Accounting

It takes us a bit of time to recognize that sometimes our clients don’t understand the language of accounting.

Starting with Income Statements and Balance Sheets and progressing to Retained Earnings, Trial Balance and General Ledger, we know that these terms can be confusing.

We’re getting better at recognizing when our clients don’t really understand what we’re saying.   We encourage our clients to tell us when they are perplexed by “adjusting entries” or when they simply need a refresher on the basics.

To try and minimize the confusion, we’re adding a Glossary to this blog.  Please refer to it every time a term comes up that you don’t understand.  Sometimes it takes multiple times for an unfamiliar concept to sink in.  Or, if there’s something you still don’t understand – ask us!

As business owners, we’re sometimes like Alice and get distracted by taking our focus from reality and following the figurative rabbit down the figurative rabbit hole. We fall into a place that we are unfamiliar with, that makes no sense, and that takes up so much of our time to figure out. And that seems like madness.

Yes, that’s what it’s like when business owners try to do their own accounting and bookkeeping.  Before you know it they’ve ended up in a mess worse than Alice.

The reality of the matter is that business owners need to trust an expert to handle their accounting and bookkeeping. Once you put it in the hands of a competent expert, the benefits to you and your business will increase exponentially.

You’ll have more time to focus on your key skill sets, which usually means handling all those things that will increase revenue. Your accounting expert will also help you manage cash flow. We’ve seen our San Francisco clients transform their businesses into profitable firms by allowing us to handle all their financials and accounting.

So remember – beware of the rabbit hole. Hire a bookkeeper and/or accountant and see your business thrive.

昨日に引き続き２級のテキストを読みながら、ひたすら仕訳の勉強をしていたのだけれども、今更ながら、この仕訳とは一体何なのか疑問に感じてきた。無知でごめんなさい。漠然と財務諸表作るためなんだよねーとか思いつつ全体像が見えなかったので、3級のテキストを買って流し読みしてみた（何故今更3級のテキストを買ったのかというと、2級のテキストに「これは3級で習いましたよね」的なふざけた記述が何カ所もあったから）。それでもなんだかわかりにくかったので、全体のフローを絵に描いてみた。

3級のテキストを見る限りでは試算表や清算表の作成は決まりに従って書けばよいだけみたい。清算表ができれば財務諸表はすぐに作成できる。仕訳が大事なのは、取引の種類によって借方貸方の書き方にちょこっとバリエーションがあるからのようだ。2級の商業テキストを読んでいても、前半は仕訳ばっかり延々説明がなされている。なんとなく前よりは全体像がわかった気になったのでまた仕訳レッスンに戻ります。

ところで、問題なのがこの添付したFlowなんですが、MacのKeynoteを使って作ってみたのだけれども、とても使いづらい。図形のドラッグアンドドロップの際にパワポには無い調整機能があってそれは「おお！」と思ったけど、図形間のコネクタが使えなかったり、パワポのオートシェイプみたいな便利な絵が無くて普通の四角とか三角とか丸とかしか書けない。あと、このMacのタッチパッド、ダブルクリックしづらい。ユーザビリティに関しては慣れていないせいもあると思うけれども、オートシェイプに関してはこのままでは困るので、Mac(Keynote)使いの人誰か対応策知ってたら教えてくださいな。

For those who enjoy the challenge of working with numbers on a daily basis, an accounting finance career is right for you. With the tools that were taught in school, you will be able to help a company or a business run efficiently.

But what is the first step that you have to take? Most companies will require that you graduate with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy, business, economics, math or statistics and also obtain your CPA or Certified Public Accountant’s license.

Given that the job market is very competitive, you will also have to get a master’s degree and be familiar with the latest accounting software around given that most companies use the computer these dates to upgrade records or add new information.

For the most part, accountants do not go out of the office much when everything they have to do is in front of their desk. But if the accounting firm has a client, they will have to leave and perform an audit in the customer’s place of office.

The working hours for most accountants on average are 40 hours a week. However, this gets longer during the tax season and towards the end of the financial year.

Your accounting finance career can go into one of the four major fields. If you want to be a public accountant, you work for corporations, the government, a non profit organization or one person. You can advise the client on tax matters, preparing their income tax returns and offering your consultation services when it comes to running their business.

If the accounting department you are working of is quite big, you are able to specialize for instance simply working on the employee’s compensation and benefits.

Management accountant is another and here, you will be responsible for asset management, budgeting, cost management and performance evaluation of the company. Your analysis of the financial information given to you is needed to help top level executives make strategic business solutions that will affect the company as a whole.

But a vast majority of accountants work in the public sector. They maybe employed on a federal, state or local level and their job is to make sure that all the money collected from the people through the form of taxes is accounted for.

The last option is known as internal auditing. Those who work here check and balance the company or the client they are working for in all facets of the organization so money is never mismanaged or wasted. They also recommend new procedures so incidents of fraud do not occur.

Graduates fresh out of college will not be handling an account or given an assignment on their own. They will be assisting accountants who are more senior to them and then after a year or two, be promoted to that position before becoming a manager or even a partner later on.

During this time, you will be able to specialize in one of the four fields mentioned or shift towards something else. Many professionals have gone from public accounting to internal audit or management accounting. But it is very rare that the opposite occurs.

Getting a college degree and your license can open a lot of doors to get you started on your accounting finance career. So, if you want to pursue this, it is yours for the taking.