外国会计

1.Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

To be useful, financial accounting information must be assembled and reported objectively. Those who must rely on such information have a right to be assured that the data are free from bias and inconsistency —whether deliberate or not. For this reason, financial accounting relies on certain standards or guides that have proved useful over the years in imparting economic data. These standards are called generally accepted accounting principles. They are closely related to experience and practice and may change over time. Various terms, such as principle, standard, assumption, convention, and concept, are often used to describe such guides.

The most fundamental concepts underlying the accounting process are:

Accounting Entity. Each business venture is a separate unit, accounted for separately.

Going Concern. The assumption is made in accounting that a business will continue indefinitely.

Measuring Unit. Conventional accounting statements are not adjusted for changes in the value of the dollar.

Accounting Period. Accounting reports are related to specific time periods, typically one year.

Historical Cost. Assets are reported at acquisition price and are not adjusted upward.

Objectivity. Whenever possible, accounting entries must be based on objectively determined evidence.

为了使会计信息有用，必须客观地收集和报告财务会计信息。那些必须依靠这些信息的人有权力去要求保证数据的无偏性和不一致性-不论是有意或无意的。因此，财务会计依靠在历年公布的经济数据中已被证明是有用的那些一定的标准或指南。这些标准被称为公认会计原则。它们与经验和实践密切相关，并可能随时间而变化。各种术语，例如原则、标准、假设、惯例和概念，通常用来描述指南。

会计过程最基本的概念是：

会计主体。每个商业风险是一个单独的单位，分别核算。

持续的关注。会计假设企业将无限期地继续下去。

测量单元。传统的会计报表对美元价值的变动不作调整。

会计期间。会计报告是特定的时间周期，通常是一年。

历史成本。资产按收购价格申报，未向上调整。

客观性。只要有可能，会计记录必须以客观确定的证据为依据。

https://www.360docs.net/doc/4f6539037.html,anizations Concerned with the Formulation of Accounting Principles

A number of organizations exist in USA that are concerned with the formulation of accounting principles. The most prominent among these is the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The FASB, organized in 1973, is a nongovernmental body whose pronouncements have the force of dictating authoritative rules for the general practice of financial accounting. Before the creation of the FASB, the Accounting Principles Board (APB) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) fulfilled the function of formulating accounting principles.

Various regulatory bodies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service, also prescribe rules to be used in financial accounting. Because these rules often touch upon accounting principles and may conflict with the rules and practices specified by other agencies, compromises sometimes have to be made in financial reporting. Often, income determined by tax regulations differs from that determined by generally accepted accounting principles. In such cases, an enterprise may keep more than one set of records to satisfy both reporting requirements.

3.Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting

One of the most important functions of the accounting process is to accumulate and report accounting information that shows an organization’s financial position and the results of its operations. Many businesses publish such financial statements at least annually. The subdivision of the accounting process that produces these general-purpose reports is referred to as financial accounting.

Another major function of accounting is to provide management with the data needed for decision-making and for efficient operation of the firm. Although management people routinely receive the financial reports, they also require various other information, such as the unit cost of a product, estimates of the profit earned from a specific sales activity, cost comparisons of alternative courses of action and long-range budgets. The process of generating and analyzing such data is often referred to as managerial accounting. Emphasis on this area of accounting has increased in recent years as a result of the implementation of computers and sophisticated quantitative tools.

5. The Statement of Owners’ Equity

In the sole proprietorships and partnerships, a statement of owners’ equity is frequently prepared to accompany the balance sheet and income statement. This is simply a summary of the changes in the owners’capital balance during the accounting period. The ending balance on this type of statement agrees with the owners’ capital balance on the balance sheet at the end of the accounting period.

The statement of owners’ equity further demonstrates the relationship between the income statement and the balance sheet. The net income (or net loss) for a period in the income statement is an input into the statement of owners’ equity, while the ending owners’ equity balance on this statement is an input into the balance sheet at the end of the period.

6. Gross Profit on Sales

In a merchandising firm, gross profit on sales (sometimes called gross margin) is highly significant to management. It is usually expressed as a percentage of net sales. Sometimes the gross profit percentage is called average mark-up percentage on sales.

Management usually compares its current gross profit percentage with similar calculations for prior periods or with industry averages. Frequently, such comparisons alert management to a need to modify prices, purchasing policies, or merchandise control procedures.

Gross Profit Percentage = Gross Profit on Sales/ Net Sales

7. The Forms of Accounts

The account is seen in several forms. In a manually maintained booking system, the “two-column” account form is often used.

