Direct Costs In finance, direct costs are those costs that are associated with a specific project, department, or activity. Sometimes referred to as hard costs, expenses of this type are found with just about every type of business activity, beginning with research and development, moving through sales and marketing campaigns, and into the production of different types of goods and services. A direct cost is often some type of fixed expense, but there are some situations where a variable expense may also fall into this category. The key to understanding what does and does not constitute direct costs is to identify costs that apply only to a specific project, and have nothing to do with any other activity that is taking place concurrently. In order to be a true hard cost, the expense must be for resources that benefit that one project. For example, if the project is to construct Continue reading
Accounting Basics
Government Accounting – Meaning, Objectives and Features
Accounting is concerned with the processing of financial transactions of an entity. It generates and communicates necessary financial information to its users. It is, therefore, a process of recording, classifying and summarizing the financial transactions and communicating the results of its operations. There are different branches of accounting. One of its branches is government accounting. Government accounting is that branch of accounting, which is used in government institution. The government accounting is different from other branches of accounting such as commercial accounting. The accounting system used in government offices to record and report their financial transactions is known as government accounting. Government accounting is concerned with systematic and scientific recording of government revenues and expenditures. It is the systematic process of collecting, recording, classifying, summarizing and interpreting the financial transactions relating to the revenues and expenditures of government offices. It reveals how public funds have been generated and utilized for the Continue reading
Key Differences Between GAAP and IFRS
The differences between International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and GAAP are numerous. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are principles-based accounting Standards, Interpretations and Framework adopted by the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB). Many of the standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older name of International Accounting Standards (IAS). Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is a term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting used in any given jurisdiction which are generally known as Accounting Standards. GAAP includes the standards, conventions, and rules accountants follow in recording and summarizing transactions, and in the preparation of financial statement. GAAP and IFRS differ in key ways, including their fundamental premise. At the highest level, GAAP is more of a rules-based system, whereas IFRS is more principles-based. Under GAAP, voluminous guidance attempts to address nearly every conceivable accounting problem that might arise. And if that guidance Continue reading
Participative Budgeting – Definition, Advantages and Disadvantages
Participative budgeting is the situation in which budget are designed and set after input from subordinate managers, instead of merely being imposed. The purpose of participation in budget setting is to divide responsibility to subordinate managers and set a form of personal ownership on the final budget. The budgeting approach in which the subordinate participates in budget setting, they provide their own information that the supervisors use to formulate the self-imposed budget or participative budget. Organization performance is expected to be well improved by making it possible for the supervisor to allocate the resources more efficiently. According to the information provided by the subordinate, the right resources-allocation decisions are making, the participative budgeting will improve the organization performance. Participation in budget setting has its desirable effects on an organization performance these include the transference of information from subordinate to superior so that it can increase subordinate’s job satisfaction. In addition, Continue reading
Convergence of Accounting Standards
The emergence of the accounting standards has been beneficial for the companies and the investors of the companies. The accounting standards help in the presentation of the financial information of the company in a format that can be understood by the investors of the companies. The investors of the companies are interested in the performance of the company and the financial results are referred to analyze the results. Therefore, the companies must be able to communicate information that is useful for the investors and the other related parties. The emergence of the standards has been helpful in introducing uniformity of the presentation in the companies. The investors have been benefited by the clarity of the information and the scope of the information. In the case of the companies, the management is able to garner more investments form the investors because of the clarity of the information. The clarity of the Continue reading
Roles, Duties and Responsibilities of Management Accountant
Management Accountant is an officer who is entrusted with Management Accounting function of an organization. He plays a significant role in the decision making process of an organization. The organizational position of Management Accountant varies from concern to concern depending upon the pattern of management system. He may be an executive in some concern, while a member of Board of Directors in case of some other concern. However, he occupies a key position in the organization. In large concerns, he is responsible for the installation, development and efficient functioning of the management accounting system. He designs the frame work of the financial and cost control reports that provide with the most useful data at the most appropriate time. The Management Accountant sometimes described as Chief Intelligence Officer because apart from top management, no one in the organization perhaps knows more about various functions of the organization than him. Tandon has Continue reading