第单元信息时代的会计

第11单元　信息时代的会计
Unit 11 Accounting in the Information Age

Text A

Ⅰ．课文导读

我们生活在一个信息时代，及时获得有效和可靠的信息至关重要。会计在信息时代逐渐凸显出其不可替代的作用。根据会计信息使用的主体不同，会计可以分为管理会计和财务会计。一些国际准则和国际协会对会计信息的使用提出了具体要求。会计等式是由会计要素组成，“资产=负债+所有者权益”这一基本会计等式体现了会计要素之间的平衡关系。会计人员职业素养的形成非常重要，遵循会计职业道德应当贯穿于会计活动的各个环节。

Ⅱ．Text

Now we live in an information age，where information and its reliability greatly influence our financial well-being．Accounting is playing an increasingly important role in this age．Know ledge of accounting gives us career opportunities and the insight to take advantage of them．Accounting is also called the language of business，as all organizations set up an accounting information systeMto communicate data to help peoplemake better decisions．

Accounting is defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants(AICPA) as“the art of recording，classifying，and summarizing in a significantmanner and in terms of money，transactions and eventswhich are，in part at least，of financial character，and interpreting the results thereof．”Accounting is a standard set of rules formeasuring a firm's financial performance．Evaluating a company's financial performance is crucial formany groups．

Accounting that focuses on reporting to people inside the business entity is called management accounting^[1]and is used to provide information to employees，managers，and auditors^[2]．Management accounting is concerned primarily with providing a basis formaking management or operating decisions．

Accounting that provides information to people outside the business entity is called financial accounting^[3]and provides information to present and potential shareholders，creditors，such as banks or vendors^[4]，financial analysts^[5]，econoMists，and government agencies．Standard financial statements also serve as a yardstick^[6]of communicating financial performance to the general public．For example，monthly sales volumes released by Kentucky Fried Chicken(KFC)'s Corp．provide both its managers and the general public with an opportunity to evaluate the company's financial performance acrossmajor geographic segments^[7]．

The purpose of accounting is to provide ameans of identifying，recording and communicating relevant，reliable，and comparable information about an organization's business activities．I-dentifying business activities requires selecting transactions and events relevant to an organization．Recording business activities requires keeping a chronological log^[8]of transactions and eventsmeasured in dollars and classified and summarized in a useful format．Communicating business activities requires preparing accounting reports such as financial statements^[9]．It also requires analyzing and interpreting such reports．In order to do this，an accounting systeMmust be designed．A systeMdesign serves the needs of users of accounting information．Once a systeMhas been designed，reports can be issued and decisions based upon these reports aremade for various departments．

Since accounting is used by everyone in one forMor another，a good understanding of accounting principles is beneficial to all．As differentusers have differentneeds，the presentation of financial accounting is very structured and subject to many more rules than management accounting．The body of rules that governs financial accounting in a given jurisdiction^[10]is called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles(GAAP)．To use and interpret financial statements effectively，we need to understand these principles，which can change over time in response to the demands of users．GAAP aims tomake information in financial statements relevant，reliable，and comparable．Relevant information affects the decisions of its users．Reliable information is trusted by users．Comparable information is helpful in contrasting organizations．

In today's global economy，there is increased demand by external users for comparability in accounting reports．This often ariseswhen companieswish to raisemoney froMlenders and investors in different countries．To thatend，the International Accounting Standards Board(IASB) issues^[11]International Financial Reporting Standards(IFRS) that identify preferred accounting practices．The IASB hopes to create more harmony among accounting practices of different countries．If standards are harmonized，one company can potentially use a single set of financial statements in all financial markets．Many countries’standard setters support the IASB，and differences between U．S．GAAP and IASB's practices are fading．Yet，the IASB does not have authority to impose^[12]its standards on companies．

The basic accounting equation^[13]is the foundation for the double-entry bookkeeping system^[14]．It reflects two basic aspects of a company:what it owns and what it owes．For each transaction，the total debits equal the total credits．

Assets，liabilities^[15]and equity^[16]are the basic elements of the accounting equation．The excess of assets over liabilities is owner's equity．Thus，assets are equal to liabilities plus owner's equity at all times．Any business transaction has to affect at least one of these elements．Assets are resources with future benefits that are owned or controlled by a company．Examples are cash，supplies equipment，and land．The claims on a company's assets—what it owes—are separated into owner and nonowner claims．Liabilities are what a company owes its nonowners (creditors) in future payments，products，or services．Equity(also called owner's equity or capital) refers to the claims of its owners．In a corporation，it represents the stockholders'equity．Together，liabilities and equity are the source of funds to acquire assets．

