¶ … nature of a firm's business and its environment are big factors in determining what the firm's financial statements look like."
Industries vary wildly in terms of how they account for profits, losses, depreciation of assets, and other critical components that affect the appearance of their financial statements. Some industries are more apt to operate on credit on a regular basis than others; some industries make the bulk of their profits on a seasonal basis (such as retailers which make most of their money at Christmas) or have profits which vary markedly from year to year. For example, a pharmaceutical company may experience a notable drop in revenue when one of its most popular drugs loses its patent; it may gain sharp windfall that lasts for a fixed period of time while it can exclusively profit from a new drug. Some industries are extremely risky to invest in because of innate volatility such as the entertainment industry and the apparel industry: consumer tastes and fads can be very difficult to predict and once again cash flow and operating costs can be extremely difficult to determine from year to year. The relationship of the firm to its shareholders and its willingness to use assets to pay off liabilities may also vary.
Environmental circumstances, such as the cost of fuel, will affect almost all firms to some degree but not all firms equally. For example, firms which are directly dependent upon...
However, they have also changed the face of the accounting profession in a way that will affect the education and conduct of accountants in the future. In the future, the accountant will have to do more than to balance the books. In order to understand the potential educational requirements for accountants in the future, we will examine how they have changed historically and then apply the changes that have
Accounting and Intrusion Detection In a report issued by Paladin Technologies, Inc., entitled: "Security Metrics: Providing Cost Justification for Security Projects," 273 organizations were surveyed on the topic of security. The report illustrates in quantifiable terms the depth and reach of intrusion detection on the financial viability of the organization. The combined reported losses from the firms surveyed totaled $265.6 million in 1999. The highest loss categories were reported as follows: Type
Finance Over the last several years, dividend stocks have become an important tool that is helping investors to realize above average returns. According to Paul (2012), these areas have been accounting for 40% of profits on the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1930. This is because they can provide a number of benefits in assisting investors to realize their long-term objectives with him saying, "Those areas that offer sustainable and growing
Then again, even the sites that allow for such commentary often don't receive any. PwC IFRS hasn't received any comments in the past month on any of its articles, for instance, though it does provide accurate and fairly up-to-date information. Part of the reason for this could be the fact that this blog, like many others in the accounting world, are run by large firms -- Price Waterhouse Coopers, in
Accounting and Audit Enforcement 1. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act applies to publicly-traded companies. Thus, it does not apply to non-profit entities. Nor does it apply to for-profit entities that are not publicly-traded. This is because SOX was passed specifically to address instances of accounting fraud in publicly traded companies that were undermining consumer trust in the capital markets (101.com, 2018). A publicly traded companies has a variety of different obligations under SOX
Bush, who declared that corporations which jeopardized the investments and jobs of millions of individuals should pay their dues. The United States Senate and the House of Representatives also became involved and proposed numerous modifications. The pillar of the changes occurred in financial reporting after the accounting scandals is based on increased transparency and more support in conducting audit operations. The XBRL system for instance will allow the Securities and
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