Basic concepts of an accountant career

At the onset of one’s career it is a very optimistic viewpoint. An individual tends to be drifted towards the field of his liking. Days pass turning into weeks, months and years. The work which began on the threshold of life as a career builder gradually attains stagnancy. Pondering over the past years this field of passion seems to have come to a standstill and after years of hard work poured in, it seems as if a voice from within is calling for a change, yeah a change in career.

This has happened to you and me, it is nothing new. The very reason of pointing out to this aspect is to highlight upon the “Accounting and Finance” Sector. There are a lot of perceptions of jumbling the accounting and finance areas as one, but both the sectors are inter-related and we could say it is two sides of a coin.

Who is an Accountant?

An accountant primarily assesses the “financial position” of the firm. He is responsible for preparing financial statements such as balance sheets, income statements and cash flow.

Who is a Financial Analyst?

After the accountant completes his role of preparing the balance sheets, then the “financial analyst” zooms into action. The scope of work for a “Financial Analyst” is spread over a broad spectrum. He has a vision to foresee the future of the company and helps the company officials to understand the company’s stand, advising them of the possible profit and losses. Finance is more of a risk management area. Students opting to take up finance as their career need to understand that finance is a much generalized area wherein banking, real estate, corporate control, insurance organizations etc. come under one umbrella.

Why the Jump?

Any simple question arise controversies. Different heads think differently. If you say that why there is a need to hire two separate individuals if the accounting and finance is so well gelled in each other? People assume that the person who deals with numerical data may not possibly enjoy the work of forecasting and vice-versa.

Transition – Not as easy!

Nothing in life comes the easy way. You cannot enjoy the delicious meal decorated on a platter unless you have earned it. Same is in the case where you have to now go in for a drift in profile. If you have worked as an accountant since long and have been able to gather an idea on how the finance works, then you could definitely go in for the change. The accounting degree will surely help in conducting financial analysis but, an MBA in finance will give a finishing touch to your ambition.

Conclusion

Crossing lines is always impressive and appealing. One of the major reasons behind career decisions is to maintain a balance between work and personal life. Becoming successful largely depends on your background, education and years of experience. Magic is created if you are “at the right place at the right time”.

What is called financial management?

Simply, financial management known as those managerial activities that is required to procure funds at the least cost and their effective deployment. For an organization finance is known as blood. No business can ignore the role of finance.

On the understanding of its branch it is known as science which manages the money of a company. Traditionally, it was known as a branch of knowledge with focus on the procurement of funds. In the modern approach it is known as the procurement of the least cost funds and its effective utilization for maximization of share holder’s wealth. In the globalize world after the impact of information technology financial management have added new dimensions in the field of accounting and finance.

About the goal of financial management it is clear that financial management of a firm is maximization of economic welfare of its shareholders. Broadly, it fulfills two goals – profit maximization and wealth maximization. Profit maximization would be under perfect competition to allocate the resources. Wealth maximization is known as maximizing the net wealth of the company’s share holders.

Financial management has financial functions which are closely related to financial decisions. Finance functions are performed by financial managers. In this course finance manager can takes the following decisions:

Financing decision

Investment decision

Dividend decision

Liquidity decision

Latter, financial management cover the areas of accounting, marketing, productions and HR. In the accounting it works as computation, statements and decisions. In the marketing it works as formulation of policy, investment and working capital. In the production it works as technology selections, operations, plant size and capital budgeting. In the HR it works as paid salary, salary packages and capital productivity.

In this way, we can say financial management in the modern age has broader aspect which covers the necessary aspect of any organization. To grow or establish organization, finance is the blood as earlier.

Preparing an efficient federal corporate tax returns

The key to preparing efficient federal corporate tax returns is to utilize a Certified Public Account (CPA) who will develop a tax strategy that will minimize your company’s tax liability in the short and long term while minimizing the impact on cash flow.

