Understanding check. Task I. In Britain, accordingly to the text, which of the following views is taken of balance sheets?

Task I. In Britain, accordingly to the text, which of the following views is taken of balance sheets?

1. They are to show the maximum possible worth of a
company.

2. They are to show how much of a company's costs have been written off.

3. They are to show which costs still need to be paid.

4. They are to show a conservative view of a company's worth.

Score: 4

Task 2. Decide which of the alternatives below finishes the sentences according to the text:

a. Accounting for intangible assets will become a greater problem in the future because:

1. intangible assets will increase as a proportion of total assets.

2. there is an increased recognition of the true worth of brands.

3. there is an increased recognition of the difficulty of valuing brands.

4. companies have more money available to spend on buying brands.

b. An important change in the structure of Europe's economies means that:

1.service companies' only assets are their intangible ones.

2.service companies' true value will definitely not be shown
on their balance sheets.

3. the value of an increasing number of companies in Europe
will depend on their intangibles.

4. company balance sheets will become less important as
indicators of their true worth.

Score: 2

Task 3. Answer the following questions.

1. Which company audits the accounts of both Reckit&Colman and Rowntree.

2. What is the difference in the accounting behaviour of those two companies?

3. What did Nestle pay £ 1 billion for?

4. What 'black hole' did this £ 1 billion disappear into?

5. How is the French treatment of intangible assets different
from that of British companies?

6. What division is there in the way French companies treat
intangible assets?

Score: 6

Total score: 53 points

UNIT IX

Task 1. Remember the meaning of these words and word-combinations:

implication – значення; причетність

premise – передумова; вихідна умова

consistent – послідовний; відповідний; придатний; узгоджений

to cope (with) – справлятися; упоратися

to elicit – з'ясовувати; здобувати

resemblance – схожість; подібність

edifice – будівля; споруда

detriment – шкода; збиток

intrusion – вторгнення; нав'язування власної думки

to strive – старатися; намагатися

Score: 10

Task 2. Read and translate the text.

Text

From information processing to accounting systems

Accounting systems are just means of processing information in organizations. Since they are concerned with the management of financial resources and the representation of other aspects of the business in financial terms, they will always be important. But it must never be forgotten that an accounting system is always a means to a wider organizational end rather than an end in itself. Accordingly, the strategy for designing and operating any type of accounting system must reflect the wider purposes of the organization which are to be served, the other strategies for control which management has adopted and their implications for information processing, and thereby, the internal distribution of power and influence.

It is perhaps easier to take a partial view when designing accounting systems for enterprises operating in relatively stable conditions. But with dynamic and rapidly changing conditions, when the information needed to make decisions is more fluid and complex, a wider organisational viewpoint is absolutely essential. In such circumstances, accounting systems and their organisational premises need to be consistent with the forms of organisational structure and patterns of responsibility which can cope with the inherent uncertainty and provide the necessary element of adaptiveness. They must aim to reinforce the informal communication networks and the patterns of interpersonal which constitute the more organic means of control. Finally, they must try to elicit the appropriate individual motivations.

If, however, these objectives really cannot be achieved. Then the current limitations on our ability to design accounting systems, real as they are, may need to be recognised as constrains on management's ability to adopt other means of control.

Such a view presents many challenges to members of the accounting profession, particularly those concerned with the design and operation of management accounting systems. Accounting need, for instance, to give a lot more consideration to the design of formal information systems that are consistent with organisational structures which emphasise horizontal rather than vertical forms of control At present, many accounting techniques and procedures are more consistent with the organisational forms associated with mechanistic or bureaucratic approaches to management than they are with organic approaches. Progress has undoubtedly been in this area in the last years, but as yet, many difficult problems remain to be solved.

Whilst the management accountant can never become responsible for the management of all information flows, as one of the few specialists on information in most enterprises, he has, I believe, the potential of broadening his concerns to cover at least the design of the formal sources of information if not a more general overview of the information processing capabilities of the enterprise. Of course, such a reorientation would necessitate major changes in outlook and training, and reality, I remain pessimistic about whether the profession, as distinct from some of its more informed members, is likely to change in this way. But the need is real enough. Indeed, it may be so real so that one wonders whether some other group will arise move in this direction if accountants choose not to do so.

Поиск по сайту: