...Accounting Memp Interforoffice Memo TO: ACCOUNTING TEAM MATE FROM: ANDREW ACCOUNTANT SUBJECT: LIFO FIFO EXPLANATION DATE: 2/24/2015 Occasionally an individual who works at a company in a certain department is required to pass on information to another department or a supervisor. It is necessary to make this memo accurate and professional since information on inventory valuations has been requested by the executive vice president. To be considered that they are not aware of the jargon used by accountants the information used must be explained to company officers. Below is a summary of the changes in the interoffice memo that relates to the accounting jargon and abbreviations. It will also include the requested information on Last In First Out (LIFO) and First In First Out (FIFO) method. The memo is changed from casual to professional and formal after it is revised. The memo concerns the FIFO and LIFO methods and the effects of the methods with-in the company. This requires an explanation of each valuation method in terms of the profit and loss on the income statement and Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). This needs to be elaborated without being condescending. It does not affect the retail industry’s inventory valuation methods, so it is not necessary to include the lawsuit by Macy’s in the last paragraph. The inflationary economic time and the accounting jargon of elastic pricing needs to be changed to professional wording. It would be appropriate to express that...
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...Memorandum To: Accountants From: junior accountant Date: October 22, 2012 Subject: SAS 115-Statement on Accounting Standards SAS 115 was issued by the Auditing Standards Board to provide guidance to auditors on what should be communicated to management and those in charge of governance within an organization. The SAS 115 requires the auditor to make communications, in writing, to management regarding imperative deficiencies and material weakness in internal controls that are noted in audit reports. It clarifies standards and provides guidance on communicating matters related to an entity’s internal control over financial reporting identified in an audit of financial statements. The new SAS No. 115 is going to affect this department in three different ways: 1. It defines three categories of control deficiencies that may be identified during the external audit of the financial statements: control deficiencies, significant deficiencies and material weakness. 2. It provides guidance on evaluating the severity of the deficiencies identified. 3. It requires the auditor to communicate in writing to managements and those charged with governance any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses that were identified. SAS No. 115 includes much of what was outlined in SAS No. 112 as it provides guidance to enhance the auditor's ability to evaluate deficiencies in internal control identified during an audit, and then communicate those deficiencies that the auditor believes...
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...on our Learning Team. The first communication in our report was the Accounting Peer Memo. The memo did convey the intended message that JJJ was not a good investment for the company. The message could of contained more language that accountants use, as this is a communication from an accountant to other accountants. This type of communication was the most appropriate because any other form would not have as effective, for example an email would not have appropriate enough to convey the message professionally enough. The one thing that I would change to improve this communication would be to add an indentation at the beginning of every paragraph to make the look more professionally written. There were no ethical implications in this memo, because it was written by the head of the accounting department to the accountants in the department all were privy to the information. The memo shared right amount of information because it is the Accounting that did the audit and therefore they have access to all information concerning this deal. As the author of the second memo it is hard not to be biased. After reading the memo along the others I now see the flaws in my work. The memo appeared to be put together in a way to convey the intended...
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...the receiving audience while projecting the senders leadership style; for the following I will be evaluating the four communiqués my team submitted. In the communiqué sent to the CEO of Riordan Manufacturing, John, the accounting manager, was to advise the CEO of the financial instability of JJJ Company and recommend not moving forward with the acquisition. For this communiqué our team collectively agreed that a formal memo would be the best communication for the audience and purpose, I stand by this decision. The memo was a more formal approach as it was intended for the CEO, which showcased his leadership style more direct and to the point. The structure and layout of the memo was assembled with less of a personal feel as is seen common in e-mails or text to a coworker. The information conveyed in the memo was factual pertaining to the purpose of the memo in regard to the financial instability of JJJ Company. I do not think this memo shared too much or too little information. There was no question of ethics present in the memo as it was examining the instability of the company and it was specifically sent to the CEO. Emails were chosen as the communiqués for the other three audiences. Emails are shorter reports that, “should enable the reader to easily focus on the content as well as easily retrieve it," (Leisker & Flatley, 2008,...
