The Role of Accounting in Business & Society

Accountants are responsible in analyzing and assessing the revenue, expenses, reporting financial matters and giving advice about the financial health of their employer. They help their client to know the best way to run a business by tracking and analyzing where does the money of the business go. They also give suggestions on where money could be made and advice in budgeting the money in the business.

Certified Public Accountants handle a variety of jobs and task. They can offer tax income tax preparation and advise to range of clients including individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Some might choose to work as a forensic accountant to investigate accounting fraud that requires reviewing accounting reports, records and systems to expose any evidence of criminal activities. Other might choose a different path like consultation service, because they rather assist in financial matters with a private clients, not-for-profit organizations, government institutions and financial firms.

The profession of accounting is a one that is highly regulated, due to the knowledge and power each accountant possesses. Although an accountants duties differ from one position to the next, the main sectors that accountants pursue are auditing or taxation. Auditing is ensuring the public that the information listed on the financial statements of public companies is free of material misstatements. While taxation is helping people or companies file their tax returns to the federal government or offering tax advice. In the world of auditing, you either follow the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), for public company audits, or the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), for other entities

| (TCO A) An AICPA committee in 1986 broke forensic accounting into two broad areas:

They may be brought in to evaluate a defendant’s psychological state at the time they committed the offence. In addition, psychologists may be needed to judge the validity of a confession. Forensics can also work in the area of consulting, in which they may help a lawyer select jury for a trial or assist death investigators clarify unclear death determinations.

Accounting is the study of how businesses track their income and assets over time. Accountants engage in a wide variety of activities besides preparing financial statements and recording business transactions. These activities include computing costs and efficiency gains from new technologies, participating in strategies for mergers and acquisitions, quality management, developing and using information systems to track financial

Accountants are relied upon to be trustworthy and maintain high ethical standards. It is because of the nature of the profession that puts them in a position of trust with people who rely on their professional judgment and guidance in making decisions. These decisions are extremely important in accounting and more so that companies that have high ethical standard or main good ethical culture spend enormous time to train the staffs about the conduct that is expected of them.

I agree many of accountants skills are used to keep track of business records much like scorekeepers at gaming events. I also agree most people have some form of accounting background like balancing a checkbook, paying taxes or reporting some form of income. Much like financial accountants if we do not do taxes or report our income we could get audit by the IRS.

Because of the need for forensic accountants in deciphering and analyzing liability and damages, their role in the courtroom, as businesses have continued to evolve, has expanded rapidly as well. While in the past, forensic accountants have conducted investigations into the assets of parties involved in divorce, or in supporting claims in construction disputes, now the list of roles has expanded to include antitrust cases, intellectual property disputes, securities litigation, and professional negligence lawsuits.(Tucker, 2011)

There are specific traits or skills that make a good forensic accountant. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics website there are 5 important skills you must have:

There are four main fields of accounting and auditing listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics: "public accounting, management accounting, government accounting, and internal auditing." CPAs are not limited to a narrow list of activities, in fact public accountants typically work with a "broad range of accounting, auditing, tax, and consulting

Forensic accountant’s role in investigations is to provide police and district attorneys with assistance. According to financialaccounting.com, accountants assist with the protection and recovery of assets, and coordinate people such as private investigators, forensic document examiners, and consulting engineers. Accountants also provide valuable insight into course of action for the chief investigators.

Accounting is the language of business. It is a profession that is being guided by principles, concepts, conventions, laws, etc. All these fundamental building blocks serve as common and general compasses to all practitioners of the profession. In some cases, they are nation-wide tailored, while in other cases, they are universally tailored. Accounting as a living, practical, dynamic and realistic profession covers so many areas of social, economic (business), and governmental activities. Surely, any endeavour that involves monetary and material activities create a room for the services of Accounting. Many of the human endeavours for which the accounting profession plays significant (some times inevitable) roles include; Banking, Insurance, Manufacturing, Farming Contracting, Oil and Gas, Mining, Transportation (Air, Land and Sea), Educational Institutions, Churches, Ministries, ICT, Hire Purchase, Local Government Authorities, Estate Businesses, Export and Import Businesses, Bill of Exchange Transactions, Royalties Transactions, Consignment Transactions, Stock Market Transactions, Sports, Entertainment, Hospitals and Hospitality Industry, etc.

Accounting skills are useful for companies and individuals who are trying to maximize their profits and maintain a competitive advantage, but forensic accounting can help bring justice and peace of mind for many others by illuminating financial processes that can help explain criminal actions and behaviors. The purpose of this essay is to describe the five most important skills a forensic accountant may possess in order to become successful. This essay will describe each one of these traits and describe its application to business operations. Next the essay will describe the role of the forensic accountant within a courtroom environment and then also discuss the legal responsibilities that these professionals have to obey in the course of their work. Finally this essay will highlight two real world cases where forensic accounting provided vital evidence in a legal court case.

Accounting professionals are in very high demand. The nature of work in accounting is so vast an individual would have so many different areas of accounting to choose from. Accounting requires people who can work with complex business structures, computer systems, and financial analysis packages. Accounting work further requires an aptitude for mathematics and the ability to compare and analyze accounting data quickly. Accountants also need to have strong communication skills as they must effectively communicate accounting data to their employers and/or clients. The accounting profession also demands a high level of integrity and morality because the financial data prepared by accountants is used by business managers to run their