Accounting Case Study

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What do accountants do? Well, an accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy, which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). In many jurisdictions, professional accounting bodies maintain standards of practice and evaluations for professionals. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant or Certified Public Accountant. Such professionals are granted certain responsibilities by statute, such as the ability to certify an organization's financial statements, and may be held liable for professional misconduct. Non-qualified accountants may be employed by a qualified accountant, or may work independently without statutory privileges and obligations.
In particular the adoption of the International Accounting Standard has made the profession more challenging. Accounting is an extremely complex activity with substantial ethical implications which have changed over the last century. Accountants are increasingly becoming an important part of successful business teams. This is because they understand the language of money and a company's complex financial situation better than any other employees. The job outlook for Accountants and auditors seems promising for those still in college with a major in Finance or Accounting. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014), there is a projection of 13 percent growth for 2012 to 2022 for the employment of accountants and auditors. There are few issues that will hinder prospective acc...

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...se favors seem minor, they can build up a sense of obligation in the cost accountant's mind that the current analysis should be modified ever so slightly to cast the reviewer in a more favorable light. Another integrity issue involves the use of company assets. There is a temptation for employees to borrow company equipment or even access it for personal use while in the office. When a cost accountant does this, it creates a "gray area" in that person's mind regarding the extent to which assets can be used for other than company-specific purposes. This may lead to the cost accountant's overlooking any similar practices found during various cost accounting reviews if he or she finds that other employees are also borrowing company assets. As a result, accounting reports concerning the levels of control over company assets may not reveal that there is a usage problem.

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