Accounting Principles & Standards: Avoid Them At Your Peril

Accounting principles are the basic assumptions, rules of operation, and essential characteristics that make up the framework for the construction of accounting financial statements.

Long ago, I was perplexed to discover that there was no “set” of accounting principles that was presented in one form such as you might find in the Bill of Rights. This is not to say that the principles are incomplete or vague, it only means that the definitions of accounting principles can be presented in various formats, which may lead to confusion for some people, especially beginners.

Be that as it may, accounting principles are absolutely necessary when preparing financial statements, just as the rules of a particular card game make the card game possible in the first place. Accounting principles are like the glue that holds the accounting process together. For example, financial statements have an overall objective, which is to provide the user of the statements a useful tool for making business decisions.

In order to be useful, the accounting information must have certain characteristics, such as being dependable and practical. To be dependable, the accounting information must be unbiased, accurate, and verifiable. To be practical, accounting information must be predictable, prepared in a timely fashion, and be able to provide meaningful feedback. Additional characteristics are that the accounting information must be consistent, comparable, serve a utilitarian need (such as cost/benefit), and make a material difference.

Besides characteristics, certain operational rules are established as to when revenue and expenses are reported; how expenses are matched to revenue; what to do when a choice can be made that might overstate or understate figures; and, what information should be disclosed so that the reader will fully understand the circumstances under which the information is being presented.

There are also basic assumptions that the reader can count on, such as: the information is related to the business entity only and doesn’t have any unrelated information mixed in; the business is a going concern and won’t cease operations soon; the financial information presented is measured in specific time intervals such as a month, quarter or year; the financial information is using a certain unit of measure such as dollars, not board feet, etc.; the information is presented at historical cost, i.e., when received, paid, or incurred; and, the method of accounting being used is double-entry and not some other method.

These are accounting principles as opposed to accounting standards. An accounting standard is an agreement as to how an accounting issue will be treated. For instance, a standard might state what type of inventory system is appropriate to use for a certain type of business; how capital leases should be recorded; how many years intangible assets should be amortized; what methods of depreciation should be used, and so on. There are literally thousands of accounting standards that have been issued over the years. These standards are constantly being revised or discarded as they become outdated.

If you want to play the accounting “game of cards”, you must become familiar with the “rules of the game”, which are accounting principles and standards. If you choose to not play by the rules, you do so at your own peril, as we have seen recently in the U.S. corporate accounting scandals.

John W. Day, MBA is the author of two courses in accounting basics: Real Life Accounting for Non-Accountants (20-hr online) and The HEART of Accounting (4-hr PDF). Visit his website at www.reallifeaccounting.com to download for FREE his 3 e-books pertaining to small business accounting and his monthly newsletter on accounting issues.

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Downloading Online Movies
There are many online websites for downloading movies, though the legality issue was still a major question mark until recently, especially since sites downloading music like Napster were shut down. The big news for many computer junkies recently was that the companies of Movielink and CinemaNow are recognized as being the first major online sources for legal downloadable movies in the United States. Previously the studios were shy about licensing online stores for anything but video rental, but now that has changed.

Movielink has managed this breakthrough by pushing forward with the backing of Universal, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, Sony Pictures, and Warner Brothers. Cinema Now is in a similar situation, which is part of the reason why these companies are experimenting to see how the downloads process works. Movie downloads for new releases become available on the same day as the DVD release, and there is an ever growing backlist of previously made films all ready. The one thing to keep in mind that makes these downloads different than others: you can not burn anything onto DVD, the download will only stay on your computer and can not be copied.

Pricing, according to studios, is currently "competitive" with the DVD release, which in many peopleï¿½s minds makes it a bad buy, being way too expensive for what you get. Classic movies are generally be priced at $13.99, with some movies priced as low as $9.99. New movies are all over the map. King Kong, for instance, will sell for $19.99, compared to $14.96 + shipping from retailers like Amazon. The Bad News Bears (2005), on the other hand, sells for $26.00 online at Movielink, which is essentially the same price Amazon is carrying at the moment. Most of these offerings, however, will not offer the extras found on today's DVD and you instantly sacrifice the ability to take your movies with you on the go.

Encrypted or not, the standard DVD is at least portable. All in all, this makes movie downloads from these sites, even with the reassurance of everything being acceptable and ï¿½legalï¿½ as really weak.. Until a better pricing appears, it would seem that these companies are doomed to failure. At least they would be, if the movie companies did not own them. Wait for a better deal.

