ACCOUNTANCY AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: SECTOR ESSENTIALS
A GRADUATE’S GUIDE TO ACCOUNTANCY JARGON Impress employers and colleagues alike with your familiarity of financial services terminology from A to Z.
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he accountancy sector possesses, like all other industries, an exclusive pool of jargon and acronyms accessible only to those who have spent some time working in the field. Some terms may even be company-specific, which means that only staff are privy to their meaning, and outsiders and newbies are excluded. For this reason, graduates are usually discouraged from using jargon during their interviews due to the risk of misusing them; applicants sometimes get ensnared by the false perception that they’ll sound more educated when they riddle their speech with corporate mumbo jumbo. Unfortunately, this only exposes them to the risk of sounding like someone who’s trying too hard. But this doesn’t mean that you should completely shun all traces of job-speak during your interview! Instead, feel free to sprinkle your replies with some industry-specific terms so that you come across as educated and updated, but not trying to butter up to your interviewer. Here’s a list of common accounting and financial management lingo that may help boost your level of confidence as you walk into the interview room:
A ACCA Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. ATTS Association of Taxation Technicians Singapore. ATA Accredited Tax Advisor. A professional certification awarded by the Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals (SIATP).
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ATP Accredited Tax Practitioner. Another professional certification awarded by the SIATP. Accounting Accountancy revolves around the process of determining, evaluating and conveying important economic findings to relevant parties so as to help them make informed decisions. It examines the interaction between various financial elements and produces a summary of an organisation’s commercial health. The three main processes of accountancy are: • Determining information: The accounting procedure begins with the collecting and recording of data. Economic transactions are documented in a set of “accounts” that operate on a system known as “double-entry book keeping” • Evaluating information: The accountant then assigns economic values to the data gathered, such as assessing available assets and calculating the company’s profit or loss as made over a specific period of time, usually referred to as a fiscal or financial year. • Conveying information: Information is useless if not disseminated. Once the relevant data has been properly evaluated and documented, the accounting information obtained will be broadcasted and circulated amongst users in a variety of ways, such as in management accounts and financial statements.
Acquisitions A component of a business specialisation called mergers and acquisitions (M&A), acquisitions usually include the counselling of clients on the purchase and sales of other firms. It usually involves a wide variety of deals, like the buyouts of small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to multinational takeovers. Angel investor An individual who contributes capital to the start-up of a company in exchange for non-cash returns, such as ownership equity and convertible bonds. Audit Audit is the examination and validation of the accuracy of a business’ financial statements, done primarily for tax purposes. Its primary purpose is to confirm that the financial statements of the corporation are a true and fair reflection of its financial health. Usually performed by external accountancy firms in order to guarantee impartiality, audits are categorised under assurance and advisory, and are typically performed at a client’s premises. Audit manager The person in charge of organising and managing audit teams, each ranging from two to 20 people per team. Audit managers ensure all audits are properly completed, and also build and maintain good relationships with clients on the side. They’re also responsible for guiding audit teams to meet their full potential. Audit principal The senior member or partner of an audit firm who gives the final confirmation during an audit process in order to certify the accuracy of the client’s financial statements.
B Business recovery and insolvency Business recovery experts are usually brought in when a troubled venture can still be steered through difficulties towards a revival and/or improvements. Insolvency experts, on the other hand, are only consulted when an enterprise is caught in a bad enough state that it has to wind up. It then falls upon the insolvency experts to help the proprietors through the liquidation process by selling off marketable assets in order to pay creditors.