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...Chapter 1 Summary Accountants as Communicators Accountants need to understand the importance of communication as many employers are stressing the importance of it. Accountants that can communicate are better suited for the work environment. Employers are starting to place importance on these skills then they are technical accounting skills. This chapter focuses on how accountants should write and how it affects your work and problem solving. It is important to keep in mind that writing is essential to accountants. Accountants have to be able to read and write on an everyday basis. For example tax accountants have to write memos to describe the results that they found and at times they must write letters to the internal revenue service for their clients. Auditors for example have to write memos to file in the audit working papers that are essential to any audit. After the audit is completed auditors must be able to write a letter to management advising them on any changes that should be made. Accountants at times have the responsibility to write footnote disclosures in financial statements and at times accountants were using very technical language. This resulted in many investors being misinformed due to the fact that not ever investor is an accountant. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a disclosure rule that stated to write these notes in “plain English.” They are seven tips that writers recommend for business writing. These seven are content, critical thinking...
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...the CPA (Certified Public Accountants) exam, I intend to apply to a private accounting firm. In order for an Accountant to internally do their job correct, they need to ensure that firms are efficiently run financially while also making business decisions that would lead to prevented loss/future profit. They prepare, analyze and verify financial documents that are recorded in an accounting journal, balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows and shareholders’ equity. Externally, an Accountant could be employed by a public corporation and sent out to off-premise locations to perform audits. The duties of an accountant depend on whether they are a private or public accountant and which department they work in. Public accounting for the most part has to do with auditing, taxation, and external duties. Private accountants are more internal and deal with budgeting, inventory, cost accounting and internal auditing. In 2009, the median annual wage for accountants and auditors was $60,340, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Personally, I like the internal work that has to do with financial accounting, not managerial accounting. I’m more of a numbers type of person and financial accounting makes complete sense to me because everything balances out in the books. “Internal auditors verify the effectiveness of their organization's internal controls and check for mismanagement, waste, or fraud.” Active after January 2012, all Accountants have to earn 150 credits in...
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...Memo Review Shyla M. BCOM/230 July 7, 2014 Memo Review In today’s corporate world, forms of communication range from extremely casual conversations and instant messages to complex presentations and detailed letters. The primary determining factor for which form of communication to use is the audience to which the information will be received as well as the relationship between audience and author. In this paper we will review a University of Phoenix provided accounting memo written from an accountant to the company’s CEO, analyze what information should be included in the memo versus what should be removed; consider if the use of accounting specific jargon is appropriate based on the audience; the CEO; and finally explore what possible repercussion can happen if the memo is not suitable for the targeted audience. In the initial review of the memo, the first error that immediately jumps out is the heading and salutation lines. Both use the acronym “CEO” instead of using the person’s first and last name; which is the more professionally acceptable approach. The CEO may interpret this as either a lack of attention to detail or that the information is generic and not specific to level of authority. Next, the entire memo reads extremely choppy and does not give the reader much lead-in information about why the author has sent the memo to begin with. Since the communication is going directly to the CEO, the introductory paragraph should be clear, concise...
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...accounting scenario. Since there was no collaboration by the learning team, this report is based solely on the opinion of one student. There are various factors that need to be considered when writing a business communique. The purpose, audience and leadership style are important considerations to be made when deciding on which type of communication to when reporting on the acquisition of a company. The first line of communication would need to be between the staff accountant and her accounting peers. The type of communication that would need to be used would be an interoffice memo. A memo would be an appropriate form of communication to advise the accounting department of the due diligence investigation. The memo can also be used to share with her peers the assignment and what needs to be done to complete the assignment. The interoffice memo is an ethical form of communication for this audience. The second line of communication would be between the staff accountant and the sales manager. The staff accountant is advising the sales manager of the results of the review of JJJ’s financial condition. An appropriate and ethical form of communication to use for this situation would be an email. The next line of communication would be between the accounting manager and the ad hoc committee. The accounting manager is reporting his recommendation not to move forward with the acquisition. The type of communication to use in this situation would be a letter. A letter would be an...