A corporation can file their tax return based on either a Calendar year, beginning January 1 and ending December 31, or a Fiscal year, any 12 month period ending on the last day of the 12th month, except for December. Many corporations that use a fiscal calendar year start in October and end in September.

When preparing for your tax returns, the corporation must report income and deductions based on the annual accounting method used for their calendar year. The general accounting methods used is either Cash Basis or Accrual. The cash basis method of accounting reports income in the tax year it was received and deducts business-related expenses in the tax year it was paid. The Accrual method of accounting reports income in the tax year it was received and deducts business-related expenses in the tax year those expenses accrued.

To prepare for your federal corporate tax return, you will need the following documents: A copy of last years federal tax return, the corporation's federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) obtained from the IRS, and the documents filed and accepted by the IRS if the corporation files as an S corporation. You will need supporting documentation for all gross business income received including interest earned in all business savings, checking, and investment accounts, IRC Section 61. You will also need a list of itemized business-related expenses which the company has paid or incurred during the year, IRC Section 162. The itemized expenses would include employees W2 and W3 forms, 1099 forms, and capital assets or property and equipment that was purchased, IRC Sections 197 and 263. Lastly if the corporation has any organizational or start up costs, supporting documentation will be needed.

CPA. Accountability For Accountants

When it comes to the accounting industry, professional certification and licensure is necessary for all people who want to become a part of the industry. Getting your CPA license can take your career to new heights, as long as you take the time to get what you need. There are so many different training programs and licensing schools that you'll have plenty of options. When you are looking for a program to help you work toward your CPA license, here are some things to keep in mind:

Online courses are a great alternative to traditional classroom courses. They are more affordable in most cases and much more convenient. Give them a chance, and you might end up liking them better than you thought.

Never start a CPA license course without making sure that it meets the requirements for licensure in your particular state. Most states have similar requirements, but each one has their own exact license regulations, and you'll need to know them so that you get the right training.

If you can, find a vested interest to pay for and arrange your CPA license program for you. This means applying for jobs or finding career prospects that see you as a good investment and are willing to pay for your licensing in return for your commitment to work with them for a certain period of time after licensing.

Never settle for a program you're not comfortable with. With so many options to choose from, you should never have to settle for second best when it comes to getting your accounting degree and CPA license.

Remember that you'll need continuing education, and be prepared to deal with that when the time comes. It's your responsibility to keep your license current and in good standing with CPE courses for your CPA license.

As long as you keep these things in mind, you shouldn't have any trouble getting your CPA license and starting on your path to a successful career. You need to learn about getting your education and the different options that you have so that you can make the best decision regarding your training. It doesn't take a lot to find a good CPA program, it just involves a little time and effort on your part. This is your career, after all, so you should treat it with the respect and care that it deserves. Once you've found the program that suits you, you're ready to begin training and get closer to your goal of career success as a CPA.

Checklist before any financial analysis task

The following points are a suggested checklist for review and consideration before any financial analysis task is begun. This list should be helpful to the person actually doing the work as well as to the manager who may have assigned the question or project to an associate:

1. What’s the exact nature and scope of the issue to be analyzed? Is the issue and its relative importance in the overall business context truly understood, and have its attributes been clearly spelled out, including all the relevant alternatives that should be considered?

2. Which specific variables, relationships, and trends are likely to be helpful in analyzing the issue? What’s the order of their importance, and in what sequence should they be addressed?

3. Are there possible ways to obtain a quick “ballpark” estimate of the likely result to help decide (a) what the critical data and steps might be, and (b) how much effort should be spent on refining these?

4. How precise an answer is necessary in relation to the importance of the issue itself? Would additional refinement be worth the effort?

5. How reliable are the available data, and how is this uncertainty likely to affect the range of results? What confirmation might be possible, and at what degree and cost of effort?

6. Are the input data to be used expressed in cash flow terms—essential for economic analysis—or are they to be applied within an accounting framework to test only the financial implications of a decision?

7. What limitations are inherent in the tools to be applied, and how will these likely affect the range of results obtained? Are the tools chosen truly appropriate to solving the issue?

