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was to close down in a few weeks； then we would be more interested in
the car’s resale value than its ‘book’ value： the car might fetch only ￡2；000；
which is quite a different figure。
Once a business stops trading； we cannot realistically look at the assets
in the same way。 They are no longer being used in the business to help
generate sales and profits。 The most objective figure is what they might
realize in the marketplace。
Dual aspect
To keep a plete record of any business transaction we need to know
both where money came from and what has been done with it。 It is not
enough simply to say； for example； that a bank has lent a business ￡1m；
we have to show how that money has been used； for example to buy a
property； increase stock levels； or in some other way。 You can think of it as
the accounting equivalent of Newton’s third law： ‘For every force there is
an equal and opposite reaction。’ Dual aspect is the basis of double…entry
bookkeeping （see below）。
The realization concept
A particularly prudent sales manager once said that an order was not an
order until the customer’s cheque had cleared； he or she had consumed the
product； had not died as a result； and； finally； had shown every indication
of wanting to buy again。 Most of us know quite different salespeople who
can ‘anticipate’ the most unlikely volume of sales。 In accounting； ine is
usually recognized as having been earned when the goods （or services） are
dispatched and the invoice sent out。 This has nothing to do with when an
order is received； how firm an order is or how likely a customer is to pay up
promptly。 It is also possible that some of the products dispatched may be
returned at some later date – perhaps for quality reasons。 This means that
ine； and consequently profit； can be brought into the business in one
period and has to be removed later on。
Obviously； if these returns can be estimated accurately； then an
adjustment can be made to ine at the time。 So the ‘sales ine’ figure
that is seen at the top of a profit and loss account is the value of the goods
dispatched and invoiced to customers in the period in question。
The accrual concept
The profit and loss account sets out to ‘match’ ine and expenditure to
the appropriate time period。 It is only in this way that the profit for the
period can be realistically calculated。 Suppose； for example； that you are
Accounting 21
calculating one month’s profits when the quarterly telephone bill es in。
The picture might look like Table 1。2。
This is clearly wrong。 In the first place； three months’ telephone charges
have been ‘matched’ against one month’s sales。 Equally wrong is charging
anything other than January’s telephone bill against January’s ine。
Unfortunately； bills such as this are rarely to hand when you want the accounts；
so in practice the telephone bill is ‘accrued’ for。 The figure （which
may even be absolutely correct if you have a meter） is put in as a provision
to meet this liability when it bees due。
ACCOUNTING CONVENTIONS
These concepts provide a useful set of ground rules； but they are open to a
range of possible interpretations。 Over time； a generally accepted approach
to how the concepts are applied has been arrived at。 This approach hinges
on the use of three conventions： conservatism； materiality and consistency。
Conservatism
Accountants are o。。en viewed as merchants of gloom； always prone to take
a pessimistic point of view。 The fact that a point of view has to be taken at
all is the root of the problem。 The convention of conservatism means that；
given a choice； the accountant takes the figure that will result in a lower
end profit。 This might mean； for example； taking the higher of two possible
expense figures。 Few people are upset if the profit figure at the end of the
day is higher than earlier estimates。 The converse is never true。
Materiality
A strict interpretation of depreciation （see above） could lead to all sorts of
trivial paperwork。 For example； pencil sharpeners； staplers and paperclips；
all theoretically items of fixed assets； should be depreciated over their
working lives。 This is obviously a useless exercise and in practice these
items are wri。。en…off when they are bought。
Table 1。2 Example of a badly matched profit and loss account
Profit and loss account for January； year 20XX
￡
Sales ine for January 4；000
Less telephone bill （last quarter） 800
Profit before other expenses 3；200
22 The Thirty…Day MBA
Clearly； the level of ‘materiality’ is not the same for all businesses。 A
multinational might not keep meticulous records of every item of machinery
under ￡1；000。 For a small business this may represent all the machinery it
has。
Consistency
Even with the help of those concepts and conventions； there is a fair degree
of latitude in how you can record and interpret financial information。 You
should choose the methods that give the fairest picture of how the firm is
performing and stick with them。 It is very difficult to keep track of events
in a business that is always changing its accounting methods。 This does not
mean that you are stuck with one method forever。 Any change； however； is
an important step。
THE RULE MAKERS
The accounting professional bodies； with a li。。le prodding from governments；
are responsible for ensuring that accounting reports conform to
what are known as Generally Accepted Accounting Practices （GAAP）。 A
new entrant； International Accounting Standards； is challenging that term
as GAAP rules have been interpreted differently on different continents
and indeed largely ignored on others。
The rule book has to be adapted to acmodate changes in the way
business is done。 For example； international business across frontiers is now
the norm； so rules on handling currency and reporting taxable profits in
different countries have to be acmodated within a pany’s accounts
in a consistent manner。
Although an MBA isn’t usually expected to know all the rules； you
should be able to get up to date before any meetings where the subject is
likely to e up。 You can keep track of changes in pany reporting
rules on the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ website （icaew 》
Accounting and corporate reporting 》 UK GAAP）。
Protecting investors
When confidence in US businesses was rocked badly with a series of
high…profile financial frauds； Enron and World for example； the US
government introduced the Sarbanes–Oxley Act； known less monly
but be。。er understood as ‘The Public pany Accounting Reforms and
