in running a successful home based business. A lot of home business owners do not worry about accounting in relation to their home business, and this can be a fatal mistake for you and your home business. Make sure that you keep track of the accounting for your home business, and whether you use software or the old pencil and paper method, keep records of your financial dealings. This will ave you a lot of time and trouble at the end of the year.

Accounting Classes

If you’re thinking about taking accounting classes in order to better manage your own business or non-profit organization you’re off to a rewarding experience! In fact, chances are that you’ll notice evidence of your expanded understanding of accounting and financial management in various ways almost as soon as you apply the new knowledge and methodology.

You don’t have to earn a four year degree in accountancy in order to expand your knowledge of accounting in meaningful and productive ways. If you want to make accountancy your profession, you would do well to invest your time and resources into a two or four year degree program.

If you’re serious about educating yourself about financial accounting in order to manage an organization that you participate in you may also find that a two year degree program is worth your time and effort. There are, however, many community college and leisure learning classes that may fit your schedule and budget to a tee.

If you live near a community college, visit the campus or website and find out more about the types of accounting classes that are offered. If you don’t see the information that you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to ask questions about the curriculum or to seek advice about what types of accounting classes will meet your learning goals.

Particularly if you live in a larger city, there are many learning centers and organizations that offer classes on all kinds of things from sushi making to kayaking, CPR and accounting. Many times these types of classes are the most feasible type of education because sessions last from one day to a few weeks long so participants can fit them into their schedules. Additionally, accounting classes from these smaller learning organizations will cost less than college degree programs.

Take a look online and ask around about local accounting classes. If you’re looking for a quick solution, there are also some online courses if you enjoy self-paced learning. Take your time to research tuition for online schools, as many of them have rates that are much higher than others.

Accounting Careers

Accountants play a critical role in a company’s many financial facets. In general, they balance books, record costs and profits, execute payroll, pay taxes and bills, and issue financial statements to outside organizations. Although these may appear to be straightforward tasks, accountants are required to be well-versed in protocol and regulations to avoid scandal, which results in costly fines and marred reputations. However, the accounting industry is drawing a breath of fresh air after exchanging paper spitting calculators and ledger sheets for advanced accounting software. Career Accountants now have the opportunity to wear the consulting hat, spending less time crunching numbers and more time serving as financial vernacular translators for the management sector.

This new hat also comes with a whole new outfit. Employers now seek Accounting applicants that are not only math and detail-oriented, but possess analytical thinking skills that lend them to spot and solve problems. Still, even the best solutions are worthless if they cannot be communicated to a member that can implement it. Therefore, strong written and verbal communication skills are important qualifications for the modern accounting position. A bachelor’s degree in finance, business, or management of information systems (MIS) is considered suitable training by employers for the technical, analytical, and communication skills necessary to succeed in entry-level positions. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, however, requires 150 hours of university education, thirty hours more than a typical four-year degree, before qualifying to take the CPA exam. For those embarking on the internal auditing and management accounting career path, there is the Internal Auditors or the Institute of Management Accountants, which issue certifications required by some employers. Qualifications for bookkeeping positions are much more lax, offering positions to high school graduates, associate degree holders, or people with a degree in an unrelated field. Notably, these positions are often more tedious and offer less compensation.

Optimistically speaking, there are several accounting career tracks in the industry that highlight a wide range of interests and accountant training: public accounting, in-house accounting, internal auditors, management accountants, government accountants, bookkeepers and auditing clerks, and independent. Public Accountants prepare a company’s tax statements and external auditing, which make financial records available to the government and the public. These accountants enjoy the flexibility of their work because their skills are needed by small and big firms alike. In-House Accountants set budgets, manage assets and payroll, track payments, and handle other financial matters. Internal Auditors and Management Accountants assume a more internal function by checking accounting systems for clerical errors, enforcing regulations, streamlining processes, advising on critical decisions and strategy planning. Government Accountants are financial disciplinarians that collect revenue and see that it is spent in accordance with the law. Bookkeepers and Auditing Clerks perform the task of inputting data into the company’s financial record keeping system. However, once you’ve earned your CPA, the allure of becoming an entrepreneur gains strength since many businesses are willing to arrange for advising sessions and tax return work on a contract basis.

Regardless of the position, a career in accounting offers many opportunities to move up after getting that foot into the door, and right now the door is open. After a series of industry scandals, companies are eagerly seeking ethical applicants to fill forensic positions in order to reestablish their clients’ faith. The public accounting sector also has many available positions in auditing and taxes. These Accounting Career opportunities are primarily situated in the health care and manufacturing industries, but the Big Four Accounting Firms (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers) are always looking for bright-eyed youngsters to fill menial positions in exchange for a big name to print on a resume.

The Big Four Accounting Firms offer a far from shabby starting salary in the mid $30,000s to $40,000 for entry-level accounting employees who quickly move up to the mid $40,000 to high $50,000 upon reaching seniority status. Management Accountants earn $60,000 to mid $70,000 a year and partners generally make more than $120,000. Although smaller firms may offer slightly lower wages, salaries in general are projected to continue rising in the industry over the next few years.

Accounting and Accountancy

Oftentimes when I meet someone for the second or third time, they say, “aren’t you in accounting?” While I am into accounting, which is the methodology and measuring aspect of my work, the profession as a whole is better labeled as ‘accountancy’.

Accountancy is the profession and accounting it the methods by which accountants measure, track and report on financial information so that resource allocation decisions can be made by, well, whoever the decision makers are.

For a small business owner’s personal finances, as an example, I may be measuring the finances of a few people (the family), and reporting the necessary information to the small business owner. In this situation, the decision maker is the small business owner and his decisions involve deciding how much money he has to put toward family necessities.

Generally speaking, there are two main types of accounting. There is financial accounting and there is auditing. Financial accounting typically involves processing of financial information about a business operation where information is recorded, organized, summarized, interpreted and finally communicated.

