This article is from page 32 of the 2008-11-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 32 JPG
TODAY more than ever, you need Someone you can rely on for sound business advice and to minimise business risk.
The right advice from an impartial professional can be the difference between success and failure. That’s why a Chartered Accountant is the logical choice if you want to negoti- ate a clear path through the labyrinth of the modern business world.
Your Chartered Accountant is a multi-skilled business professional whose knowledge of best business practices can help you succeed.
The services and expertise they can offer your business include in- terpreting data; preparing manage- ment tools such as forecasts and productivity improvements; audits; advising on financial planning; de- veloping new management strategies and the structures that support them andrisk management.
Chartered Accountants in public practice have the skills, knowledge and experience to improve your business practices – and the profits of your business – in areas you might never have considered.
Imagine the benefits you could re- ceive from a thorough and efficient review of gross margins, or how your debtor turnover affects your cash flow, or how much it is really cost- ing you to support your stock levels. Your Chartered Accountant can be your business partner for the long haul, continuously adding value to
your business.
Employing a Chartered Account- ant is your assurance that you are dealing with a highly qualified pro- fessional who is up-to-date on the latest business issues and is commit- ted to ongoing professional educa- tion. Investing in the expertise of a Chartered Accountant will give your organisation added insight and di- rection for years to come.
Accounting has been defined as “The art of recording, classifying, and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, trans- actions and events which are, in part at least, of financial character and 1n- terpreting the results thereof.”
Financial accounting is one branch of accounting and historically has involved processes by which finan- cial information about a business is recorded, classified, summarised, interpreted, and communicated; for public companies, this information is generally publicly-accessible. By contrast, management accounting information is used within an or- ganisation and is usually confidential and accessible only to a small group, mostly decision-makers. Open-book accounting aims to improve account- ing transparency. Tax Accounting is the accounting needed to comply with jurisdictional tax regulations.
Auditing is a related but separate discipline, with two sub-disciplines: internal auditing and external audit- ing. External auditing is the process whereby an independent auditor ex- amines an organisation’s financial
statements and accounting records in order to express an opinion as to the truth and fairness of the finan- cial statements and their adherence to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), or Internation- al Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), in all material respects. In- ternal auditing aims at providing information for management usage, and is typically carried out by em- ployees of the company.
Accounting scholarship is the aca- demic discipline which studies the theory of accountancy.