The relation of assets，liabilities，and owner's equity is reflected in the following accounting equation:

Assets= Liabilities+ Equity．

Liabilities are usually shown before equity in this equation because creditors'claimsmust be paid before the claims of owners．(The terms in this equation can be rearranged; for example，Assets-Liabilities= Equity．) The accounting equation applies to all transactions and events，to all companies and forms of organization，and to all points in time．For example，Lenovo's assets equal$ 18，650，its liabilities equal$ 8，450，and its equity equals$ 10，200($ in millions)．

An elaborate forMof this equation is presented in a balance sheet^[17]which lists all assets，liabilities，and owner's equity，aswell as totals to ensure that itbalances．The balance sheet is also called the statement of financial position．The purpose of this statement is to demonstrate where the company stands，in financial terms，at a specific date．The date is important，as the financial position of a businessmay change quickly．Every business prepares a balance sheet at the end of the year，and many companies prepare one at the end of each month．

Accounting is often confused with bookkeeping．Bookkeeping is concerned with the recording of business data，while accounting is concerned with the design，interpretation of data，and the preparation of financial reports．Three forms of business entities exist:1) sole proprietorship^[18]，2) partnership，and 3) corporations．Corporations have the unique status of being a sepa-rate legal entity in which ownership is divided into shares of stock．A shareholder's liability is liMited to his/her contribution to capital．Whenever a business transaction is recorded，itmust be recorded to accounting records at cost．All business transactionsmust be recorded．All properties owned by businesses are assets．All debts are liabilities．The right of owners is equity．

Wemust guard against the narrow vieWof accounting．Themost common contactwith accounting is through credit approvals，checking accounts，tax forms，and payroll^[19]．These experiences are limited and tend to focus on the recordkeeping parts of accounting．Recordkeeping，or bookkeeping，is the recording of transactions and events，eithermanually or electronically．This is just one part of accounting in scope．Accounting also identifies and communicates information on transactions and events，and it includes the crucial processes of analysis and interpretation．

Technology is a key partofmodern business and plays amajor role in accounting．Technology reduces the time，effort，and cost of recordkeeping while improving clerical accuracy^[20]．Some small organizations continue to perforMvarious accounting task manually，but even they are influenced by technology．As technology has changed the way we store，process，and summarizemasses of data，accounting has been freed to expand．Consulting，planning，and other financial services are now closely linked to accounting．These services require sorting^[21]data，interpreting theirmeaning，identifying key factors，and analyzing their implications．

On the other hand，ethics are crucial to accounting．The goal of accounting is to provide useful information for decisions．For information to be useful，itmust be trusted．This demands ethics in accounting．Ethics are beliefs that distinguish right froMwrong．They are accepted standards of good and bad behavior．Providers of accounting information often face ethical choices as they prepare financial reports．These choices can affect the price a buyer pays and the wages paid to workers．They can even affect the success of products and services．Misleading information can lead to awrongful closing of a division thatharmsworkers，customers，and suppliers．There is an old saying:Good ethics are good business．

Ⅲ．Notes

1．American Institute of Certified Public Accountants(美国注册会计师协会)．Founded in 1887，AICPA is the national professional organization of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the United States，with more than 370，000 CPA members in 128 countries in business and industry，public practice，government，education，student affiliates and international associates．It sets ethical standards for the profession and U．S．auditing standards for audits of private companies，non-profit organizations，federal，state and local governments．It develops and grades the UniforMCPA Examination．The AICPA maintains offices in New York City;Washington，DC;Durham，NC;and Ewing，NJ．The AICPA's founding establishes accountancy as a profession distinguished by rigorous educational requirements，high professional standards，a strict code of professional ethics，a licensing status，and a comMitment to serving the public interest．

2．Kentucky Fried Chicken(KFC)'s Corp(肯德基公司)．It is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville，Kentucky，in the United States．KFC has been a brand and operating segment，termed a concept of YuMBrands since 1997 when that company was spun off froMPepsiCo as Tricon Global Restaurants Inc．KFC primarily sells chicken pieces，wraps，salads and sandwiches．While its primary focus is fried chicken，KFC also offers a line of grilled and roasted chicken products，side dishes and desserts．Outside the USA，KFC offers beef based products such as hamburgers or kebabs，pork based products such as ribs and other regional fare．

