The Payroll and Personnel Cycle - Assignment Example

many steps involved, the organization of time cards and distribution of salaried management; this must be handles for each department within the company. They also, must attend to the necessary taxes and make certain that those numbers are properly reported to the correct government agencies. They must update these reports as they go and incorporate and update ledgers. This process must be completed for each and every pay period within a company. The payroll and personnel cycle is one that, often, requires diligent monitoring because it is a point where fraudulent acts from within the company can occur.

When auditing this portion of the accounting cycle they, primarily, focus upon finding verification that their account balances are accurate and “fairly stated” in accordance with current accepted accounting principles.(Arens, Elder, and Beasely 3) In order to avoid fraud and any misinterpretations it is suggested that those responsible for the information have proper separation of duties, that numbers are confirmed multiple times, correct adherence to the use of appropriate documents, and regular, physical, control over all assets and records.

Ideally, these “internal control” measures will help to prevent the possibility, let alone the success of fraud, within the payroll and personnel portion of the accounting cycle. (Arens, Elder, and Beasely 16) However, it has, also, been said that the cycles of accounting and the differentiation of steps is the product of the manual accounting process that has been practiced for decades, practices that require individuals to do the steps completely by hand, entering the amounts into journals or ledgers, practices that are presently obsolete.

Much of the purpose of the steps in the accounting cycle was invented to. As the essay discusses the cycles of accounting and the differentiation of steps is the product of the manual accounting process that has been practiced for decades, practices that require individuals to do the steps completely by hand, entering the amounts into journals or ledgers, practices that are presently obsolete. Much of the purpose of the steps in the accounting cycle was invented to simplify the process for the people involved in performing them.

These are simplifications that modern technology does not need. Today most companies use accounting software that is capable of calculating and organizing the numbers much more efficiently and simultaneously providing balances and adjustments.According to the study findings not only is the software more expeditious, more efficient, and provides a lesser margin of human error, but it, also, meets the desires of many businesses to “Go Green.”  Many of the software will allow businesses to engage in a “paperless accounting.

”  The transfer from human to software accounting is that the traditional payroll cycle is one with a great deal of paper documents, like paychecks, reports, and receipts, that are highly confidential; The paperless route allows for decreasing the likelihood that any unauthorized individuals could have access to private information they should not be privy to. The movement towards more automation and technology within companies will increase, and accounting software may very well be the financial solution for maintaining and organizing company finances.