Making an entry in an account consists of recording an amount in the “Amount” column to represent either an increase or a decrease in the account. Spaces are also provided for other types of information —the date of an entry, some memoranda explaining a particular entry, and a posting reference ( indicated by Post. Ref.). A posting reference column is used for noting the records from which entries into this account may have been taken.

Another popular form is the “running balance” or “three-column” account. The running balance account contains all the information shown in the two-column account but also provides a balance after each transaction so that the account balance for any date during the period can be easily perceived. If the account balance becomes abnormal (for example, if we overdrew our bank balance, the balance of the cash account would be abnormal.), it should be placed in parentheses.

8. Steps in the Accounting Cycle

The accounting cycle can be divided into the following steps: (1) Analyze transactions from source documents. (2) Record in journals. (3) Post to general (and subsidiary) ledger accounts. (4) Adjust the general ledger accounts. (5) Prepare financial statements. (6) Close temporary accounts.

The various steps in the accounting cycle do not occur with equal frequency. Usually, analyzing, journalizing, and posting take place during each operating period, whereas accounts are adjusted and statements are prepared only when management requires financial statements —usually at monthly or quarterly intervals, but at least annually. Temporary accounts are customarily closed only at the end of the accounting year.

Business firms whose accounting year ends on December 31 are said to be on a calendar-year basis. Many firms prefer to have their accounting year coincide with their “natural” business year; thus the year ends when business is slow and inventory quantities are small and easier to count. At this time, end-of-year accounting procedures are most efficiently accomplished. An accounting year ending with a month other than December is called a fiscal year.

10. Accrual Basis Accounting and Cash Basis Accounting

In firms that employ an accrual basis accounting system, revenue is recognized when earned rather than when cash is collected, and expenses are recognized when goods and services are used rather than when they are paid for. The expenses incurred are matched with the relative revenue earned in order to determine a meaningful net income figure for each accounting period. Yet, certain businesses, principally service enterprises, often use a cash basis mode of accounting. In contrast to accrual basis accounting, the cash basis system does recognize revenues when money is received and expenses when money is paid. Cash basis accounting is used primarily because it can provide certain income tax benefits and because it is simple. However, cash basis financial statements may distort the portrayal of financial position and operating results of a business because the revenues and expenses for determining net income do not depend on the time period when cash is actually received or expended. Consequently, most business firms use the accrual basis of accounting.

15. Internal Control in Other Areas

While it is vitally important to establish effective controls over the handling of and accounting for cash, control should also be provided for other activities of the firm. As in the case of cash, most controls are designed to separate the authorization of a transaction, accounting for the transaction, and the custody of any related assets. For example, the purchase and sale of securities normally require authorization by a company’s board of directors, and officers who have access to the securities should not have access to the accounting records. Other personnel should record security transactions and keep a record of security certificates by certificate number and amount.

Similarly, in the case of inventories, store clerks handling inventory items should not have access to inventory records and should be separated from receiving department and the processing of accounts payable. Similar controls should be exercised over receivables, long-term assets, payroll transactions, and every other facet of business activity.

The subject of internal control is quite complex. Both external and internal auditors devote a great deal of attention to internal control in analyzing an accounting system and preparing audits.

16. Trade Receivables and Payables

The terms trade receivables and trade payables usually refer to receivables and payables arising in regular cou rse of the company’s transactions with customers and suppliers. Payments normally are to be made within 30 to 60 days. If an advance is made to an employee or officer of the company, it should not be included here, nor should advances to affiliated companies, such as subsidiaries, be included. Such receivables should be recorded in separate accounts. In many instances such receivables are not current, and as a result, these items are often seen in the balance sheet under a non-current heading as Other Assets. Advances to subsidiary companies are frequently semi-permanent, and they are found in the balance sheet under the Investment caption.

Likewise, trade accounts payable consist only of open accounts owing to the purchase of merchandise or materials or to the acquisition of services from outsiders. Amounts that a firm owes for salaries and wages and for various types of taxes, sundry accruals, and so on are recorded in separate current liability accounts.

The principal reason for separating trade accounts from other receivables and payables is to facilitate analyses by both the management and outsiders.

17. Notes and Interest in Financial Statements

A business will show short-term trade notes receivables as current assets in the balance sheet because they can normally be converted to cash fairly easily. These notes usually are placed above trade accounts receivable. As with accounts receivable, it is best to separate notes from officers and employees and notes representing advances to affiliated companies from trade notes receivable. If such notes are not truly short-term in character, they should be classified under a heading other than current assets. Accrued interest receivable is normally shown with notes receivable.