Auditing, on the other hand, is there process that an independent auditor examines accounting records and financial statements so that he or she can express a professional opinion about the financial records and answer questions about projections.

At the heart of accountancy lies the need to take stock of the day to day state of various sales and expenses. In the modern world when many contracts are partially fulfilled at varying times, bookkeeping is the only way to know where you and your business stand in the greater scheme of things.

If you operate your own small business, you may be able to do just fine with some accounting software. Take a look around for some flowchart templates. These can make monthly financial recording and reporting, dare I say it, fun. Simply enter in the various types of income and expenses, then each subsection updates the appropriate fields. Before you know it you’ve got proof that all bills have been allotted for and you’ve got your bottom line.

If you find you can manage your business finances on your own, then, by all means, stick with the system that you know works for you. If, however, you start running into complications that make it hard for you to see where discrepancies are coming from, it may be time to enlist the services of a professional accountant.
memory bus is also called an address bus or front side bus and both busses are high speed digital superhighways. Access methods and speed are two of the fundamental technical differences between memory and mass storage devices. All memory sizes and storage capacities will inevitably be exceeded with advances in technology over time.

Cache memory is a special type of internal memory used by many central processing units to increase their performance or throughput. Some of the information in the main memory is duplicated in the cache memory, which is slightly slower but of much greater capacity than the processor registers, and faster but much smaller than main memory. Multi level cache memory is also commonly used. Primary cache is the smallest, fastest and closest to the processing device. Secondary cache is larger and slower, but still faster and much smaller than main memory.

Semiconductor memory uses semiconductor based integrated circuits to store information. A semiconductor memory chip may contain millions of tiny transistors or capacitors. Both volatile and non volatile forms of semiconductor memory exist. In modern computers, primary storage almost exclusively consists of dynamic volatile semiconductor memory or dynamic random access memory. Since the turn of the century, a type of non volatile semiconductor memory known as flash memory has steadily gained share as offline storage for home computers. Non volatile semiconductor memory is also used for secondary storage in various advanced electronic devices and specialized computers.

Accounting - All Businesses Need One

As business becomes more and more global, and complexities continue to emerge, certain fields have gained prominence in today's career market. One of these is accounting. Accounting is a very conceptual career or task, more a question of information handling than any hands-on approach to product development. However, as trends change, accounting is becoming a little more diverse and less just a question of 'crunching numbers'.

These days, there are specific kinds of accountants who do separate jobs as part of a given company. There are accountants who monitor spending and resource use; these are called 'audit' accountants. Then there are other professionals who use accounting information to guide procedures and to facilitate decision-making, and these are referred to as 'management' accountants.

One could say that while audit accountants are involved in book-keeping history, management accounting is a process of looking to the future to try to foresee events and plan for these in terms of a company's resources. 'Ledgers' and classic ideas of accounting belong more to audit accounting, while management accounting deals directly with the machinery of a firm. Both positions require people skills and analytical skills; both types of accountants need to know how to use computers. Spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel is popular in keeping accounting information available in a flexible format.

As to the issue of how the two are related, audit accounting is often considered more essential to small businesses. A small business may not need any more oversight than the owner or general manager can provide, but someone always had to keep the books. Also, in management, the old adage may apply that 'too many cooks spoil the broth'. Management accounting seems to be a more useful role in large companies that need many consultants to micro-manage a variety of projects.

In general, accounting is becoming a popular career choice. Some may shy away from it due to an aversion to how accountants have been described in the past. Some people 'don't like numbers' and consider accounting work to be unbearably dry or tedious. Others, however, have already completed their degree to become a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and these may find themselves well placed in high-profile audit accounting positions. For others, management accounting provides a new look at a classic career.

Either way, the study of this valuable field can be a good way to get into a certain kind of company. many companies are hiring temporary accountants, and the abundance of opportunities means that employers and university graduates may be able to find each other through the phenomenon of accounting, as the majority of businesses turn their efforts toward the study of resource allocation, asset management, or more simply, crunching numbers.

Accounting

When starting a business, you have to determine the method you are going to use for accounting and paying taxes. The two choices are the cash method and the accrual method.

Cash Method

If you are looking for simplicity, the cash method is probably your best accounting choice. Generally, income and deductions can be claimed when payment is actually received or made. This is best shown with an example.

I open a small business and have to order business cards and stationary. I receive the products and pay the invoice on November 18, 2007. Under the cash method, I can deduct the cost on my 2007 tax return.

Some businesses are restricted from using the cash method. C corporations may only use the cash method if they have less than $5 million in gross revenues for a particular year. Professional Service Corporations can use the cash method without limit, while farming corporations can due so if gross revenues are less than $25 million. Tax shelters are prohibited from using the cash method.

Accrual Method

The Accrual Method of accounting is a bit more complex. Under this method, the focus in on the date the expense is incurred, not paid. Although this may seem a small difference, it can play havoc with your books and piece of mind.

Using our previous example, assume I order business cards and stationary on the December 18, 2006. I receive the products on December 30th, but don’t pay the invoice until January 20, 2007. When can the expense be claimed? It depends on when economic performance occurred.

Generally, economic performance occurs when goods or services are provided to you. In the above example, economic performance would arguably occur when the business cards and stationary were delivered with the invoice on December 30th. Thus, I would be able to deduct the expense for the 2007 tax year.

In Closing

As you can see, the cash method is the easier of the two accounting methods. To determine the best method for your business, speak with a tax professional.

Accountants And Accounting Software

Accounting is the measuring, and disclosure or provision of assurance about information that helps managers and other decision makers make resource allocation decisions. How to become an Accountant.

Accountants in the US are called Certified Public Accountants and in the UK and Canada are called Chartered Accountants.

Chartered Accountants in Canada are expected to know all US CPA knowledge as well as a Canadian Accounting body of knowledge. In order to become an Accountant an undergraduate degree is required and then a period of articling is required which can take as long as 5 years with gruelling exams and an exhausting series of finals.

