30+mba-第7部分

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that　is　seen　at　the　top　of　a　profit　and　loss　account　is　the　value　of　the　goods　
dispatched　and　invoiced　to　customers　in　the　period　in　question。　
The　accrual　concept　
The　profit　and　loss　account　sets　out　to　‘match’　ine　and　expenditure　to　
the　appropriate　time　period。　It　is　only　in　this　way　that　the　profit　for　the　
period　can　be　realistically　calculated。　Suppose；　for　example；　that　you　are　
Accounting　21　
calculating　one　month’s　profits　when　the　quarterly　telephone　bill　es　in。　
The　picture　might　look　like　Table　1。2。　
This　is　clearly　wrong。　In　the　first　place；　three　months’　telephone　charges　
have　been　‘matched’　against　one　month’s　sales。　Equally　wrong　is　charging　
anything　other　than　January’s　telephone　bill　against　January’s　ine。　
Unfortunately；　bills　such　as　this　are　rarely　to　hand　when　you　want　the　accounts；　
so　in　practice　the　telephone　bill　is　‘accrued’　for。　The　figure　（which　
may　even　be　absolutely　correct　if　you　have　a　meter）　is　put　in　as　a　provision　
to　meet　this　liability　when　it　bees　due。　
ACCOUNTING　CONVENTIONS　
These　concepts　provide　a　useful　set　of　ground　rules；　but　they　are　open　to　a　
range　of　possible　interpretations。　Over　time；　a　generally　accepted　approach　
to　how　the　concepts　are　applied　has　been　arrived　at。　This　approach　hinges　
on　the　use　of　three　conventions：　conservatism；　materiality　and　consistency。　
Conservatism　
Accountants　are　o。。en　viewed　as　merchants　of　gloom；　always　prone　to　take　
a　pessimistic　point　of　view。　The　fact　that　a　point　of　view　has　to　be　taken　at　
all　is　the　root　of　the　problem。　The　convention　of　conservatism　means　that；　
given　a　choice；　the　accountant　takes　the　figure　that　will　result　in　a　lower　
end　profit。　This　might　mean；　for　example；　taking　the　higher　of　two　possible　
expense　figures。　Few　people　are　upset　if　the　profit　figure　at　the　end　of　the　
day　is　higher　than　earlier　estimates。　The　converse　is　never　true。　
Materiality　
A　strict　interpretation　of　depreciation　（see　above）　could　lead　to　all　sorts　of　
trivial　paperwork。　For　example；　pencil　sharpeners；　staplers　and　paperclips；　
all　theoretically　items　of　fixed　assets；　should　be　depreciated　over　their　
working　lives。　This　is　obviously　a　useless　exercise　and　in　practice　these　
items　are　wri。。en…off　when　they　are　bought。　
Table　1。2　Example　of　a　badly　matched　profit　and　loss　account　
Profit　and　loss　account　for　January；　year　20XX　
￡　
Sales　ine　for　January　4；000　
Less　telephone　bill　（last　quarter）　800　
Profit　before　other　expenses　3；200
22　The　Thirty…Day　MBA　
Clearly；　the　level　of　‘materiality’　is　not　the　same　for　all　businesses。　A　
multinational　might　not　keep　meticulous　records　of　every　item　of　machinery　
under　￡1；000。　For　a　small　business　this　may　represent　all　the　machinery　it　
has。　
Consistency　
Even　with　the　help　of　those　concepts　and　conventions；　there　is　a　fair　degree　
of　latitude　in　how　you　can　record　and　interpret　financial　information。　You　
should　choose　the　methods　that　give　the　fairest　picture　of　how　the　firm　is　
performing　and　stick　with　them。　It　is　very　difficult　to　keep　track　of　events　
in　a　business　that　is　always　changing　its　accounting　methods。　This　does　not　
mean　that　you　are　stuck　with　one　method　forever。　Any　change；　however；　is　
an　important　step。　
THE　RULE　MAKERS　
The　accounting　professional　bodies；　with　a　li。。le　prodding　from　governments；　
are　responsible　for　ensuring　that　accounting　reports　conform　to　
what　are　known　as　Generally　Accepted　Accounting　Practices　（GAAP）。　A　
new　entrant；　International　Accounting　Standards；　is　challenging　that　term　
as　GAAP　rules　have　been　interpreted　differently　on　different　continents　
and　indeed　largely　ignored　on　others。　
The　rule　book　has　to　be　adapted　to　acmodate　changes　in　the　way　
business　is　done。　For　example；　international　business　across　frontiers　is　now　
the　norm；　so　rules　on　handling　currency　and　reporting　taxable　profits　in　
different　countries　have　to　be　acmodated　within　a　pany’s　accounts　
in　a　consistent　manner。　
Although　an　MBA　isn’t　usually　expected　to　know　all　the　rules；　you　
should　be　able　to　get　up　to　date　before　any　meetings　where　the　subject　is　
likely　to　e　up。　You　can　keep　track　of　changes　in　pany　reporting　
rules　on　the　Institute　of　Chartered　Accountants’　website　（icaew　》　
Accounting　and　corporate　reporting　》　UK　GAAP）。　
Protecting　investors　
When　confidence　in　US　businesses　was　rocked　badly　with　a　series　of　
high…profile　financial　frauds；　Enron　and　World　for　example；　the　US　
government　introduced　the　Sarbanes–Oxley　Act；　known　less　monly　
but　be。。er　understood　as　‘The　Public　pany　Accounting　Reforms　and　
