small accounting firm can add diversification to their company. It also contains a detail of how they can simultaneously benefit from having tax consulting services along with the services of audit, etc.
Diversity: Tax Consulting Services

Everybody's talking about consulting services nowadays! Whether they are big firms, little firms, they are starting to explore different ways of adding diversity by employing resources and services outside the typical financial and accounting arenas as a way of strengthening relationships with their clients, and simultaneously making additional revenue for the firm, Through unique diversification of the accounting firm we will be able to create and introduce tax consulting services to our clients and prospective clients in combination with the specialized packaging of other accounting and tax services.

We are a small accounting firm dealing with Chinese speaking clients in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.

Locally, our reputation as one of the local accounting firms is based…...

Sarbanes-Oxley stipulates criminal and civil penalties for securities violations. Also, it mandates auditor independence from the interests of the firm, meaning that accountants cannot have a financial interest in the success or failure of the firm. Additionally, it mandates the certification of internal audit work by external auditors and mandates increased disclosure regarding executive compensation, insider trading and financial statements, in the interest of making more information public to investors. ("Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance," Technet 2005) Although the act is not a panacea, increased objectivity on the part of auditors and greater insistence on free and fair disclosure on the part of firms will hopefully ameliorate the some of the hiding of vital information that created the climate of secrecy within the firms of Enron and orldCom that helped give rise to the 2002 scandals.
orks Cited

Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance." (2005) Technet. Retrieved on 23 Oct 2005 at http://www.techlistings.net/xlist/tech/bizsoft/compliance/sox?id=1

Sarbanes-Oxley. (2002) Law retrieved by findlaw…...

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Works Cited

Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance." (2005) Technet. Retrieved on 23 Oct 2005 at http://www.techlistings.net/xlist/tech/bizsoft/compliance/sox?id=1

Sarbanes-Oxley. (2002) Law retrieved by findlaw on 23 Oct 2005 at  http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/gwbush/sarbanesoxley072302.pdf

Purpose/Perceived Value

The findings of this report will be valuable to two different audiences. The first consists of accounting regulatory bodies. These bodies are working towards convergence and are presently struggling with the resistance from the business community. Understanding the nature of that resistance is key to finding ways of overcoming it. For the large publicly traded corporations themselves, this report will help them understand why they and their peers are resistant, and this will shed light on whether or not that resistance is justified. Convergence is coming whether the corporate world is ready for it or not, but the key for corporations is to understand what convergence is, why it is important, and which elements of their resistance are not worth the effort. For both parties, it is important to work together to make the convergence process as smooth as possible, and that is going to take a greater degree…...

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Works Cited:

Qu, X. & Zhang, G. (no date). Measuring the convergence of national accounting standards with International Financial Reporting Standards: The application of fuzzy clustering analysis. Xiamen University. In possession of the author.

Larson, R. & Street, D. (2004). Convergence with IFRS in an expanding Europe: Progress and obstacles identified by large accounting firms' survey. Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation. Vol. 13 (2004) 89-119.

AICPA. (2011). International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS): An AICPA backgrounder. American Institute of CPAs. In possession of the author

AICPA (2010). Financial system considerations in IFRS conversion projects. American Institute of CPAs. In possession of the author.

Then again, even the sites that allow for such commentary often don't receive any. PwC IFS 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 this case. Though this does not mean there is necessarily a bias at work in the blog, and indeed certain differing opinions are allowed, the fact that the information on such blogs is so directly under the control of a single for-profit entity means it must be regarded as at least slightly suspect. As these resources are also free, however, there is no harm in regularly browsing them.

eferences

Accounting and Business esearch. Accessed via EBSCO 8 October 2009.

Accounting Historian's Journal. Accessed…...

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References

Accounting and Business Research. Accessed via EBSCO 8 October 2009.

Accounting Historian's Journal. Accessed via EBSCO 8 October 2009.

Accounting and the Public Interest. Accessed via EBSCO 8 October 2009.

Accounting Today. Daily print periodical. 2009 issues reviewed.