In her notes compiled in 1979, Professor Linda Plunkett of the College of Charleston S.C., calls accounting the "oldest profession"; in fact, since prehistoric times families had to account for food and clothing to face the cold seasons.

Later, as man began to trade, they established the concept of value and developed a monetary system. Evidence of accounting records can be found in the Babylonian Empire (4500 B.C.), in pharaohs' Egypt and in the Code of Hammurabi (2250 B.C.).

Eventually, with the advent of taxation, record keeping became a necessity for governments to sustain social orders. Perhaps the most significant benefits to contemporary accounting has been the introduction of computer programs to assist in the accounting function.

Computer programs were introduced in business and government organizations in the 1950s, and the most important applications of computers have been in the areas of record keeping, balancing , and transaction recording.

Accounting uses various bases of measurement, mainly the cash basis, the accrual basis (or historical cost) and variations of these; all of these functions are greatly assisted by the use of various accounting software programs.

Accounting is tied to the invention and dissemination of the double entry bookkeeping process.

Different Accounting Software Solutions available today:

ACCPAC web-based accounting, launched the ACCPAC Online web site in 1999 which allows end users to run ACCPAC from a simple browser for a small monthly rental fee.

Intuit's QuickBooks for the Web represents a new product from scratch. Microsoft Small Business Manager is a new player on the block which is a scaled down version of Great Plains Accounting Software.

Netledger centralized net computing renamed Oracle Small Business Manager Peachtree. This product was the older Peachtree Office Accounting product and is also a web-based solution. In 2000, Peachtree added a web-based module to its' flagship Peachtree Complete Accounting product called Peachtree Web Accounting.

SAP mySAP - web-based accounting featuring a limited number of SAP modules.

So it appears that there are 2 different types of Accounting Software:

Web Based Accounting: which is one application on a Web Server running everybody's application.
There are of course advantages and disadvantages to this type of application, immediately coming to mind is confidentiality and the security of the Servers being used as well as possible breakdowns.
Advantages are of course in being able to use unlimited Server Resources.

And then there is PC Based accounting which everybody has tried and is Bill Gates favorite.

Advantages;

In-house control of everything but subject to limited resources.

Accountant Resume Tips To Get You the Job That You Deserve!

An accountant resume must highlight important information about your accounting experience, skills and education. This article gives you some ideas of the sort of information that an employer is looking for.

Basically a resume should contain your full name, permanent address, telephone numbers and email addresses. Apart from that an accountant resume should include the following information:

- A clear cut career and job objective which shows your sense of direction to the employer.
- Your resume should have the names of each of your employers and your corresponding job titles.
- Give a brief description about the employer like what they are doing, if they are not well known.
- Include your career goals and express your interest in a specific job that you are applying for.
- Mention a minimum of two and preferably not more than ten points, each describing an accomplishment in terms of results as an accountant.
- Mention all your accounting related skills which make your resume outstanding.
- In reverse chronological order include required information that includes your degree(s) and major, date of graduation, universities you attended, location of universities and any certifications of licenses related to your degree.
- Emphasize your accounting related accomplishments and contributions.
- Optimize your sentences for effectiveness and use management oriented words in your resume.
- Use as many accounts related key words, skill headings and use of action verbs. For example Management of A/R Accounts, Billing and Collections, Supervision of Accounting and Administrative Staff, Balance Sheet and Management Status Reports etc.
- Mention how you have reduced costs and saved money in your department or the organization in general by any means.
- Mention how you improved the efficiency and productivity within your department.
- Highlight any other achievements that have benefited your department and obviously your organization in general.

Accountant

An accountant is a person who manages financial issues, including the preparation of financial plans and budgets, as well as the management of accounts and staff welfare.

In most countries, officially licensed accountants are recognized by titles. In the UK, they are termed as “chartered accountants.” In the U.S., accountants are commonly known as “certified public accountants,” whereas in Canada, they are either known as “certified management accountants” or “certified general accountants.” Although most of the accountants in Canada also function as chartered accountants, certified general accountants are also authorized to practice public accounting and auditing in the country.

The main responsibilities of accountants are to create financial reports and to undertake day-to-day bookkeeping for managers, regulators, and shareholders. Accountants manage a double-entry bookkeeping system wherein there are two entries for every transaction are made, one to a debit account and one to a corresponding credit account. As per accounting rules, the sum of the debit and credit figures should be equal and any discrepancy in the total means that there has been an error. An accountant also audits and inspects the financial records of individuals or businesses, along with preparing financial and tax reports.

In the United States, accountants can obtain specialized certificates in varied fields where they can hold titles like “certified public accountant,” “certified internal auditor,” “certified management accountant,” and “accredited business accountants.” In the U.S., the governmental accounting standard board prepares accounting rules for making financial statements for publicly traded companies and private companies. Further, some of the accounting organizations that influence developing standard rules for accountants in the U.S. are the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).

Some major firms recognized globally are PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, and KPMG. Most accountants perform different kinds of accounting like cost accounting, financial accountancy, and management accountancy.  Accountants are skilled professionals and are an integral part of the modern economy.

ABCs Of A Good Accountant

Have a good laugh at this joke concerning accountants:

A businessman was interviewing applicants for the position of divisional manager. He devised a simple test to select the most suitable person for the job. He asked each applicant the question, "How much is two and two?"

The first interviewee was a journalist. His answer was "twenty-two"

The second applicant was an engineer. He pulled out a calculator and showed the answer to be between 3.999 and 4.001.

The last applicant was an accountant. When the businessman asked him the question, the accountant got up from his chair, went over to the door, closed it, came back and sat down. Then, he leaned across the desk and said in a low voice, "How much do you want it to be?"