Dave is the owner of divx-movies.info and free-movies-download-full.info websites providing information on movie downloads

Who Wrote the Best Love Poem?
Who Wrote the Best Love Poem?

Love poems have long been a way for men and women to express their feelings for one another in a unique and romantic way. They range from structured, formal works such as those by William Shakespeare to free verse works by modern greats such as e.e. cummings. But of all the love poems ever written, who wrote the best love poem ever?

Of course this question may have a different answer depending on who you ask. But for the sake of argument, let’s say that the poet who created the poem that is most often quoted and most recognizable is the one who wrote the best love poem of all time. If these are the criteria, then the poem How Do I Love Thee? by the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning would win hands down.

Browning wrote this poem to her husband. She and Robert Browning, also a poet, wrote countless love letters to one another over the period of several years. Today, these love letters and the poems that accompany them are treasured parts of American literature. Here is Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s finest and most recognizable work:

How Do I Love Thee?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

When people think of love poems, they usually think of this one, especially of the first line. It has inspired many other poems in its time and is a great source of imitation. As the best love poem ever written, it has all the elements of a great work: elegant structure, classic rhyme scheme, and beautiful imagery.

Visit to find more of the best love poems.

Art Hill is an internet poet who operates an independant poetry publishing company.

Profiting With Affiliate Programs
One of the main reasons more people are not making money on the Internet is that they don't have a product or service they can market. Most people find it too difficult to develop a product, promote it with a website, and create a marketing plan to get it front of the right people. Most do not have the knowledge or expertise to even get started and are frustrated before they even begin. Does this sound like you? It was for me until I discovered affiliate programs.

Affiliate programs work like a joint venture where you partner with someone who has already developed a product, created a marketing plan and are promoting it with a website. Most affiliate programs will provide you with a product you can market, free website promotion tools, and free training to show you how to promote the program. You drive traffic to the website and they will process and fill the order, handle customer service, collect payments and handle returns. You keep as much as 50% of the profits for your efforts. It's a great way to start earning money right away!

Where can you find a good affiliate program? You will find thousands of opportunities using an internet search under "affiliate programs". Many of the websites you are visiting now may already have an excellent affiliate program established. You can join it and make money in an area that you enjoy or already have expertise in. The best site I have found for affiliate programs is clickbank.com. This site lists hundreds of successful affiliate programs people are using to make money with today.

Now I am going to let you in on a secret that can explode your affiliate marketing profits. Capture the email addresses of those interested in the affiliate program you are trying to promote. Why? You will develop your own opt in mailing list that you can send repeated emails to capture additional sales. You can also market other products and services to this list once it is developed. You will create an asset that can be used over and over again, multiplying your online income!

Promoting affiliate programs is an excellent way to start earning money on-line right away. It is also a great way to break into new markets. If you already have a large email list to market to, you can send out an endorsement email and generate sales within minutes. The possibilities are endless. Check out affiliate programs today!

To your success!
Steve Scoresby

For more FREE information on marketing affiliate programs, developing your own products, and setting up your own website check out www.internetprofitprofessor.com

Canine Arthritis Medicine

Before you decide to give your dog canine arthritis medicine you should understand what arthritis is and why medication will ease your dog’s symptoms.

Arthritis in dogs is just like in humans, it is when a joint becomes inflamed. It can be very painful, swell and become hard to move. Dogs can have different types of arthritis also. Before just giving your dog any type of medication you find at the store, you should have your veterinarian check your dog for signs of arthritis.

Canine arthritis medicine will not make the arthritis go away. There are no cures for arthritis. In severe cases, surgery can be an alternative. But, many medications will relive the pain and swelling associated with arthritis. After your veterinarian has diagnosed your dog with canine arthritis it would be best to find out what medicines he thinks would be best for the type of arthritis you dog is suffering with.

There are many different types of pain killers and anti inflammatory medications that are great in helping your dog. With these medicines your dog will be able to play again and even enjoy life more.

The main thing to remember is that you do not want your best friend suffering with pain if he doesn’t have to. He will not be happy and can become worse without the medication. The pain from arthritis will have him lying around and then his joints can become stiffer. He needs to exercise and that is very hard to do, if he is in severe pain.

Luckily, its an ailment that can be treated with treatments such as Arthramine which helps repair the damaged tissue.

Niall Kennedy http://www.pet-medication-supplies.net Pet Medication Supplies can help you get the best possible protection for your pet. Advantix, Arthramine, Cosequin, Frontline, Heartgard - find the best deals in pet medication for flea and tick control, arthritis and lyme disease.