How to Learn Office Accounting
Office accounting refers to a system of measuring business activities and preparing reports. One element of accounting includes bookkeeping, which entails processing accounting data. You can teach yourself the fundamentals of accounting in different ways, such as by enrolling in community college, university and online classes.
Instructions
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Develop a study schedule to review new information as well as to complete practice problems. For example, you can set aside 30 minutes each morning or two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You should purchase an introductory textbook that organizes and explains basic information. Many introductory books can be found at college used bookstores or online, such as through half.com or amazon.com.
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Address essential accounting principles such as the entity, going-concern and stable-monetary-unit concepts. The entity concept identifies company sections or organizations that stand on their own as an independent economic unit. For example, personal records should be distinguished from a business owner's company records. Under the stable-monetary-unit concept, you assume that the dollar's purchasing power is relatively stable and ignore inflation's impact.
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Study the difference between assets and liabilities so that you easily can identify the right description. Assets can include cash, equipment, short-term investments and intangible items; while liabilities often include notes payable, long-term debt and installment plans.
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Understand the basic accounting equation, which states that economic resources (assets) equal claims to economic resources (liabilities plus owners' equity). The equation remains the same regardless of the organization's resources. For instance, both a clothing retailer and a chemical manufacturer utilize the same equation to demonstrate the company's financial position.
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Recognize basic recording methods, namely cash or accrual based. There are different advantages and disadvantages associated with each method but your objective should be to consistently use the same method.
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Review common financial statements. The income statement (revenues minus expenses equals net income) is sometimes referred to as the statement of operations or earnings. Another important statement involves retained earnings or stockholders' equity (beginning retained earnings plus net income minus dividends equals ending retained earnings).
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Tips & Warnings
Join groups of accounting professions such as the Professional Accounting Society of America. Many groups publish useful accounting tips and information through newsletters.You should be familiar with accountants' ethical obligations, such as identified by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
Contact a certified public accountant in your state to answer complex questions, especially if you are learning accounting to prepare statements for a business or organization.
