Directed and edited by Marcus Howard. Moore Street was the last stand of the Volunteers who fought in 1916. Numbers 18 to 19 Moore Street are threatened to be demolished despite some of the rooms in question having historical significance. In place there are plans for yet another shopping centre for Dublin while destroying elements which could have historical and tourism potential for future generations. Interviewees including relatives of those who fought in 1916 are asked about the disputed historical significance of these houses and if they have a message for Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan.
A sales forecast is a planned target of obtaining sales revenue. To do
this a company uses their own previous sales data, market research of
target audience and examining the competition. For start up companies it
becomes more difficult due to they have to previous sales data to base their
projections on.
Take for example a supermarket company Woolmart, they expect to generate
an increase of sales by 10% in America and the rest of the world. To do this
they look back on previous year’s sales and see where an improvement can be
made. If they think they can increase sales in April, the company might use extra
advertising or sales promotions to entice customers into their stores.
To learn out how to improve sales forecasting check out this link:
A cash flow forecast predicts the target of obtaining cash for the
business avoiding liquidity problems in the future. It is an estimation of how
much cash flows in and out of the business. One advantage of a cash flow
forecast it that it helps to identify problems of not having enough cash for
future months. Once identified a bank overdraft can be set up to help with the
cash flow.
Here is an example of a company having problems with cash flow. The furniture
company OKEA has lent too much credit to its customers for the month of April.
This means that while OKEA's financial records of profit will look
reasonable there is not enough cash to be in a healthy position. Just because
there is profit does not mean there is cash.
Remember that while we are living in an increasing credit world cash is
still king!
Learn more of cash flows by checking out this link:
Cash Flow Analysis - Understanding The Statement Of Cash Flows Part 1
A master budget is a financial plan that sets out targets for production
of goods, the level of sales, the amount allocated for expenses. A master
budget comprises of different budgets from different departments. These include
the sales department, purchases department the payroll department and many
more.
The budget is usually presented by monthly or quarterly periods of the
fiscal year.
To learn about more of a master budget check out this link:
A cash budget is an estimation of how much cash will come in and go out of
the business. It can be carried out for the year, month, weeks or days. However
if you are making a budget for a few days the business is in some trouble.
The cash budget is important to carry out operations such as paying
wages, electricity bills and interest on loans. The budget determines how much
a business can spend in a period of time. In other words the business must be
able to pay their bills. The budget can also help the business with regards to
giving credit to its customers. It can help determine how much credit can be
given to customers.
Here is an example of a cash budget:
Assume no credit has been given or received. Only cash has been used.
Assume the company The Bugle Ltd. has a cash balance of €100 brought
forward for the month April, the company can create a cash budget:
€
Cash Balance 100
Expected Cash Receipts Sale 5000
Total Cash 5100
Cash Payments
Wages 3000
Electric Bills 700
General Expenses 500
Advertising 50
Total Cash Payments 4250
Cash Balance 850
The company expects to make €850 cash for the month of April and will be
brought forward to May.
For a more detailed look on a cash budget check out this link:
A sales budget is a financial plan that expects a certain level of sales
for the budgeted period. This helps predicts how many products will have to be
made in order to make a certain level of sales. The sales budget determines the
price and how many units will be produced to make a sales target.
The budget also helps to keep the allocation of selling expenses,
marketing expenses and advertising expenses on budget to achieve targeted
sales.
To learn more about how a sales budget works follow this link:
Directed and edited by Marcus Howard. On March 2nd 2014 Ballyhea Says No began their 4rth year marching against the bondholder bailout and the issuing of the promissory notes which every man, woman and child in Ireland has to pay for decades to come. Various communities, groups, independent politicians and individuals came out on a very wet Sunday at 10.30 in the morning to show their support. This video features interviews with Diarmuid O'Flynn and Fiona Fitzpatrick of Ballyhea as well as speeches by Luke "Ming" Flanagan, Joan Collins, economist Constantin Gurdgiev, Catherine Murphy and Peter Mathews who also attended. Numerous individuals from various austerity groups declared that they are running for election in May 2014.
"It is a capital mistake to theorize in advance of the facts"
-Author Conan Doyle, "Sherlock Holmes"
Bruce Springsteen “The Boss”
To be The Boss of accounting you need to know the major concepts of accounting. To master these concepts puts you firmly on the path to becoming a successful Accountant. Whatever you do in accounting you will always be able to refer back to these concepts no matter what.
The Going Concern Concept
Leonard Cohen still going strong
A Going concern is an entity such as a business that will continue trading for the foreseeable future. This means the company has the liquidity i.e. cash to continue trading.
Going concern is a significant concept with regards to the valuation of assets.
For example a company, P. Moore’s Telescopes sell and make lenses for its telescopes. In 2011 it bought a special machine to make better quality lenses at a cost of €50000 which will last 10 years. This would be put into the balance sheet at €50000 or the cost less the deprecation for example 10% so it would be €45000. As long as the business continues trading as a going concern the machine is valuable for the next decade.