(5) Auditors and CPAs should consider several ways that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and SEC implementation rules as a whole impact accountants and work closely with regulators to address these effects. (6) Public accounting firms need to reconsider external auditors' participation with their client's internal audit function and control structure. This reporting on the internal controls can be very useful and add value to the integrity and quality of the financial reporting process. However, management accepts full responsibility for the design and maintenance of the adequate and effective internal control system. (7) Auditors should advise their clients and make recommendations for the appropriate disclosures of financial information. A more timely, relevant, objective, and transparent financial reporting process should improve the quality, integrity, and reliability. (8) it is necessary to use more effective and objective audit procedures and related standards to improve audit efficiency. The role of independent auditors on financial…...

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Journal of Accountancy. 199(2) p. 74-75.

Rezaee, Z. (2004) Restoring public trust in the accounting profession by developing anti- fraud education, programs, and auditing Managerial Auditing Journal. 19(1): 134-148

Walker, D.M. (2005) Reclaiming public trust in the wake of recent corporate accountability failures International Journal of Disclosure and Governance 2(3):.. 264-271-279

Accounting
Journal Entries

A/P

A/R

Cash

Liabilities

AP

AR

Cash

Liabilities

Cash

Cash

Liabilities

Reserve

Theory

Alan Moser and Stephanie Philips operate a successful software business in Brisbane. Alan and Stephanie are existing clients of your accounting firm CPT Accountants. Their business currently operates as a partnership but due to expansion plans they are considering incorporating the business (ie becoming a company). They wish to clarify the following points before making a decision and have asked CPT accountants to write a report answering the following:

What is the difference between forming a proprietary (private) company and public company?

There is substantial difference in the reporting requirements and tax basis for private and public companies. However, the biggest difference is how the legal entities deal with liability. Under a sole proprietorship and a partnership the owner can be held liable for many different problems that the business incurs while under a public model the company's owners have a limited liability. This offers the investors in a public company…...

They then proceed to detail their selected sample (76 NYSE firms that reported at least three annual losses in period's 1980-1985 and that reduced cash dividends. They then implemented various conditions to test their hypothesis that it is the troubled firm's aim to retain preservation of their company, rather than to make a bonus, that causes them to select a certain accountancy plan.
In section 2, the authors describe their methods used in selecting a sampled population and their bias controls. There is a great deal of numerical data, and the material is dense particularly when they elaborate on the earnings and cash flow performance of the various firms. Each unit is broken up into subunits. Scholarly tables condensed with data that for instance report accrual levels and changes for the 76 firms support their written text and the Tables are alluded to in the text. Statistical analysis of these…...

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References

DeAngelo, H. DeAngelo, L. & Skinner, DJ (1992) Accountign choice in troubled companies. Jour. Of Account. & Econ. 17, 113-143

Elliot, Barry & Elliot, Jamie: Financial accounting and reporting, Prentice Hall, London 2004

Gray SJ (1988) Towards a Theory of Cultural Influence on the Development of Accounting Systems Internationally Abacus, pp.1-15

http://folders.nottingham.edu.cn/staff/zalzae1/ATP/articles/Gray.pdf

Accounting has been nothing if not a dynamic, global discipline over the last two decades. The role of the accountant has changed dramatically during that time and will continue to do so -- as will the nature of the challenges that the accounting profession faces"
Over the past twenty years, the modern business community has been faced with the challenges of globalization, the new predominance of technology in business affairs, and the creation of a service-based 'knowledge economy' versus a manufacturing-based one. The profession of accounting has had to adapt to this new environment. "Business internationalization and globalization has facilitated the transfer of capital and information across national borders, with economic power residing in holders of particular knowledge sets. Business and management location is becoming increasingly irrelevant and management and accounting work is becoming multidisciplinary" (Parker 2002).

Globalization has lead to more uniform regulations in accounting. Until recently, U.S. accountants for…...

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References

GAAP'S Last Stand IFRS is no rumor -- welcome to the next phase of financial reporting.

