Business owners’ are under pressure to keep their businesses alive – maximise profit, whilst at the same time minimise costs without this being a detriment to operations. The monitoring of this vital process is called accounting – which incorporates the analysis and management of financial statements detailing assets owned and debts owed.
Historically, the process was not so mucha professional one. The earliest accounting records were undertaken by the Mesopotamians thousands of years ago, essentially as a record of crops and herds. Today, large multi-national companies are in high demand for their services – of which auditing and management accounting are two of the most prominent offered and utilised.
A critical need for training
Accounting skills play a pivotal role in the sound functioning of business and government, worldwide. These skills also play a critical role in service delivery, in attracting foreign direct investment and in the sound functioning of the economy as a whole.
"While some may regard accounting skills as a ‘necessary evil,’ and a matter of compliance, the true value of the accountant lies in his/her ability to make insightful decisions and provide strategic guidance based on her understanding of working capital, cash forecasting, debt reduction, and financial discipline”, says Cheryl James CEO of Fasset.
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Read the full article online:
The full article is available in the December/January 2012 Issue of Business Brief and is available in the online magazine. To access this magazine, click here to subscribe
This article has been created with the assistance of the following contributors:
- Accounting Comes Alive
- BDO South Africa
- CRS Technologies
- FASSET
- Idu Software
- Pastel Accounting
- PKF
- SAICA
- Softline Pastel Payroll
- Softworx