Dropping off the fun out of this joke, accountants are indeed essential in the community of professionals. It cannot be denied that it is a job with a good distinction over others. At any rate, a good accountant will always be different from a so-so one.

What does it take to be a good accountant?

A good accountant is someone with:

Good Time Management- time will always be a major concern. Accounting is a complex job. True as always will be, time is gold.

Oral Expression- he deals with loads of people. Therefore, he must be good at speking his mind.

Outstanding Quality of Work- In whatever side, quality beats quantity. An accountant must pour out his best in every task he performs.

Deep Sense of Professionalism- He must act as if he owns everything under him. A good accountant is somebody who knows how to act the way his profession asks him to.

Assertiveness- he must not be contented with just sitting down. He must know his stand, speak it out and work on it.

Creativity- he must not have a shortage of ideas, strategies and methods of making great results attainable.

Competence- he has to ignore choosing the least. His target must be the rooms on top.

Open-mindedness- he must view change in an optimistic way. Moreover, he must be flexible towards it.

Understanding his Job- he will act well if he knows what his real purpose is.

Numeric- I need not explain.

Team Work Flexibility- He can work well with all kinds of people. He can build a good relationship with almost everybody.

Analytical Skills- He must think beyond mediocre does

Necessary Listening Skills- Talking alone will not shape him into a good adviser as expected of him. He must be someone who respects the view of others.

Trustworthiness- He is someone who does his job well and establishes others’ confidence in him.

A Guide To Accounting Software

Computer software that helps in processing various financial transactions, recording them, and presenting them in the form of a report is know as accounting software. There are several functional modules in accounting software.

Organizations operating on a large scale prefer to develop such software within their organizations so that it suits their needs. However, there is no need to worry for the small-scale or middle-level entrepreneur who cannot afford to develop in-house software. There is no dearth of accounting software on the market. The price range is wide, and most of the good accounting software is easily affordable for even a sole proprietor. They are easy to operate and one does not need to be a computer genius. This software generally comes with “how to" information. They are quite user friendly. In fact, you might not feel the need to keep paying your part-time accountant once you start using accounting software.

There is also complex accounting software that is generally used by the government and large organizations. Such complex software can be operated by trained professionals only. One of the major benefits of accounting software is that it can not only help the organizations in computing their income, revenues, profits, or losses over a period of time, but they can also help the individuals in computing their tax liabilities. This is especially true if they have multiple sources of income.

A number of firms also provide accounting software online. You can easily download it by paying a nominal fee. Some websites also offer such software for free. It is advisable that once you have decided to use accounting software, the first thing you should do is to use it on a trial basis and check for loopholes or any problems that might be there.

A Closer Look At Accounting Program

There was a time when small businesses, specially mom and pop stores could get away without keeping accounts of any sort. In fact, the only reason why they were classified as mom and pop stores were because the business was run in an unplanned manner. But with increasing number of people choose for small businesses and the entrepreneurial plan being foster by governments worldwide, these businesses have to come to represent a large part of the gross domestic produce of countries worldwide. This is where the need for complete accounting programs surfaced and that is why it has become a big issue for all businesses.

There are various accounting programs prepared to provide to the needs of all type of businesses. While the smaller stores use separate accounting programs and smaller, single user license versions of the more popular accounting programs the larger stores need to use a complete set of accounting programs. Be that as it may, the fact remains that all businesses, large or small, need to use accounting programs of some kind in order to make more efficient their process and to comply with governmental regulations.

One of the simplest accounting programs available in the market today is Microsoft Money. While most computers bought in the United States of America come pre loaded with this accounting program, it is applicable only for personal finance calculations or maybe small business needs. But as accounting programs go, it is fairly well designed to cater to the needs of smaller businesses. This explains its popularity in terms of number of users who use it as their primary accounting program.

A slightly more evolved accounting program is something that has come to be recognized and sold as Tally. Like the name tells, this is an accounting program that provide to the needs of smaller businesses, where the accounting operation is primarily a function that tallies stock (either available or sold) with the cash available in the machines at the counter. That’s not all.

An accounting program like Tally comes with a customizable order making it scalable for a variety of business operations. Therefore smaller businesses even in the services sector are able to use it to make more efficient their processes.

Today, the wide arrays of accounting programs available in the market make it easier for businesses not only to organize themselves, but also to obey with local, national and international requirements. Every business thus can adopt and organize the best practices that make globalization helpful to
every one.

A Career In Accounting

Accounting is the study of how businesses track their income and assets over time. Accountants do much more than the generic presumptions; they compute costs and efficiency gains from new technologies, participating in strategies for mergers and acquisitions, quality management, developing and using information systems to track financial performance, tax strategy, and health care benefits management.

The career is a highly momentous and versatile. The field is usually divided into three broad areas: auditing, financial/tax and management accounting. Audit: Work in audit involves checking accounting ledgers and financial statements within corporations and government.

Budget Analysis:
Budget analysts are responsible for developing and managing an organization’s financial plan.

Financial:
Financial accountants prepare financial statements based on general ledgers and participate in important financial decisions involving mergers and acquisitions, benefits/ERISA planning and long-term financial projections.

Management Accounting:
Management accountants work in companies and participate in decisions about capital budgeting and line of business analysis.

Tax:
Tax accountants prepare corporate and personal income tax statements and develop tax strategies involving issues such as financial choice, how to best treat a merger or acquisition, deferral of taxes, when to expense items and the like.

Various levels of skill are apportioned dissimilarly amongst the divisions which implies that depending on your position their will be specific demands on your adeptness, while average
speaking skills are requisites for all areas; the ability to synthesize varies from throughout each. Audit accounting requires a medium level of skill, tax and financial demands a low level of skill, and Management accounting a high level of proficiency.

Entry level accountants can expect a very team oriented environment. Often they will start as a junior member of a team responsible for auditing an important account or preparing financial statements. It is imperative that junior members learn to pull their weight, and function as a capable, effective, and useful member of the unit. Anyone interested in the field can prepare for a bright career.

