Category: Accounting

There are challenges and rewards in being part of the non-profit industry. As an organization that gives its profits away, you are part of the greater good, and that is very rewarding. However, you are still a business, and as such have to deal with the logistics of standard business practices and accounting. Non-profit accounting can be exceptionally challenging because of the public scrutiny that all non-profit organizations face.

Staffing

Accounting is most certainly a challenge for non-profit organizations because of the impetus on them to save as much money on operating costs as they possibly can. This usually means making do with a low number of staff and then asking those few staff members to do jobs at which they are not experienced. Accounting is usually one of these jobs. Non-profit accounting is left to a single member of a small staff who, even if knowledgeable, becomes quickly overwhelmed and misses important things. In an organization where transparency is key, this is a huge issue.

Taxation

One of the biggest challenges within non-profit accounting is taxation. Taxation must be done, even by those non-profits with special tax-exempt status, or charitable organizations. The fact of the exemptions just makes the processes more complicated and full of different regulations that also make the job of your account more difficult. Any problems with reporting and the special status, as well as the credibility of the organization, is lost.

Outsourcing

The best solution is to consider the money spent on hiring an accounting firm specializing in non-profit accounting as an investment. It is a good idea to leave this important aspect in the hands of professionals because of the two reasons mentioned above. Non-profits and charities are responsible for public money and so must be transparent, and mistakes are very likely to be made when something this important is left with inexperienced or overwhelmed staff.

Experience

Experience is another reason to hire an accounting firm that specializes in non-profit accounting. You want an expert helping you. Accountants understand the ins and outs of financial reporting, taxation, and audits better than anyone. They can see that you are in compliance with every regulation, and they are prepared for changes when they come. Look carefully at the accounting firm that you hire to see that they work regularly with non-profit organizations and will work for you. They should know specifically about issues affecting you, and they should work with you. A firm that knows non-profits can also help and advise you on all the financial and non-financial concerns that will affect your bottom-line, such as hiring senior staff and choosing board members.

You may think that, as a non-profit organization, it would be irresponsible to outsource your accounting, but in fact, it is a very profitable thing to do. The non-profit accounting specialists understand how to make your organization more cost-effective, and become better managed, which will result in greater compliance, less problems, stronger confidence and therefore more donations.

Accounting has become an indispensable tool for guidance and several factors have contributed to its evolution, for instanceInformation technology, management needs of organizations and the need for reliable and relevant accounting information for business leaders and other partners.

SMEs, large groups, accounting firms and auditing, all make use of accounting professionals.

This population currently represents about 400,000 people (140,000 in accounting firms and 260,000 in business). And time is on the drive, recruitment agencies have recorded increases of more than 20% of deals in the sector for positions available for candidates with advanced levels.

In fact, accounting studies pave the way for a wide range of functions at all stages of the curriculum: accounting, auditing, control or management and financial accounting.

The profession of Chartered Accountant and Auditor

The Chartered Accountants are required to exercise the profession, be enrolled in the Institute of Chartered Accountants. They are subject to a rigorous training that is in the interest of their future clients. The Chartered Accountant is the permanent council of the entrepreneur in many corporate areas, such as board of management, business law, tax law, employment law, and consulting for export. They provide a timely response to different events and help make crucial decisions.

Most commonly, a Chartered Accountant functions particularly in the following areas:
1. Business Accounting
2. Business Management
3. Legal obligations of the company
4. Computerization of the company
5. Auditing of the company

Contrary to the Accountant, the Auditor has a statutory mission order. It is mandated by the administration to certify the accounts produced by the company. It guarantees the reliability of financial reporting. It is registered with committees meeting at the chief town of each court of appeal. 90% of accountants are auditors.
Graduate Auditors occupy positions of high responsibility in most small or large organisations:
1. Chief Accountant
2. Manager or Director of consolidation
3. CFO 4. Controller
5. Internal Auditor
6. General Manager

Accounting is not at all free from some accompanying limitations. In fact, financial accounting permits some alternative treatments as well. Bookkeeping is generally based on the concepts usually referred to as generally accepted principles. But there exist more than one principle for the efficient treatment of any one of the items to take place. This permits alternative treatments with in the big framework of generally accepted financial principles. Financial accounting, sometimes, does not provide one with the essential timely information. Actually, it is not at all a limitation when high powered software applications are used to maintain online and concurrent accounts, where the balance sheet will be made available in an instant.

