Thursday, 2 January 2014








 A NEW WOELD OF FREE CENTER LEARNING

Accounting - Control and Monitoring of Cash

 

For any business or organisation the need to control and monitor cash transactions to ensure the efficient operation of the business is of vital importance. In this free online accounting course procedures and structures for establishing internal control such as control of cash receipts and cash disbursements, proper use of the bank checking account, preparation of the bank reconciliation, and protection of petty cash funds are all explored in detail. Examples of recommended documentation and the postings used in the ledgers are given. An overview of the five components for internal control is described and this provides a structure for developing the necessary procedures needed to ensure the safe handling of cash within an organization. Learners will also see how companies can protect both their assets and employees by following steps such as: segregating employee duties, assigning specific duties to each employee, rotating employee job assignments, and using mechanical devices. This free online accounting course will be of great interest to entrepreneurs and business professionals who would like to better understand how to control and monitor daily cash transactions within an enterprise, and to any learner who is interested in accounting as a future career.



Accounting - Measuring and Reporting Inventory

 Merchandising retailers and wholesalers use inventory costs to calculate the cost of goods sold as these are a major expense affecting net income and the balance sheet. In this free online accounting course learners are brought step-by-step through this process from the physical counting of goods, to the inclusion of costs such as transport or insurance, to the calculation on the value of the goods thereby connecting the cost of goods through to retained earnings and the balance sheet. The different methods of apportioning costs to a stock item, such as FIFO and LIFO, are discussed and topics such as net realization or gross margin are explained and explored. The importance of having accurate inventory figures and the serious consequences of using inaccurate inventory figures is also explained. This free online accounting course will be of great interest to entrepreneurs and business professionals who would like to better understand how to allocate inventory costs flow for the wholesale and retail sectors, and to any learner who is interested in accounting as a future career.




Accounting Theory

 

This course, the fifth in the series, introduces the body of theory underlying accounting procedures. It puts the core practices and principles, covered in the previous courses, into a framework of theoretical concepts. This free online course will give learners an understanding of the theory behind the accounting process and will help learners make decisions in diverse accounting situations as is provides a logical framework for accounting practice. This free online accounting course will be of great interest to entrepreneurs and business professionals who would like to get an understanding of the theory behind the accounting practices that we use day today, and to any learner who is interested in accounting as a future career.



Accounting and Its Use in Business Decisions 

 This is the first in a series of accounting courses that cover a wide range of topics. These will greatly increase your knowledge and understanding of the theory of accounting and accounting practices. In this first free online accounting course you will be introduced to accounting and its use in making business decisions. You will learn how to identify and describe the three basic forms of business organizations, and also distinguish among the three types of activities performed by business organizations. The course then describes the content and purposes of the income statement, statement of retained earnings, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. You will learn about the basic accounting equation and describe its relationship to the balance sheet. The course then shows you how to prepare an income statement, a statement of retained earnings, and a balance sheet, and also how to analyse and use the financial results—the equity ratio. This free online accounting course will be of great interest to entrepreneurs and business professionals who would like to get a thorough introduction to accounting principles, and to any learner who is interested in accounting as a future career.

 

Accounting – Merchandising Transactions

 This free online course looks at the way in which the buying and selling of goods is accounted for in the merchandising sector as opposed to the manufacturing sector. As the inventory is the focus of such businesses, managing the accounts and finance related to purchasing, trade and chain discount, transport costs and invoice terms is critical as they are the major contributors to the gross profit. Students will also learn about the differences between perpetual and periodic inventory processes, both from a physical and accounting perspective. The learner will be walked through the process of calculating the cost of paying for goods as per the invoice terms, using borrowed monies, versus the cost of paying for them on the invoice due date. The learner will see how to calculate the cost of goods sold and see an example of a classified income statement used to calculate the net profit for this sector. This free online accounting course will be of great interest to entrepreneurs and business professionals who would like to better understand the management of stock and related cash flow for the wholesale and retail sectors, and to any learner who is interested in accounting as a future career.