Accounting
Accounting is a profession in the financial industry which
involves the accurate bookkeeping of a business’s or an individual’s
finance, for internal and personal analysis and for determining what
is annually owed as tax. Accounting does not necessarily have to be
done by an accountant, with many individuals, small businesses and
freelancers keeping their own books. On the flip side large
businesses often have their own accounting departments. Falsifying
accounts or providing false information is taken very seriously if
done for tax dodging purposes. See Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles for more info.
Most accounts usually include and detail the value of assets,
liabilities, income, and expenses. If the specific purpose is to
help with the yearly tax return there should be detailed entries on
every form of income, every business related expense (for tax
deductions) and the associated receipts at hand for proof, should
the “tax man” request proof of earnings and expenses.
Public companies often make accounting and financial information
public, not only to tout any successes, but for investors to analyze
and interpret the data to aid them in their investment decisions. If
a public company tried to hide their financial records there would
be a serious lack of trust. Why would you buy shares in a company if
you had no idea how well they were performing? That being said there
are various techniques accountants use to “window dress” companies
accounts in order to make them seem more appealing. (Note this is
different from straight up fraud).
Modern accountancy utilizes a whole host of different computer
software; the basic form being spreadsheets. Gone are the days of
stacks of paper of handwritten ledger books, now everything is a lot
easier to update and calculate.
Auditing is term closely linked to accounting which involves going
through all of the accounts and double checking their accuracy.