Free Custom «An Accountant » Essay Paper

Abstract

An accountant is an accountancy practitioner who measures, disclose, or provides assurance about financial position of a business organization to the stakeholders.  An accountant is an important business profession who evaluates and analyses financial strengths and weaknesses of an organization and gives financial report to the decision makers. In the world of business, accounts department acts as an economic pillar to the organization.

In addition, business accounting has two divisions which are managerial and financial accounting. Managerial accounting is responsible for providing both financial and nonfinancial information to the department managers and other top managers which direct decision-making tasks in financial perspective. However, financial accounting is responsible for the provision financial information to the external sources of a business such as suppliers, debtors among others.

My Role as an Accountant

The main role that I play in a business is to record, measure, and provide financial information to the respective institutions that fall within business environment.  Every business transaction that takes place affects an account which has to be recorded and updated. At the end of a business financial period, I measure and analyze the value of all accounts according to the transactions which have taken place in the period. In addition, I evaluate the business performance by comparing different periods with accordance to either the profits gained or losses incurred. The overall financial information is communicated to both the managerial and financial accountants for further information (Swain, 2007).

Objectives of Accounting

The main objective of accounting in a business is to provide financial information which helps interested users in making decisions about the business. For instance, the main objective is to provide external users with basic financial information of a business such as profit and loss statement account and the balance sheet as at the end of a certain financial period. However, the objective of managerial accounting is to provide managers with financial information which is helpful in the managerial role of a business (Mellett, 2002).

Basic Terminology of the Accounting Process or Financial Reporting

Account

An account is an established recording of individual business transactions which either increases or reduces financial worth of a business. Every transaction that takes place in a business is recorded in a specific account which makes it easier for referencing records of a specific type of transactions. In accounting process, all individual accounts are maintained in a general ledger which is the central reference point of accounts.

Debits and Credits                                                                                                                            

A business transaction to be recorded falls in either the debit or credit category.  A transaction which brings benefit to the business is recorded in the debit side of a respective account whereas that which reduces financial value of a business is recorded in the credit sides. This method of recording varies with respect to the type of account the transaction is associated with.

Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenue and Expenses

These are the accounts which are utilized by the accounting system.  Assets refer to accounts of transactions which add value to the business finance. Liabilities are accounts of transactions which reduce the value of business finance.  Equity refers to the money invested which value varies with accordance to the performance of a business. Revenue refers to an account in which income gained is recorded. Expense account refers to an account in which business expenses are recorded.  

Effects of Accounting Profession to My Life

Accounting profession has a positive impact to my life. First, the profession has made me feel as a contributor to the economic development of the world. My business organization has benefited from my service in decision making for future performance improvement. Secondly, the profession has been of great help to my family and me through the financial earning which meets our basic needs. Third, the profession has shaped my self discipline. Account department is very crucial to the running of the business thus it must be involved in all business activities and transactions. This has made me a good time manager and a hard working person.

Role That Technology Has Played In Small Business Accounting

Adaptation of technology in the discipline of accounting has been of much help. Development of accounting software has made accounting work easier by eradicating much work of updating status of an account every time a transaction is made. Large business organizations have many transactions affecting different accounts at the same time which could be tiresome if an accountant was to record and update those transactions at the same time but technology has eased that work and at the same time made it faster thus saving a lot of time(Arnold, 2010).