Financial accounting systems are designed in such a way as to supply information in the form of statements called balance sheets and profit and loss accounts, generally for a period of one year. So the information received is said to be of historical interest only, and only the post-mortem analysis of the past figures can be conducted. The whole business requires information given at the right time, at frequent intervals, in order for the management team to plan and take corrective actions. As the tradition goes, financial accounting method is not supposed to bring in relevant financial information in a time interval less than one year. Now, with the advent of computerized accounting soft wares, monthly profit and loss account figures can be known and this will help overcome the existing limitations.

Some are of the opinion that financial accounting statements and reports get influenced by personal judgments. The ‘convention of objectivity’ is respected all over the world in accounting; but, to maintain records of certain events excellent estimates have to be made, which requires informed and intelligent personal judgment. One cannot expect accuracy when it comes to future estimates; and, as a result, objectivity suffers. Financial accounting sometimes ignores some of the very important non-monetary information. But, the interesting fact is that financial accounting does not consider these transactions as something that is non- monetary in nature. As for reference, the intensity and extent of competition faced by the company in business, the latest technical innovations possessed by the organization, the loyalty and efficiency factor of the employees, etc. are some of the important matters the management of the business would get highly interested.

However, accounting is not tailor-made to take note of these kinds of matters. Thus any end user of financial information will, naturally, get deprived of some vital information which is non-monetary in character. Today, good accounting soft wares with MIS and CRM can prove to be of great use for bookkeepers to overcome this limitation, at least partially. Another disadvantage is that financial book-keeping does not provide a very detailed analysis. The information provided is, in reality, just the aggregate of the different financial transactions that have happened during the course of a financial year. In a way, it enables bookkeepers to study the overall results of the business trends, where the information pertains to the cost, revenue and profit of each and every product.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS) is the national body representing the accounting profession in Singapore.It maintains a register of qualified accountants comprising mainly local graduates.Membership is open to members of the Institutes of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, Australia, Scotland, Ireland and some number of other accounting bodies.Generally, prior to being admitted as a full member, they must attend a week-long pre-admission course.After they became members, they will now be considered as certified public accountants.

It is the The Public Accountants Board who is responsible for issuing licenses as well as registering aspiring accountants. They are also responsible in managing practice monitoring, disciplinary matters and regulations on professional conduct.

Facts about Accounting Records in Singapore

The law requires all incorporated company to submit books with complete details of financial transactions of the company.

The said book will now be placed in the company’s address or wherever the director might think would be the best place.If the books are maintained outside Singapore, sufficient records must be maintained in Singapore to facilitate the preparation and/or audit of financial statements that reflect accurately the company’s financial position.

Sources of Accounting Principles

Financial Periods Commencing before 1 January 2003

The principal source of accounting principles in Singapore, namely Statements of Accounting Standards (SAS) and Interpretation of Statements of Accounting Standards (INT), are issued by ICPAS. These standards are essentially International Accounting Standards (IAS) modified for certain transitional provisions. Guidelines on the accounting measurements and announcement of requirements are provided by them. If for some reasons, ethics conflict with disclosure exemptions granted by law, certain company may go wayward from the expected ethics. In that case, it is required for CPAS to take whatever disciplinary action appropriate against members who are responsible in violating the standards. It is SAS and INT who are responsible in establishing rules on accounting measurements. Proclamation of requirements are done by SAS, INT and the Companies Act.

ICPAS is a member of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). Compliance with IASC standards are not mandatory, but the institute supports the IASC objectives of formulating and publishing standards for observance during presentation of audited financial statements and promoting worldwide acceptance of such standards.

Financial Periods Beginning on or after 1 January 2003

With the implementation of section 37 of the Companies (Amendment) Act 2002, SAS issued by ICPAS will not be used with effect from annual financial periods commencing on or after 1 January 2003. Rather, Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (FRS), released by the new accounting standards-setting body, the Council on Corporate Disclosure and Governance (CCDG), are being used instead. In essence, FRS are are acquired from International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The former SAS were acquired from the same set of IFRS (formerly referred to as IAS) however, with some changes to some provisions. Consequently, there are differences between FRS and SAS. Understanding of Standards are considered a legitimate guide on the application of the pertinent rules. CCDG accepted all international interpretations as Interpretations of FRS (INT FRS) effective beginning on or after 1 January 2003.

