Chapter 1
Accounting and the Business Environment

Review Questions

1. Accounting is the information system that measures business activities, processes the information into reports, and communicates the results to decision makers. Accounting is the language of business.

2. Financial accounting provides information for external decision makers, such as outside investors, lenders, customers, and the federal government. Managerial accounting focuses on information for internal decision makers, such as the company’s managers and employees.

3. Individuals use accounting information to help them manage their money, evaluate a new job, and better decide whether they can afford to make a new purchase. Business owners use accounting information to set goals, measure progress toward those goals, and make adjustments when needed. Investors use accounting information to help them decide whether or not a company is a good investment and once they have invested, they use a company’s financial statements to analyze how their investment is performing. Creditors use accounting information to decide whether to lend money to a business and to evaluate a company’s ability to make the loan payments. Taxing authorities use accounting information to calculate the amount of income tax that a company has to pay.

4. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) are licensed professional accountants who serve the general public. They work for public accounting firms, businesses, government, or educational institutions. To be certified they must meet educational and/or experience requirements and pass an exam. Certified Management Accountants (CMAs) specialize in accounting and financial management knowledge. They work for a single company.

5. The FASB oversees the creation and governance of accounting standards. They work with governmental regulatory agencies, congressionally created groups, and private groups.

6. The guidelines for accounting information are called GAAP. It is the main U.S. accounting rule book and is currently created and governed by the FASB. Investors and lenders must have information that is relevant and has faithful representation in order to make decisions and the GAAP provides the framework for this financial reporting. 7. A sole proprietorship has a single owner, terminates upon the owner’s death or choice, the owner has personal liability for the business’s debts, and it is not a separate tax entity. A partnership has two or more owners, terminates at partner’s choice or death, the partners have personal liability, and it is not a separate tax entity. A corporation is a separate legal entity, has one or more owners, has indefinite life, the stockholders are not personally liable for the business’s debts, and it is a separate tax entity. A limited-liability company has one or more members and each is only liable for his or her own actions, has an indefinite life, and is not a separate tax entity. 8. The land should be recorded at $5,000. The cost principle states that assets should be recorded at their historical cost.

9. The going concern assumption assumes that the entity will remain in business for the foreseeable future and long enough to use existing resources for their intended purpose.

10. The faithful representation concept states that accounting information should be complete, neutral, and free from material error.

11. The monetary unit assumption states that items on the financial statements should be measured in terms of a monetary unit.

12. The IASB is the organization that develops and creates IFRS which are a set of global accounting standards that would be used around the world.

13. Assets = Liabilities + Equity. Assets are economic resources that are expected to benefit the business in the future. They are things of value that a business owns or has control of. Liabilities are debts that are owed to creditors. They are one source of claims against assets. Equity is the other