City audit: Poor bookkeeping faulted in deficit

By Richard Gaines
Staff writer

Fraud is no longer considered a possible explanation for a $1.4 million variance in the books for the 2007 fiscal year that ended last June 30. In truth, poor bookkeeping and software were to blame.

Those are the conclusions of the auditing firm, Sullivan, Rogers & Co., which was given a $24,000 contract two months ago to make sense of the city's incomprehensible financial books.

Its report, conveyed to City Council and the Times by Mayor Carolyn Kirk, puts to rest the mayor's previous concern that something more sinister than bad bookkeeping was afoot in the city Treasurer's Office, the Department of Public Works, or possibly elsewhere.

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Small businesses Accounting and Bookkeeping

Small businesses are finding it increasingly more economical to outsource their accounting and bookkeeping needs to contractors. These contractors often work from home offices. With a few basics such as a fax machine, copier and computer with the proper software, you can be on your way to a lucrative career as a home based accountant.

As an accountant, you work with businesses and individuals to provide tax planning and preparation of tax forms, monthly financial reports, audits, billing and payroll services. Accountants sometimes offer broader services that include budget analysis, financial and investment planning, and info rmation technology consulting. As an accountant, y ou should be very comfortable working with numbers, and be detail-oriented - and most of all, organized.

Accountants are required to hold a bachelors degree in accounting or a related field. Additional professional recognition can be obtained through certifications or licensure, a master’s degree or proficiency in accounting software. These supplementary credentials can give you an advantage when you are marketing your home-based accounting business.

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Accounting and Finance Job Critearea

Accountant II
Prepares and maintains accounting records which may include general accounting, costing, or budget data. Examines, analyzes and interprets accounting records for the purpose of giving advice or preparing statements. May act as lead to lower level employees. Requires bachelors degree in accounting or business and 2-4 years relevant accounting experience.

Accountant - Senior (III)
Establishes, interprets and analyzes complex accounting records of financial statements. These may include general accounting, costing or budget data. Examines, analyzes and interprets accounting records for management. Requires bachelors degree in accounting or business or equivalent experience and 5 or more years experience.

Accounting Clerk I
Verifies and posts transactions to journals, ledgers and other records. Prepares statements, invoices and vouchers. May handle balancing and reconciliations. May specialize in one area of the accounting function. Requires understanding of bookkeeping procedures and 1-2 years of relevant experience.

Accounting Clerk - II
Completes basic bookkeeping and accounting tasks. Performs posting of cash receipts, expenses, or other transactions to journals or ledgers and verifies accuracy. Reviews invoices, bills, vouchers, or other documents for corrections before entering into records. Sorts and files documents, and performs calculations. Usually requires a minimum of six months relevant experience.

Accounting Clerk -III
Analyzes, verifies and posts transactions to journals, ledgers and other records. Analyzes, investigates and corrects accounting entries as needed. Performs reconciliation of complex transactions. May act as lead to less senior clerks. May specialize in one area of the accounting function. Requires thorough understanding of bookkeeping procedures and 3-4 years of relevant experience.

Accounting Manager
Manages accounting functions and preparation of reports and statistics detailing financial results. Establishes and maintains accounting practices to ensure accurate and reliable data necessary for business operations. May specialize in one or more functional accounting area such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, budget, etc. Supervises professional and/or clerical accounting employees. Typically requires a bachelors degree in accounting or business and 5-8 years relevant experience.

Accounting Supervisor

Supervises accounting functions and preparation of reports and statistics detailing financial results. Coordinates schedules, activities and reports with other departments. Establishes and maintains operating procedures. May specialize in one or more functional areas such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, budget etc. Supervises non-exempt clerical and accounting employees. Typically requires a bachelors degree in accounting or business and 1 year relevant experience or a total of 6 years accounting experience.

Accounts Payable Clerk
Reviews invoices for accuracy and completeness. Sorts documents by account name or number and processes invoices for payment. May perform other basic clerical duties associated with accounts payable. May post transactions to journals, ledgers and other records. Requires understanding of bookkeeping procedures and 1-2 years of relevant experience.

Accounts Payable Manager
Manages the accounts payable function within the organization's established policies. Arranges and oversees completion of all work. Examines records of amounts due and makes sure invoices are paid according to terms and discounts taken. Directs invoice processing and verification, expense coding, and drafting of payment checks or vouchers. Supplies regular or written reports. Suggests improvements in processes to increase effectiveness of unit. Usually requires a 4 year degree and 4-6 years of relevant experience or equivalent education and experience.

Accounts Payable Supervisor
Oversees accounts payable recordkeeping. Supervises recording of amounts due, verification of invoices, and calculation of discounts. Ensures expense coding, voucher preparation, and check issuance are accomplished accurately and timely. Produces various reports for management including accounts payable register. Usually requires 2 to 4 years relevant experience.

Accounts Receivable Clerk
Verifies and posts accounts receivable transactions to journals, ledgers, and other records. Follows established procedures for processing receipts, cash etc. Sorts and files documents after posting. May prepare bank deposits. May operate a personal computer. Requires understanding of bookkeeping procedures and 1-2 years of relevant experience.

Accounts Receivable Manager
Manages the accounts receivable function within the organization's established policies. Arranges and oversees completion of all work including posting, processing, and verification of receipts, credit claims, refunds, interest charges, or other similar records. Produces regular or special written reports. Suggests improvements in processes to increase effectiveness of unit.

Accountants can save time and money

By SCORE
May 15, 2008

Computer software packages have made it easier for small business owners to monitor cash flow, prepare tax returns, and handle other financial reporting tasks. Still, keeping up with these chores as your business grows also consumes an increasingly large chunk of precious time, and risks potentially costly mistakes. That's why many entrepreneurs look to outside financial specialists for help.

