What is the trade of forum members?

[Yzd Khalifa]

Translation: You are a ZEBRA who loves eating CEREALS, Right.....

You bet Prof!

 

[Cherokee]

Officially;
currently making my way through a 3 year long university program to finally become a SE (Software Engineer) - inshallah!

Unofficially;
psychopharmaceutical test-subject, full-time psycho and also a daydreamer. I'm very nice, though.


My radar tells me that our fields of interests somewhat interfere! What do you say about some co-op?

Sure, why not

 

[Armstrong]

My sis is an accountant.....takes a special type of person.....I would gnaw my own foot off before I did accounting.

Without a doubt !

I'd rather go hug a suicide bomber than sit through an Accounting Lecture !

I can't imagine how I managed to pass the Professional Exams with this much dislike for accounting !

But hey...it pays well & theres job security & when it comes to better jobs - even good working hours !

Does anyone agree with me on this @what @Pakistanisage ?

 

[JAT BALWAN]

I am a 12th class student commerce with Maths
Want to join my fathers business
We manufacture tiles

Tiles.. vitrified or ceramic?

topic I am ex. army man & now just entered in business ..

 

[Thəorətic Muslim]

Correction....ex-military...just meant I had experience...Reagan was President when I joined. And not in the reserves anymore (when you muster out, 3 years ready-reserve automatic.) Now teach history in El Paso (Ft. Bliss and White Sands are here....so still plugged in to the military) Nice to see you actually pay attention though...

Your pretty old here, since Reagan 51-43 enrolling upon 18th.

Graduated in Political Science with Econ Development minor.

Going to have to get used to the NC weather upon commissioning with the 82nd in August.

Thanks for your family's service.

 

[Juice]

Your pretty old here, since Reagan 51-43 enrolling upon 18th.

Graduated in Political Science with Econ Development minor.

Going to have to get used to the NC weather upon commissioning with the 82nd in August.

Thanks for your family's service.

47 (joined at 17)

 

[Pakistanisage]

Without a doubt !

I'd rather go hug a suicide bomber than sit through an Accounting Lecture !

I can't imagine how I managed to pass the Professional Exams with this much dislike for accounting !

But hey...it pays well & theres job security & when it comes to better jobs - even good working hours !

Does anyone agree with me on this @what @Pakistanisage ?

Truth be told, that is how I entered the field of Accounting myself. I did not have any great interest in Accounting per se but the money was good and there were always jobs. I did pretty well in my field even though my heart was not in it as much. But now that I am teaching Accounting and Finance all that has changed. I have discovered that I love teaching and this passion fires up my days.

I always teach my students not to make the mistake I made and follow their heart. When you follow your heart and adopt a profession you are in love with, money, fame and fortune follows and so does happiness. I was lucky to find a special niche and it saved me. I wake up every morning and can't believe I am going to impact young minds and teach them something that will have a huge impact on their business careers, and that I find very rewarding and satisfying.
@Juice shared with me last year that she taught history and for some people that may be a " yawn, yawn " kind of a subject, but I am sure she loves it otherwise she wouldn't be doing it.

In defense of Accounting I will say this , it is not for everyone. However, every business, nonbusiness entity needs Accountants. In the US accountants are sought after by Public Accounting firms, Private for Profit as well as non profit entities, Government units, Hospitals, Colleges, Military and Defense contractors, FBI, CIA, GOA and other governmental bodies at every level ( i.e. Local city, District, State and Federal Level) etc.

I always tell my students that Accountants are the ones who turn the lights on and turn them off on their way out. Translation: They are the first ones to be hired and the last ones to be fired in case of a bankruptcy....

 

[Armstrong]

Truth be told, that is how I entered the field of Accounting myself. I did not have any great interest in Accounting per se but the money was good and there were always jobs. I did pretty well in my field even though my heart was not in it as much. But now that I am teaching Accounting and Finance all that has changed. I have discovered that I love teaching and this passion fires up my days.

I always teach my students not to make the mistake I made and follow their heart. When you follow your heart and adopt a profession you are in love with, money, fame and fortune follows and so does happiness. I was lucky to find a special niche and it saved me. I wake up every morning and can't believe I am going to impact young minds and teach them something that will have a huge impact on their business careers, and that I find very rewarding and satisfying.
@Juice shared with me last year that she taught history and for some people that may be a " yawn, yawn " kind of a subject, but I am sure she loves it otherwise she wouldn't be doing it.