According to the bureau of labor statistics their have been considerable increases in job openings, reflective of the fields growth and competitiveness. With the right skills and education this growth establishes the possibility for an incredibly profitable career.

Top firms include KPMG/Peat Marwick, Ernst and Young, Deloitte and Touche, Arthur Anderson, Price WarterhouseCoopers, Grant Thornton, BDO Seidman, and McGladerly and Pullen. College graduates seeking entry level positions should consider employment with these firms. Most people do not make partner at public accounting firms but the experience and training can be excellent.

From there, many move on to careers with an accounting focus in business or government. Ambitious talented accountants can advance their career with the acquisition of skills and experience along the way and subsequently enjoy a very successful career.

A Brief On Small Business Accounting Software

IT revolution has enabled business organizations to be more efficient in their performance in multiple ways. Well, business accounting software is one such by-product of IT revolution that has made it easier for business entities to maintain their balance sheets and other accounting aggregates.

The IT industry has come up with different software solutions for different business entities. For a bigger organization, software packages comprise of additional features to meet vast accounting requirements of the organization. Similarly, for small business entities, a good number of small-business accounting software are on the block. They come with sufficient features to facilitate smooth maintenance of various accounting aggregates and related financial statements.

Let’s find out what all small accounting software can do for your business and what are their basic features.

A decent small business accounting software proves very helpful in day-to-day maintenance of inflow and outflow of accounts. It enables you to keep a fair detail of your revenues and expenses that help you in making business forecasting.

Modern software packages keep clear records of invoices, bank deposits, purchase records, expected cash flow and other such aggregates. You also get to know about relative status of these accounting aggregates. It helps in regulating undesirable expenses thus help increase profit of the company.

Since most people operate small scale business through internet now a days, online accounting and business features in the software are must.

There are a good number of small business accounting software in the market with varying features. While choosing one for yourself you must ensure that the software enjoys credibility by other small business organizations.

More innovated versions of these software have been also found coming up with auto financial details with the help of data fed under different categories of receipts and payments.

The software package must possess user friendly data entry system which is almost similar to Microsoft Excel entry system. This is to simplify complex aggregates to make you reach at financial conclusions from your balance sheets and other bills and receipts.

Many software also lay special emphasis on payroll details. Self generated financial directives often happen to be of immense importance in making fortune of your company. So you should never overlook these software delivered reports.

So always look into these aspects before buying a software package for your small company.

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 on each unit sold. The number of units sold is the sales volume during the reporting period. The business subtracts the amount of fixed expenses for the period, which gives them the operating profit before interest and income tax.

It's important not to confuse profit with cash flow. Profit equals sales revenue minus expenses. A business manager shouldn't assume that sales revenue equals cash inflow and that expenses equal cash outflows. In recording sales revenue, cash or another asset is increased. The asset accounts receivable is increased in recording revenue for sales made on credit. Many expenses are recorded by decreasing an asset other than cash. For example, cost of goods sold is recorded with a decrease to the inventory asset and depreciation expense is recorded with a decrease to the book value of fixed assets. Also, some expenses are recorded with an increase in the accounts payable liability or an increase in the accrued expenses payable liability.

Remember that some budgeting is better than none. Budgeting provides important advantages, like understanding the profit dynamics and the financial structure of the business. It also helps for planning for changes in the upcoming reporting period. Budgeting forces a business manager to focus on the factors that need to be improved to increase profit.  A well-designed management profit and loss report provides the essential framework for budgeting profit. It's always a good idea to look ahead to the coming year. If nothing else, at least plug the numbers in your profit report for sales volume, sales prices, product costs and other expense and see how your projected profit looks for the coming year.

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 listing prepaid expenses or other incidental assets
--Not showing certain classifications of current assets and/or liabilities
--Collapsing short- and long-term debt into one amount.

Over-recording sales revenue is the most common technique of accounting fraud. A business may ship products to customers that they haven't ordered, knowing that those customers will return the products after the end of the year. Until the returns are made, the business records the shipments as if they were actual sales. Or a business may engage in channel stuffing. It delivers products to dealers or final customers that they really don't want, but business makes deals on the side that provide incentives and special privileges if the dealers or customers don't object to taking premature delivery of the products. A business may also delay recording products that have been returned by customers to avoid recognizing these offsets against sales revenue in the current year

The other way a business commits accounting fraud is by under-recording expenses, such as not recording depreciation expense.  Or a business may choose not to record all of its cost of goods sold expense fore the sales made during a period. This would make the gross margin higher, but the business's inventory asset would include products that actually are not in inventory because they've been delivered to customers.

A business might also choose not to record asset losses that should be recognized, such as uncollectible accounts receivable, or it might not write down inventory under the lower of cost or market rule. A business might also not record the full amount of the liability for an expense, making that liability understated in the company's balance sheet. Its profit, therefore, would be overstated.

What happened in corporate accounting scandals?

When a corporation deliberately conceals or skews information to appear healthy and successful to its shareholders, it has committed corporate or shareholder fraud. Corporate fraud may involve a few individuals or many, depending on the extent to which employees are informed of their company's financial practices. Directors of corporations may fudge financial records or disguise inappropriate spending. Fraud committed by corporations can be devastating, not only for outside investors who have made share purchases based on false information, but for employees who, through 401ks, have invested their retirement savings in company stock.
Some recent corporate accounting scandals have consumed the news media and ruined hundreds of thousands of lives of the employees who had their retirement invested in the companies that defrauded them and other investors. The nuts and bolts of some of these accounting scandals are as follows:
WorldCom admitted to adjusting accounting records to cover its operation costs and present a successful front to shareholders. Nine billion dollars in discrepancies were discovered before the telecom corporation went bankrupt in July of 2002. One of the hidden expenses was $408 million given to Bernard Ebbers (WorldCom's CEO) in undisclosed personal loans.
At Tyco, shareholders were not informed of the $170 million in loans that were taken by Tyco's CEO, CFO, and chief legal officer. The loans, many of which were taken interest free and later written off as benefits, were not approved by Tyco's compensation committee. Kozlowski (former CEO), Swartz (former CFO), and Belnick (former chief legal officer) face continuing investigations by the SEC and the Tyco Corporation, which is now operating under Edward Breen and a new board of directors.
At Enron, investigations against uncovered multiple acts of fraudulent behavior. Enron used illegal loans and partnerships with other companies to cover its multi-billion dollar debt. It presented erroneous accounting records to investors, and Arthur Anderson, its accounting firm, began shredding incriminating documentation weeks before the SEC could begin investigations. Money laundering, wire fraud, mail fraud, and securities fraud are just some of the indictments directors of Enron have faced and will continue to face as the investigation continues.