However if the business is in trouble the machine could possibly be not worth €45000. It might have to be sold off at less than its value in the balance sheet of €25000. The loss of €20000 will appear in the income statement.
With the concept of going concern it is assumed the business will continue trading which allows the business to value assets at cost less the deprecation.
Check out this link to learn more about the concept of going concern:
Prudence is a valuable concept to know inside out to become a great Accountant. This states that assets and incomes are not overstated and liabilities and expenses are not understated. In order words we do not expect gains and we provide for foreseeable losses.
For example a company, Trulli Ltd. expects it debtor not to pay their debts for the month. Trulli Ltd. decides to make a provision just in case its debtor does not pay its debts. This is known as being prudent.
The concept of prudence is also called the concept of conservatism.
This is also known as the matching concept. The concept of accruals states that a business matches its expenditures with the expected income it generates. In order words, don’t account on a cash flow basis.
For example a company, Ponosanic has an electricity bill for April. The figure for the bill will be recorded in the April Income Statement. If the company waited until the end of September to pay and record the bill it would distort the view of accounts. It would show the there was no expenses for the electricity for April but there would be an increase in September along with Septembers bill for electricity. The company must record the expense when it has occurred. As stated above the expenditure must be match with the income during the month of April in which the bill occurred.
Here is an example of sales on credit. A company, Sany Inc. make sales on credit from its customers. The sale is completed and is treated as an income for the company. The company does not wait for the cash from the customer. This would distort the accounts if they waited for the cash from the customer.
Interviews with a selection of people relating to the housing crisis in Ireland who mention their experience. Every interviewee highlighted how Council policy appeared to be not to deal with anybody until they were homeless. Many have mentioned how they were placed in emergency accommodation (B+B's). Ireland appears to be facing an epidemic of evictions. Alan Lawes from People Before Profiit and Ken Purcell from Dublin Says No also feature. Interviewees are also asked if they would have a message for the Irish Government, how this is affecting their health and what their next step is. The upcoming Local and European elections are talked about at the end of this video in case viewers are looking to get actively involved and see if they can affect change through the ballot box. Is this what the Irish Government means by "sustainable solutions"?
A sole trader is an individual who sets up and owns their own business.
A sole trader cannot distinguish itself from its business i.e. they have no
separate legal entity. All the assets and liabilities of the business are the
responsibility of the sole trader. This includes that the sole trader receives
all the profits and if there is any losses it is their responsibility.
Pros and Cons of a Sole Trader
Pros:
§Owner gets to keep all the profit.
§The owner gets to control what way the business
will grow.
§More close and personal to customers.
§Relatively easy to set up.
Cons:
§There is unlimited liability.
§The business might cease to exist if the owner
dies or retires.
§Difficult to compete with larger organisations
for tenders.
Partnership
A partnership is two or more parties who do
business together in order to make profit. A partnership has no separate
legal entity such as a sole trader. The parties of the partnership must bear
any losses or debts the company has. The partners also share the profit.
Simon and Garfunkel still singing
together after all these years
Pros and Cons of a Partnership
Pros:
§Relatively
easy to set up.
§Greater
depth of knowledge and skills between two or more parties.
§Losses are
shared among the partnership.
Cons:
§There is
unlimited liability.
§One
partner has no full control of the business. May lead to conflict.
§Decisions
more difficult to implement due to partners having different views.
Limited Company
There are two types of limited company. A company limited by guarantee
and a company limited by shares. A company limited by guarantee has assurances to pay back a certain amount of debts if the company ceases to
exist.
A company limited by shares is the most popular type of limited company.
This type of company has its own separate legal entity compared to a sole
trader or a partnership.
A company limited by shares can be public or private. A public company
must have a minimum of seven members. The liability of the members is limited
to the amount the members paid for the shares. The value of the share capital
must be higher than the minimum of €38,092.
A private company limited by shares is made up of shareholders who own
the company. They can also be called members. The amount of members ranges from
one member to ninety-nine. The directors are the people who run the company and
there minimum number of directors is now one instead of the previous two. There
is limited liability where the members can only lose the amount of money the
paid for the shares.
Pros and Cons of a Limited
Company
Pros:
§Limited
liability.
§Company is
a separate legal entity.
§Rules of
running the company are clearly laid out in the memorandum & articles of
association.
Cons:
§Higher
setup costs.
§More
detailed record of accounts required.
§More legal
requirements to follow.
To learn more about the many types of companies, check out this website:
The people of Ballyhea have been marching for 142 weeks to help relieve the Irish people of this burden. They have been to Europe 3 times to find out the best way to negotiate for debt writedown for Ireland. They are asking you to stand with them between 6-10pm on the 27th November outside Government buildings.