2011. Periso. Accessed:

/ [June 23, 2011]http://perisho.com/keeping-current/gaaps-last-stand-ifrs-is-no-rumor-welcome-to-the-next-phase-of-financial-reporting

Parker, Lee D. 2002. Reinventing the managerial accountant. Glasgow University.

d.). The methods by which this information is gathered will differ based on the type of production that is being undertaken. Cost flow assumptions relates to how costs flow through inventory accounts. This can include FIFO, LIFO, weighted average and other methods. This impacts the costs because it helps to determine which costs are counted for which period. Recording interval capability refers to the points in time when a company takes inventory. Many firms use perpetual inventory, but some firms will take inventory periodically in order to provide this information.
Overall, cost accounting systems provide the information that managers need with respect to the costs of a product. By using a specific system, wherein decisions about methodology are made about each of the five parts of the cost accounting system, the system will be consistent through different products and through different time periods for the same product. This will ensure that…...

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Works Cited:

Kinney, M. & Raiborn, C. (2009). Cost accounting: Foundations and evolutions. Mason, OH: Thomson Higher Education.

Martin, J. (no date). What is a cost accounting system? Management and Accounting Web. Retrieved June 23, 2010 from  http://maaw.info/5partsofcostsystem.htm 

Cooper, R. & Kaplan, R. (1988). How cost accounting distorts product costs. Management Accounting. Vol. 69 (10) 20.

.....ethical for an employer to use social media information as a factor when considering whether to hire an employee? What about monitoring social networking activities of employees while on the job? Use ethical reasoning in answering these questions.
The wide-ranging use of social media in the workplace gives rise to serious moral and ethical concerns. Kantian ethics lays emphasis on the form of an action in ascertaining its morality. Kant insists on the Categorical Imperative. Kant implies that this ethical principle is the superlative and outright and proper test to morality, whereas imperative implies that from time to time one must command oneself to be moral and undertake the right thing, even and particularly when one's self-centeredness may be infringed by acting ethically (Mintz, 2015). As an overall moral rule, for an employer to impose into an employee's private life on social media devoid of consent or in a clandestine or…...

Yost directly aware of the fact that counting different locations on the same day was not the best idea if accuracy was demanded. However, Yost shot down the idea of doing all locations on the same day and even went to so far as to sign off on the fact that doing all locations on the same day was not practical due to manpower/locational issues.
B) To defend themselves against the bank, the PA firm could simply point to the details enumerated in the prior part of this question. Yost specifically and explicitly brought up the fact that doing counts on different days was less than wise. This was surely because even if no subterfuge was going on (and it was), it would give the appearance of impropriety, or at least bad procedure.

) Yes, they would probably prevail. Yost specifically noticed and advised their client that they were unwise to…...

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Chapter 8 - Question 30

There are a few red flag and issues that should be discussed about the two sets of meeting minutes. First, the talk about the IRS audit was a little incomplete and there was not a lot of good news to glean from it. Related to this is the handling of the computer equipment and this neatly dovetails with the timeline of the computer switchovers. They dispensed with the equipment shuttered after the 2008 computers were purchased and then the very next day the spent money for yet another computer system in the form of a loan. The fact that the IRS audit period relates to property and it's the same year as the last computer upgrade is a head-scratcher.

Also concerning is that that every single vote was unanimous. The only thing that seemed to get anyone's dander up was the talk about the profit sharing for other employees. In terms of knowing for sure whether the meeting minutes were all forwarded, this would require either the auditor to be present in the room for all meetings or that the people involved sign off on the minutes being accurate and complete. If the auditor is presented with the fact that they are complete and they turn out not to be, the people who signed committed a fraud, in all likelihood. Again, though, it would be better if it was required that the auditor take the minutes themselves or author their own copy so as to compare to what is published and approved. If anything is omitted, changed or materially represented, then the auditor would have a cause of action to voice some concern.

Professional Profile of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS):
Chaos

What is the Defense Finance and Accounting Service?

Ensuring that the men and women who work for the United States military receive their salaries promptly is critical. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) serves this vital function. The DFAS was created in 1991 by the Secretary of Defense, "to standardize, consolidate, and improve accounting and financial functions throughout the Dod. The intent was to reduce the cost of the Department's finance and accounting operations while strengthening its financial management" ("Agency overview," 2016). Today, the organization pays all "military and civilian personnel, retirees and annuitants, as well as major Dod contractors and vendors" as well as is responsible for accounting and financial record-keeping for the Dod ("Agency overview," 2016). The agency was formed to consolidate different administrative functions but has been the target of a great deal of criticism because its presence…...