8. How important are qualitative judgments in the context of the issue, and what’s the ranking of their significance? Which analytical steps might in fact be made unnecessary by such considerations?

Solution to financial problems

You'll have to choice from, either to become a Certified Management Accountant, a Certified Public Accountant, and an Accredited Business Accountant, but "Accounting" always will challenge you.
Apart from providing specific numerical answers, “solutions” to financial problems and issues depend significantly on the points of view of the various parties involved, on the relative importance of the issue, and on the nature and reliability of the information available. In each situation, the objective of the analysis must be clearly understood before pencil is put to paper or computer keys are touched—otherwise, the process becomes wasteful “number crunching,” even if the workload itself is eased by analytical software.
Accounting profession is always aligned with business and all the important aspects that evolve on it. Being a Public accountant, a Management Accountant, a Government auditor and accountant matters in the field of business. They perform various functions like broad range of accounting, auditing, budgeting, cost management of the company, performance evaluation, and even asset management.

The importance of analytical tecniques

When an analyst, business executive, or student is dealing with a financial issue, or wishes to understand the financial implications and economic trade-offs involved in decisions about business investment, operations, or financing, a wide variety of analytical techniques—and sometimes rules of thumb—is available to generate quantitative answers. Selecting the appropriate tools from these choices is clearly an important part of the analytical task. Yet, experience has shown again and again that first developing a proper perspective for the problem or issue is just as important as the choice of the tools themselves.
Therefore, here I not only want to presents the key financial tools generally used, but also explains the broader context of how and where they’re applied to obtain meaningful answers. To this end, it's important to have a clear idea of conceptual backdrop both for the financial/economic dimensions of systematic business management and for understanding the nature of financial statements, data, and processes underlying financial analysis techniques. All subjects are viewed in the context of creating shareholder value—a fundamental concept for any business executive, student or consultant.
While the tools and techniques covered in this book are discussed and demonstrated in detail, the user must not be tempted to view them as ends in themselves. It’s simply not enough to master the techniques alone! Financial/ economic analysis is both an analytical and a judgmental process which helps answer questions that have been carefully framed in a managerial context. The process is at its best when the analyst’s efforts are focused primarily on structuring the issue and its context, and only secondarily on data manipulation. We can’t stress enough that the basic purpose of financial analysis is to help those responsible for results to make sound business decisions within a relevant cash flow framework.

Study accounting: a recession proof career

Let's think why so many people choose accounting as their long term career? What are the greatest benefits of working as an accountant? Let's think about it a little bit.

Accounting has been proven as a recession proof job because of its nature and importance in a business operation. Every business needs to keep their books either for business management or for tax submission purposes during good or bad times. Besides, the demand for accounting services is always huge in every country, even in third world ones.

A lot of people, might say accounting is the language of business. What this means is that if you possess certain level of accounting knowledge, will help you deal with many subjects crucials for any business to succed.

You can imagine the importance of keeping your books using the correct accounting methods. That is also why the reward of an accountant is always higher as compared to other professionals.

There are many ways to become an accountant if accounting is your choice career. In order to be a qualified accountant, usually you need to have a proven a solid work ethic education and also be admitted as a member of the national accountant bodies.

As accounting regulations change frequently, you are also required to update yourself regularly by attending seminars, talks or even short courses so that you can keep in breast of the latest information and changes.

Even though it is a highly rewarded job, please do keep in mind that it is quite a stressful job because there are many rules and regulations to be followed.

As a watchdog of a company, you are normally tasked with the duty so that to ensure that the company comply with the relevant statutory body acts.

About this accounting, management and financial blog

Welcome to AM&F. My name is Peter Gardiner, I'm a Public Accountant and I like to provide you with the best information (based on my experiences) about learning accounting, project management, business, management, financial, MBA, Masters, CPA training, Audit, and more. Specially information from United States, India, UK, Australia, Canada and Europe.