In defense of Accounting I will say this , it is not for everyone. However, every business, nonbusiness entity needs Accountants. In the US accountants are sought after by Public Accounting firms, Private for Profit as well as non profit entities, Government units, Hospitals, Colleges, Military and Defense contractors, FBI, CIA, GOA and other governmental bodies at every level ( i.e. Local city, District, State and Federal Level) etc.

I always tell my students that Accountants are the ones who turn the lights on and turn them off on their way out. Translation: They are the first ones to be hired and the last ones to be fired in case of a bankruptcy....

Dunno Mirza Sahib, I've always felt like a Glorified Munshi myself !

In my Auditing Internships it was number crunching on Excel or the Firm's own Software plus Accounting as a field is pretty constricting, in my opinion, in that you can't say 'Mereii khiyaal mein Expense aiseii book honaa chahiyeee' - No one gives a frig about what you think & even if they do its not as if you have to invest too much brainpower in going through the IASs or the IFRSs to find the answer ! Everything has been so standardized that I've often felt as if I'm in a bubble & day by day the more you know, you realize that the less space you now have to move about with 'What if ?' scenarios !

In contrast to Financial Accounting; Management Accounting is a lot of fun in that you're not just churning out numbers you actually get to use your judgement & that, unlike Financial Accounting, where numbers are your beginning & end because you're tasked with Preparing Financial Statements & everything that goes into that whole process, in Management Accounting the figures & the methods of calculating them are just one tool in your repertoire to make 'Management Decisions' that effect your company instead of simply recording the Financial Effect of those decisions & presenting them in an intelligible & standardized form.

Finance or Financial Management, in the context of us Accountants, is even more interesting !

But yes its a decently well paying, stable job !

Wait is @Juice a lady ?

 

[Pakistanisage]

Dunno Mirza Sahib, I've always felt like a Glorified Munshi myself !

In my Auditing Internships it was number crunching on Excel or the Firm's own Software plus Accounting as a field is pretty constricting, in my opinion, in that you can't say 'Mereii khiyaal mein Expense aiseii book honaa chahiyeee' - No one gives a frig about what you think & even if they do its not as if you have to invest too much brainpower in going through the IASs or the IFRSs to find the answer ! Everything has been so standardized that I've often felt as if I'm in a bubble & day by day the more you know, you realize that the less space you now have to move about with 'What if ?' scenarios ! In contrast to Financial Accounting; Management Accounting is a lot of fun in that you're not just churning out numbers you actually get to use your judgement & that, unlike Financial Accounting, where numbers are your beginning & end because you're tasked with Preparing Financial Statements & everything that goes into that whole process, in Management Accounting the figures & the methods of calculating them are just one tool in your repertoire to make 'Management Decisions' that effect your company instead of simply recording the Financial Effect of those decisions & presenting them in an intelligible & standardized form.

Finance or Financial Management, in the context of us Accountants, is even more interesting !

But yes its a decently well paying, stable job !

Wait is @Juice a lady ?

Butt Sahib, you have presented couple of different scenarios and it would be a mistake to combine these because there are different forces and variables at work here. So let me address them separately.

First off, you shared your frustration at the standardization of the Auditing function. So my friend let us first determine why it is so in the Audit function. An Audit is designed to lend credibility to the fairness of the Financial Statements, the preparation of which are the responsibility of the Management of the Corporation/Company. Most Audits in the US are conducted for the Publicly traded Corporations and to a large extent that is also true in Pakistan. So as an Auditor, you are not given too much freedom in the formatting of the opinion because a plethora of opinion formats would confuse the Public at large, for whose benefit the Audit is primarily being conducted. There are probably half a million Auditors world wide and if each one was allowed to give opinions according to their own style and formats and in their own words, the people reading the Auditors opinions would get totally confused. This is the primary reason why you are constricted to the use of Patent language of the opinion.

