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Accounting Jobs New Zealand
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Accountancy (profession) or accounting (methodology) is the
measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about
financial information that helps managers, investors, tax
authorities and other decision makers make resource allocation
decisions. Financial accounting is one branch of accounting and
historically has involved processes by which financial
information about a business is recorded, classified,
summarized, interpreted, and communicated.
Auditing, a related but separate discipline, has two
sub-disciplines: Internal and External auditing. External
auditing is the process whereby an independent auditor examines
an organization's financial statements and accounting records in
order to express an opinion—that conveys reasonable but not
absolute assurance—as to the truth and fairness of the
statements and the accountant's adherence to Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (GAAP), in all material respects.
Internal auditing is an examination in which management, and not
the external public, is the main beneficiary. It is carried out
usually by auditors employed by the company, but sometimes by
external service providers. The internal auditor's role is
broader, and basically depends on what kind of assurance
management wants. It usually certifies the efficiency and
effectiveness of processes, departments, projects or internal
controls. The Institute of Internal Auditors is generally
accepted as the custodian of Internal Auditing best practice.
At the heart of accounting is the measurement of financial
transactions which are transfers of legal property rights made
under contractual relationships. Non-financial transactions are
specifically excluded due to conservatism and materiality
principles.
Practitioners of accountancy are known as accountants. There are
many professional bodies for accountants throughout the world.
Many allow their members to use titles indicating their
membership. Examples are Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA or
FCCA), Chartered Accountant (CA or ACA) and Certified Public
Accountant (CPA).
Accountancy attempts to create accurate financial reports that
are useful to managers, regulators, and other stakeholders such
as shareholders, creditors, or owners. The day-to-day
record-keeping involved in this process is known as bookkeeping.
At the heart of modern financial accounting is the double-entry
bookkeeping system. This system involves making at least two
entries for every transaction: a debit in one account, and a
corresponding credit in another account. The sum of all debits
should always equal the sum of all credits. This provides an
easy way to check for errors. This system was first used in
medieval Europe, although claims have been made that the system
dates back to Ancient Greece.
According to critics of standard accounting practices, it has
changed little since. Accounting reform measures of some kind
have been taken in each generation to attempt to keep
bookkeeping relevant to capital assets or production capacity.
However, these have not changed the basic principles, which are
supposed to be independent of economics as such. In recent
times, the divergence of accounting from economic principles has
resulted in controversial reforms to make financial reports more
indicative of economic reality. |
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