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 are engaged in the public practice of forensic examination, others work in private industry for such entities as banks and insurance companies or governmental entities such as sheriff and police departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The occupational fraud committed by employees usually involves the theft of assets.  Embezzlement has been the most often committed fraud for the last 30 years.  Employees may be involved in kickback schemes, identity theft, or conversion of corporate assets for personal use.  The forensic accountant couples observation of the suspected employees with physical examination of assets, invigilation, inspection of documents, and interviews of those involved.  Experience on these types of engagements enables the forensic accountant to offer suggestions as to internal controls that owners could implement to reduce the likelihood of fraud.     
At times, the forensic accountant may be hired by attorneys to investigate the financial trail of persons suspected of engaging in criminal activity.  Information provided by the forensic accountant may be the most effective way of obtaining convictions.  The forensic accountant may also be engaged by bankruptcy court when submitted financial information is suspect or if employees (including managers) are suspected of taking assets. 
Opportunities for qualified forensic accounting professionals abound in private companies.  CEOs must now certify that their financial statements are faithful representations of the financial position and results of operations of their companies and rely more heavily on internal controls to detect any misstatement that would otherwise be contained in these financials. 
In addition to these activities, forensic accountants may be asked to determine the amount of the loss sustained by victims, testify in court as an expert witness and assist in the preparation of visual aids and written summaries for use in court.

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 presentation of economic issues related to existing or pending litigation.  In this capacity, the forensic accounting professional quantifies damages sustained by parties involved in legal disputes and can assist in resolving disputes, even before they reach the courtroom.  If a dispute reaches the courtroom, the forensic accountant may testify as an expert witness.     
Investigation is the act of determining whether criminal matters such as employee theft, securities fraud (including falsification of financial statements), identity theft, and insurance fraud have occurred.  As part of the forensic accountant's work, he or she may recommend actions that can be taken to minimize future risk of loss.  Investigation may also occur in civil matters.  For example, the forensic accountant may search for hidden assets in divorce cases.
Forensic accounting involves looking beyond the numbers and grasping the substance of situations.  It's more than accounting...more than detective work...it's a combination that will be in demand for as long as human nature exists.  Who wouldn't want a career that offers such stability, excitement, and financial rewards?
In short, forensic accounting requires the most important quality a person can possess: the ability to think.  Far from being an ability that is specific to success in any particular field, developing the ability to think enhances a person's chances of success in life, thus increasing a person's worth in today's society.   Why not consider becoming a forensic accountant on the Forensic Accounting Masters Degree link on the left-hand navigation bar.

Personal Accounting

If you have a checking account, of course you balance it periodically to account for any differences between what's in your statement and what you wrote down for checks and deposits. Many people do it once a month when their statement is mailed to them, but with the advent of online banking, you can do it daily if you're the sort whose banking tends to get away from them.

You balance your checkbook to note any charges in your checking account that you haven't recorded in your checkbook. Some of these can include ATM fees, overdraft fees, special transaction fees or low balance fees, if you're required to keep a minimum balance in your account. You also balance your checkbook to record any credits that you haven't noted previously. They might include automatic deposits, or refunds or other electronic deposits. Your checking account might be an interest-bearing account and you want to record any interest that it's earned.

You also need to discover if you've made any errors in your recordkeeping or if the bank has made any errors. 

Another form of accounting that we all dread is the filing of annual federal income tax returns. Many people use a CPA to do their returns; others do it themselves. Most forms include the following items:

Income - any money you've earned from working or owning assets, unless there are specific exemptions from income tax.

Personal exemptions - this is a certain amount of income that is excused from tax.

Standard deduction - some personal expenditures or business expenses can be deducted from your income to reduce the taxable amount of income. These expenses include items such as interest paid on your home mortgage, charitable contributions and property taxes.

Taxable income - This is the balance of income that's subject to taxes after personal exemptions and deductions are factored in.

5 Tips For Buying Accounting Software

Whether you are shopping for accounting software to help budget your personal or business expenses, you may find that managing all of your files with a single program helps you to save time and know exactly where your money goes. If you are familiar with the accounting process, you already know how complicated ledgers, account statements, debits and credits can be. In an effort to simplify the accounting process, a number of manufacturers have created software specifically designed to help make your life a little easier.

Before deciding on any one particular accounting software program, keep the following tips in mind:

$Because many popular online software specialty stores allow for product feedback from customers, you will have the opportunity to read reviews that may help to make your decision easier based on the experiences by others who have already used the accounting software in question. Pay close attention to customer reviews when shopping for software.

$When you consider the purchase of any type of software, including that of accounting, you will want to make sure that it is compatible with your computer and that all PC requirements are met before purchasing the product. Many software programs require a specific type of processor, available memory, etc. In order for the software to function properly your computer will need to be able to handle all of the applications contained therein. By being familiar with your computer’s configuration, you will be able to make a better selection when it comes time to purchase your new accounting software.

