Explain The Purpose Of Monitoring Controlling And Recording Income And Expenditures

Firstly the role of accounting is to record business transactions in a systematic way, for instance recording the amount of sales made to customers by John Lewis. This is done by the business to keep the records accurate and updated as well. If bookkeeping is done incorrectly, this will result in the business processing wrong payments or billings. For instance, if John Lewis does not do bookkeeping, the business will end up making payment to wrong suppliers.

This is to keep track of the expenses that are being used, in what areas, and may also be used when trying to find better deals for travel or accommodation. It is a vital part of basic business procedures to keep track of all expenditure, and what money is being spent where.

Collection of information is essential to support the major functions and activities of the organisation. To ascertain this it is essential to have regular reports of the organisation and to do this you need regular financial reports and audits. A true vision of the organisation will give any management a better understanding of their situation and will thus help them to make a good viable decision.

“Access to good financial information is essential to success in the policy and financial management arenas” (Bartle, Hildreth, Marlowe. P. 222). Proper accounting is the cornerstone to working towards a balanced budget. The CAFR (comprehensive annual financial report)

All businesses and organisations have to check to see that the information they have stored is accurate. For example, the money coming in and going out have to be correctly recorded otherwise it will look as if the company has not made much profit and it can affect the share prices of the company, affect the employees as the company might not be able to pay the employees and will have to cut down on staff, lenders will not agree to lend money, etc.

Keeping good records of all contributions that are made and put into the account is very important. Recordkeeping helps to keep the system accurate and helps track the earning and loses of the investment plan, and the expenses and benefit distributions to the participants accounts.

Financial resources: businesses have to monitor their finance because they need to insure that they have enough money in order to buy products and to pay their employees. They then also have to make sure that they have enough money so that they

Understanding the sources (incomes) and uses (expenses) of funds, and the budget deficit/surplus that results, are core accounting measures to consider in short and long term personal financial planning. Also, grasping key concepts like how your salary/wages are earned and segmented/taxed is important in determining your net incomes. How to approach deficits and surpluses and their associated action plans come from sound accounting understanding. Accounting develops controls on how to deal with budget deficits like increasing income, reducing expenses and borrowing. Understanding how sunk costs and opportunity costs factor into alternative choices and borrowing come to us from sound accounting knowledge and play a role in personal planning. Lastly, through various standard reporting approaches, we, though accounting, can develop the ability to look at current and future personal finance decisions and health via income statements, balance sheets, ratios and other common size book keeping measures.

In addition to accountants providing many useful numbers that signal a company’s performance, they also prepare many useful documents and a code of ethics to make sure that all stakeholders have a clear picture on the business’s financial position. For instance, journaling is what accountants do after every transaction. These entries of what is exchanged in a business provide evidence that money deserves to be in a certain account. Especially since every journal entry needs a corresponding document that proves the record did happen, journals can be used by executives to see what really occurred in case a number in an account looks wrong (Schneider). It is also used when a government official suspects that the company is unfairly representing itself to either indict the business or prove its innocence. Journaling illustrates the importance of accounting since everything is documented and has proof for existence in the case of errors. One thing that journals go hand-in-hand with is the general ledger. This is the document that actually lists each individual account and the amount in it. It organizes the overall picture of every entity a business comes in contact with so that every important number can be put neatly into a financial statement.

The main purpose of financial accounting is to prepare financial reports that provide information about a firm’s performance to external parties such as investors, creditors, and tax authorities. Must be performed according to GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) guidelines.

The objective is to ensure that auditors obtain sufficient knowledge of the business of the entity to enable them to identify and understand the events, transactions or practice that may have a significant effect on the financial statements or the audit. This knowledge of the business helps to assess the levels of control and inherent risk and to determine audit procedures.

Feedback: The primary purpose of accounting is to provide information that is useful for decision-making purposes. Accounting is 'not an end', but rather it is a 'means to an end.' LO 1

The purpose of an audit is to enhance of confidence in the financial statements. An auditors opinion validates this purpose.

To illustrate the importance of maintaining a good accounting system for tracking company sales and expense data.

Financial statements are a very useful tool for individuals interested in the organization. Investors use the information to determine if it a wise decision to put their money into the organization. Investors need to determine if the organization has been successful and profitable and will continue to be successful and profitable. Creditors use the financial statements to determine the amount of credit that should be advanced to the organization. Employees generally do not look at the financial statements, but if a new executive was thinking of joining the organization, he or she may want to see the potential of the organization to make sure the investors are becoming a part of a successful organization. Management uses the financial statements on a monthly basis to determine which areas of the organization are profitable and which areas of the organization that needs to be discontinued or restructure to become more profitable.