What Are The Joondalup Accountants Known For

February 3, 2012 · Filed Under Bookkeeping · Comment 

The metropolitan town of Joondalup is found in Perth, within the West portion of Australia. The Joondalup city is approximately 26 kilometers north of the Central Business District of Perth. It is a well developed urban city that has numerous facilities and services for the general public. This city is named after the well recognized Lake Joondalup.

The Joondalup town has a history of offering high levels of personal services to all its citizens. The people of this city are supplied with all the fundamental services. People who are more interested in the business field are also provided with all the services they desire to start their respective organizations. In these companies, the Joondalup accountants play a big role to promise the survival and accomplishment of the company.

The job of an accountant is consumed with a lot of responsibility as he or she has to look after and record all the financial transactions and actions that occur within the business. Along with all the knowledge related to basic math and calculations, the accountants moreover need to possess qualities such as patience and calmness when handling important facts and figures of the financial statement so that their thoughts are clear and no room for error is left.

But, despite of all this, the most vital qualities, which every accountant should possess, are honesty, hard work, focus, determination, obedience and the want and want to succeed. These are the characteristics which all the HR managers want to witness within their employees and workers.

In Joondalup, accountants can discover numerous firms, firms or places to work and practice their skills. One such place is the Noble and Associates which was has been in Joondalup since 2003. This firm works tirelessly on providing the suitable technology and service to its employees and accountants.

The firm of Noble and Associates owns a highly qualified, well learned and focused team of workers. Amongst these members of staff, the Joondalup accountants are mainly well known to offer their services with excellence. These workers work very hard to promise the success of the business. They keep record and watch over all the fiscal transactions and information of the organization so that the investors, managers or any other decision maker can properly make use of the organization’s resources.

The financial guidance and assurance of credit standing, offered by these accountants, additionally assists the owners to make decisions with much more simplicity, as they would know about of the current monetary status of the business. Other than this, the accountant also does functions like designing, modifying or even entirely altering the accounting system of the business, whenever it seems necessary.

The Joondalup accountants have all the qualities that make up an excellent accountant. They are generally familiar with all the accounting principles that even involve taxation. They additionally have remarkable command over the language, written and spoken. So, if an accountant wishes to be successful, within his career, he should have the required analytical skills, good behavior, good interactive skills etc. In Joondalup, accountants commonly have all the fore mentioned skills and that is why they are doing so well these days.

Kelli Rue is a Business Woman who likes to write about anything related to the financial world. She is currently working with Joondalup Accountants to help you manage your wealth correctly.

Accounting Methods: Inventory Turnover Ratio In The Soft Drink Industry

January 27, 2012 · Filed Under Accounting · Comment 

Soft drinks include carbonated beverages, teas, specialty drinks, sports drinks, juices and energy drinks. Three companies, Coca-cola, PepsiCo and Dr. Pepper/Snapple control 89 percent of the soft drink industry. Soft drinks are bottled by the company, or independent bottling companies and distributors, and sold to retail outlets, restaurants, fast food and bars.

Inventory Turnover Ratio
Inventory Turnover ratio is an accounting term. Inventory Turnover is calculated by dividing the cost of goods sold by the average inventory on hand. The cost of goods sold is found on the income statement. It’s calculated by subtracting the direct costs of the goods manufactured from the revenues. Inventory is an asset found on the balance sheet.

For public companies, such as the big three in the soft drink industry, this information is available in their annual report or the 10-K report filed with the Security Exchange Commission. The turnover ratio tells you how quickly the inventory is sold or turned over into sales. Those sales become cash. A slow moving inventory means less cash is generated. However, not enough inventory on hand could result in lost sales.

Soft Drink Manufacturers
Advertising, promotional programs and new product development is done by the soft drink companies. They also provide the syrup and formula for mixing to the independent bottlers. Coca-cola is primarily a beverage company. Pepsi generates 51 percent of its revenues from beverages but also sells salty snacks and other food items. Dr. Pepper, the smallest of the three, is a beverage company.

There is no breakdown of the cost of goods sold for the beverage portion of sales in the Pepsi annual report so an inventory ratio only for soft drinks can’t be calculated. Coca-cola had cost of goods sold of $26,575 million in 2010 and $20,099 in 2009 with inventory at year end of $3,372 and $2,618 respectively. This means the inventory turnover ratio was 7.8 for 2010 and 7.6 for 2009.

Dr. Pepper’s cost of goods sold for 2010 was $2,243 million and $2,334 in 2011 with inventory at year end of $244 million and $262 in 2010. Dr. Pepper’s turnover ratio was 9.2 and 8.5. In other words, Coca-cola turned their inventory into sales and cash nearly eight times a year, while Dr. Pepper was a little quicker at nine times per year.

Soft Drink Bottlers and Distributors
Soft drink bottlers receive the syrup from the soft drink company and add water and other ingredients. The liquid is then bottled and sold to retailers. The bottler/distributor is responsible to local sales in their area. The largest soft drink bottler in the United States, Coca-cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, is also a public company. Looking at their annual statement provides a cost of goods sold for 2010 of $87 million and 2009 of $82 million. Cost of goods sold were $6.5 million and $5.9 million respectively leading to a turnover ratio of 13 and nearly 14.

Retailers and Restaurants
While there are a number of retailers and restaurants that are public companies the breakout of food separately from beverage and other products is not available. Grocery stores have a higher turnover ratio because of all the perishable goods. If they don’t sell quickly the food goes bad. Grocery stores have an average turnover ratio of 12.7.

Change in Inventory Turnover Ratios
The turnover ratio can be changed in three ways increase sales, decrease cost of goods sold or decrease inventory levels.

Dee Power is the author of several business books and “Business Plan Basics,” on how to start a business. Her company’s website provides business experts and small business finance resources to entrepreneurs looking for capital.

What Accounting Services Do Small Businesses Need?

January 13, 2012 · Filed Under Accounting · Comment 

Small business owners often ask, “What accounting services does my small business need?” Interestingly enough, the answer is, “It depends!” In most cases however, what is needed is some combination of the “big three” services of: payroll, tax reporting and general accounting.

The mixture of those services will be decided by the type of business and the size, as well as predicted future circumstances.

For an extreme example, say your business has received word that it will be audited soon. You will without a doubt want to hire a CPA or enrolled agent to have with you and guide you through the audit. Alternatively, you could hire a bookkeeper or tax accountant. However, when facing the IRS you will need your strongest allies with you.

More often than not, the size of your business will determine what services you will require. These needs may range from simple quarterly tax assistance and QuickBooks review, to full-blown monthly managerial accounting consulting. Managerial accounting can include the creation of score cards, dashboards, or even daily feedback systems to help you manage your business, profitability and cash flow at a glance.

See why “it depends”? Your best bet is to know what you need.

Sitting down and working together to figure out the specific services you need for your business often makes the most sense. From there it is a matter of exploring service level options.

For example, with small businesses, it is quite common for the owner or their spouse to manage files using QuickBooks. For these businesses, just a little quarterly and year-end tax prep and payroll help is needed.

In larger businesses a person is employed to be a bookkeeper and your accountant’s role shifts to an overseer and a consultant. The staff person will hand things off to the outside accounting service for final review and submission. In these cases the value your accountant brings in terms of managerial guidance can far outweigh the value brought from the accounting functions themselves.

Finally, in some businesses of any size, bookkeeping should be completely outsourced along with tax accounting and managerial accounting so that employees are focused on the business’ core competencies.

No matter which types of services and service levels you ultimately choose, your main goal should be to ensure that you are building your business on solid financial ground.

And that means staying on top of financial information on a regular basis.

It’s both wise and practical to think about hiring the services of a professional accounting firm, considering the many hats you are probably already wearing. By allowing a skilled professional accountant to handle some or all of the responsibility of your business’ accounting, your overall efficiency improves.

So let’s repeat the question, “What accounting services does my small business need?”

The answer is “most likely several”. And now you have a better idea of where to begin when choosing those services and service levels for your business.

Louis Nitner is very interested in accounting practices. He found this site’s section on accounting services in Aurora to be very informative. Call 630-898-5578 or go here to learn more.

Help Your Business Grow With A Solid Accountant

January 13, 2012 · Filed Under Accounting · Comment 

As a small business owner, accounting is one of the many things which must be done, and must be done properly and on time if you do not want to face the IRS’s consequences. All small business owners should know that accounting is just one of many important things that need to be done on time in order to be successful (and stay away from the IRS). Read on for a list of small tips that will help you with your accounting.

1. Getting Rid of Paper Deposit Tickets

If you made payroll tax deposits for your small business using paper coupons, please be aware that you are no longer able to do so. As of December 31, 2010, paper coupons are not allowed by the Treasury Department, and all deposits must go through the EFTPS, Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.

Naturally, there are benefits of using the electronic alternative, such as 24 hour availability.

2. The Brand New Social Security Rate

Congress recently passed changes to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) reducing the employee Social Security tax rate by two percentage points to 4.2%. According to IRS Notice 1036, employers must put this into effect no later than January 31, 2011 and no sooner than January 1.

If you make the change after January 1, but before January 31, you should make an offsetting adjustment in a subsequent pay period to correct any over withholding of Social Security tax not later than March 31, 2011.

You should be aware that the employer tax rate for social security remains unchanged at 6.2%.

3. Paychecks That Are Unclaimed

You must remain responsible for unclaimed paychecks, as is included in your small business accounting, to prevent wages from being abandoned and remain responsible for wages until paid or turned over to the state. It is your responsibility to send a letter to your employee letting them know this is their last opportunity to claim their pay before it is turned over to the Treasurer’s office, once the time period for presumption of abandonment has passed. After the property has been remitted to the Treasurer’s Office, the state holds it as the permanent custodian until the true owner claims it.

4. Independent Contractor or Employee?

Many people believe that the individuals who do work for them are independent contractors who are not subject to payroll tax withholding. The IRS and the state of Illinois have taken a very aggressive position relating to employees that are treated as independent contractors. You might have to face numerous penalties on top of the taxes that should have been withheld if individuals who do work for you are found to be employees.

5. Update your State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) Rate

When your business is notified of a new SUI rate, the payroll system must be updated with the new information, but usually not right away. Unfortunately, the notification is typically received in advance of the time to make the change. The key is remembering to make the change at the appropriate time.

If you’re like most business owners, you have too much to do in too little time. Small business accounting is something you do as quickly as possible so you can move on to more pressing matters. That is why it’s a good idea to bring in an expert accountant who can handle everything cost effectively and efficiently, and also keep you up-to-date with any changes.

Lucretia Jackson is very knowledgeable about accounting practices. She found this site’s section on small business accounting in Naperville to be very informative. Call 630-898-5578 or visit here to learn more.

Tax Preparation Software: To Make Life Just A Little Bit Easier

December 30, 2011 · Filed Under Accounting · Comment 

Four great points as to why you should consider professional tax preparation.

Why

There is a good reason why there is a field for professional tax preparation. Most people and professionals consider the United States tax law to be quite complex. It would take over 10 hours for an individual to get through a return on paper. Even with computer tax software, it is still very complex to complete a return, especially if the taxpayer is looking to minimize the amount of taxes.

Those in the field primarily do two things. Many people prepare tax returns using the data brought in by clients such as 1099 forms and W-2 forms. The preparers will perform calculations via computer to make sure the numbers are right. Then there are other tax professionals who work with individuals and businesses to minimize the tax liability via deductions and other legal means to shield income from taxes.

Continuing Education

One of the most important things for people in the professional tax preparation field is to do continuing education. Tax laws are changing every single year. That means it is important for tax preparers of all levels to keep up with changes in the laws that are coming from Congress. If a tax preparer doesn’t keep up with the latest changes in the law, it could cause significant embarrassment and loss of a client due to a major tax error.

There are many sources of classes. Those that don’t have a lot of free time may want to consider the many online courses that are available. There are also many courses offered by local universities, colleges, and tax preparation associations that can meet many continuing education requirements.

Prerequisite

To get into the professional tax preparation field in the United States, there is no formal requirement in terms of coursework. However, that is expected to change in the near future with a national tax preparer exam along with continuing education requirements. Still, it is necessary to get the knowledge and skills in order to do the work.

Many people get their knowledge and skills from courses held by a tax preparation company. This is how many of those companies recruit the best tax preparers for the upcoming tax season. Taking the courses from the tax preparation companies is no guarantee of employment, even if the student has passed the course.

When

Many people in the professional tax preparation field only work this area as a seasonal job. This is often the case because people only want to file a return to meet their legal obligation and to collect a refund. The tax season normally begins at the beginning of the calendar year and extends to the tax deadline, which is April 15th for the vast majority of taxpayers.

Others work in the field throughout the year so that individuals and businesses can plan their finances in order to minimize the amount of taxes owed. There is also other work such as accountants and lawyers who do other activities such as tax audit defense and payroll tax processing. This is a great area for those who only want to work seasonally as well as the entire year.

1040Works is a speed-entry tax preparation software developed for tax professionals preparing large volumes of returns that include electronic filing and financial services. 1040Works cuts processing time in half by utilizing professional tax preparation software to prepare an entire tax return from a single input screen or use the STaR (simple tax return) Wizard.

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