Notes Unit-1 Financial Accounting-1
Notes Unit-1 Financial Accounting-1
Notes Unit-1 Financial Accounting-1
The accountancy is the gift of limited human memory which is replaced by a standard system of
recording the business transactions and events.
The utility of the system is further enhanced to simply recording to many applications of
analysis on the recorded accounting data.
MEANING OF ACCOUNTING
USERS OF ACCOUNTS
AND
(b) Outsiders.
(i) Investors: They provide risk capital to the business. They information to
assess whether to buy, hold or sell their investment. Also they are
interested to know the ability of the business to survive, prosper and to
pay dividend. In non-corporate sector where ownership and management
are not essentially separated, the owner(s) still need(s) information about
performance of the business and its financial position to decide whether to
continue or shut down.
(ii) Employee: Employees are interested to know the stability and
continuity and growth of the enterprise and its ability to provide
remuneration, retirement and other benefits and to enhance
employment opportunities.
(iii) Lenders: They are interested to know whether their loan-principal
and interest will be paid when due. Financial statements comment on
the profitability and liquidity of the firm and thus is very useful to the
lenders. They are the proof of firm’s liquidity.
(iv) Suppliers and other creditors: They are also interested to know the
ability of the enterprise to pay their dues. Sometimes, they also
become interested in long term continuation of the enterprise if their
existence becomes dependent on the survival of that business.
Suppose, small ancillary units supply their products to a big
enterprise, if the big enterprise collapses, the fate of the small units
also become sealed.
(v) Customers : Customers are also concerned with the stability and
profitability of the enterprise because their functioning is more or
less dependent in a vertical chain, suppose, a company produces
some chemicals used by pharmaceutical companies. It supplies
chemicals on three month’s credit. If all of a sudden it faces some
trouble and is unable to supply the chemical, the customers will also
be in trouble.
Process of Accounting
Book-keeper.
Types of Book
keeping
Single entry
system
Double entry
System
This recording of transactions may be done according to any of the following
two systems:
Objectives of Accounting
BRANCHES OF ACCOUNTING
Branches of
Accounting
Financial
Accounting
Cost Accounting
Management
Accounting
Tax Accounting
Social Responsibility
Accounting
LIMITATION OF ACCOUNTING
Take another example : Economists classify costs as fixed and variable; but
they are very sensitive about the cost behavior pattern. That is to say, they do
not accept that variable costs vary in direct proportion to revenue. Truly
speaking, the linear relationship between variable costs and revenue is a
myth. It is not easy to establish the exact functional relationship between
variable cost and sales. So, an accountant accepts the linear relationship while
finding out break-even point. There are many other examples of such type of
acclimatization of economic thoughts in the practical decision environment.
At macro-level, accounting provides the data base over which the economic
decision models have been developed; micro-level data arranged by the
accounting system is summed up to get macro-level data base.
Now-a-days statistics and econometric models are largely used for developing
decision models for the users of accounts. Also, Operations Research
Techniques provides lot of decision models. Since accounting is meant for
providing information to the users, to be effective, accounting data should
feed the information requirements of such statistical, econometric and
operations research models. Understanding mathematics has become a must
to grasp the decision models framed by statisticians, econometricians and the
O. R. experts.
Presently graphs and charts are being extensively used for communicating
accounting information. In addition to statistical knowledge, knowledge in
geometry and trigonometry seems to be essential to have a better
understanding about the accounting communications system.
Similarly, every country has a set of economic, fiscal and labour laws.
Transactions and events are always guided by laws of the land. Very often the
accounting system to be followed has been prescribed by the law. For
example, the Companies Act has prescribed the format of financial
statements.
ROLE OF ACCOUNTANT
Accountants are the persons who practice the art of accounting. The
Accounting System and the Accountants who maintain it, provide useful
Accountants in Employment
Accountants’ Services
ACCOUNTING EQUATION
Assets = Equities
The properties owned by business are called ‘assets’. The rights to the
properties are called ‘Equities’. Equities may be sub-divided into two principal
types : the rights of the creditors and the rights of the owners. The equity of
creditors represents debts of the business and are called liabilities. The equity
of the owner is called capital, or proprietorship or owner’s equity. Thus :
1. Define accounting. Who are the users of accounting? State briefly the
information needs of the users of accounts.
2. What are the sub-fields of accounting? Distinguish between the various
sub-fields.
3. Discuss briefly the relationship of accounting with (i) Economic, (ii)
Statistics, (iii) Mathematics, (iv) Law, (v) Management.
4. State whether the following statements are true or false. Also give
reasons in support of your answer.
(a) Accounting s an art.
(b) Accounting means recording transactions and events, not their
interpretation.
(c)Sub-fields of accounting are back-keeping, financial accounting and
management accounting.
(d) Knowledge of statistics helps to interpret accounting data more
meaningfully.
(e) Knowledge of mathematics is pre-requisite of learning accounting.
5. Discuss the limitations which must be kept in mind while evaluating the
Financial Statements.