Investor　Protection　Act　–　2002’。　The　Act’s　purpose　is　to　close　the　loopholes　
opened　up　by　creative　accountants；　who　are　always　devising　ways　to　overstate　
profits　and　understate　liabilities；　and　so　make　it　easier　for　shareholders　
Accounting　23　
to　see　how　profitable　a　business　really　is。　The　act　doesn’t　just　apply　to　US　
panies；　any　businesses　with　shares　listed　on　a　US　stock　market　that　
does　business　in　the　United　States　is　swept　into　the　net。　Check　out　　
sarbanes…oxley　for　the　low…down　on　that　Act。　
The　UK　version　is　The　panies　（Audit；　Investigations　and　munity　
Enterprise）　Act。　You　can　read　up　on　the　UK　rules　at　the　Office　of　the　
Public　Sector　Information　（opsi。gov。uk　》　Legislation　》　UK　》　Acts　》　
Public　Acts　2004　》　panies　（Audit；　Investigations　and　munity　
Enterprise）　Act　2004）。　
Auditors　–　the　gatekeepers　
All　public　panies；　that　is；　those　listed　on　a　stock　exchange；　are　required　
to　have　an　annual　audit　by　a　qualified　accountant　appointed　by　the　directors　
and　approved　of　by　the　shareholders。　Any　pany　with　outside　
shareholders　and　indeed　all　but　the　smallest　private　panies　are　
required　by　law　to　be　audited。　The　auditors’　job　is　to　examine　the　accounts；　
ensure　that　they　conform　with　the　prevailing　accounting　rules　and　give　an　
opinion　about　the　financial　statements。　Though　the　auditors’　report　may　be　
50　pages　long；　with　a　score　or　more　footnotes；　the　findings　are　summarized　
in　a　single　sentence：　‘The　financial　statements　give　a　true　and　fair　view　of　
the　state　of　affairs　of　the　pany　at　（a　certain　date）　and　the　financial　statements　
have　been　properly　prepared　in　accordance　with　the　panies　Act　
2006。’　
The　panies　Act　2006；　the　longest　Act　ever　introduced；　has　brought　
in　some　tough　rules　on　how　auditors；　among　others；　should　report　on　
pany　accounts。　MBAs；　unless　they　are　also　accountants；　don’t　get　
involved　in　doing　audits。　But　they　are　expected　to　know　who’s　who　in　the　
auditing　world。　Accountancy　Age　（accountancyage/resource/　
top50）　will　keep　you　informed　as　to　who’s　who　in　the　auditing　world。　
BOOKKEEPING　–　THE　WAY　TRANSACTIONS　
ARE　RECORDED　
Until　Luca　Pacioli　wrote　what　was　in　essence　the　world’s　first　accounting　
book；　over　500　years　ago；　accounting　records　were　maintained　in　singleentry　
format；　one　event　merited　one　record。　This　meant　that　errors　could　
be　prevented　only　by　a　major　duplication　of　effort；　for　example　by　having　
different　people　making　and　counting　up　parallel　records。　Pacioli；　a　
mathematician　who　worked　for　the　Doge　of　Venice；　came　up　with　a　system　
of　double…entry　bookkeeping　that　required　two　entries　for　each　transaction　
and　so　provides　built…in　checks　and　balances　to　ensure　accuracy。　Each　
transaction　requires　an　entry　as　a　debit　and　as　a　credit。
24　The　Thirty…Day　MBA　
To　give　an　example；　selling　goods　in　a　double…entry　system　might　result　
in　two　separate　journal　entries　–　a　debit　reducing　the　stock　by　￡250　and　a　
corresponding　credit　of　￡250　of　new　cash　in　–　a　double　entry　（see　Table　1。3）。　
The　debits　in　a　double…entry　system　must　always　equal　the　credits。　If　they　
don’t；　you　know　there　is　an　error　somewhere。　So；　double　entry　allows　you　
to　balance　your　books；　which　you　can’t　do　with　the　single…entry　method。　
Pacioli’s　genius　lay　in　seeing　that　the　ultimate　balancing　number　in　a　
pany’s　accounts　was　the　profit　or　loss　for　the　owners　of　that　enterprise。　
In　fact　he　required　at　least　two　entries　or　as　many　as　are　required　to　balance　
the　books。　Let　us　take　the　above　example　to　its　logical　conclusion。　On　the　
not　unreasonable　assumption　that　the　business　plans　to　make　a　profit　from　
selling　goods；　the　figures　will　look　rather　different。　To　keep　the　numbers　
simple；　let’s　suppose　the　goods　they　sold　cost　them　￡125　（a　50　per　cent　
margin）；　then　the　entries　would　be　as　follows。　Goods　in　stock　go　down　by　
￡125；　while　cash　goes　up　by　￡250。　That　net　change　of　￡125　is　balanced　by　an　
increase　in　profits　of　￡125；　so　the　assets　and　liabilities　are　kept　in　balance。　
In　this　example；　had　the　goods　sold　for　less　than　was　paid　there　would　
have　been　a　loss；　which　would　have　reduced　the　value　of　the　owner’s　stake　
in　the　business　by　a　corresponding　amount。　
This　is　all　an　MBA　student　needs　to　know　about　bookkeeping；　the　main　
part　of　the　knowledge　they　require　is　how　to　interpret　the　figures　once　
recorded。　
CASH　FLOW　
There　is　a　saying　in　business　that　profit　is　vanity　and　cash　flow　is　sanity。　
Both　are　necessary；　but　in　the　short　term；　and　o。。en　that　is　all　that　ma。。ers　in　
a　business　as　it　struggles　to　get　a　foothold　in　the　shi。。ing　sands　of　trading；