$When shopping for accounting software, read about the program’s description and capabilities. You will need to make sure that you are either already familiar with the application or that you will be comfortable in learning how to use it. The reason is because many retailers will not accept software that is being returned if it has already been opened. So, before you buy, consider downloading a trial version or purchase an accounting software program that you are already familiar with.

$Purchase your accounting software from a company that has been in a business for awhile and one that has a good reputation. This will ensure prompt customer service, reliability, product assurance and a timely shipment. By purchasing software from a reliable and established business, you will also gain the peace of mind in knowing that the title is authentic and not an illegal copy. The most effective way of checking out a business’s reputation is through the Better Business Bureau.

$Learn about the company’s return, refund and/or exchange policy. Although most retailers will not refund the purchase if software has been opened, they may be willing to exchange it for the exact title if the program is defective or damaged.

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, or GAAP, and there are huge tomes in libraries and bookstores devoted to just this one topic. Unless a company states otherwise, anyone reading a financial statement can make the assumption that company has used GAAP.

If GAAP are not the principles used for preparing financial statements, then a business needs to make clear which other form of accounting they're used and are bound to avoid using titles in its financial statements that could mislead the person examining it. 

GAAP are the gold standard for preparing financial statement. Not disclosing that it has used principles other than GAAP makes a company legally liable for any misleading or misunderstood data. These principles have been fine-tuned over decades and have effectively governed accounting methods and the financial reporting systems of businesses. Different principles have been established for different types of business entities, such for-profit and not-for-profit companies, governments and other enterprises.

GAAP are not cut and dried, however. They're guidelines and as such are often open to interpretation. Estimates have to be made at times, and they require good faith efforts towards accuracy. You've surely heard the phrase "creative accounting" and this is when a company pushes the envelope a little (or a lot) to make their business look more profitable than it might actually be. This is also called massaging the numbers. This can get out of control and quickly turn into accounting fraud, which is also called cooking the books. The results of these practices can be devastating and ruin hundreds and thousands of lives, as in the cases of Enron, Rite Aid and others.

Basic Accounting Principles

Accounting has been defined as, by Professor of Accounting at the University of Michigan William A Paton as having one basic function: "facilitating the administration of economic activity. This function has two closely related phases: 1) measuring and arraying economic data; and 2) communicating the results of this process to interested parties."

As an example, a company's accountants periodically measure the profit and loss for a month, a quarter or a fiscal year and publish these results in a statement of profit and loss that's called an income statement.  These statements include elements such as accounts receivable (what's owed to the company) and accounts payable (what the company owes). It can also get pretty complicated with subjects like retained earnings and accelerated depreciation. This at the higher levels of accounting and in the organization.

Much of accounting though, is also concerned with basic bookkeeping. This is the process that records every transaction; every bill paid, every dime owed, every dollar and cent spent and accumulated.

But the owners of the company, which can be individual owners or millions of shareholders are most concerned with the summaries of these transactions, contained in the financial statement. The financial statement summarizes a company's assets. A value of an asset is what it cost when it was first acquired. The financial statement also records what the sources of the assets were. Some assets are in the form of loans that have to be paid back. Profits are also an asset of the business.

In what's called double-entry bookkeeping, the liabilities are also summarized. Obviously, a company wants to show a higher amount of assets to offset the liabilities and show a profit. The management of these two elements is the essence of accounting.

There is a system for doing this; not every company or individual can devise their own systems for accounting; the result would be chaos!

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 also keep their eye on profits, costs and losses. Unless you're running your own business and acting as your own accountant, you'd have no way of knowing just how profitable - or not - your business is without some form of accounting.

No matter what business you're in, even if all you do is balance a checkbook, that's still accounting. It's part of even a kid's life. Saving an allowance, spending it all at once - these are accounting principles.

What are some other businesses where accounting is critical? Well, farmers need to follow careful accounting procedures. Many of them run their farms year to year by taking loans to plant the crops. If it's a good year, a profitable one, then they can pay off their loan; if not, they might have to carry the loan over, and accrue more interest charges.

Every business and every individual needs to have some kind of accounting system in their lives. Otherwise, the finances can get away from them, they don't know what they've spent, or whether they can expect a profit or a loss from their business. Staying on top of accounting, whether it's for a multi-billion dollar business or for a personal checking account is a necessary activity on a daily basis if you're smart. Not doing so can mean anything from a bounced check or posting a loss to a company's shareholders. Both scenarios can be equally devastating.

Accounting is basically information, and this information is published periodically in business as a profit and loss statement, or an income statement.

(R)Evolution In Home & Personal Accounting

'Accounting for a Better Life’ is a book in which John Passmore proposes a new, simplified and fun approach, to home and personal bookkeeping and accounting.

The new methods, based on what he calls, domestic well-being accounting, enable people to gain control of their personal and domestic, financial affairs. The system provides the necessary visibility so that users will know exactly what their money is being spent on, and how well balanced their spending is, in relation to its distribution.

The balance is across basic domestic needs and responsibilities, discretionary spending on holidays, leisure and entertainment, and provision for future well-being. Knowing about the current and past spending patterns, users can determine where and by how much, changes might be needed. Budgeting and associated feedback, facilitate the monitoring of such financial planning.

The author believes the new methods have the potential to be adopted as a formal, sub-discipline of business accounting, eventually perhaps, with suitable certificates and diplomas for those who learn how to use it successfully.

With such recognition, the motivation for appropriate investment from industry and the state becomes real, so that domestic accounting, its further calibration and an associated training infrastructure, can all be further developed and refined.

He proposes that in time, such methods should become an established part of the school curriculum. Through this, youngsters will be able to achieve the best possible foundation to accept and take on the financial responsibilities that are associated with success, in modern life.

In the prevailing UK situation, of a very severe debt crisis, the new approach, almost in passing, provides the required visibility on the state of a family's financial affairs, to provide warnings of potential difficulties so that the necessary defensive actions can be taken, to prevent falling into the debt trap. For those already experiencing some debt, the new methods provide the necessary visibility on their finances to facilitate the required planning and control, required to best manage debt recovery.