3．Lenovo(联想集团有限公司)．It is a Chinesemultinational computer technology corporation that develops，manufactures and markets desktops and notebook personal computers，workstations，servers，，storage drives，IT management software，and related services．Incorporated as Legend in Hong Kong in 1988，Lenovo's executive headquarters are in Research Triangle Park，North Carolina，United States．．Lenovo's principal operations are currently located in Beijing，Morrisville，North Carolina，in the United States，and Singapore，with research centers in those locations，aswell as Shanghai，Shenzhen，Xiamen，and Chengdu in China，and Yamato in Kanagawa Prefecture，Japan．Lenovo acquired the former IBMPC Company Division，which marketed the ThinkPad line of notebook PCs，in 2005 for approximately$ 1．75 billion．

4．Generally Accepted Accounting Princip les(一般公认会计原则)．　It refers to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting used in any given jurisdiction;generally known as Accounting Standards．GAAP includes the standards，conventions，and rules accountants followin recording and summarizing，and in the preparation of financial statements．

5．International Accounting Standards Board(国际会计准则理事会)．It is an independent，privately funded accounting standard-setter based in London，England．The IASB was founded on April 1，2001 as the successor to the International Accounting Standard Committee (IASC)．It is responsible for developing International Financial Reporting Standards(the new name for International Accounting Standard issued after2001)，and promoting the use and application of these standards．

6．International Financial Reporting Standards(国际财务报告准则)．They are principles-based Standards，Interpretations and the Framework(1989) adopted by IASB．Many of the standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older name of International Accounting Standards(IAS)．IASwere issued between 1973 and 2001 by the Board of the International Accounting Standard ComMittee(IASC)．On 1 April2001，the newiASB took over froMthe IASC the responsibility for setting International Accounting Standards．During its firstmeeting the new Board adopted existing IAS and SICs．The IASB has continued to develop standards calling the new standards IFRS．

7．Double-entry Bookkeeping System(复式记账法)．It is a set of rules for recording financial information in a financial accounting systeMin which every transaction or event chan-ges at least two different ledger accounts．When each financial transaction is closely analyzed，it reveals two aspects．One aspectwill be“receiving aspect”or“incoMing aspect”or“expenses/ loss aspect”．This is termed as the“Debit aspect”．The other aspect will be“giving aspect”or “outgoing aspect”or“income/gain aspect”．This is termed as the“Credit aspect”．The double entry systeMis so named since it records both the aspects of a transaction(as opposed to singleentry bookkeeping system) where both aspects are not always recorded)．

8．Balance Sheet(资产负债表)．In financial accounting，a balance sheetor statement of financial position is a summary of the financial balances of a sole proprietorship，a business partnership or a company．Assets，liabilities，and ownership equity are listed as of a specific date，such as the end of its financial year．A balance sheet is often described as a“snapshot of a company's financial condition”．Of the four basic financial statements，the balance sheet is the only statementwhich applies to a single point in time of a business'calendar year．

Ⅳ．Useful Expressions

1．take the advantage of:利用

2．serve as a yardstick of:将……作为衡量标准

3．be subject to:受．．．控制

4．in response to:回应

5．impose upon/on:强加于

6．masses of:大量的

7．be crucial to:对……很关键

8．credit and debit:贷方和借方

Ⅴ．Reading CoMprehension

Questions

1．What are the functions of accounting？

2．What's the difference between management accounting and financial accounting？

3．What is the accounting equation？What is the relationship between its elements？

4．What is the function of balance sheet？

5．What are the differences between accounting and bookkeeping？

Decide whether each of the following statements is true or false．

1．Accounting is a standard set of rules formeasuring a firm's financial performance．(　)

2．Accounting that reports to people inside the business entity is called financial accounting．(　)

3．Communicating business activities requires preparing accounting reports such as a chronological log of transactions．　(　)

4．Accounting principleswill never change in the course of time．　(　)

5．Assets，liabilities and equity are the basic elements of the accounting equation．(　)

6．The accounting equation applies to most of transactions and events．　(　)

7．Every company prepares a balance sheet at the beginning of the year．　(　)

8．Accounting is indistinguishable with bookkeeping．　(　)

9．Technology plays a vital role in modern accounting．　(　)

10．Morals are of great significance to accounting．　(　)

Ⅵ．Discussion

What is your vieWon the saying:good ethics are good business？

Text B

BEC Reading Texts

PART ONE

Questions 1—8

·Look at the statements below and the five extracts about econoMic decision making froMan article．

