Accounting: Plagiarism, Spreadsheets, Relevant Websites, Australian Accounting Firms, Computing Environment, Ethics, And More

What is Plagiarism?

Questions:

1.Define plagiarism. Use Internet sources. Why is plagiarism/collusion unfair to honest students?

2.How can computer spreadsheets (e.g. Excel) be pasted into a word document showing rows and column headings? ? Formula views?

3.List six web sites relevant to accounting together with their URLs. Explain how is each relevant to accounting.

4.Find online an Australian professional accounting organisation. Describe a resource within this website, relevant to this subject. Explain why you chose this resource.

5.Describe the computing environment in your current or previous workplace or home office – equipment, software, processes etc.

6.ABC Learning and ethics – ABC Learning Case Study

7.Understanding the accounting equation.

8.Give 3 examples each of assets, liabilities and owner’s equity (Proprietorship) accounts.

9.What is a chart of accounts? What is its purpose?

10.List five accounts with normal debit balances. List five accounts with normal credit balances.

11.Distinguish between a ledger account and a trial balance. Give examples.

12.Create your own simple crossword using at least 5 accounting terms and clues.

13.List four types of period end adjusting entries and give journal entries examples of each.

14.You pay $240 for a magazine subscription for the next 12 months. How should the magazine company account for this transaction initially?

15.Distinguish between the adjusted trial balance and the post-closing trial balance.

16.Distinguish between current and non-current liabilities.

17.Explain the current ratio and the debt ratio.

18.Worksheet and financial reports 

1.Plagiarism refers the act of using the ideas or the language of an author without his/her authority and without acknowledging the work of the author or without the permission of the original owner of the ideas (Clarke, 2005). Plagiarism is an act of fraud as it involves stealing someone else`s work and pretending that its` your work.

Plagiarism/collusion is unfair to honest students because the dishonest students use the unfair means in the name of plagiarism to gain advantage over the honest students when completing assignments or doing examinations. When the students are being assessed, the dishonest student who plagiarized may end up scoring more marks than the honest student. This means that the honest student is at a disadvantaged position. This undermines the standards of education in learning institutions and is an offense against moral and academic values.

2.Method one of copy and pasting

1.Place the cursor at the beginning of the text you wish to copy.

2.Select the text you want to copy by clicking the left button of the mouse and keep holding it as you drag the cursor through the text you want to copy.

3.place the cursor on the highlighted text.

4 Right click on the text

5.From the options that arise, select “copy”.

6.Move the cursor to the destination where you want the text to be copied in the word document in our case.

7.Right click and then from the options that emerge select “paste”

An example of spreadsheet showing row and column headings(normal view)

Item	sales
apples	876
bananas	970
oranges	641
pineapples	234
Total	2721

Method two:(use of keyboard shortcuts)

Steps

1 Select the text you want to copy

2 Press the “copy” keyboard shortcut by pressing CTRL+C

3 Navigate to where you want to paste in this case its` our MS WORD document

How to Paste Spreadsheets in Word

4 Press the paste keyboard shortcut. I.e CTRL+V. This will paste everything you wanted to copy in that location.

 Example of spreadsheet copied from excel showing row and column headings (formula view)

Item	Sales
apples	876
bananas	970
oranges	641
pineapples	234
Total	=SUM(B2:B5)

3.Accounting resources on the internet

1. com
2. com
3. com
4. com
5. com
6. com

The above accounting websites are relevant to accounting in the following ways:

Accountnet.com is relevant to the accounting field by offering accounting services to financial service firms such as banks` special needs regarding importing and exporting data from outside software. It also reports on user related elements such as departments, projects and partners.

It also offers non-profit making organizations services on developing procedures and strategies that are tailored to meet the objectives of the organization.

Computercpa.com is an accounting website owned and operated by Eric. E Cohen. It`s mainly involved in XBRL-the extensible business reporting language (Thomas & Rickwood, 2004). This is an effort by the people in the accounting sector to facilitate movement of business reports data to the lending firms and capital markets. This data will guide the lending institutions during their decision making process.