If people realized the extent and value of the average, domestic, cash turnover, in the course of a lifetime, it seems amazing that serious, financial management is not already, demanded. If an equivalent, small business, with similar turnover was not effectively managed, the owners would probably have shareholders, accountants and Company House, knocking on their doors.

Accounting has traditionally been thought of as a rather boring, difficult and tedious activity by most people. It is also recognized as somewhat of a challenge, in considering the length of training required to achieve professional status, as a Chartered Accountant, or similar.

Having started to manage his own accounts at home, soon after the arrival of the PC, in the late eighties, John Passmore tried to adapt the traditional, business-oriented way of using accounts, with all the usual, end-of-period reports. He uses commonly available, general purpose software, an accounting package (Microsoft Money) and a spreadsheet package. He has adapted the maturity of double entry accounting and has also had to ensure his methods could cope with multiple currencies in use, whilst working overseas for thirty years.

Although it was basically satisfactory, in so far as it produced the overall figures on net worth, John realized two things; first, the traditional business focus and motivation on profits and shareholders’ value, understandably, had little relevance to the domestic situation, and second; there was no visibility on the nature of the bulk of the day-to-day, domestic income and expenditure. In addition, the terminology and the overall style of business accounting, he found, not at all conducive to successfully and easily running accounts, for a home environment.

Over a decade, John Passmore has gradually evolved a new approach to personal and domestic accounting. At a fundamental level, he has made everything much easier to understand and use. This was achieved by a range of simple techniques, such as rigorous naming conventions and a simplified version of the so-called, accounting equations. More importantly, he introduced a new focus for home and personal accounting, which he calls, domestic well-being. Essentially, domestic well-being, or DWB, provides a hierarchical structure for defining and recording, the increases and decreases, making up day-to-day, domestic financial activity.

At the top level, there is a 3-way split into Basics, Discretionary and a catch-all, of Others.

The Basics are sub-divided into Essentials (utilities, food and drink, clothing, health, etc.), Responsibilities (taxes, mortgage, licenses, maintenance, insurance, etc.) and Family (presents, and personal commitments, etc.). Similarly, Discretionary includes asset purchases and sales, Nice to Have (holidays, leisure, entertainment, etc.), Investment for the Future (Home improvements, pension contributions and other investments, etc.). Others are for uncontrolled changes, such as prizes, inheritance, gains and appreciation, fines, losses and depreciation, etc.

This DWB structure is used as the basis for the domestic reports and for categorizing all the transactions, as they entered into the accounts, as part of bookkeeping.

A sub-title of his book 'Accounting for a Better Life', is 'Gain Control of Personal Finances'. Following an overview of control and a comparison of a number of typical control environments, the book describes how control can be applied to financial situations. The visibility now afforded by DWB means that a new set of financial reports can be defined. These replace the business style, Trading Account, Profit & Loss Account, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement. The new set of statements, tailored directly for the domestic situation, include the Domestic Well-Being Statement, the Domestic Balance Sheet and the Domestic Cash Flow Statement.

Readers will be generally aware of the typical, business ratios such as Gross and Net profit margins, Return on Capital Employed, and over twenty other ratios. Although vital for management and control in business, these ratios have absolutely no bearing on domestic finances. However, with the visibility provided by DWB, a whole new group of Domestic Financial Factors suddenly become evident. John has defined five, major new factors and a host of secondary factors. For example, the Basic Cost of Living Factor (BCLF) is the ratio of Basic Domestic Decrease to Total Household Increases, whilst the Well-Being Contribution Factor (WBCF) is the proportion of Discretionary Domestic Decreases, compared to the Total Household Increases. These factors provide the yardsticks, by which various characteristics of domestic life can be both qualified and quantified.

These factors open up new areas for comparison, measurement and control of domestic, financial situations, based on family size. Their real benefit however, has to await calibration and an accumulation of data, so that a parallel can be achieved with the business concepts of comparison to industry averages, or norms. The domestic averages will have to be built-up, over time. In the future, a BCLF 3 of 0.43, for a family of three for example, could be compared with the value of the factor, found for other families of three, across regions, or internationally, across continents.

Even without this capability until later, other forms of financial control suddenly become immediately feasible, in a practical way. For a start, with the new visibility provided, balancing or redistribution of expenditure across the Basic and Discretionary categories for example, now becomes possible, with due attention always being given to Investment for the Future (IFF).

John Passmore provides the necessary background and information for anyone to get started with setting up and running their own, domestic accounting system. Because of the simplification and visibility provided, which gives relevance to the financial activities of each and every domestic environment, with its own character and content, the author believes he has developed a system which can be fun to use. Once familiar with the set-up, a couple of hours a month is all that is required to keep the bookkeeping under way; and a couple of half-days at the end of any financial year, to produce the annual reports, should be all that is required at that time.

With basic computer literacy, access to a computer with preferably, an on-line connection, and maths competence, no higher than GCSE level, John believes that benefits are potentially available for a domestic situation with a shared annual income, of around £20,000 and upwards. It will also be appropriate for accountants in their work on behalf of domestic clients.

A sense of personal responsibility towards the members of the domestic situation is paramount.

The benefits are that with the accumulation of a few months' worth of figures, a realization of the actual spread and balance of the family outgoings will become apparent. With this, decisions can be made on any changes required to the pattern of financial activity, in order to obtain a better balance. The whole purpose is to achieve an overall and improved sense of domestic well-being.

With the new-found information, family members will know in detail about what has to be done in order to achieve a better life-style. Accounting, in itself, will not achieve this. Discipline will be required to change spending patterns to obtain the desired changes. The new accounting system can help keep track of progress, using budgets and targets. In this way, users will obtain early warnings of where and when they are not keeping to target, so that concerted efforts can be directed at coming back, on track.