Sometimes companies with a large volume of notes receivable find it necessary to provide for possible losses on notes. Frequently, the provision for credit losses is extended to cover losses on notes as well as on open accounts. In such cases, the Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts is deducted from the sum of Accounts Receivable and Notes Receivable in the balance sheet.

Trade notes payable and notes payable to bank are usually shown separately in the current liabilities section of the balance sheet. Accrued interest payable is normally shown with Notes Payable—often as an addition. Discount on Notes Payable is deducted from the related Notes Payable amount. The order in which current payables appear is less important than the sequence of current assets; however, Notes Payable customarily precedes Accounts Payable.

23. Characteristics of a Partnership

While a partnership is an accounting entity, it is not a legal entity separate from its owners. Ease of formation is only one of several characteristics relating to this aspect of partnerships. The other characteristics are:

Mutual Agency Mutual agency means that every partner becomes an agent for the firm, with the authority to enter contracts binding to the partnership. Although the partners to act on customary matters, a partner acting in contravention of such a restriction may still contractually bind the partnership if the other party to the contract is unaware of the limitation.

Unlimited Liability Each partner in a general partnership is individually liable for the obligations of the firm regardless of the amount of personal investment. In addition to at least one general partner, a limited partnership has one or more limited partners. The liability of a limited partner is restricted to his or her capital investment. A limited partner who becomes active in the control of the firm, however, takes on Uniform Limited Partnership Act.

Limited Life Many events may cause the dissolution of a partnership. These include the expiration of the agreed-on term of partnership; the ＃accomplishment of the business objective; the admission of a new partner; the withdrawal, death, or bankruptcy of an existing partner; and the issuance of a court decree because of a partner’s insanity, incapacity, or misconduct. Even though a change in membership dissolves a partnership, business continuity is often unaffected.

Co-ownership of property Assets contributed by partners become partnership property jointly owned by all partners. Unless there is an agreement to the contrary, each partner has an equal right to possess firm property for partnership purposes.

Nontaxable Entity Although a partnership must file an information return for federal income tax purposes, the organization itself is not a taxable entity. The information return

shows the distributive shares of the partnership’s net income that the partners themselves include on their respective shares of partnership earnings whether or not these amounts have been withdrawn from the firm.

28. Cost Accounting Systems and Financial Statements

Any orderly method of developing cost information constitutes cost accounting. Although a cost system could be a special analysis maintained independently of a firm’s formal accounting records, most comprehensive cost systems are integrated into the general ledger accounts of the firm. Similar procedures will be followed in preparing the financial statements from the firm’s ledger account balances. However, a few points should be mentioned.

When perpetual inventory procedures are used in cost accounting systems, the ending balances of all three inventory accounts －Materials, Work in Process, and Finished Goods －will reflect the period’s routine transactions that increase and decrease inventories. These ending balances require adjustment only if a discrepancy becomes apparent from taking a year-end physical inventory. Note also that the cost of goods sold figure has been accumulated throughout the year in a general ledger account and can be placed directly on the income statement. Detailed information is available in the related accounts for preparing analyses of cost of goods manufactured and of goods sold.

30. Cost Allocations for Joint Products and By-products

Joint products are products of significant value originating from a common raw material or process. An obvious example of a raw material whose processing results in joint products is crude oil, from which a wide variety of fuels, solvents, lubricants, and residual petrochemical pitches are derived. Joint product costs are allocated among joint products primarily for purposes of inventory costing. Probably the most popular method of allocating joint costs is the relative sales value method. The total joint cost is allocated to the several joint products in the proportions that their individual sales values bear to the total sales value of all joint products at the split-off point (where physical separation is possible).

By-products are products that have relatively little sales value compared with the other products derived from a process. By-products are considered incidental to the manufacture of the more important products. For example, the sawdust or shavings generated in a lumber planning mill is a by-product. The appropriate accounting procedure for by-products is to assign them an amount of cost equal to their sales value less any disposal costs. The net amount is charged to an inventory account for the by-product and credited to the work-in-process account to which the original materials were charged.

32. Fields of Accounting Activity

Accountants perform many diverse services and are engaged in various types of employment. The three major fields of accounting activity are private accounting, public accounting, and governmental accounting.

More accountants are employed in private accounting than in any other field. Private employers of accountants include manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and service firms. In many large companies, the head of the accounting department is called the controller.

The field of public accounting is composed of firms that render independent, expert reports on financial statements of business enterprises. Public accounting firms also perform a wide variety of accounting and managerial services, acting as consultants of their clients. Most accountants in a public accounting firm are certified public accountants (CPAs).

A large number of accountants are employed by federal, state and local government. The services performed by these accountants parallel those of private and public accountants and may cover the entire spectrum of financial and managerial accounting.