Taxsites.com is a directory that shows a comprehensive index of web based accounting and tax. It provides information on tax, accounting and payroll and this information is important to the lending institutions and even in share markets.

Cpamarketingtips.com is a website that provides information on marketing strategies that are best suited to small and medium sized CPA and accounting firms in terms of cost and efficiency. This information enables accounting firms to reduce their operations cost by a very significant margin (Quattrone, 2016).

Accounting.com is a website that mainly offers online accredited accounting programs. This service helps in molding highly qualified professionals in the accounting sector.

Accountantaustralia.com is a website that offers a wide range of service which includes book keeping, accounting and also acts as a tax agent. It offers financial advice and services to small and medium sized business.

4.Professional accounting bodies

CPA Australia is an accounting firm based in Australia that provides its members with a wide range of services such as accounting, finance and business information and consultancy services. It has over 150000 members (Tsai, 2007).

The students` network is an example of a resource in the CPA Australia website. The global network of students is a program that connects students and graduates who have a career in accounting and it helps them in advancing career opportunities of the students (Marriott, Edwards, & Mellett, 2002). I have chosen this resource because I being a student in accounting it can help enhancing my career and provide me with work opportunities in future.

5.Work integrated assessment

Computing environment is a term used to refer to a combination of hardware and software and network aspects of a machine that supports the processing and exchange of information in a work environment. It includes both tangible and in-tangible devices that affect how work is done in the office. The computing environment of a work place would include the use of equipment such as, personal computers, use of smart-phones, internet connectivity, printers, photocopiers, accounting programs as well as all other devices which simplify work in the office.

Relevant Accounting Websites and Their URLS

The invention of the computer made accounting relatively easier as compared to before.  Accountants use computers to save, analyze and also transmit data into various forms. The use of computers in my workplace has helped to increase efficiency and reduce the workload on staff to a very large extent. In my possible future workplace, I would expect all the staff to have personal computers. This is because the some office functions such as typing and producing word documents cannot be done without the computer. Computers also are able to store large volumes of data. This is important because accounting work involves handling large volumes of information (Libby, Libby, & Short, 2004). This information needs to be stored in a reliable means where they cannot disappear easily. Information stored in a computer is also very organized compared to other ways of storing information thus making it easy to retrieve whenever need arises.

Accounting software programs should be installed in computers in an accounting office set-up. This software helps in solving complex accounting equations as well as making it easy for one to organize their work in an orderly manner. Example of these programs includes commercial accounting software such as QuickBooks, custom accounting software as well as enter6prise accounting software. Businesses also develop their own accounting software which are tailor made to cater for their specific accounting needs.

6.Business report

A business report is a type of document that summarizes the financial reports of business organization and is important in decision making by the owners (Harrison & Horngren, 2001). This business report on ABC ltd seeks to establish the accounting, corporate as well as ethical issues that may have led to the collapse of ABC ltd.

Background information

Daycare programs in Australia have been a major service provider in the case of children below the age of five with some operating in semi-government mode and others in community based mode. In the 1990`s the corporate sector too note of the opportunities in this sector and started offering this services. One of these companies happens to be ABC. The entry of ABC in the industry revolutionized the industry and it was able to acquire other companies that were in the stock exchange before within a period of one year. At its pick, ABC provided services to over 100,000 children and employed more than 16,500 staff (Weygandt, Kieso, & Kimmel, 2003). The company became so profit minded and concerns over the quality of services offered were raised. This is when the downfall of the company began in the year 2008.