Choosing the right type of tax, accounting, bookkeeping or other financial help is an important decision. An outside accountant can be one of your most trusted business advisors and a key to your success. Although some business owners work with large national firms, most prefer to work with small independent firms or solo accounting professionals.

Accounting services differ from bookkeeping services, however. An accounting firm prepares financial statements and tax returns based on the numbers that you give them via your own in-house books. Bookkeeping services, if offered, will be extra.

If you plan to hire your own bookkeeper, make sure the person you choose is qualified. One way is to use the "Bookkeepers Hiring Test" available free from the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers at their Web site, www.aipb.org.

Before selecting a certified public accountant or other financial pro, list the services you think you need, such as tax preparation, financial reports, balance sheets, invoicing, payroll services, general bookkeeping or someone to set up your books. Some firms may handle it all, or you may need to split the tasks. CPA Directory is a huge online listing of CPAs nationwide and can help you find an accountant in your area. The Web site also offers helpful advice on hiring and working effectively with a CPA. Visit www.cpadirectory.com.

And don't forget about Enrolled Agents (EAs), who are licensed by the Federal government to prepare tax returns. They have either worked for the IRS or have passed a rigorous IRS exam. EAs are savvy tax experts, but generally don't have the degrees of CPAs and tend to charge less. Visit the National Association of Enrolled Agents Web site at www.naea.org.

Source: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/BIZ/805150312

Advantages of outsourcing Accounting services

Ask any firm providing accounting services or tax preparation and they shall tell you about the benefits of outsourcing the jobs. The prime reasons behind bookkeeping firms preferring it this way are:

• Reduced labor costs

Since outsourcing involves the third world countries (chiefly, India and China where every dollar is multiplied several times in their currency), the amount to be paid to a couple of accountants in the first world country can remunerate a large team. These people are also very much proficient in their own fields; hence, it’s less for more.

• Payroll

Since the work is outsourced, the people doing them doesn’t require being on the payroll of the company that is outsourcing. This takes away the burden of granting employee benefits and the related legal responsibilities to the company.

• Lower fixed costs

A bigger benefit for the outsourcing bookkeeping firms comes in the form of cost advantages; it saves big time on the costs that would have been spent otherwise on the operations and the overheads. Investment on an infrastructure can thus be ruled out including buying the expensive software and the respective licenses, employee training and support; all these add up to big time financial benefits for the outsourcing accounting firms.

With all that understood, firms into accountancy need to find a service provider who is reliable and costs less. That way, Respond can help; with a roster that’s virtually endless and a customer base exceeding the three million mark, there is a service provider awaiting every accountancy firm of every budget and every type of accountancy related job; all that is required now are just a few clicks of the mouse.

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County to Take Over Bridge Commission Bookkeeping

accounts | 2 days 15 hours ago | Comments 0

By Susan Avedissian

CREST HAVEN — The county will be taking over the ledger work for the Cape May County Bridge Commission after an opinion from the auditing firm of Ford, Scott & Associates that commission’s accounting staff lacked the expertise to properly record activity in the general ledger.

The conclusion was one of three audit findings for the commission for audit years ending Sept. 30, 2007, and 2006.

The finding was not considered a “material weakness,” according to the report, which is defined as “a significant deficiency, or combination of significant deficiencies, that result in more than a remote likelihood that a material misstatement of the financial statements will not be prevented or detected by the entity’s internal control.”

Nor were they of such magnitude that they would “affect our ability to express an opinion on the financial statements taken as a whole,” according to the report.

The recommendation on the finding was that transactions be properly recorded in the general ledger and that activity be reconciled on a monthly basis.

“There are some troubling aspects to it (the audit) with the office management of it,” O’Connor told Commissioners Bill Henfey and Salvatore DeSimone April 10. Commissioner Phyllis Catanoso was absent.

He said he and Milton Nagel, commission purchasing agent and internal auditor, would be meeting with the auditors.

“They’re going to clean it up for now. Then I’m shifting the auditing work to the county, to the treasurer’s office.”

The treasurer, under an interlocal agreement with the county, will come in and do all the ledger work, and probably the voucher work, said O’Connor, with an attempt to shift full-time office staff to fill current vacancies in toll collector positions.

“On a number of items I’ve asked the treasurer to come in and whatever we can shift over there, we’re going to shift over there.
A couple of reasons: we have a lot of vacancies in tolls, I don’t want to hire any new people, we just can’t afford it. … Under the contract we are permitted to unilaterally move people from the office into tolls,” he said.

The second audit recommendations was concerning labeling of fixed assets — both physically on each piece of property, and also within the accounting system.

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Outsourcing bookkeeping helps business owners focus on job

By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- Ron Finklestein found a good reason for not compiling his business tax return: $1,600.

That's how much Finklestein says he would have overpaid the government if he had submitted a return he had completed as an experiment. When he ran it past his accountant, he discovered he hadn't claimed all the deductions to which he was entitled.

Many small-business owners try to compile their companies' returns, and they also try to keep the books, too. Many, like Finklestein, discover it's better to turn the financial part of the business over to someone with a head for finances -- the work will be done faster and better. Moreover, outsourcing finances allows owners to focus on building their companies.

Finklestein, an author and business consultant in Akron, Ohio, only recently handed over the task of keeping the company's books to his accountant, a step he needed to take to have a better handle on how the business was doing. He wasn't consistently updating the books, and so he didn't know what the state of his cash flow was. With his accountant in charge of his finances, he's able to make more informed decisions.

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