Compliance with FRS is a statutory requirement whereby any non-compliance amounts to a breach of the Companies Act by the directors.

Singaporean Financial Report

There is a requirement of audit to the financial statements up to six months prior to the Annual General Meeting by the shareholders. Generally if a company incorporated in Singapore has one or more subsidiaries, it must prepare consolidated financial statements unless it meets certain criteria as provided for in FRS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements. Currently, financial statements under the Companies Act consist of the balance sheet, income statement together with explanatory notes. With the Companies (Accounting Standards) Regulations 2002 coming into operation for financial periods on or after 1 January 2003, a complete set of financial statements will comprise the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in equity, cash flow statement and explanatory notes.

The financial statements must be accompanied by the directors’ and auditors’ reports and by a statement from the directors declaring that the financial statements show a true and fair view and that it is reasonable to believe that the company can reasonably pay its debts as they become due. Although companies that have complied with the requirements are not audited, they are still oblige to procure their financial statements in compliance with the Companies Act.

Requirements for Singaporean Companies on a Yearly Basis

One or more auditors should be appointed that are qualified for appointment under the Accountants Act to responsible in reporting the company’s financial statements.All auditors that are appointed are accountable on keeping and maintaining all the important files and documents of the company.They will then report on the fairness of the financial statements to the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting.Audit Exemption Starting with the financial year beginning on or after 15 May 2003, the following companies are no longer required to have their accounts audited.But then, they are still obliged to prepare accounts that comply with FRS.

Small exempt private companies

Companies with a annual revenue of below S$5m are given exemption to appoint auditors as well as comply audit requirements. It is according to the legal accounting standards such as FRS that revenue is defined.

Dormant companies

An inactive company is not required to appoint auditors as well as accomplish audit requirements if it has been inactive either (a) during its creation or (b) from the end of the last financial year. It is considered an inactive company if it stop engaging its accounting transactions as well as it continues to be as such when transactions occur. With this regard, business affairs commencing from the ones below are ignored:
Getting of shares in the company by a subscriber to the memorandum
Appointment of company secretary
Nomination of an auditor
Maintaining an office that has been registered
Safekeeping of registers and books
Payment of bills, fines or default penalties to the Registrar of Companies

Do you hold a bachelor degree and have experience in the accounting field? If you do, there are innumerable work from home accounting jobs available on the market that you can choose from to become self-employed and make remarkable income from home.

With the technology advancements, you can do anything over the net without going anywhere. You can communicate, enjoy different types of entertainment, get instant updates, and most importantly, you can work from home to make money. Accountants can also work from home and for that, they would need-

Relevant Degree

Certainly, before choosing any self- employment option, it is always better to know all in and out about that. To hold the title of Accountant, you need to have a degree in accounting from an accredited university. Luckily, there are many online sources through which you can get the degree or you can choose the on-campus route to get it.

Permission of your Current Employer

Perhaps youre already working as an accountant in a company, but wish to handle it from home. Youve to work hard to prove your worth unless no employer would allow an accountant to work from home rather than visiting the office. Draft a Work at Home proposal and share it with your boss. Be sure, your proposal provides an idea about work schedule, possible benefits, your availability and a genuine reason to convince the employer to grant the permission.

Freelance Accounting work

If youve an accounting degree, but not willing to work under any brand or boss, freelance accounting job is a good option to think over. There are many freelance sites where you can post your services so that the potential clients can contact you.

Home based business

As a work from home accountant, you can start your home-based business. This option will particularly work well, if you have been working as an accountant for many years and have a network of clients with proven excellent work record. If you are a beginner, this option will demand more hard work and effort. Youve to make cold calls, organize meeting with potential clients, and build the client base on your own. However, you can manage everything on your own schedule and earn a good income from home.

However, you can do all of this from home and on your own schedule. Accounting lends itself wonderfully to working from home.