The collapse of ABC ltd was a result of a combination of failures which is illustrated in the paragraphs that follow below:

From the case study, it is clear of the disregard that the company had on the accounting standards i.e. Australian Accounting Standards. The company did not follow the professional guidelines required when preparing financial statements. This was because the company had a weak accounting control system. This resulted to grave mistakes like overstatement of assets and profits which results to exaggerated financial statements. This statements are used by the companies` leadership in decision making hence the wrong decisions may be arrived as a result of inaccurate accounting information. According to representatives of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the collapse of ABC was not as result of competition but as a result of financial mismanagement of the company such as high debts (Davidson, Stickney, & Weil, 2013).

Australian Accounting Organization Resources

Related party transactions

One of the major factors that contributed to the collapse of ABC is the presence of related party transactions. The company failed to follow corporate governance rules when making its transactions. The company did business with companies which belonged to close relatives of ABC without considering professionalism and the cost of doing this business. This killed the confidence of investors of the company.

Major financial reports and their purpose

There are four basic financial statements in accounting. The following is the list and their respective purposes.

1. The balance sheet. The purpose of the balance sheet is to report the financial situation of a particular business or company at a particular time period. It shows the total amounts of assets, liabilities and stock-holders equity in a business at a particular period.
2. The income statement. This reports the accountant’s measure of financial performance of the business. The total expenses are deducted from total revenue.
3. Statement of retained earnings. This shows the relationship between the income statement and the balance sheet of a company at the end of an accounting period.
4. Statement of cash flow. This statement shows the sources of business incomes and also the outflows/uses of cash in the business. Its` useful in predicting future cash-flows.

Importance of profits and cash-flow

Profits are very important in business because it’s the main objective for the existence of a business and profits are important to finance the operations of the business.

Cash-flow is important because it helps the business in financing its day to day operations. Both cash-flow and profits are therefore vital for each and every business to operate smoothly.

Ethical issues in the case study

1. Related transaction undertaken by ABC
2. Disregard of corporate governance rules
3. Disregard of accounting guidelines and principles

The swift fall of ABC ltd underlines the importance of accounting in the management of a company. The mismanagement of the company by the owners also is seen as one of the factors that brought down ABC ltd down. The combination of these factors therefore means a business should put a lot of emphasis in its accounting and control systems as well as its management team in order to avoid such down-falls.

7.Understanding the accounting equation

The basic accounting equation shows the relationship between assets, liabilities and owners` equity of a particular business entity. It is stated as: Assets=Liabilities +Capital.  This means that sources must be equal to the assets of the business hence Sources=Uses.

PALER is an acronym which stands for proprietorship, assets, liabilities, expenses and revenue.

Increase or decrease in these elements will have an effect on the accounting equation. An increase in revenue will result to increase gross profits by a business and this means higher retained earnings hence increasing owners` capital. A decrease or increase in expenses of a business will also affect the accounting equation by either increasing or reducing the uses in the business. The change in liabilities, assets and proprietorship will also affect the accounting equation due to the rule of double entry book-keeping system.

8.Assets, liabilities and owners` equity

Examples of assets include:

1. Cash in hand
2. Machine and equipment
3. Building

Examples of liabilities include the following:

1. Debentures
2. Bank loan
3. Trade creditors

Examples of owners` equity are:

1. Retained earnings
2. Additional cash investment
3. Additional investment in physical capital

9.Chart of accounts is a listing of all accounts used in the general ledger of a business. This chart is used by some accounting software to come up with conclusive information on a business entity`s financial statements. This makes it easy to analyze financial information which could be in complex form.

10.Accounts with debit balances include:

• Assets account
• Expenses account
• Owner`s drawings account
• Losses accounts

Accounts with normal credit balance

• Liabilities
• Revenues
• Sales
• Gains
• Owner`s equity account

11.Trial balance

 Trial balance (normal view)

Account title	Folio		Debit		Credit
Cash				210000
accounts receivable
comp equipment			70000
Bank loan					90000
Capital						350000
Drawings				120000
Salaries				40000
TOTAL				440000		440000

 Trial balance(formula view)

Account title		Folio		Debit		Credit
Cash				210000
accounts receivable
comp equipment				70000
Bank loan						90000
Capital						350000
Drawings				120000
Salaries				40000
TOTAL				=SUM(E2:E8)		=SUM(G2:G8)

Account title	Folio		Debit		Credit
Cash				19000
accounts receivable
comp equipment			70000
Bank loan					89000
Capital						330000
Drawings				120000
Salaries				210000
TOTAL				419000		419000

12.Cash and accrual accounting

A general ledger is a book of account that records all the accounts of a particular business separately while a trial balance is a document that lists the account name and the balances of all the accounts in the general ledger and is used to check for errors made in the recording of information.

