A bachelor degree in accounting is at least one of those degrees that have a clear and precise purpose. Almost all students who get a bachelor degree in accounting go on to become accountants. This is why this particular degree is actually one of the more popular ones. Ironically, however, it is not one of the easier ones. So just what is involved in getting a bachelor degree in accounting?
The old saying that you had better be good with numbers to be an accountant can't be any more true. You had better be a whiz with numbers if you want to be a good accountant. If you want to be a great accountant, you had better be able to think outside the box as well. More on that later.
A bachelor degree in accounting is really to prepare somebody to become a CPA, or Certified Public Accountant. This is very similar to somebody who wants to go into law and having to pass the bar. If you want to be a CPA, you also have to take an exam and it's not easy. You pretty much have to know your tax laws inside and out, aside from knowing every aspect of accounting from debits and credits to debt to equity ratio.
Your first year as an accounting major begins with two semesters of basic accounting. This is where you do learn your basic debits and credits, how to do a ledger, journal, etc. The basics of accounting are, for the most part, pretty easy. But if you can't get through your first two semesters you're not going to have a chance at what comes next. From year two through your last year in college, you will learn the most advanced accounting principals. Probably accounting service the most important skill you will need to be able to get through these years, in addition to being good with numbers, is logic. The reason is that in accounting, everything has to balance. One side must equal the other. This basically comes down to logically working through every entry.
In addition to these advanced accounting courses, as if they're not hard enough, you're also going to have to take other math related courses such as statistics, probability and in some schools, even calculus, at least for one semester.
In addition to math related courses, you're also going to have to take financial courses. This makes sense since accounting is not just about numbers but also about running a business. So courses like economics, finance and business management are not uncommon for an accounting major to take.
Earlier we talked about thinking outside the box. The reason this is important is that a lot of accounting is figuring out creative ways to report income and expenses so that they make a company's tax liability as little as possible, within the law.
Many people think accountants have boring jobs, but the truth is, accountants have to be some of the most creative minds in our world in order to deal with all the changing tax laws and keep a company from losing its shirt. Yes, getting bachelor degree in accounting is not as easy as some people might think.
Companies and close corporations (CCs) must keep the following: records showing assets and liabilities; a register of fixed assets; records containing daily entries of all cash received and disbursed; records of all credit purchases or sales and services received or rendered on credit, in sufficient detail to identify the nature of the transactions and the parties concerned; statements of annual stock taking; records enabling the value of stock at the end of the year to be determined and vouchers supporting entries in the accounting records.
A corporation must also keep records of members' contributions, un-drawn profits and revaluations of fixed assets and amounts of loans to and from members, in sufficient detail to identify the nature and purpose of the individual transactions clearly.
These records must be kept in such a manner as to provide adequate precautions against falsification and to facilitate the discovery of any such falsification. A corporation that fails to keep such accounting records and every member who fails to take all reasonable steps to prevent falsification is guilty of an offence. However, if the members entrusted the duty of keeping the accounting records or maintaining a system of internal control to a 'competent and reliable person', this would be sufficient defence.
The financial year of a CC is its annual accounting period. A CC must specify the date of the end of its financial year in its founding statement. As is the case with other information in the founding statement, the date of the end of the financial year may be changed by, registering an amended founding statement.
The members of a corporation must, within a maximum of nine months after the end of every financial year, have financial statements prepared. The financial statements must be approved and signed by or on behalf of every member of the corporation and must consist of an accounting balance sheet and notes thereto and an income statement or any similar financial statement, where such form is appropriate and any notes thereto.
The financial statements must disclose separately the aggregate amounts at the end of the accounting financial year and any changes in these amounts during the year of contributions by members, un-drawn profits, revaluations of fixed assets, amounts of loans to members and amounts of loans from members.
The Close Corporation Act does not require a directors' report or an auditors' report and also does not contain a schedule, which lays down specific requirements for the preparation of annual financial accounting statements. The financial reports of a CC must, in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) appropriate to the business of the corporation, fairly present the state of affairs of the corporation at the end of the financial year concerned and the result of its operations for the year.
In determining what constitutes generally acceptable accounting policy for the business of a particular corporation, the needs of the members and the primary users of the financial statements should be taken into account.
Over the years accounting practices in the various economic and industrial environments have developed in such a manner as to record and fairly present transactions and occurrences specific to these environments. In deciding what is 'suitable for the business', consideration should also be given to the commercial and management activities of the corporation and the accepted accounting practice in the working environment of the corporation.