·Which extract(A，B，C，D or E) does each statement(1—8) refer to？

·For each statement(1—8)，make one letter(A，B，C，D or E) on your Answer Sheet．·You will need to use some of these lettersmore than once．

1. Evaluation of alternatives in economic decision making must take into account of the factor of comparability．

2. It discusses two characteristics of internal decision makers．

3. Users and accounting profession will decidewhether accounting information is useful or not．

4. It distinguishes two branches of accounting corresponding to internal and external decision makers．

5. It analyzes the two partieswhich can deterMine the usefulness of accounting information

6. Internal and external decision makers play different roles in economic process．

7. It stresses the importance of comparability of accounting information in and economic decision making．

8. It introduces two categories of economic decision makers and their definition．

A. There are two parties that decidewhataccounting information is useful and what is not．One is the users．It is a gravemistake for economic decision makers to leave this decision up to the“experts”．If the accounting profession is not providing the information users need，or is not preparing it in a way thatmakes sense，the usersmust demand a change．The second party that decides what accounting information is useful and what is not is the accounting profession—but alwayswith the proviso that the information should be tailored to the needs of users．

B. The decisionsmade by internal and external decision makers are siMilar in some ways，but so different in other ways that two separate branches of accounting have developed to meet the needs of these two categories of user．The accounting information generated specifically for use by internal decision makers is the product of what is called management accounting，while that generated for use by external parties is the product of what is called financial accounting．

C. Much of human life revolves around economic issues．We will be better equipped to dealwith these issues and their effects on our daily lives if we understand the economic decision-making process and the information thataffects it．First，let's take a look at the peoplemaking economic decisions．Economic decisionmakers can be divided into two broad categories:internal and external．Internal decision makers are individuals within a company who make decisions on behalf of the company，while external decision makers are individuals or organizations outside a company who make decisions that affect that company．

D. The first characteristic of internal decisionmakers is theymake decisions for the company．In other words，they act on behalf of the company．They decide such things as whether the company should sell a particular product，whether it should enter a certainmarket，and whether it should hire or fire employees．Note that in all of thesematters，the responsible internal decision maker is notmaking the decision for herself of himself，but rather for the company．The second characteristic of internal decision makers is that they have greater access to the financial information of the company than do people outside the company．

E. Economic decision making involves the evaluation of alternatives．In order to be useful in such an evaluation，the accounting information for one alternativemust be comparable to the accounting information for the other alternative(s)．For example，assume you intend tomake an investment and are considering two companies as investment alternatives．If the two companies use totally different accounting methods，you would find it very difficult to make a useful comparison．Comparability is an important quality of accounting information in many decision-making settings．

PART TWO

Questions 9—14

·Read the text about accounting．

·Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps．

·For each gap(9—14)，mark one letter(A-H) on your Answer Sheet．

·Do not use any lettermore than once．

Accounting

Many people think of accounting as a highly technical field which can be understood only by professional accountants．Actually，nearly everyone practices accounting in one forMor another on an almost daily basis．(9)．．．Whether you are preparing a household budget，balancing your checkbook，or preparing your income tax return，you areworking with accounting concepts and accounting information．

Accounting has often been called the“language of business．”(10)．．．What are“corporate profits”？What levels of corporate profits are necessary to finance the development of new products，new jobs，and economic grow th？One cannot hope to answer such questions without understanding the accounting concepts and terms involved in themeasurement of income．

Since a language is ameans of social communication，it is logical that a language should change to meet the changing needs of society．(11)．．．For example，as society has become increasingly interested inmeasurementsmoremeaningful andmore reliable．(12)．．．Although accounting hasmade itsmost dramatic progress in the field of business，the accounting functions is vital to every unitof our society．An individualmustaccount for his or her income，andmust file income tax returns．Often an individualmust supply personal accounting information in order to buy a car or home，to quality for a college scholarship，to secure a credit card，or to obtain a bank loan．(13)．．．The federal government，the states，the cities，the school districts，allmust use accounting as a basic for controlling their resources and measuring their accomplishments．Accounting is equally essential to the successful operation of a business，a university，a fraternity，a social program，or a city．

(14)．．．therefore，some know ledge of accounting is needed by all citizens if they are to act intelligently in meeting the challenges of our society．