13.Types of adjusting entries

1. Accrued revenue

Adjusting journal entry

Date	Account name	debit	credit
December 31	Cash Unearned income	1000	1,000

 Accrued expense

Date	Account name	debit	credit
December 31	Unpaid insurance Accrued expense	3,000	3000

 Deferred revenue

Date	Account name	debit	credit
December 31	Service Deferred revenue	500	500

 Deferred expense

Date	Account name	debit	credit
December 31	Insurance paid in advance Deferred insurance	4,000	4,000

14.Revenue received in advance

Date	Account name	debit	credit
December 31	Magazine subscription Deferred revenue	$240	$240

15.Adjusted trial balance

Adjusted trial balance is prepared after adjusting entries are made and posted and it contains nominal and real accounts while a post-closing trial balance is prepared after all closing entries have been made and posted to the ledger account and it contains real accounts only.

16.Current liabilities are a company’s obligations that is due within a period of one year or less e.g trade creditors while non-current liabilities are long term obligations of a company which are due after a period of more than one year. An example is a 4-year bank loan.

17.Current ratio is a liquidity ratio used to measure the ability of a company to meet its obligations when due. The formula for calculating this ratio is:

Current ratio=current assets/current liabilities

Example: given the total current assets of a company is$230,000 and the current liabilities are $180,000, current ratio will be calculated as follows.

CR=230000/180000=1.55

Debt ratio is a ratio used to measure the liquidity of a business and is computed by dividing the total liabilities by total assets.

Example: given the total liabilities of a company as $800,000 and the total assets as $1,200,000 the debt ratio will be calculated as follows:

DR=800,000/1,200,000=0.667

18.Examples of financial statements prepared in the spreadsheet and copied to the word document (normal view)

		balance sheet
		as at dec 31 2010
Assets					amount
cash					4890
inventory				5714
land					2345
total assets				12949
liabilities
accounts payables				7156
total liabilities				7156
stock-holders equity
contributed capital				2000
retained earnings				8765
total liability and stock-holders equity		25077

References

Clarke, E. (2005). Accounting (1st ed.). South Melbourne, Vic.: Thomson.

Davidson, S., Stickney, C., & Weil, R. (2013). Financial accounting (1st ed.). Chicago: Dryden Press.

Harrison, W. & Horngren, C. (2001). Financial accounting (1st ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Libby, R., Libby, P., & Short, D. (2004). Financial accounting (1st ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Marriott, P., Edwards, J., & Mellett, H. (2002). Introduction to accounting (1st ed.). London: SAGE.

Meigs, W., Mosich, A., & Larsen, E. (1975). Modern advanced accounting (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Qu, X. & Yang, Y. (2012). Information and business intelligence (1st ed.). Berlin: Springer.

Quattrone, P. (2016). Management accounting goes digital: Will the move make it wiser?. Management Accounting Research, 31, 118-122. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mar.2016.01.003

Thomas, A. & Rickwood, C. (2004). An introduction to financial accounting (1st ed.). London: McGraw-Hill Book Co.

Tsai,. (2007). On Classifying Digital Accounting Documents. The International Journal Of Digital Accounting Research. https://dx.doi.org/10.4192/1577-8517-v7_3

Weygandt, J., Kieso, D., & Kimmel, P. (2003). Financial accounting (1st ed.). New York, NY: Wiley.