Accounting Policy (w url)

ISBN-13: 9780470259627 / Angielski / Miękka / 2008 / 336 str.

Rose Hightower

Opis

Policies and procedures are the foundation of internal controls for organizations. Taking a complicated subject and breaking it into manageable components, this book enables you to hit the ground running and significantly accelerate your completion of a solid policies and procedures program.

Recenzje

"The author provides an excellent framework for organizations to use in establishing and updating policies and procedures. This book is an excellent resource that auditors can use to steer management to as an example of a structured approach to policy and procedure development." ( Auditnet.org, June 2008)

Spis treści

How to Use this Manual xiii

Preface xvii

Before Getting Started xix

Getting Started with the Program xxiii

Developing the Table of Contents xxvii

Self Assessment xxxi

Program 1

A01 Program Mandate 3

A02 Overview Getting Started: Presentation 9

A03a Create, Revise, Issue Policies and Procedures 21

A03b Template Name of Document 26

A04 Request to Deviate from Policies and Procedures 28

A05 Rescind Policies and Procedures 32

Policies and Procedures 35

B01 Account Reconciliation 37

B02 Accounting for Compensated Absences 41

B03 Accounting for Goodwill, Patents, Trademarks, and Other Intangible Assets 44

B04 Accounting for Mergers and Acquisitions 47

B05 Accounting for Post–Employment Benefits 50

B06 Accounting for Restructuring and Reorganization 53

B07 Accounting for Sales Compensation: Expense, Accrual, Reconciliation 57

B08 Accounts Payable: Request for Payment to Third Party Vendors 62

B09 Accounts Receivable: Allowance for Doubtful Accounts 68

B10 Accounts Receivable: Third–Party Trade and Customer Credit, Collection, and Cash Applications 72

B11 Accruals 81

B12 Accounting and Audit–Related Complaints 86

B13 Authorization: Delegation, SubDelegation of Authority 90

B14 Bank Reconciliation 100

B15 Business Combinations, Consolidation and Foreign Entity Reporting 103

B16 Business Licenses 106

B17 Cash and Banking 109

B18 Communication with Financial Community 116

B19 Escheat, Abandoned Property, Unclaimed Checks: U.S., Canada, and Where Local Regulations Require 119

B20 Finance Code of Ethical Conduct 123

B21 Key Financial Indicators 126

B22 Financial Planning and Analysis 131

B23 Property, Plant and Equipment: Fixed Assets, Long–Lived Assets, Tangible Assets 134

B24 Foreign Currency Risk Management 153

B25 Funding and Financing Risk Management 156

B26 Hiring and Use of External Auditors 158

B27 Income Tax Preparation and Reporting 164

B28 Insurance and Risk Management 169

B29 Intercompany Transactions 174

B30 Inventory 180

B31 Investment and Marketable Securities 186

B32 Journal Entries: Routine, Non–Routine, and Estimates 189

B33 Capital, Operating Leases, and Real Estate Rental Property 195

B34 Letter of Representation, Quarterly Financial Sub Certification Process 202

B35 Payroll and Salary Expense 208

B36 Petty Cash 212

B37 Physical Counts and Evaluation for Inventory, Property, Plant and Equipment 216

B38 Prepaid Assets/Expenses 219

B39 Revenue Recognition 222

B40 Source and Use of Exchange Rates 228

B41a Travel, Entertainment, and Expense 231

B41b Travel, Entertainment, and Expense Manual 235

Bonus Policies and Procedures 251

C01 External Communications and Public Relations 253

C02 Material Nonpublic Information and Insider Trading 261

C03 Procurement 265

C04 Records Information Management 270

Index 287

O autorze

Rose Hightower, Accountant, MSc, has been the owner of IDEAL Consulting Solutions International, LLC for ten years, consulting in implementation of internal control and policy and procedure programs for large companies. Bringing over twenty years of experience from IBM and serving as finance manager, her program contains practical lessons and simple solutions for any size company. She is known as "The Policy Guru" and offers advice and counsel to clients from her Web site, idealpolicy.com, and through auditnet.org.

Blurb

Praise for Accounting and Finance Policies and Procedures

"This comprehensive and practical tool enables accountants to produce documentation on policies and procedures in a quick and thorough manner. The URL download eliminates the tedious administrative setup work, and the detailed description within each section assists in the prevention of overlooking what we very often take for granted. This is not a how–to book; it is a tool that . . . will make your company documents look like you are part of a Fortune 500 company."
Leslie Kessler Brand, CPA, Corporate Controller, Porta Systems Corp.

"For contract training on or off–campus, there is no faculty member more concerned with student learning and process than Rose Hightower. Rose is the preferred adjunct by numerous companies for their staff development in project management and finance and accounting especially for the non–financial manager. She, like her book, Accounting and Finance Policies and Procedures, takes a complicated subject and breaks it into manageable components."
Maureen Connolly, Dean, Berkeley College

"Rose has developed a comprehensive policies and procedures program that allows you to standardize, train and assure compliance with financial policies on a worldwide basis. In today′s age of ever increasing technical complexity along with the global and diverse nature of organizations, a practical guide to establishing, formally documenting, and maintaining accounting policies will be of use to many firms, big and small. This guide will enable those firms to hit the ground running and significantly accelerate their completion of a solid policies and procedures program."
Douglas Robinson, CFO, Verint Systems Inc.

"Policies and procedures are the foundation of internal controls for organizations. It is therefore very important that they be clearly written, current and comprehensive. Accounting and Finance Policies and Procedures by Rose Hightower provides an excellent framework for any organization to create this foundation. The merging of an online component recognizes the importance of a digital tool to update policies and procedures in a timely manner."
Jim Kaplan, President and CEO, AuditNet, LLC (www.auditnet.org)