What Is Bookkeeping?

Posts Tagged ‘Financial reporting’

Here is an interesting article..in November Canada will be going to plastic money.  The government will start issuing polymer $100 bills. 

Check out the article at:   http://news.ca.msn.com/canada/get-ready-for-more-plastic-in-your-wallet

I found this interesting video on what makes a business owner successful.  I loved the fact that they emphasized how important your employees are in your success.  It is critical to surround your self with an excellent team.  This includes having a competent bookkeeper and accountant as well as having an efficient system for tracking your financial information.

Check it out….

I found this awesome video taking about the common mistakes business owners make that stop them from being successful… Check it out at:

Let me know what you think…

What does this means to small business owners?  What does this mean for the global economy?

Back in April there was much debate about whether the US government would need to start shutting down services and the impact that this would have on small business owners.  The debate centres around the ability of the government to continue functioning if the spending bill did not get passes by the congress.  Will this be a regular occurance? 

Can you imagine the impact this would have on small businesses not just in the US but around the world.  The impact would be felt around the world.

What are your thoughts on this?  Please comment and let me know.

The full article can be found at: http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/08/news/economy/small_business_shutdown/index.htm

Check out this article I found on fraud.  It’s amazing how much money can be taken from a company before anyone discovers it is missing.  It is also interesting what people who commit fraud spend the stolen money on.

Article can be found at: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/duvelle-jeffrey-jailed-after-spending-stolen-cash-on-bags-shoes/story-e6frf7jo-1226010099277

Are you making tons of money in ‘real life’ but on paper showing huge losses?

In the article: STUDIO SHAME! Even Harry Potter Pic Loses Money Because Of Warner Bros’ Phony Baloney Net Profit Accounting by Mike Fleming, the latest leaked report shows that even though the Harry Potter movie grossed almost $1 billion dollars in sales, it still has not made a penny in profit.  How is this possible?  How do they do it?  You may even ask this question of many of the companies on the public markets today.

Well, it’s not that hard, anyone can put together numbers and manipulate financial reports to look the way they want them to.

In the article, it discusses how for the Harry Potter movies, it’s a matter of the method of accounting they have chosen to use.  They calculate it on a net profit basis.  This means the amount that is left over from revenues earned after the expenses related to the project are deducted.  So what they are doing is recording additional expenses such as studio distribution fees and interest paid for financing the movie.  However the question is to whom the distribution fees and interest were paid. In many cases, these fees and interest are paid to affiliated companies in order to take the profit out and leave the movie unprofitable so that they do not need to pay out extra fees to net participants.  “It’s an illusion to make writers, and lower-level actors and filmmakers feel they have a stake in the game.”

Could this be happening to you?  Stay tuned for more information on how your book and records could be manipulated without your knowledge…

Is this you?  I hear this all the time from my clients, friends and family.  They all seem to dread the daunting deadline of filing taxes.  It doesn’t have to be like this…..there is hope.

The majority of people don’t like filing their taxes.  To them it means a lot of paper work, its time consuming and most commonly I hear ‘boring’.   Well, if you leave it all to the last minute, then yes it is a lot of work and takes more time than necessary and after a while it gets ‘boring’.  However, this can all change with planning and organization.

If we are organized things are easier to handle.  When you receive a bill, enter directly into your accounting system and then file it.  It’s the old adage for time management of touch it only once, deal with it and then it is no longer a worry.   If you do a little at a time, it is not so overbearing and time consuming and by the end of the year guess what, all the work is already done and you are ready to do your financial reporting.

If you really do not like handling paperwork, then hire someone to do it for you, however this does not mean that you can walk away and not deal with it anymore.  It means that someone else can open the mail, enter the bills and then file it accordingly, you still need to ensure that it is getting done in the first place and the person you hired is not avoiding it like you did but most all is to ensure that has it been recorded appropriately in your accounting records.

For more tips on organizing check out the article 5 steps to Organizing Your Business.  With planning and not leaving things to the last minute, life will be less stressful and guess what?  Your tax deadline will come along and you will not have to worry about a thing because it had already been handled.

Happy organizing!

Lori