A. Accounting has changed with the passage of time

B. In accounting，too，changes and improvements are continually being made

C. In very election the votersmustmake decisions at the ballot box on issues involving accounting concepts

D. We live in an era of accountability

E. Accounting has become an indispensable part ofmodern life

F. Large corporations are accountable to their stockholders，to governmental agencies，and to the public

G. In recent years，corporate profits have become a topic of considerable public interest

H. Accounting is the art ofmeasuring，communicating，and interpreting financial activity

PART THREE

Questions 15—20

·Read the following article on some important accounting fields．

·For each question(15—20)mark one letter(A，B，C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose．

As inmany other areas of human activity during the twentieth century，a number of special-ized fields in accounting have evolved as a result of technological advances and accelerated econoMic grow th．Themost important accounting fields are described briefly as follows．

Financial accounting is concerned with the recording of transactions for a business enterprise or other econoMic unit and the periodic preparation of various reports froMsuch records．The reports，which may be for general purposes or for a special purpose，provide useful information formanagers，owners，creditors，governmental agencies，and the general public．Of particular importance to financial accountants are the rules of accounting，and generally accepted accounting principles．Corporate enterprisesmust employ such principles in preparing their annual reports on profitability and financial status for their stockholders and the investing public．

Auditing is a field of activity involving an independent revieWof the accounting records．In conducting an audit，public accountants examine the records supporting the financial reports of an enterprise and give an opinion regarding their fairness and reliability．An importantelementof “fairness and reliability”is adherence to generally accepted accounting principles．In addition to retaining public accountants for a period audit，many corporations have their own permanent staff of internal auditors．Their principle responsibility is to determine if the various operating divisions are followingmanagement's policies and procedures．Cost accounting emphasizes the determination and the control of costs．It is concerned primarily with the costs of manufacturing processes and ofmanufactured products．In addition，one of themost important duties of the cost accountants is to gather and explain cost data，both actual and prospective．

Management uses these data in controlling current operations and in planning for the future．

Management accounting uses both historical and estimated data in assisting management in daily operations and in planning future operations．It deals with specific problems that confront enterprisemanagers at various organizational levels．The management accountant is frequently concerned with identifying alternative courses of action and then helping to select the best one．In recent years，public accountants have realized that their training and experience uniquely quality theMto advisemanagement personnel on policies and administration．

Tax accounting is another important area．Accountants specialized in this field，must be familiar with the tax statutes affecting their employer or clients and also must keep up to date on administrative regulations and court decisions on tax cases．

15. What has brought about the evolution of accounting？

A. City development

B. Law enforcement

C. Grow th of professionals

D. Technological advancement

16. Financial reportwill NOT provide information for

A. non-governmental organizations

B. managers

C. creditors

D. governmental agencies

17. Why must corporate enterprises employ termed general accepted accounting principles？A. It is a general practice in accounting．

B. To prepare their annual reports．

C. It is supervised by the government．

D. To make their work more effective．

18. What is the role of public accountant？

A. Check the enforcement ofmanagement's policies

B. Divide themanagement procedure

C. Examine the accounting records and give opinions

D. Evaluate the accounting of an enterprise

19. What data doesmanagement accounting use？

A. Current data

B. Historical data

C. Statistical data

D. Up-to-date data

20. Accountants specialized in tax accounting need NOT be familiar with:

A. Tax statutes

B. Administrative regulations

C. Court decisions on tax cases

D. Government policies

PART FOUR

Questions 21—30

·Read the article below about aspects of accounting．

·Choose the correctword to fill each gap froMa，B，C or D．

·For each question(21—30)，mark one letter(A，B，C or D) on your Answer Sheet．

Aspects of Accounting

Accounting is one of the(21)．．．professions on record．The art of bookkeeping has been practiced froMvery early times．The Romans had an elaborate systeMof keeping accounts，and it is said they used a system(22)．．．to the double entry system．A revieWof accounting over the ages indicates accountants have not always done the same work，but they have(23)．．．similar functions．For example，accountants in Roman times were responsible for recording business transactions．During the industrial(24)．．．of the United States，much of the(25)．．．came froMEngland and Scotland and the investors insisted on sending accountants froMthose countries to vouch for the reported results of the undertakings．In the late 1800s a professional accountant was described as an(26)．．．:someone who looks for leaks，someone who detects and exposes thatwhich iswrong，and someone who clearly reports facts as they exist，whetherthey be plainly expressed by clear and distinct records or whether they be concealed or hidden．The infrastructure that(27)．．．the production and delivery of accounting's information product is the accounting information system．Simply(28)．．．，a systeMis a set of resources brought together to achieve some common goal．The(29)．．．of an accounting information systeMis to collect and store data about business processes that can be used to generate ameaningful output for decision makers．

