Describe the brief history of accounting.
The history of accounting can be traced long back in civilisation. Around 4000 B.C., in Babylonia and Egypt, payment of wages and taxes were recorded on clay tablets. As history claims that Egyptians kept the record of gold and valuables deposits and withdrawal from the treasuries. These records were reported on daily basis by the incharge of treasuries to the wazir, who used to forward the monthly reports to the king. Babylonia and Egypt used this method to rectify and remove errors, frauds and inefficiency from the records. Around 2000 B.C., China used sophisticated form of accounting. In Greece, accounting was used to maintain total receipts and total payments and to balance government accounts. In Rome, around 700 B.C., receipts and payments were recorded in daybook and were posted in the ledger at the end of the month. In India, around twenty three centuries ago, Kautilya wrote the book Arthshastra, which describes how accounting records have to be maintained. In 1494, Luca Pacioli wrote the book Summa de Arithmetica Geometria Proportioni et Proportionalita. In this, he explained the term debit and credit, which are used in accounting till date.
Mr. Sunrise started a business for buying and selling of stationery with ₹ 5,00,000 as an initial investment. Of which he paid ₹ 1,00,000 for furniture, ₹ 2,00,000 for buying stationery items. He employed a sales person and clerk. At the end of the month he paid ₹ 5,000 as their salaries. Out of the stationery bought he sold some stationery for ₹ 1,50,000 for cash and some other stationery for ₹ 1,00,000 on credit basis to Mr. Ravi. Subsequently, he bought stationery items of ₹ 1,50,000 from Mr. Peace. In the first week of next month there was a fire accident and he lost ₹ 30,000 worth of stationery. A part of the machinery, which cost ₹ 40,000, was sold for ₹ 45,000.
From the above, answer the following :
1. What is the amount of capital with which Mr. Sunrise started business?
2. What are the fixed assets he bought?
3. What is the value of the goods purchased?
4. Who is the creditor and state the amount payable to him?
5. What are the expenses?
6. What is the gain he earned?
7. What is the loss he incurred?
8. Who is the debtor? What is the amount receivable from him?
9. What is the total amount of expenses and losses incurred?
10. Determine if the following are assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses or none of the these: sales, debtors, creditors, salary to manager, discount to debtors, drawings by the owner.
Complete the following sentences with appropriate words:
(a) Information in financial reports is based on .....................
(b) Internal users are the ..................... of the business entity.
(c) A ..................... would most likely use an entities financial report to determine whether or not the business entity is eligible for a loan.
(d) The Internet has assisted in decreasing the ..................... in issuing financial reports to users.
(e) ..................... users are groups outside the business entity, who uses the information to make decisions about the business entity.
(f) Information is said to be relevent if it is ......................
(g) The process of accounting starts with ............ and ends with ............
(h) Accounting measures the business transactions in terms of ............ units.
(i) Identified and measured economic events should be recording in ............ order.
Define accounting and state its objectives.
Enumerate informational needs of management.
'Accounting information should be comparable'. Do you agree with this statement? Give two reasons.
Giving examples, explain each of the following accounting terms:
* Fixed assets * Revenue * Expenses
* Gain * Profit * Capital
* Short-term liabilities
Distinguish between debtors and creditors.
Name any two types of commonly used negotiable instruments.
Why is it necessary to record the adjusting entries in the preparation of final accounts?
State the meaning of incomplete records?
What is ‘Depreciation’?
Briefly state how the cash book is both journal and a ledger.
State the meaning of a trial balance?
State the four basic requirements of a database applications.
State the different elements of a computer system.
Why is it necessary for accountants to assume that business entity will remain a going concern?
State the need for the preparation of bank reconciliation statement?
‘An organisation is a collection of interdependent decision-making units that exists to pursue organisational objectives’. In the light of this statement, explain the relationship between information and decisions. Also explain the role of the Transaction Processing System in facilitating the decision-making process in business organisations.
State the meaning of a trial balance?
What is cash book? Explain the types of cash book.
State different kinds of transactions that increase and decrease capital.
What is petty cash book? How it is prepared?
Give two examples each of the organisations where ‘ready-to-use’, ‘customised’, and ‘tailored’ accounting packages respectively suitable to perform the accounting activity.
What is a journal? Give a specimen of journal showing at least five entries.
Journal entry to record salaries will include:
(a) Debit salaries Credit cash.
(b) Debit capital Credit cash.
(c) Debit cash Credit salary.
(d) Debit salary Credit creditors.
Enumerate the steps to ascertain the correct cash book balance.
Explain the concept of ‘secret reserve’.