...Sciences HCS/405 Version 5 Health Care Financial Accounting Copyright © 2012, 2010, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2002, 1999 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course provides an understanding of the general principles of accounting applied in the health care environment. It includes an overview of sources of revenue for various health care entities. The fundamentals of financial planning, cost concepts, capital budgeting, and management analysis are applied in the health care environment. Issues surrounding the development and management of budgets are also examined. Policies Faculty and students will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Baker, J. J., & Baker, R. W. (2011). Health care finance: Basic tools for nonfinancial managers (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. All electronic materials are available on the student website. Week One: Overview of Health Care Finance Details Objectives 1.1...
Words: 2212 - Pages: 9
...Financial Terminology Financial management is such a fascinating subject. A lot of people would ask, “Why?” Financial management can be easily explained as the management of money. Financial management is crucial for both individuals and organizations because it deals with managing funds. It guides a company and individual in making optimum use of money to achieve maximum returns. While working on this specific assignment I decided to concentrate on financial ratio analysis, since I am the business owner, and most of the financial terms like balance sheet, shareholder’s equity, EBITDA, EBITDAM, financial ethics, financial benchmarking I am very familiar with. I must admit that understanding financial ratio analysis I found somehow difficult, this is why I decided to concentrate on this topic. Summary of Articles The first article that I read is called “Financial Ratios, Discriminant Analysis and the Predictions of Corporate Bankruptcy” by Edward I. Altman, published 1968 in the Journal of Finance. The article says that academicians are seeking to eliminate ratio analysis as an analytical technique in assessing the performance of a business. According to the article theorists are attacking the relevance of ratio analysis. The article explores the possibility of whether the gap between traditional ratio analysis and more rigorous statistical techniques can be bridged. According to the article the traditional ratio analysis is no longer an important analytical...
Words: 1459 - Pages: 6
... | | |Finance for the Health Care Professional | Copyright © 2011, 2009, 2007 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course is designed as an introduction to the terminology, processes, functions, and financial reports commonly encountered in health care operations. This course introduces the concepts of basic managerial financial functions, such as budgeting, reimbursement methods, and the responsibilities of health care financial management. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Baker, J. J., & Baker, R. W. (2011). Health care finance: Basic tools for nonfinancial managers (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. All electronic materials are available...
Words: 2805 - Pages: 12
...Determining Financial Viability Accounting and finance are closely related to a certain extent in which both deal with the financial aspects of a company. Accounting and finance work together in creating “a company’s budget or working capital analysis” (Wise-Geek, 2012, p. 1). Accounting involves recording of an organizations operations of a business as well as showing the information in the outline profit and loss accounts, which demonstrates the gain or loss of the organizations throughout the year. In addition, accounting includes provisions of a balance sheet replicating the monetary positions of a business at a specific time period. It should provide clear and precise figures about the proprietary and financial condition in a specific entity. Finance is a wider view and uses information, which is obtainable in the accounting area such as “profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow statement” (Parikh, 2011, p. 1) to decide upon financially linked judgments, for instance how to increase funds for upcoming plans of a business. These statements provide a valuable amount of information for a company. The statistics retained in these statements assists financial directors with analyzing past performance as well as future inclinations of a business. Both accounting and finance must be used together to make effective decisions for a company therefore, finance uses past statistics from the accounting aspect to formulate future decisions. In order to determine financial viability...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
...Financial Management Practices Good financial management is crucial for the expansion of any business. Successfully placing finances in order means a business can work more efficiently. One of the essential challenges in health care is to manage effectively the finances of the organization. Health care is unique in the way an organization operates based on the finances. This paper will identify effective and ineffective financial management practices that can help to make a company successful. Successfully managing the finances, such as budgeting and cash flow can mean the organization will always have enough money to pay any creditors and also have enough of a profit to operate the business. Effective and Ineffective Financial Management Practices Too often managers have an understanding of their product but not the financial statements of the organization. The manager must have an understanding of what is happening within the organization. The success of the organization can only be ensured by focusing on the factors that affect the performance of the organization. Having and focusing on a plan is essential for the survival of an organization; more so in the health care world because of the many and different areas of revenue. One major area of concern in health care is the third-party payer system. Health care does not have a single billing system for all customers. Managers have to deal with rules and regulations and payment systems from many government and third-party...
Words: 713 - Pages: 3
...States health care system have many organizations that are called entity which have an effect on people daily living and survivor in life. I will discuss in this paper the entity that I chose from the list of each health care financial environment and described in the Financial Environments Worksheet. I will address and compare the environment that I selected in week one assignment. I will describe the organizations financial structure. I will explain which unique policy to the financial environment that I selected from week one assignment. I will discuss financial management practices that are prevalent in the financial environment. I will in this paper discuss what are the effective financial management that is more difficult in health care than in other industries. Describe the financial structure. The mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs is a government entity that serves veterans of the United States and their dependents, and beneficiaries with compassion and dignity and veterans principal advocate to ensure they receive social support, benefits, medical care, benefits, and lasting memorials. (va.gov, 2016). Department of veterans' affairs financial structure consists of consolidated financial structure consolidated balance sheets that are base dollars in the millions. The assets are kept on this sheet with treasury fund balance. The financial statement is kept up on a yearly basic The balance statement consists of Investments, The financial statement will...