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...Team B Formal Communications University of Phoenix Team B Formal Communications To: Accountants From: Team B Subject: Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) 112 and 115 Notification Changes have been made regarding the rules that must be followed by auditors. The purpose of this memo is to provide an outline of the changes and explanation on how the changes will impact our valued clients. As accountants, understanding the Statement of Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 112 and the superseding SAS No. 115 is extremely important as they may affect our audit results and findings. This internal memo is being distributed to all accountants in our office to provide information related to the new changes in standards and to show how the changes my affect you (AICPA, 2009). SAS No. 115 has replaced SAS No. 112 effective on or after December 15, 2009. SAS No. 115 was designed to bring awareness of deficiencies in internal controls and to assist in reducing the risks of financial statement misstatements. SAS No. 115 also provides guidance on how to assess whether a deficiency in internal controls is a compelling deficiency or materials weakness. The auditor will evaluate the identified controlled deficiencies and decide if the deficiencies are significant or material. The main difference between SAS No. 112 and SAS No. 115 are the definitions of significant deficiency and material weakness (AICPA, 2009). SAS No. 112 defined significant deficiencies as "more than a remote likelihood...
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...Accounting Bill DeBurger was an in- charge accountant of the firm where he used to work. He had 18 months of experience; and he had been working for more than 900 hours in the audit of Marcelle Stores. The audit team was formed by Bill, two staff accountants, and five internal auditors. After two months of intense work, Bill had the responsibility to write the inventory memo. When Bill began to think about what he will express in the inventory memo, he realized that he was not sure about the accuracy of the information related with the inventory accounts of Marcelle Stores. He decided that he was not going to sign the results of the inventory account; and he communicated his decision to Sam Hakes. Hakes was very irritated about Bill’s decision and he ordered Bill to return to his office and “write a nice, neat, very precise and to-the point inventory memo” (Knapp, 2011, p.312). After that, Bill went to his office and he started to write the memo. Considering the circumstance of the case, I believe Bill will follow Sam’s instructions; and he will communicate an unqualified opinion about the inventory accounts of Marcelle Stores. Bill was really serious about not signing the inventory memo, but when Sam refuted his idea Bill did not defend his point of view; so, I think Bill will do what Sam ordered him because he was scared. In contrast, I would express a different conclusion if I have the responsibility to write the inventory memo. I think the evidence that the auditors collected...
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...Accounting 801 Written Assignment REQUIRED: Assume you have recently been hired by Needs Space as a staff accountant. Your manager has just contacted you asking if you would determine how Needs Space should account for two obligations associated with leased property (described in the case). Write a memo to the manager of Needs Space and have the memo from you as a staff accountant. Give the manager information related to accounting for the two obligations. Once you have obtained this information from the Codification, you will need to provide a concise quote of the relevant passage(s) and then state an interpretation of the quote in your own words. Your memo should then end with a recommendation from you on what you would suggest as the best treatment of the obligations. Do not give details on the criteria for leases as this is already determined. The memo should be concise, free of grammatical errors, and about one to two pages. Hand in a copy of the memo in class. Submit an electronic copy to “Turnitin.com” which may require you to establish a personal user profile. If you have already done this for another course you do not need to do it again. You then access the class site by using the ID and password for the class, which is: Submit the paper to Turnitin.com only once. After the due date you may access your paper in Turnitin and view the report. Quotations of official pronouncements should be referenced correctly and presented in proper form....
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...Accounting Firm, LLC. Memo To: Firm Accountants From: Junior Accountant Date: 20/08/2012 Re: The New Statement of Accounting Standards (SAS) 112 Changes have been made regarding the rules auditors must follow. The purpose of this memo is to inform all the accountants about the new Statement of Accounting Standard (SAS) No. 112,Communicating Internal Control Related Matters Identified in an Audit issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Management considers SAS No. 112 an imperative accounting standard to know, understand, and communicate effectively and efficiently. SAS No. 112 establishes standards and provides guidance on communicating matters related to an entity’s internal control over financial reporting identified in an audit of financial statements (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2011). SAS No. 112 replaces SAS No. 60 and is effective for periods ending on or after December 15, 2006. Consequently, the term “reportable condition” will become extinct. The terms “significant deficiency” and “material weaknesses” are used to describe control deficiencies that must be communicated to management and those charged with governance during audits. The underlying principle deals with identified control deficiencies and determines whether these deficiencies, individually or in combination, are significant deficiencies or material weaknesses (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2011). Auditors are...