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References

Agency overview. (2016). DFAS. Retrieved from:

 http://www.dfas.mil/pressroom/aboutdfas.html 

Crawford, J. (2016). Audit reveals Army's trillion-dollar accounting gaffes. CNN.

Retrieved from:

Accountant
hy I Chose Accounting

"I hate math." Ever since I can remember people have approached me to tell me how much they loathe math, when they hear that I love it. However, I have always been fascinated by the order mathematics can bring to a chaotic world. Sometimes when life seems hard, it is very comforting to be able to look at numbers. This is not to say, of course, that accounting is not challenging. In fact, like many prospective accounting majors, I initially struggled with the discipline in my fundamentals courses ("Top 10 Easiest and Hardest College Degree Majors of 2016"). There is a reason that introductory accounting classes are often considered weeding-out, gatekeeping classes for the profession. Many people decide they want to be accountants because they think it is a lucrative profession that does not require as much additional schooling as law or medicine but then find out…...

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Works Cited

Erstad, Will. "Is an accounting degree worth it or worthless?" Rasmussen. 16 Nov 2015.

Web. 8 Jul 2016.

Grohol, John. "10 Highly Effective Study Habits." Psych Central. Web. 8 Jul 2016.

"How to become a CPA." CPA Review. Web. 8 Jul 2016.

Accounting System
Accounting Information System

The following plan details the business areas and services to be provided for a growing homeowners' association by a certified accounting firm. The large growth in size of the association is cited as a need for this contracting with the accounting firm, and the specific business areas in need of servicing are identified as billing, collections, payments, reporting, taxes, and miscellaneous advisory duties. Input, output, and control requirements are listed in brief for each business area, with reference to current scholarly and regulatory/advisory information to ensure consistency and conformity with accounting standards. Automation of accounting processes is a major focus of the service provision, and levels of automation are fully discussed, with the decision to build an in-house automation system and certain automation challenges discussed.

Introduction

The homeowner's association is facing a problem of a major increase in the amount of accounting work it will need to take on.…...

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References

AICPA. (20110. AICPA Publishes New Attest Guidance for Reporting on Controls at a Service Organization. Accessed 30 October 2011.  http://www.aicpa.org/press/pressreleases/2011/pages/aicpapublishesnewattestguidanceforreportingoncontrolsataserviceorganization.aspx 

COSO. (2009). Guidance on Monitoring Internal Control Systems. Durham, NC: COSO.

Kruck, S. (2011). The emergence of accounting information systems programs. Accessed 30 October 2011.  http://www.allbusiness.com/accounting/3504565-1.html 

Romney, M. & Steinbart, P. (2011). Accounting Information Systems. New York: Prentice Hall.

Accounting
Several terms and definitions are valuable to understand financial statements. In the United States, financial statements of public corporations are produced in accordance with the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. These principles govern how the information for financial statements is compiled and presented. The purpose of these principles is so that all stakeholders can easily understand the statements and make comparisons across both time and across different companies, because the statements are produced and presented in a consistent manner. The International Financial eporting Standards (IFS) are the international equivalent of GAAP. While several countries utilize a national version of GAAP (U.S., Canada, UK, etc.), more than 100 countries use IFS, making this set of standards the most widely-adopted in the world. There is a move to converge national GAAP standards with IFS, including a multi-year project to converge U.S. GAAP with IFS. For now, however, IFS represents a different set…...

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References:

No author. (2012). Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Investopedia. Retrieved August 18, 2012 from  http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gaap.asp#axzz23vrKSd9Q 

PCAOB.org (2012) PCAOB oversees: The auditors of companies to protect investors. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Retrieved August 18, 2012 from  http://pcaobus.org/Pages/default.aspx 

SEC.gov. (2012). The investor's advocate. Securities Exchange Commission. Retrieved August 18, 2012  http://www.sec.gov/about/whatwedo.shtml