Words: 1152 - Pages: 5
...A Community Leader’s Guide to Hospital Finance E VA L U AT I N G H O W A H O S P I TA L G E T S A N D S P E N D S I T S M O N E Y Prepared for The Access Project by Sarah Gunther Lane, MS Elizabeth Longstreth, BA Victoria Nixon, MS Under the supervision of Nancy Kane, DBA Harvard School of Public Health The Access Project is a national healthcare initiative supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It works in partnership with Brandeis University’s Heller Graduate School and the Collaborative for Community Health Development. It began its efforts in early 1998. The mission of The Access Project is to improve the health of our nation by assisting local communities in developing and sustaining efforts that improve health care and promote universal coverage, with a focus on people who are without insurance. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our work, please contact us. The Access Project 30 Winter Street, Suite 930 Boston, MA 02108 Phone: 617-654-9911 FAX: 617-654-9922 E-mail: info@accessproject.org Web site: www.accessproject.org Catherine M. Dunham, Ed.D, National Program Director Mark Rukavina, MBA, Deputy Director for Programs and Policy Gwen Pritchard, MPA, Deputy Director for Communication and Administration © 2001 by The Access Project This publication may be reproduced or quoted with appropriate credit. Acknowledgments The Access Project would like to thank and...
Words: 12691 - Pages: 51
...Reporting Practices and Ethical Standards in Health Care Finance Ashley Riggs HCS 405 February 6, 2012 Jay Christensen Reporting Practices and Ethical Standards in Health Care Finance Healthcare managers engage in many important roles to create and sustain successful organizations. Managers must understand the crucial elements of financial management and the generally accepted accounting principles. They must also understand, adhere to, and enforce the general financial ethical standards. Four Elements of Financial Management Planning The first step in financial management is planning. It is the responsibility of the financial manager to first identify the goals of the company. Then it is the financial manager’s responsibility to decide on the appropriate steps that must be taken to accomplish the goals of the company. Controlling The second step in financial management is controlling. During this phase of financial management, it is the responsibility of the financial manager to ensure that each division of the organization is following the plans was decided. Managers should study current reports and compare them with earlier reports. This will help to decide what division of the organization needs the most attention. Organizing and directing The third step in financial management is organizing and directing. During organization, it is the responsibility of the financial manager to decide how to use the resources of the organization most effectively. The resources...
Words: 953 - Pages: 4
...HCS/405 Sandra DiPietro Reporting Practices and Ethics Introduction Addressing financial reporting practices and ethical standards in health care finance can be done in various different ways. Either way this component of health care is addressed, it is important for a health care finance element, within an organization, to ensure that this is addressed correctly. A good way to explain and address the ethical standards in health care finance is by explaining the four elements of finance. These four elements include Planning, Controlling, Organizing, and Decision Making. With these four elements, addressing financial reporting practices and ethical standards in health care organizations, can be addressed, and will reflect how organizations accomplish this. Accounting Principles In health care organizations, financial reporting involves financial statements. There are four main financial statements. They are: (1) balance sheets; (2) income statements; (3) cash flow statements; and (4) statements of shareholders’ equity (U.S. Exchange Commission, 2011). The third part of a cash flow statement shows the cash flow from all financing activities. It is very important for an organization to report their finances, since financial reporting will provide investors with information about the organization’s management. Financial reporting also provides information for all of management of their earnings and cash flow in which one can use...
Words: 868 - Pages: 4
...Advocate Obligated Group Advocate Health Care Analysis of financial statements is a procedure that involves the review and examination of a firm’s financial statements to help the user make informed economic decisions. The financial statement analysis includes the balance sheet, statement of retained earnings, cash flow statement and the income statement (Fridson & Alvarez, 2011). Users of financial statements include management, investors, creditors, regulatory authorities and the government. Ratio analysis is a standard financial analysis method that involves the calculation of several proportions to determine a firm’s performance in key areas. The ratios are categorized as profitability ratios, solvency ratios, liquidity ratios, asset management ratios and market value ratios. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a ratio analysis of Advocate Obligated Group Health Care for the year ended December 31, 2014, and come up with a conclusion of the firm’s financial health. 1. Current Ratio The current ratio is a liquidity ratio that evaluates a firm’s ability to meet its short-term obligations. Its formula is as follows: Current ratio = Current assets/ Current liabilities The reason I chose this ratio is that hospitals mostly buy goods on credit, and suppliers evaluate this ratio to determine whether to extend credit to the organization or not. A high ratio implies that the company can meet its maturing short-term debts. The most appropriate current ratio...
