Accounting, or accountancy, is the measurement, processing and communication of financial information about economic entities.[1][2] It was founded by the Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli, in the end of the 15th century. Accounting, which has been called the "language of business", measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys this information to a variety of users including investors, creditors, management, and regulators. Practitioners of accounting are known as accountants.
Accounting is divided into multiple disciplines:
Financial Statement Analysis focuses on the reporting of an organization's financial information, including the preparation of financial statements, to external users of the information, such as investors, regulators and suppliers;[8]
Managerial Accounting focuses on the measurement, analysis and reporting of information for internal use by management
Accounting Related Functions
Fund accounting
non-profit organizations
governments
Bookkeeping The recording of financial transactions, so that summaries of the financials may be presented in financial reports.
Business Issues
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Audits, Reviews, and Compilation
· Audits: Audits offer the highest level of assurance, and include in-depth examination and confirmation of account balances, inventories, and selected transactions. Audits are performed for you to remove errors, ascertaining the validity and reliability of your information.
· Reviews: Reviews provide limited assurance and involve inquiries and analytical procedures. Perform Reviews are performed to ensure the integrity of your data.
· Compilations: Compilations are based upon information provided by a company's management. They do not offer assurance but may involve some adjustment to accounting records.