The second point you have raised about being forced to consult the set IAS's, SAR's AND SSAR's; that my friend is for your own protection. Keep in mind what you are being asked to do and what kind of mess and quagmire you are stepping into. You are being asked to lend assurance on the work of other people (Management of the Corporation) who might be trying to defraud the General Public. Here again the Profession is trying to Protect you from possible lawsuits in case there is fraud. First of all we ask you to use specific language in the opinion that basically states the Auditor cannot guarantee against Fraud but that the auditor performed the audit according to the IAS procedures and provide reasonable assurance that the Financial Statements fairly represent the Financial Position of the Corporation / Company. This my friend is to cover your @$$ in case of a lawsuit, so you could use the PRUDENT Man's rule which says you applied all the procedures REASONABLY expected from the Auditor, under the rules of IAS's.

Now I come to the issue of Financial versus Managerial Accounting conundrum you presented. First of all let me clarify that the audience of the two forms of Accounting are different. As you well know, even though the audience for Financial Accounting Reports are both External as well as Internal users , but the primary focus is on External group of users. Where as Managerial Accounting Reports are primarily prepared for Internal users and outsiders never see these reports. In fact those Managerial Accounting reports are zealously guarded and it takes an "Industrial Espionage" attempt for outsiders to get their hands on these Reports. Another fact is that where as Financial Accounting Statements are required to be prepared according to the GAAP/IFRS Rules, there is no such requirement for usage of GAAP or IFRS for the reports prepared under Managerial Accounting. This is why you are given more free hand in the preparation of reports under Managerial Accounting and given free hand in their preparation and freely express your own opinions. Managerial Accounting Reports are also not Audited.

I am sure we have put to deep slumber everybody else who might have made the mistake to follow our conversation...

I think @Juice is a lady. Juice is that a yay or a nay ?

 

[LegionnairE]

I think @Juice is a lady. Juice is that a yay or a nay ?

GOD I hope not... It'd be enough to send me into a mental hospital.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

I am looking forward to become the chief of the Jordanian armed forces then make a coup and take the king's place, I will divert all country money on building a strong military like North Korea then invade all ME countries and bring them damn down on their knees and eventually become the supreme ruler.

Guys, on a serious note, if I didn't show up tomorrow plz contact this:

Jordan | Amnesty International

 

[Yzd Khalifa]

I am looking forward to become the chief of the Jordanian armed forces then make a coup and take the king's place, I will divert all country money on building a strong military like North Korea then invade all ME countries and bring them damn down on their knees and eventually become the supreme ruler.

Guys, on a serious note, if I didn't show up tomorrow plz contact this:

Jordan | Amnesty International

King Abdullah isn't a dictator you can see these things before him ,and he might spank you that's all. XD

 

[Armstrong]

Butt Sahib, you have presented couple of different scenarios and it would be a mistake to combine these because there are different forces and variables at work here. So let me address them separately.

First off, you shared your frustration at the standardization of the Auditing function. So my friend let us first determine why it is so in the Audit function. An Audit is designed to lend credibility to the fairness of the Financial Statements, the preparation of which are the responsibility of the Management of the Corporation/Company. Most Audits in the US are conducted for the Publicly traded Corporations and to a large extent that is also true in Pakistan. So as an Auditor, you are not given too much freedom in the formatting of the opinion because a plethora of opinion formats would confuse the Public at large, for whose benefit the Audit is primarily being conducted. There are probably half a million Auditors world wide and if each one was allowed to give opinions according to their own style and formats and in their own words, the people reading the Auditors opinions would get totally confused. This is the primary reason why you are constricted to the use of Patent language of the opinion.

The second point you have raised about being forced to consult the set IAS's, SAR's AND SSAR's; that my friend is for your own protection. Keep in mind what you are being asked to do and what kind of mess and quagmire you are stepping into. You are being asked to lend assurance on the work of other people (Management of the Corporation) who might be trying to defraud the General Public. Here again the Profession is trying to Protect you from possible lawsuits in case there is fraud. First of all we ask you to use specific language in the opinion that basically states the Auditor cannot guarantee against Fraud but that the auditor performed the audit according to the IAS procedures and provide reasonable assurance that the Financial Statements fairly represent the Financial Position of the Corporation / Company. This my friend is to cover your @$$ in case of a lawsuit, so you could use the PRUDENT Man's rule which says you applied all the procedures REASONABLY expected from the Auditor, under the rules of IAS's.

