History on Accounting - Essay Example

History on Accounting Essay 1: This essay expounded on the importance and relevance of accounting as a measure of the financial performance, and thereby the health, of a company, an organization, and even a country by starting out with definitions of accounting both as a record and as a determining factor of their economic well-being. This data, which looked into how accounting functions in business and how various users find the information necessary and relevant to them, provides the backdrop for the concern over the growing unpopularity of accounting as a profession. This unpopularity is due in part to the rigidity and monotony of studying and practicing accountancy, as well as to tougher requirements recently implemented and the bad reputation that the accounting profession garnered because of financial scandals that has overwhelmed several organizations. In this author’s particular case citing Trinidad and Tobago, one deterrent is the seeming lack of prestige particularly for entry-level accountants who are given the same low-key status of ordinary office assistants. The essay, though quite clear on the important functions of accounting in managing the resources for a business to thrive and prosper, has not fully explored on how to address the unpopularity of accounting as a choice of profession but merely to reiterate that despite the unpopularity, accounting is still a major and important part of business. The essay therefore does not offer a solution but merely an argument that cannot be contested because of its obviousness and the general acceptance of such. This is made obvious in the conclusion, which merely underscored once again the challenges of taking up accounting as a course to begin with but that it nonetheless remains an important undertaking. Overall, the essay provides a good discussion on what accounting is and its necessity. Essay 2 This essay delves into a more broad definition of accounting, encompassing the fact that it is more than a book record translation of business transactions but vital information as well as a communication of that information. In that regard, the discussion on the users for which these said information are to be communicated are helpful to readers in identifying the connection between accounting as a record and how crucial an information it is based on the needs of those who use it, internal (managers) and external (auditors, creditors, investors, etc.) alike. The conclusion was particularly succinct in highlighting that as a measurement and as an accurate estimate, accounting is at the very core of making successful plans, financial and otherwise, for the organization. The essay is commendable for its structure, on how one idea flows to the next, as it successfully connects the critical role accounting plays in an organization to how and what need users have for such an information. It is apparent that many functions of the organization, particularly in financial viability and stability, revolves around the department of accounting. But when the discussion segued into the fundamentals of accounting, the network of accounting theory, standards, principles, and practice seemed like a relevant topic that, although skimmed, was seriously lacking in content leaving the readers wanting for more information. Overall though, despite its brevity, the essay managed to convey a rather detailed account of accounting and the magnitude of its purpose. Essay 3 The essay goes directly into a tally of the importance of accounting in determining the financial performance of a business and as a means to convey that to the business’ stakeholders for them to determine their organization’s financial standing in terms of profits and losses. Moreover, the essay points to accounting as a means to keep track of the day to day business and plays the most important role of determining financial positions and operations, necessitated by both large scale and small scale enterprises and organizations. The essay also went on to describe the two types of accounting – financial and cost – particularly noting their purposes and uses tying it all together in the essential functions of accounting as a department within the business regardless of the business’ size. The essay’s strongest point is its clarity of thought achieved by pursuing a single theme that does neither to make an argument nor to state an unconventional view. This theme – the importance of accounting in various aspects of running an organization no matter its scale – is apparent in every paragraph and was even underscored by a numbered presentation near the conclusive remarks. The essay is thus informative and has taken pains to detail the information it needs to partake but focusing on that single aspect from introduction to conclusion, that even the definition of accounting was wrapped around that single overarching objective, a discussion on the importance of accounting. All in all, the single track pursued by the discussion’s focus is deemed necessary due to the conciseness of the essay. Essay 4 The essay is quite the bird’s eye view on accounting in general and the bleak concerns over scandals where accounting professionals are embroiled in Nigeria in particular. It started off with defining accounting as a study of financial information for use in business decisions and describing the various users who have various needs for such information – from managers to employees, from investors to creditors, from auditors to competitors even. It is implicit that more than being record keeping of a company’s finances, accounting is a huge responsibility, not just to the work done for the company that required such services but also to the practicing professional who needs to keep their credibility above reproached and unsullied. The structure of the essay is pretty much straightforward, allowing for a fluid move of one idea to the next with examples placed at the right moment, underscoring a crucial point. There are two ideas discussed here: what accounting means and the financial scandals in accounting. The former, although not going too in-depth and technical, was informative enough and gave a broader view with the inclusion of the user’s necessity for accounting practices and procedures. The latter was zeroed in on a specific example, that of the Cadbury financial scandal on Nigeria which was allegedly brought about by the doctoring of financial books. It was said to be a conspiracy of top management with the accountants who should have assumed the “check and balance” for possible corrupt activities within the company but have perpetrated it instead. This detail was paralleled with the cash-based system adopted by Nigeria and of the recentness of their regulatory system. In wrapping up the discussion, the essay touched on the importance of policies and government regulators to curb the corruption that lead to scandal because no company can do away with the all-too important work of the accounting unit. Essay 5 This essay starts with an attempt to discuss a bit of history on accounting, briefly tracing how much accounting has changed from when it was first consciously done and recorded to until the present time where it has become a complex and intermingling system of systems. This short foray into history was to suggest that at its very core, accounting as a principle has remained the same throughout the centuries – that is, it encompasses any of the businesses aspect that deals with money, financial transactions, lending, banking, position, etc. But from the very start, it was apparent that the essay was not a discussion of merely the origin and the definition of accounting as it abruptly points out that today, more than yesterday, the financial world is wracked with corruptions marked by collusions with accounting professionals that has led to an unsavory reputation for the said profession. Even when unintended, misappropriation and mismanagement of funds has, in most cases, been the root of a business’ collapse, and accounting, being the department liable with any and all pertaining to financial dealings, was likely to take the heat and blame. In conclusion, the author takes the position that steps have to be taken because the bad reputation is detrimental to a profession that is too essential to lose and even suggested some of those steps that needed to be taken. This essay was successful in what it set out to do: presenting the problem and finding solutions, all the while taking pains to be as explanatory with the concepts as possible so as not to alienate the reader. From the onset, it was clear that the essay is not merely about a historical or descriptive discussion of accounting and that it has set its sights on current issues, scandals besetting that sphere. And as the account went to the objectives of the essay – the problem of corruption and financial irresponsibility that has sullied the profession and finding the solutions – it was able to do so evocatively, with thorough explanations and examples that was not threaded haphazardly but was deliberately structured. Although there wasn’t so much in the way of offering solutions, the essay was nonetheless successful in its attempt to raise awareness and opens the floor for suggestions to address the concerns. Read More