Accounting: Final Exam Essay

For each of the following course objectives, explain in 200-400 intelligence agencys what you erudite in this course and how you could apply your learning of this course objective to your personal life or c areer. Refer to the syllabus to assist you in spirit what material was traverseed under each objective.4pts each1) CHANGING kinetics OF ACCOUNTINGThe steps of score cycles are revenues, expenditures, conversion/ production, financing, fixed assets, and fiscal reporting. Revenues approximately often occur as the impart of the selling of a service or product. These dealings are recorded in the mildew of cash receipts and sales launchs. Expenditures are a result of the materials and tire need to generate revenues. For example a dry cleaning tune would need certain chemicals, bags and hangers for cleaned clothes, and employees to operate the business. Conversion represents the production or the earnest or service sold by the come with. In other equipment casualty the t ime/ cost to produce and market the good or service. finance is to a fault known as and outstanding debt, such as stocks or any outstanding bonds. The fixed asset details the purchase, disposition, and depreciation of companion assets.See more(prenominal)Masters of Satire John Dryden and Jonathan Swift strive formerly whole journal entries concord been posted and all accounts closed in(p) a trial balance is prepared and is used to identify errors and last prepare the financial reporting for the guild. Accounting schemes have become more automated and the need for human intervention is becoming more limited. automation of these strategys does allow for change magnitude efficiency and accuracy and has allowed manual accounting confinement to be performed more quickly. Human intervention is necessary though to encounter the data being entered is correct. Human intervention can also military service to identify errors that may have been made in the initial inputting of nurture. As technology evolves it is nearim accomplishable to non have some fundamental interaction with the internet. Companies often have multiple locations as the internet opens the company to customers they could non otherwise reach. season the internet opens companies for increased commerce, there is also increased risk to the companys data. We have of late heard in the currents how the State of South Carolinas Department of Revenues systems were hacked and thousands of tax payers personal information such as social security numbers were stolen. (http//www.postandcourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=pc160442). To batten down company security, many it department limit users ability to access certain websites and download programs, games, and even pictures.2) reading SYSTEMS INFRASTRUCTURE(to earn full credit graceful word count of at least 200 words) Accounting reading Systems (AIS) is what business use to collect, manage, and report financial information. AIS is a mix of people, procedures, young data, package, and control. Internal controls are specifically vital as they work to keep on the integrity of data being entered and reported as well as protocol to comfort sensitive data. A companys informal controls moldiness also insure or exceed SOX in order to be in compliance. Companies employee a mix of general and application controls to control these requirements. Application controls entangle financial application controls to detect errors such as incorrect find outing of raw data. This could also include pre-coding bank transactions so that deposits are accidently recorded as withdrawals and vise versa.General controls include items such as segregation or duties, documenting and processing data, reconciliation of accounts, and even close access to certain systems to the employee who unavoidably the system to perform their job. AIS can include not that the internal controls one thinks of (such as segregation of duties) exclu sively also systems restrictions and requiring key card access for entry to various sites and departments. These items protect stored data and also allow for tracking of individuals needing this type of access. As accounting systems become increasingly automated, firms are seeking individuals who have not only the understanding of generally accepted accounting principles and SOX, tho also solid understanding of IT controls and process.3) info MANAGEMENT AND INTEGRATION(to earn full credit meet word count ofat least 200 words) I found hebdomad three to be the most challenging for me. While I on a regular basis use excel, learning correct terminology and how to build a database was particularly difficult. While some terms were easy to grasp (such as field, record, and queries) unfeignedly understanding how tables and data relate to each other was difficult to grasp. When I realized that a primary key is unique and is defined in one table and that primary key would be the foreign k ey on another table and is what is used to join the tables, building a database became clearer. Because the internet has changed the face of business, some companies find integrating reports from various sectionalisations challenging. software system often has to be developed or modified so all reporting divisions have access to properly report expenditures and revenue. The data must also be organized and maintained in a synthetic way. Maintenance of the data is as important as the reporting. Without proper maintenance, emerging queries will not reflect the true numbers. Good maintenance and proportion within a database also allows for companies to easily query the wealth of information within their own records to gain additional insight into buying trends, possible room for more efficient production, and quick review of possible errors.4) production line MODELING PROCESSES AND SYSTEM DESIGN(to earn full credit meet word count of at least 200 words) SDLC is the process which sho uld ensure a quality product. SDLC stands for Software Development Life Cycle. The SDLC includes planning, system synopsis and design, development, testing, implementation, and maintenance. In planning the company would identify the need, set a timeline for finish and outline the recourses needed for completion. The planning phase would also include what the company hopes to accomplish with new software. aft(prenominal) the need is identified, analysis of current procedures and software is performed. This would include documentation of current procedures and identifying gaps in the system and best practices. This is most often accomplished by reviewing requirements of each job, speaking with managers and employees.Once these needs and shortfalls are identified, then the development process begins. The software should then been well-kept/ purchased with the identified need and the companys current shortfalls in mind. Once this is completed companies will often test the new softwa re every in theory or in a small division of thecompany. For instance due to system and accounting needs my company recently developed a new ordering system. Rather than deploying the new system nationwide, one smaller district is being used to test and improve. After this is completed my company will move onto the implantation process. Implementation includes not only actually beginning to use new software but also transferring of old data to the new system, training employees on new procedures and how to use the new software. Once a system is implemented it should be maintained. Companies should continually review for issues and correct and adjust the system as needed. AIS should cover all levels of the companys financial reporting needs5) INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND AUDITING(to earn full credit meet word count of at least 200 words) The auditing of a companys information system is vital to ensuring the companys records are accurate and well protected. Also, it is domineering that th e information systems are compliant with GAAP and SOX. SOX was enacted to address possible flunk on companys internal controls and as a result of the scandal at companies Enron and Worldcom. Upon examination of why these companies failed, it was determined that the internal controls that should have been in place to ensure proper and truthful reporting were lacking. The internal controls govern the integrity of the data collected, processed, and disclosed on financial reports. SOX requires remote/ independent auditors to test whether a companys internal controls and procedures are sufficient and report this on the companys financial report.To prevent CFOs and CEOs from claiming no knowledge of misreporting, SOX now requires that these individuals identify their knowledge of the companys finances, how it was reported, documentation of their own involvement and the internal controls used to govern this. SOX also provides providing criminal and financial penalties for individual non -compliance. . In order to complaint with GAAP a companys policies should include organizational structure outline, descriptions of transaction types, summaries of revenue, as well as a list of unacceptable practices. While SOX was enacted to prevent fraudulent reporting some smaller companies do fight down with ensuring they are compliant with the internal controls outlined.