Now I come to the issue of Financial versus Managerial Accounting conundrum you presented. First of all let me clarify that the audience of the two forms of Accounting are different. As you well know, even though the audience for Financial Accounting Reports are both External as well as Internal users , but the primary focus is on External group of users. Where as Managerial Accounting Reports are primarily prepared for Internal users and outsiders never see these reports. In fact those Managerial Accounting reports are zealously guarded and it takes an "Industrial Espionage" attempt for outsiders to get their hands on these Reports. Another fact is that where as Financial Accounting Statements are required to be prepared according to the GAAP/IFRS Rules, there is no such requirement for usage of GAAP or IFRS for the reports prepared under Managerial Accounting. This is why you are given more free hand in the preparation of reports under Managerial Accounting and given free hand in their preparation and freely express your own opinions. Managerial Accounting Reports are also not Audited.

I am sure we have put to deep slumber everybody else who might have made the mistake to follow our conversation...

I think @Juice is a lady. Juice is that a yay or a nay ?

Mirza Sahib, I fully understand the reasons why the Standardization exists, our examiner has a knack of asking that in every other Exams !

What I was trying to get at was that its this same standardization, though very important, that makes Financial Accounting & by extension Auditing, so utterly bland, in my opinion. Financial Accounting draws very little from your creativity or out-of-box thinking & very much from your knowledge & application of the Accounting Standards; which is not to say it isn't important or its easy because it is important & it isn't particularly easy but you don't really get to grow creatively that much.

Once you've booked a Financial Lease Liability or done it twice - Thats it....theres nothing new there ! Its not as if theres some revolutionary way to come up with some other figure or method of accounting for Finance Leases as per IAS 15 (I presume). And the same thing extends to other Accounting Standards.

As opposed to this, Financial Management & Management Accounting is an ever changing thing in that no two projects are the same ! And there is a whole world of Financial, Management & Accounting tools are your disposal to budget, appraise or to find out the financial viability of a project, a product or services ! And you are always kept in the loop in that its a back-and-forth process that involves continuous appraisals to determine your strategic position, decide on your objectives, come up with strategic options, make a choice, implement it & then continuously look back & forth to monitor & control the whole thing.

It is, therefore, in my opinion, a lot more Decision Making oriented & involves being a lot more in the 'game' with the big boys than formulating Financial Statements does ! I find the former quite interesting but the latter excruciatingly boring !

 

[kbd-raaf]

3rd year Engineering/Commerce University of Western Australia

1st year RAAF sponsored University student.

Currently employed with WorleyParsons, large Australian engineering consultancy, sad part is I get paid more now per hour than I will when I join the RAAF.

 

[Pakistanisage]

Mirza Sahib, I fully understand the reasons why the Standardization exists, our examiner has a knack of asking that in every other Exams !

What I was trying to get at was that its this same standardization, though very important, that makes Financial Accounting & by extension Auditing, so utterly bland, in my opinion. Financial Accounting draws very little from your creativity or out-of-box thinking & very much from your knowledge & application of the Accounting Standards; which is not to say it isn't important or its easy because it is important & it isn't particularly easy but you don't really get to grow creatively that much.

Once you've booked a Financial Lease Liability or done it twice - Thats it....theres nothing new there ! Its not as if theres some revolutionary way to come up with some other figure or method of accounting for Finance Leases as per IAS 15 (I presume). And the same thing extends to other Accounting Standards.

As opposed to this, Financial Management & Management Accounting is an ever changing thing in that no two projects are the same ! And there is a whole world of Financial, Management & Accounting tools are your disposal to budget, appraise or to find out the financial viability of a project, a product or services ! And you are always kept in the loop in that its a back-and-forth process that involves continuous appraisals to determine your strategic position, decide on your objectives, come up with strategic options, make a choice, implement it & then continuously look back & forth to monitor & control the whole thing.

It is, therefore, in my opinion, a lot more Decision Making oriented & involves being a lot more in the 'game' with the big boys than formulating Financial Statements does ! I find the former quite interesting but the latter excruciatingly boring !

Sir, here in the US we try to discourage " Creative Accounting ". In fact, after Sarbanes Oxley Act there are serious penalties and even possible " Prison Time " against "CREATIVE ACCOUNTANTS" COOKING THE BOOKS.....