Many people believe that accounting is dull Some people find it fascinating because it gives you an inside behind

the scenes peeks of companies, the strategies involved in day to day and long term goals. it can correlate throught out history and see how finaces dictate war and peace. others find it boring because it can be bogged dowm in minute details, in thousands of percentage points. i don't blame them either, it can be maddening. The perception of the grumpy "bean counter" in the back room toiling away at stacks and stacks of paper work turns a lot of people off. Some people view accountants as boring people that lack spontaneity. That turns most people off to the profession. Truthfully, accounting can give anyone a great foundation to any business. With knowledge in accounting you really understand the nuts and bolts of business much like looking under the hood of a car to better associate yourself with the mechanical aspect of the way a car runs.

Accounting has changed significatly in the past few years Starting from early days of clay tokens to the development of the abacus, accounting can be counted as one of the most important practices performed in our old civilization. This practice gained its first recognition when commercial revolution took place and double-entry bookkeeping came into an existence. Approximately hundred years later, Luca Pacioli- one of the famous Franciscan monk, wrote down a mathematics book that highlighted three essential things required by merchants: adequate cash or credit, an accounting system, and a good bookkeeper. And, today if we carefully study the present scenario, accounting has emerged as one of the most promising career options. In fact, these days many young aspiring students are opting for accounting courses and therefore joining accounting schools. However, if we talk in terms of changes that accounting as a practice or career has witnessed then technology will one essential element that has always played a major role. Technology in accounting has always played a key part in maintaining proper record of numbers, and solving different mathematical problems. Inventions like Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Madrid or calculators are few examples that played key part in making the task of accounting easier. While there were few delicate transformations in the field of accounting, starting from its initial days through the 1970s, but finally with the introduction of the computer and accounting software, things have drastically changed. The introduction of computers has altered accounting in several ways. Previous to the introduction of computers accounting was totally dependent on records that were maintained on papers. Adding to this, there was a moderate procedure of conducting accounting duties that generally translated from one department to another within the company. However, with the introduction of computers and accounting applications, the setting of accounting has changed significantly. Emerging as a replacement for simple paper and pencil record, it has entirely redefined the day-to-day procedure of accounting. Looking at the present context, computers and accounting application has in fact allowed accountants to make use of different electronic spreadsheets, which in turn has eliminated the requirement of adding machines, pencils, and calculators. In fact, today it has became much easier for accountants to maintain the proper track of information on a regular interval basis and even eliminate mistakes if any in less time. Ultimately, this has resulted in better accountability and efficiency. Apart from this, the computer is also accountable for changing the orthodox picture of accounting. Earlier the field that was considered to be very task oriented has transformed into a career that is more different and flexible in working style. The conventional overview of the accounting profession needs a person who generally performs all day maintaining of records is now a history. These days, the modern accountant is more skilled with various accounting applications and use computer to perform the daily accounting task.

This allows the accountant to execute its responsibilities within minutes that earlier took numerous hours to complete. No doubt, the computer has changed the accounting career. Though there are some who are slightly upset that career openings or profiles of the past have been swapped by the usage of computers and software, others are amazed and appreciating the introduction of computers in accounting. Nevertheless, there is still much employment prospect as there was 30 years ago. All that we need is to prepare ourselves for every change that is bound to come our way at regular intervals.

The First 5 Accounting Scandals Enron This is the most popular of them all and is still being referred to even after 8 years. This scandal involved hiding debts, inflating revenues and corruption. It resulted to the displacement of more than 20,000 people, the death of Americas Most Innovative Company for six years in a row and the dissolution of one of the Big 5 global accounting firms (Arthur Andersen). It also gave rise to the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley and more rigorous auditing standards. Parmalat a company based in Italy, Parmalat used to be the biggest dairy company in Europe but it collapsed in 2003 and subsequently declared bankruptcy. The company went under for a variety of reasons: investment disasters; non-existent cash in bank; fake transactions; hidden debts and the use of derivatives and accounting fraud to hide these facts. These illegal acts were carried out worldwide, and they affected not only the company and its people but international financial institutions, as well. Waste Management one of the big companies which offers a comprehensive waste management and environmental services in the US. Unlike the first two, Waste Management still exists. The scandal? Inflating income by a whopping $1.7 billion by understating the depreciation expense of the company. WorldCom WorldCom is now known as MCI, Inc. and is part of the Verizon Communications group. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 2003. The allegations? Inflating total assets through capitalization of operating costs. The amount? Estimated to be around $11 billion. WorldComs Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is second only to the Lehman Brothers in 2008 in the history of such filings in the US. Qwest Communications a telecommunications company providing services to 14 states in the US. The company still exists. In 2002, it was found out that the company engaged in fraudulent accounting practices resulting to the inflation of its revenues generated from its deals with Enron. The Last 5 Accounting Scandals Tyco International an international manufacturing company with diversified product lines (safety products, fire protection, electrical products, to name a few). The fraud actually involved misuse of the companys funds by its former CEO and CFO. They utilized improper accounting practices to cover up the misuse of these funds. Health South Corporation used to be a leading healthcare service provider based in Alabama, the company took a beating in 2003 when it was exposed that the company inflated its revenues by $1.4 billion. The inflation of revenues was worse in certain years, going as high as 4,700%. The reason? To meet the expectations of the companys investors. Bernard L. Madoff Investment Scandal this perpetrated the Ponzi scheme that robbed millions of people of their hard-earned money. It is acclaimed as the largest investment fraud ever committed by an individual. The scandal here is not in Madoff, himself (although he would have engaged in improper accounting practices to hide the fraudulent scheme), but on how such scheme escaped the watchful eyes of the auditors and the regulators. Although Madoff has already pleaded guilty to such charges, the investigations on the involvement of other people and how regulators failed to detect the scheme are still ongoing. The amount of fraud? Estimated to be around $10 billion to $17 billion.

AIG one of the foremost insurance company in the US and is one of the recipients of the bailouts from the US Government. The (accounting) scandal (among others) here involved the inflation of the companys net worth by $2.7 billion. Satyam Computer Services a company based in India (now known as Mahindra Satyam). This is the most recent scandal (declared only in 2009) among those on this list. The accounting fraud in this case involves overstating cash ($1.5 billion) and receivables by $100 million and understating liabilities by $250 million. Taken together, Satyams assets were inflated by about $1.85 billion.

A difficult task facing the accountant is when and how to record accounts receivable which become uncollectible. Since these accounts represent a loss in income expected from a previous sale, they must be written off as an expense item. The accounting entry may be made at the point in time that an account is determined to be uncollectible (termed the direct write-off method) or it may be made as an adjusting entry estimate of the dollar amount of uncollectible accounts for that accounting period (termed the allowance method). The Direct Write-Off Method When the direct write-off method is used, a debit is recorded in the account Bad Debts Expense and the credit entry is to Accounts Receivable effectively writing off or expensing the specific account that is deemed uncollectible. This method is most commonly used among businesses which show a relatively small portion of their assets as receivables. These would include small retail outlets, restaurants, and possibly convenience stores. There are three potential dangers involved when using this method: