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RUNNING HEAD: ACCOUNTING PRACTICES AND ENTRIES PAPER

Cheryl Abdur-Rahman Accounting Practices and Entries
Prof: Agnes Samaniego
February 13, 2010

Accounting practices and principles are at the heart of financial management (McLean, 2003). Every organization needs to have a viable accounting system in place. It is up to the organization to find the course of financial action that maximizes the well –being of the organization (McLean, 2003). Accrual principle requires that revenues be recorded in the period in which the associated service is performed, and that expenses be recorded in the period in which they are incurred regardless of whether or not cash has changed hands (McLean, 2003). On the other hand cash flow requires the investor’s initial contribution which is the same as under accrual accounting, but now is recognized as a source of cash (McLean 2003). Under cash flow accounting, a measure of a company’s financial health, equals cash receipt minus cash payments over a given period of time, or equivalently net profit plus amount charged off for depreciation, and depletion (Investor worlds.com, 2011). Fund accounting has a different concept, in which an accounting system is only used for governmental entities, including hospitals, clinics, and public health departments. Fund accountings are appropriation based, depending on appropriation from the public purse for their operating and capital funds (McLean 2003). To maintain adequate record to demonstrate that they use their publicity appropriated funds in the manner in which they were intended, government entities developed a bookkeeping system known as “funds accounting” (McLean 2003). Private, not for profit organizations offer use funds accounting to demonstrate stewardship of their assets in the manner in which donors and trustees intend (McLean 2003).

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