Words: 963 - Pages: 4
...for-profit health care organization serving the Northwest valley area. It is a 600-bed full service hospital opened in 1975 and has been committed to providing state of the art medical care to the people of Kelsey and the surrounding communities. This hospital is owned by the physicians practicing at the facility. The facility receives 80% of its revenue through in-patient services which include surgery, medical-surgical nursing, and intensive care charges. The Emergency Department and out-patient care services generate the remaining 20% of revenue. This paper will find out the significant financial changes between the year 2008 and year 2009 and determine the reasons for these changes based on the information in the Annual report. Analysis of Changes between 2008 and 2009 Using a combination of the balance sheet, statement of revenue and expenses, and also the 2009 hospital’s annual report, significant changes in the financial position of PFCH between 2008 and 2009 were identified. Based on the examination performed by the auditors for Patton Fuller Community Hospital, there was an increase of 9.68 % in net patient revenue over the previous year, with an average of 5.91 % increase in expenses which could primarily be attributed to new agreement with third-party payers resulting to contractual adjustments that provide for payments at amounts different from its established rates. In 2009, PFCH experienced some major events which are reflected in the financial statements. It could...
Words: 798 - Pages: 4
...Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Deborah Gandy HCS571 June 3, 2013 Tamica Lewis Generally Accepted Accounting Principles To meet health care changes resulting from decreased reimbursement an aging population, and technology the nursing professions responsibilities morphed from the bedside to the board room. In the last two decades a substantial increase in nurses in senior level positions in hospitals or other facilities reflects the need for nurses to obtain advanced degrees to meet the demands of heath care as a business. In a report published 2010, by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) the summary report clearly identifies the need for nurses to participate fully as partners to improve the nation’s health care system(“The future of nursing: leading change, advancing,” 2010). To that end, in order for nurses to participate actively in shaping the health care system nurses need education in what many consider as non-traditional nursing subjects, such as finance. In response to the need for education in finance nursing curricula include at least one course as an under graduate, and one on the post- graduate level. Together these courses provide both academic and practical knowledge the nurse manager can translate readily to manage an organization or an individual nursing unit (Finkler, Kovner...
Words: 1538 - Pages: 7
...Financial Ratios Analysis and Comparison Paper Dianne Davis MHA 612 Professor Johnson June 7, 2014 Abstract It is important for healthcare organizations to understand their present performance and weak areas in order to generate more effective operational strategies. Financial ratio analysis is an effective tool to determine hospital’s performance on several indicators such as ability to pay debt, capability to generate revenue, and sales performance etc. The objective of this paper is to describe role of different financial ratios in understanding organizational performance and in developing new strategy. The paper also presents comparative ratio analysis of local healthcare organization and industry norms. Financial Ratios Analysis and Comparison Paper Introduction Financial planning and effective management play a major role in success of healthcare business. Financial ratio analysis refers to an effective financial management tool that helps in understanding financial performance of the hospital over a period of time. Financial ratio informs about the financial trends and information on key performance indicators that helped in strategy making. Financial ratios can also utilize in comparing business performance of two or more hospitals, and also to assess effectiveness of management. Financial ratios utilized in measuring liquidity of the hospitals, profit evaluation, debt structure, management of cash flow, risk determination...
Words: 1464 - Pages: 6
...Ethics Monika Kaloyanova HCS/405 August 31st 2015 Professor Joe Gazdik Introduction There are a lot of important parts in health care organizations but what sticks out the most is financial management. Financial management needs to be taken seriously and everything has to be done accurately because there are consequences if errors occur and the organization cannot function properly. It also helps to see the profit and loss that the organization is having and to see what changes need to be done to fix anything. Four elements in financial management In financial management, there are four elements that are vital to any company and those are planning, organizing and directing, leading, and decision making “…by regularly following the four-step control process, managers can make their department more effective and productive”. Lombardi, D. J., Schermerhorn, J.R., & Kramer, B. (2007.) Planning is important because the manager identifies the steps so that the organizations plans/objectives can be accomplished. Controlling is an important element as well because it makes sure that the plans are followed. The financial manager makes sure that the units/areas of the organization are following the plans that were built. There is a way you can do that and that is to compare reports from earlier times. Organizing and directing helps in financial management because the manager uses the organization to make sure that the plans have been established. The directing is when the...
Words: 859 - Pages: 4
...Reporting Practices and Ethics Kara Moore HCS/405 August 1, 2011 Barbara Archer Reporting Practices and Ethics Financial reporting practices and ethics have manifested an ocean of literature. This has mainly come from organization theorists that address accounting practices. These theorists and professionals have given fresh accountability measures. Their ideals give this industry the tools needed to survive, grow and prosper. The way an organization prepares and reports its financial information and handles its daily operations is in essence financial practices, and in the way it accomplishes this reveals their ethical standards to which they adhere to. This paper will discuss the financial practices, ethical standards, and financial management in health care. Financial management in simple terms is a management of finances for an organization. The goal of financial management is to achieve financial objectives, and can be broken down into four phases. The four elements of financial management are: planning, controlling, organizing and directing, and decision making (Baker & Baker, 2009). In the planning phase financials managers need to pinpoint the organizations objectives and the necessary steps to achieve those (Baker & Baker, 2009). In the controlling phase it is all about ensuring that each department is following the guidelines set forth in the planning stage. This can be accomplished by comparing quarterly reports to see if the departmental goals are...
Words: 1112 - Pages: 5