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...Table of Contents Writing a Memo 4 Audience and Purpose 4 Parts of a Memo 4 Heading Segment 4 Opening Segment 4 Context 5 Conclusion 5 Sample Memos 5 1st sample 5 2nd sample 6 Writing a circular 7 1. Circular regarding a computer training programme. 7 2. Circular regarding office identification 7 3. Circular regarding a visit of a senior manager 8 Writing a notice 9 Format of a notice 9 Cause and effect 11 EFFECT — CAUSE 11 Summarizing 13 Meeting Minutes 14 Business Letters 16 Writing the Basic Business Letter 16 Parts of a Business Letter 16 Covering letter 21 Job advertisement 22 Job adverts checklist 22 Senior Accountant position 22 Senior financial accountant, REF: F90111 23 Accounting terms 25 General Business Vocabulary Terms 27 Advertising 27 Banking 28 Company Structure 28 Contracts 29 Employment 30 Import-Export 31 Insurance 31 Law 32 Marketing 33 Money 34 Presentations 34 Selling 35 Graphs and Charts 37 Presenting Visuals - useful phrases & vocabulary : 37 Commenting trends - useful phrases : 37 Conclusions - useful phrases : 38 Presentations 39 Writing a Memo Audience and Purpose Memos have a twofold purpose: they bring attention to problems and they solve problems. They accomplish their goals by informing the reader about new information like policy changes, price increases, or by persuading the reader to take an action, such as attend a meeting, or change a current...
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...of your audience are and communicate with the visible purpose. Effective communication achieves its objective to persuade, respond or gain information by considering the style, format, purpose, organization and by tailoring the communication style to meet the audience requirements. Purpose Learning Team A was given five different accounting scenarios with limited amount of information on the JJJ Company, Riordan Mfg, Ad hoc Committee, CEO and the employees. Each team member was assigned a role from the accounting scenario and instructed to write and effective communiqué based on that roles. The communiqués could be n the form of a formal memo, email, power point, and text message. The types of communiqués were based on the information, i.e., formal, informal, long report, short report format, email, power point presentation, or memo, etc. Then each team member had to evaluate the business communication written by the other members and determine its effectiveness by using the following questions as a guide. 1) How well did the communication convey the intended message? 2) Would another type of communication have been more appropriate? Why? 3) Is the communication at the appropriate level for the intended audience? 4) How did the leadership styles in the scenario affect the communication within the group? 5) What changes would you recommend to improve the communiqué? 6) What are the ethical implications of the information being shared? 7) Does the communication share...
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...MEMO To: CEO From: Accounting Manager Date: February 19, 2013 Re: Need for internal managerial accountant Dear Chief Executive Officer, This is a memo that will state the reasons why and benefits of hiring another managerial accountant. As we all know, the significance of a trustworthy accounting department is essential in any business. Accounting is specifically the most important department of a business for the simple fact that it deals with the company’s money statuses. This includes where a business can and can’t go financially and what it has and has not accomplished in terms of financial objectives. It is essential that a business have a strong internal accounting system because it can mean monetary success or failure. An internal accounting system includes the maintenance of the company’s finances in terms of short as well as long-term goals, strategy formulation for revenue, operational direction and control of the company’s finances, and the organization of resources and assets aligned with the desired budget within the company. All of these duties will be separated and given specifically to the new internal accounting manager. It is desired that a position be made specifically for these duties because of the importance in the company’s finances. One can not get too overwhelmed with other aspects and/or factors within the company to make mistakes or over or under budget the company. There should be a main focus so there are no unanalyzed risks involved. (Wild and...
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