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Accountingisassignedmanyfunctionsthatareimportantfromthepointof
businessmanagementandshapingitsrelationswithentitiesfromitsenviron-
ment.Thesefunctionschangewiththechangeintheconditionsinwhichcompa-
niesoperate.However,thereareseveralkeyfunctionsthatcanbedistinguished.
Theseinclude:
a)Keepingsystematicrecords:
Asalanguageofbusiness,accountingistoreporttheresultsofmostbusi-
nessevents.Hence,itsmainfunctionistokeepasystematicrecordofthese
events.Thisfunctionembracesrecordingtransactionsinjournalandsubsid-
iarybooks,postingthemtoledgeraccountsandultimatelypreparingthefi-
nancialstatements.
b)Communicatingtheresults:
Thesecondmainfunctionofaccountingistocommunicatethefinancialfacts
oftheenterprisetothevariousinterestedpartieslikeowners,investors,
creditors,employees,government,andresearchscholars,etc.Thepurpose
ofthisfunctionistoenablethesepartiestohavebetterunderstandingofthe
businessandtakesoundandrealisticeconomicdecisions.Thepresentation
ofcollecteddatashouldbedoneincompliancewiththeacceptedprinciples
andstandardsofaccounting;itmustalsobeeasytounderstandbythosefor
whomthereportismeantincludingalldepartmentsbothwithinandoutside
theinstitution.
c)Meetingthelegalrequirements:
Accountingaimsatfulfillingthelegalrequirements,especiallyofthetaxau-
thoritiesandregulatorsofthebusiness.Itdischargesthisfunctioninaccor-
dancewithcertainfundamentaltruthsanduniformenforcementofgenerally
acceptedaccountingprinciples.
d)Protectingthepropertiesofthebusiness:
Accountinghelpsprotectthepropertyofthebusiness.Thisfunctionisrelat-
edtothe“notarial”accountingfunctionconsistinginareliablepresentation
oftheentity’simagethroughreportsonitspropertyandfinancialsituation.
e)Controllingthebusinessactivities:
Controlismostvisibleintheprovisionofinformationaboutcosts,revenues
andresultsforvariousmanagementlevelsregardedasresponsiblecentres,
inordertoassesstheprogressinobtainingscheduledtasksandthelevelof
exploitationoffundsdedicatedforthesetasks.Onthebasisofprovidedin-
formation,someconclusionsassociatedwithfutureactivitiesareformulated.
Thecontrolfunctionofaccountingcanberealisedintheformofthreekinds
ofcontrol:
-initialcontrol,performedbeforethebusinessactivityreallystarts,andbe-
foreanycosts,revenuesorprofitsarenoticed,
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