Wednesday, 30 September 2009

Bookkeeping fraud - -

Summary:
This article talks about how a retail business owner named Eric was having a large sales event for him deciding to relocate his business. Large sales events in retailing usually are very hectic therefore causing a problem to keep track of everything. It was said that “There was lots of cash coming in, and so many cash transactions that we couldn't run them all through the computer system." Having that occur resulted in having the bookkeeper count the cash daily, reconciling sales, and going to the bank to deposit the money himself. Eric suddenly noticed that certain transactions did not match up to the statements he continued to keep an eye on the transactions and realized there were other glitches that were found. An outside CPA was asked to come in to proceed in an audit which allowed Eric to discover that his bookkeeper had stolen an amount of $60.000 within 6 months!

Connection:
The connection I was able to make between this article and chapter 3 was that they both talk business transactions. Chapter 3 demonstrated how transactions are recorded, deciding weather each item affected is to be increased or decreased, and the proper way of doing so. It was stated in the textbook that accounting must be accurate, for accounting to be accurate there shouldn’t be any problems with your recorded transactions. This article shows that business transactions are important and that if you don’t keep a close eye on what is going on in your business it could easily be taken advantage of.

Personal Reflection:
I am not surprised that businesses have bookkeepers that try to pocket some money for themselves because sometimes when people are put with certain responsibility that is somehow related to money it always seems like a bad idea. In my opinion I think it is because people are always trying to be better than others when you see that your salary is not that "good" compared to others it’s not because it’s unfair its simply just because maybe they are better then you at doing their job. Also certain people if they are put at a place where they have easy access to statements have such it would just act as a boost for them to commit a crime. Everyone has a different way of looking at things and you never really know who you hire. When dealing with money anything can happen.

http://biznik.com/articles/bookkeeping-fraud-true-story-let-his-pain-be-your-gain

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Basic Journal Entries - -

Summary:

This article includes information that would be helpful for a business or simply anyone who wants to know about basic journal entries and the correct steps that are needed. It allows businesses to recognize the importance of keeping track of their financial records to make sure that it is easy to refer back to if it is ever needed; it should be considerably organized for the business to remain successful. Included in the article are the basic steps on how to journalize business transactions into a general journal which successful businesses are already familiar with. Each process that is needed to make an entry is explained in detail with the correct placements of information needed. General journals are recorded alphabetically for it to be organized which allows it to be easy to look for. An illustration which is attached demonstrates how a proper journal should appear and what should be included in each column.

Connections:

The connection I was able to make between this article and chapter 6 was that they both talked about how business transactions are first recorded and how it is properly done. Both the text and the article doesn't only tell you how it is done, it also includes illustrations that help you understand it better. The text includes illustrations such as charts and graphs whereas the article includes one diagram but still is helpful. To understand basic journal entries they both explain in detail what is suppose to be done. The article talks about how many general journals have 5 columns: the date, account title, description, posting reference, debit, and credit. It also states what is journalizing; entering transitions in chronological order into a journal. The text book also has a definition of journalizing. Both provide accounting terminology that is good to know.

Personal Reflection:

Being able to access articles similar to this one allows not only me, but anyone who is interested in learning about accounting or the like have a little basic knowledge in what is presented. This article is simple and easy to comprehend if you needed a better understanding of basic journal entries. In my opinion, I don't enjoy reading articles that are hard to understand because it doesn't keep you engaged in what you're trying to focus on but this article doesn't do that. The point of the article was very straight forward, basic terminology was also given such as; source documents, journalizing, general journal, journal entry, and posting. Overall, reading this article let me to refresh my memory about how to enter transactions into a journal and I enjoyed how it was simple so I didn't have to spend time trying to figure out what was being said.

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/Journal-Entries.topicArticleId-21081,articleId-21011.html