How to Self-Taught Accounting

Accounting, the meticulous recording of financial transactions, is an extremely important process, essential to the success of every business large and small. While large businesses often have large accounting departments with many employees (as well as using the services of independent auditing firms), smaller businesses may have only one accountant. In a one-member company, the business owner may have to take care of the accounting by himself without using any other employees. Whether you are looking to manage your own finances or are interested in applying for an accounting position at another company, learning the basics of accounting is a useful first step for you.

Table of Contents

Improve your accounting skills

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Understand the difference between bookkeeping and accounting. Bookkeeping and accounting are two terms that are often used interchangeably. However, there are certain differences between them in skills and responsibilities. Bookkeepers typically record a sale and record it directly in the financial books. Their day-to-day work ensures that all the business’s inflows and outflows are recorded. As for accountants, they create and analyze financial statements and can also audit the books of the business to ensure the accuracy and validity of the reports.

Bookkeepers and accountants can work together to bring the highest level of service to the business.
In many cases, the distinction between these two titles is formalized by degrees, certifications or industry organizations. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Get familiar with creating spreadsheets . Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet programs are invaluable to accountants: they help you track data graphically and perform calculations to create financial spreadsheets. Even with the basics, you can improve and learn more intermediate and advanced skills for creating spreadsheets, charts, and graphs.

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Read accounting books. You can visit your local library to find books on accounting or buy books from your favorite bookstore. Look for introductory books to accounting written by authors with industry experience, such as researched informational books.

Introduction to Accounting by Pru Marriott, JR Edwards, and Howard J Mellett is a widely used introductory textbook and is considered an excellent primer for accounting in particular and all disciplines in general. ^{[2] X Research Source}
Cplege Accounting: A Career Approach by Cathy J. Scott is a widely used college textbook for accounting and financial management courses. You can also choose to purchase the Quickbooks Accounting software CD-ROM: it can be an invaluable asset to aspiring accountants.
Financial Statements: A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Creating Financial Reports by Thomas R. Ittelson is a best-selling introductory book to financial reporting, and it could be the perfect start to your entry into the field. accountant.

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Take an accounting course. You can find accounting courses at your local community college or take free online accounting courses. Try going to sites like Coursera or any other online educational forum and find free courses taught by top experts in the field of accounting.

Practice basic accounting

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Understand what is double-entry bookkeeping. Accountants make two or more entries for each transaction recorded by the business. It can be understood as an increase in one or more accounts and a corresponding decrease in one or more other accounts. For example, when a business receives payment for a previous credit transaction, the cash account will increase and the accounts receivable account (money from customers, those who have made purchases but have not yet paid) owed to the business. ) will decrease. The increase and decrease in these accounts are the same (and equal to the value of the order). ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Set debit and have. Dual entry is done through debit and credit. Debiting and may show an increase or decrease in certain accounts when a transaction is made. When you remember the following two points, you will see that credit and debit are related:

Debit is a entry entered on the left side of the T account and there is a entry on the right side. Here, we are talking about the standard T-account journal used to record movements on either side of the vertical portion of the “T”.
Assets=Debts + Equity. This is the accounting equation, the most important one of all. Memorize this equation. It will serve as a guide for debit and credit entries. With the left hand side of “=”, debits increase the account value and credits decrease it. With the right side, debits depreciate the account and credits increase its value.
Think that when you debit an asset account, such as a cash account, that account will increase. However, when debiting debit accounts, such as accounts payable, these accounts decrease. ^{[4] X Research Sources}
Learn to record common transactions, such as paying an electric bill or receiving a cash payment from a customer.

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Create and maintain accounting ledgers. Ledger is the place where double-entry bookkeeping is recorded. Each entry (including multiple debits and included in the same transaction) is made in the appropriate account in the ledger. For example, with cash bill payments, one entry will be made in the cash account and another independent entry will be made in the accrual expense account. Although things will become extremely simple with accounting software, manual recording is not too complicated. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Distinguish between immediate and accrual payments. An instant transaction is the type of transaction that occurs when a customer buys a box of candy from the store, you receive payment on the spot and deliver the candy to them right away. Accruals take into account things like debt purchases, invoicing and invoicing rather than paying directly at the time of the transaction. At the same time, they take into account intangible assets such as reputation. ^{[6] X Research Source}

Learn about financial statements

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Learn how to prepare financial statements. Financial statements reflect the current financial health of a business and its financial performance for the most recent accounting period. Financial statements are prepared from the information contained in the accounting ledger. At the end of the accounting period, each account will be accumulated, forming a trial balance. Total debits and credits of all accounts must be equal. If this is not the case, the accountant is forced to re-examine the balance sheets of each account and adjust or correct errors as necessary.

Once the accounts have been adjusted and correct, the accountant can enter a summary of the information contained in those accounts into the financial statements. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Learn how to prepare financial statements. The income statement is the most basic component of accounting. It records a company’s profit margin for a specified period of time, which can be a week up to a year. The income statement is determined by two factors: the revenue and expenses of the business. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Revenue is the cash inflow over time that a business earns from providing goods and services. Here, however, the money is not necessarily paid immediately in that accounting period. Revenue can include both immediate payments and accruals. When accruals are included in the income statement, sales for that week or month will be billed for that period, even if the money has not been collected until the next reporting period. . Therefore, the purpose of the income statement is to show how profitable a business was during the period in which it was recognized, not exactly how much money the business made during that period. ^{[9] X Research Source}
Expenses are the total amount of money that a company uses, whether it is the cost of materials or labor. Like revenue, expenses are reported in the period in which they are incurred rather than when the company is actually paid. ^{[10] X Research Source}
The matching principle of accounting requires a business to match revenues and expenses when possible in order to determine the true profitability of the business over a given period of time. When a business is profitable, it is likely that we will obtain a cause-and-effect relationship where an increase in sales will increase the revenue as well as the corresponding operating costs of the business: demand for store and sales commissions, if any, will both increase. ^{[11] X Research Source}