The resources(30)．．．to build accounting information systems include people and technologies．As you are probably aware，technologies have evolved over the years froMmanual resources to the advanced information technologies available today．This evolution will continue．

21. A. youngest　　 B. oldest　　　C. largest　　　 D. smallest

22. A. akin　　　　 B. prior　　　 C. related　　　 D. due

23. A. done　　　　 B. achieved　　C. performed　　 D. realized

24. A. development　B. expansion　 C. advancement　 D. progress

25. A. resource　　 B. power　　 　C. relation　　　D. capital

26. A. investor　　 B. adventurer　C. investigator　D. pioneer

27. A. supports　 　B. brings　　　C. causes　　　　D. increases

28. A. said　　　　 B. argued　　　C. defined　　　 D. told

29. A. effect　　　 B. objective　 C. function　　　D. result

30. A. possible　　 B. proper　　　C. available　　 D. present

PART FIVE

Questions 31—40

·Read the article below about bookkeeping and accounting．

·For each question 31—40，write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet．

Bookkeeping and Accounting

The underlying purpose of accounting is to provide financial information(31)．．．an econoMic entity．The financial information provided by an accounting systeMis needed by managerial decision makers to help theMplan and control the activities of the economic entity．(32)．．．information is also needed by outsiders—owners，creditors，potential investors，the government，and the public—(33)．．．have supplied money to the business or who have some other interest in the business that will be served by information about its financial position and operating results．

There is some confusion over the(34)．．．between“bookkeeping”and“accounting．”This is partly due to the fact that the two are related．

Bookkeeping is the recording of business data(35)．．．a prescribed manner．A bookkeeper may be responsible(36)．．．keeping all of the records of a business of only a small segment，such as a portion of the customer accounts in a department store．Much of thework of the bookkeeper is clerical in nature and is increasingly(37)．．．handled by mechanical and electronic e-quipment．

Accounting is primarily(38)．．．with the design of the systeMof records，the preparation of reports based on the recorded data，and the interpretation of the reports．Accountants often direct and review the work of bookkeepers．The larger the firm，the greater is the number of levels of responsibility and authority．Thework of accountants at the beginning levelsmay possibly include some bookkeeping．In any event，the accountant must have a(39)．．．higher level of know ledge，conceptual，and analytical skill(40)．．．is required of the bookkeeper．

PART SIX

Questions 41—52

·Read the text below froMa report about evolution of accounting．

·In most lines(41—52)，there is one extra word．It either is grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text．Some lines，however，are correct．

·If a line is correct，write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet．

·If there is an extra word in the line，write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet．

Evolution of Accounting

Accounting is thousands of years old; the earliest accounting records，which

41. dates back more than 7，000 years ago，were found in MesopotaMia(Assyrians)．The

42. people of that time relied on primitive accounting methods to record the grow th of

43. crops and herds．Accounting is evolved，improving over the years and advancing

44. as business has advanced．Early accounts served mainly to assist thememory of

45. the businessperson and the audience as for the accountwas the proprietor or record

46. keeper alone．Cruder forms of accounting were not inadequate for the problems

47. created by a business entity involving in multiple investors，so double-entry bookkeeping first emerged in northern Italy in the 14th century，where trading

48. ventures began to requiremore capital than a single individualwas able to invest

49. something．The development of joint stock companies created wider audiences for accounts，as investorswithout firsthand know ledge of their operations relied on

50. accounts to provide with the requisite information．This development resulted in a

51. split of accounting systems for internal(i．e．management accounting) and external(i．e．financial accounting) purposes，and subsequently also in accounting and disclosure regulations and a growing need for independent attestation of external

52. accounts by auditors．Today，accounting is even called“the language of business”because it is the vehicle for reporting financial information about a business entity tomany different groups of people．

【注释】

[1]management accounting:管理会计

[2]auditors:审计员

[3]financial accounting:财务会计

[4]vendor:经销商

[5]financial analyst:财务分析员

[6]yardstick:标准

[7]geographical segment:地理分区

[8]chronological log:按时间顺序的日志

[9]financial statement:财务报表

[10]jurisdiction:管辖权;管辖范围

[11]Issue:颁布

[12]impose:强制

[13]accounting equation:会计等式

[14]double-entry bookkeeping system:复式记账法

[15]liabilities:负债

[16]equity:股票

[17]balance sheet:资产负债表

[18]sole proprietorship:独资企业

[19]payroll:工资表

[20]clerical accuracy:办公准确性

[21]sort:整理