Investor Protection Act – 2002’。 The Act’s purpose is to close the loopholes
opened up by creative accountants； who are always devising ways to overstate
profits and understate liabilities； and so make it easier for shareholders
Accounting 23
to see how profitable a business really is。 The act doesn’t just apply to US
panies； any businesses with shares listed on a US stock market that
does business in the United States is swept into the net。 Check out
sarbanes…oxley for the low…down on that Act。
The UK version is The panies （Audit； Investigations and munity
Enterprise） Act。 You can read up on the UK rules at the Office of the
Public Sector Information （opsi。gov。uk 》 Legislation 》 UK 》 Acts 》
Public Acts 2004 》 panies （Audit； Investigations and munity
Enterprise） Act 2004）。
Auditors – the gatekeepers
All public panies； that is； those listed on a stock exchange； are required
to have an annual audit by a qualified accountant appointed by the directors
and approved of by the shareholders。 Any pany with outside
shareholders and indeed all but the smallest private panies are
required by law to be audited。 The auditors’ job is to examine the accounts；
ensure that they conform with the prevailing accounting rules and give an
opinion about the financial statements。 Though the auditors’ report may be
50 pages long； with a score or more footnotes； the findings are summarized
in a single sentence： ‘The financial statements give a true and fair view of
the state of affairs of the pany at （a certain date） and the financial statements
have been properly prepared in accordance with the panies Act
2006。’
The panies Act 2006； the longest Act ever introduced； has brought
in some tough rules on how auditors； among others； should report on
pany accounts。 MBAs； unless they are also accountants； don’t get
involved in doing audits。 But they are expected to know who’s who in the
auditing world。 Accountancy Age （accountancyage/resource/
top50） will keep you informed as to who’s who in the auditing world。
BOOKKEEPING – THE WAY TRANSACTIONS
ARE RECORDED
Until Luca Pacioli wrote what was in essence the world’s first accounting
book； over 500 years ago； accounting records were maintained in singleentry
format； one event merited one record。 This meant that errors could
be prevented only by a major duplication of effort； for example by having
different people making and counting up parallel records。 Pacioli； a
mathematician who worked for the Doge of Venice； came up with a system
of double…entry bookkeeping that required two entries for each transaction
and so provides built…in checks and balances to ensure accuracy。 Each
transaction requires an entry as a debit and as a credit。
24 The Thirty…Day MBA
To give an example； selling goods in a double…entry system might result
in two separate journal entries – a debit reducing the stock by ￡250 and a
corresponding credit of ￡250 of new cash in – a double entry （see Table 1。3）。
The debits in a double…entry system must always equal the credits。 If they
don’t； you know there is an error somewhere。 So； double entry allows you
to balance your books； which you can’t do with the single…entry method。
Pacioli’s genius lay in seeing that the ultimate balancing number in a
pany’s accounts was the profit or loss for the owners of that enterprise。
In fact he required at least two entries or as many as are required to balance
the books。 Let us take the above example to its logical conclusion。 On the
not unreasonable assumption that the business plans to make a profit from
selling goods； the figures will look rather different。 To keep the numbers
simple； let’s suppose the goods they sold cost them ￡125 （a 50 per cent
margin）； then the entries would be as follows。 Goods in stock go down by
￡125； while cash goes up by ￡250。 That net change of ￡125 is balanced by an
increase in profits of ￡125； so the assets and liabilities are kept in balance。
In this example； had the goods sold for less than was paid there would
have been a loss； which would have reduced the value of the owner’s stake
in the business by a corresponding amount。
This is all an MBA student needs to know about bookkeeping； the main
part of the knowledge they require is how to interpret the figures once
recorded。
CASH FLOW
There is a saying in business that profit is vanity and cash flow is sanity。
Both are necessary； but in the short term； and o。。en that is all that ma。。ers in
a business as it struggles to get a foothold in the shi。。ing sands of trading；
cash flow is life or death。 The rules on what constitutes cash are very simple
– it has to be just that； or negotiable securities designated as being as good
as cash。 Cash flow is looked at in two distinct and important ways： as a
projection of future expected cash flows； and as an analysis of where cash
came from and went to in an accounting period and the resultant increase
or decrease in cash available。
Table 1。3 An example of a double…entry ledger
General Journal of Andrew’s Bookshop
Date Description of entry Debit Credit
10 July Rent expense ￡250
Cash ￡250
Accounting 25
Cash…flow forecasts
The future is impossible to predict with great accuracy but it is possible to
anticipate likely outes and be prepared to deal with events by building
in a margin of safety。 The starting point for making a projection is to make
some assumptions about what you want to achieve and test those for
reasonableness。
Take the situation of High Note； a business being established to sell sheet
music； small instruments and CDs to schools and colleges； which will expect
trade credit； and members of the public who will pay cash。 The owner plans
to invest ￡10；000 and to borrow ￡10；000 from a bank on a long…term basis。
The business will require ￡11；500 for fixtures and fi。。ings。 A further ￡1；000
will be needed for a puter； so。。ware and a printer。 That should leave
around ￡7；500 to meet immediate trading expenses such as buying in stock
and spending ￡1；500 on initial advertising。 Hopefully customers’ payments
will start to e in quickly to cover other expenses； such as some wages
for bookkeeping； administration and fulfilling orders。 Sales in the first six
months are expected to be ￡60；000 based on negotiations already in hand；
plus some cash sales that always seem to turn up。 The rule of thumb in the
industry seems to be that stock is marked up by 100 per cent； so ￡30；000 of
bought…in goods sell on for ￡60；000。
On the basis of the above assumptions it is p