An accounting system is the major quantitative information system in almost every organization.
An effective accounting system provides information for three broad purposes
Internal reporting to managers for use in planning and controlling current operations.
Internal reporting to managers, for use in making special decisions and in formulating long range plans; and
External reporting to stockholders, government, and other outside parties.
Tasks:
Bank Reconciliation
Reconciling your business checking account each month allows you to keep your bank account, accounting, and taxes up-to-date.
Having us reconcile your account each month allows you to...
- Identify lost checks, lost deposits and unauthorized wire transactions.
- Detect and prevent excess/unjustified bank charges and ensures transactions are posted correctly by your bank.
- Detect and prevent embezzlement of funds from within your company.
- Know how your business is doing? You can't really know unless all accounts are reconciled and properly accounted for on your financial statement.
- Manage your cash more effectively. Proper management of funds not only saves money, it makes money for you.
- Protect yourself. By timely reconciling and promptly objecting to your bank about any unauthorized, fraudulent or forged checks presented to your bank and paid by that bank, you can relieve your agency of responsibility for the shortfall and transfer the risk to the bank. This reason to reconcile alone should be enough. Crime exists.
Income Statement
An income statement, also known as a profit and loss statement, basically adds an itemized list of all your revenues and subtracts an itemized list of all your expenses to come up with a profit or loss for the period.
An income statement allows you to...
- Track revenues and expenses in order to determine the operating performance of your business.
- Determine what areas of your business are over-budget or under-budget.
- Identify specific items that are causing unexpected expenditures. Like phone, fax, mail, or supply expenses.
- Track dramatic increases in product returns or cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales.
- Determine your income tax liability.
Balance Sheet
A balance sheet gives you a snapshot of your business' financial condition at a specific moment in time.
A balance sheet helps you...
- Recognize your financial strength and the capabilities of your business.
- Identify and analyze trends, particularly in the area of receivables and payables. For example, if your receivables cycle is lengthening, maybe you can collect your receivables more aggressively.
- Determine if you in a position to expand.
- Determine if your business can easily handle the normal financial ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses?
- Determine if you need to take immediate steps to bolster cash reserves?
- Determine if your business has been slowing down payables to forestall an inevitable cash shortage?
Balance sheets, along with income statements, are the most basic elements in providing financial reporting to potential lenders such as banks, investors, and vendors who are considering how much credit to grant you.
Repair and Maintenance of your General Ledger
All financial transactions are found in your general ledger. These records constitute the central "books" of your system. If there is an error in your general ledger it will cause problems in all other reports.
Having us review your general ledger system each month allows us to locate and repair any discrepancies such as double billings or any unrecorded payments. There are large auditing firms that only work in the field of forensic accounting locating similar transactions for large companies. In large organizations these transactions can often represent hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although your business may not deal in such large figures there are few organizations that can afford to have these transactions on their books.
Ongoing Consultations
We understand that you will have questions for us. We are always available to spend time with you so you fully understand how to interpret and utilize the financial information we provide. This service is already included in our price, so please feel free to call us whenever you have a question or concern.
Virtual Accounting and Bookkeeping