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Prepare balance sheet. While the income statement provides information about the business performance of a business over a period of time, the balance sheet is like a snapshot of the whole business at a specific point in time. body. ^{[12] X Reliable Sources US Small Business Administration Go to source The} balance sheet has three important components, namely: the assets, liabilities, and equity of the business at a given point in time. ^{[13] X Source} You can think of it as a balanced equation with one side of the company’s assets and the other side being total debt and equity. In other words, what you have always consists of what is in your possession and what is currently in your possession. ^{[14] X Trusted Source US Small Business Administration Go to source}

Assets are all the things that a company owns. It can be viewed as the totality of all resources that a company has the right to dispose of, such as vehicles, cash, supplies, and equipment that the company owns at a given time. ^{[15] X Research Resources} Assets can be tangible (such as plant, equipment) or intangible (patents, trademarks, reputation).
Debts are any amounts owed by a business at the time of the balance sheet. Debt can include outstanding debts, unpaid purchases of goods or employee salaries. ^{[16] X Research Source}
Capital is the difference between assets and liabilities. Sometimes, equity is seen as the “book value” of a company or business. ^{[17] X Source of Research} If it is a large corporation, the capital may belong to the shareholders. When the company belongs to an individual, we have equity. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

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Generate a cash flow statement. Essentially, the cash flow statement shows how money was created and used by businesses and their investing and financing activities over a given period. The cash flow statement is almost drawn from the balance sheet and the statement of business activities of the same period. ^{[19] X Research Source}

Learn accounting principles

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Adhere to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These fundamentals guide accounting practice based on a set of principles and assumptions designed to ensure the transparency and integrity of all transactions.

Economic Entity Assumption: an accountant working for a private company (a company owned by an individual) must have a separate ledger for business transactions and not include costs or expenses. owner’s personal transaction. ^{[20] X Research Sources}
The currency assumption is the agreement under which economic activity, at least in the United States, will be measured in US Dollars and therefore, only activity that is convertible to US Dollars will be recognised. ^{[21] X Research Source}
The time period assumption is the agreement under which all economic transactions are expressed over certain time periods and these periods are accurately recorded. They are usually relatively short: Businesses need at least annual reports. However, in many companies, the report is usually prepared on a weekly basis. The report must also state the beginning and the end of the period for which it is recorded. In other words, it is not enough just to mention the date of the report: the accountant must clarify whether the report is prepared for a week, a month, a quarter, or an economic year. ^{[22] X Research Source}
The cost principle refers to the amount spent at the time of a certain transaction, excluding inflation. ^{[23] X Research Sources}
The principle of complete information requires accountants to disclose relevant financial information to all interested parties, especially investors and creditors. This information must be disclosed in the body or notes at the end of the financial statements. ^{[24] X Research Sources}
The going concern principle assumes that the company will continue in business for the foreseeable future and requires the accountant to disclose all information regarding the uncertain future or inevitable failure of the company. company. In other words, if it is believed that the company will go bankrupt in the near enough future, the accountant is obligated to disclose that information to investors and any other parties interested in that matter. ^{[25] X Research Sources}
The matching principle requires that expenses be matched with revenues in all financial statements. ^{[26] X Research Source}
The revenue recognition principle is an agreement whereby revenue will be recognized at the time the transaction is completed, not when cash is actually paid to the business. ^{[27] X Research Source}
A principle of materiality is a guideline by which an accountant can judge, based on professional judgment, whether a given amount is significant for reporting. However, this principle does not mean that accountants can misreport. Instead, it refers to decisions made by accountants, such as rounding numbers, in financial transactions. ^{[28] X Research Sources}
The prudential principle states that accountants can report potential losses of a business (actually, reporting these losses is the accountant’s obligation) but cannot report potential gains. as the actual revenue. From there, do not let investors have an inaccurate view of the company’s financial situation. ^{[29] X Research Sources}

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Comply with the Financial and Accounting Standards Board (FASB) guidelines and standards. The FASB has developed extensive principles and standards to ensure that interested parties have accurate, reliable information, accountants are ethical, and report truthfully. A detailed layout of the FASB’s conceptual framework can be found on their website.

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Adhere to generally accepted industry practices. Those are the expectations between accountants and accountants, contributing to industry orientation. These include:

The principle of authenticity, verifiability, and objectivity requires that parameters reported by one accountant be agreed upon by other accountants. It is concerned not only with the professional dignity of the accountant but also with the assurance that all future transactions will be fair and honest. ^{[30] X Research Source}
Consistency requires accountants to be consistent in applying financial reporting practices and procedures. For example, when there is a change in a business’s cost-flow assumption, the firm’s accountants are obligated to report the change. ^{[31] X Research Source}
Comparability requires accountants to adhere to certain standards, such as GAAP, in order to easily compare financial statements between companies. ^{[32] X Research Source}

Advice

To become a licensed public accountant (CPA), you need to have a bachelor’s degree in accounting and related economics and pass the CPA exam and the Ethics exam. ^{[33] X Research Sources}

Steps

Improve your accounting skills

Practice basic accounting

Learn about financial statements

Learn accounting principles

Advice

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