Download Unaccountable : how the accounting profession forfeited a by Mike Brewster PDF

By Mike Brewster

ISBN-10: 0471468517

ISBN-13: 9780471468516

For millions of years, those that managed and monitored society's finances-accountants-were frequently the main strong, revered, and influential contributors of the neighborhood. From the creditors at communal granaries within the historical heart East to the scribes who monitored Queen Victoria's Exchequer, the accountant's function has been to maintain the integrity of monetary systems.

within the usa, twentieth-century accountants performed an important position in shaping the transparency of U.S. capital markets, counseling the Allies on monetary issues in either global wars, advising Congress at the construction of the federal source of revenue tax, and inventing the concept that of the gross nationwide product.

but via 2003, the acceptance of the general public accountant used to be in tatters. How did the accounting occupation in the United States squander its legacy of public provider? What occurred to the accountants that presidents, senators, and captains of became to for recommendation? Why did auditors cease trying to find fraud? How did this as soon as respected occupation locate itself during this not likely and humiliating nation?

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Extra info for Unaccountable : how the accounting profession forfeited a public trust

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The state emerged, and the token in Mesopotamia was being supplanted by other accounting devices, such as tablets and seals. In addition, ancient Hawaiians and Chinese were using the quipu (the knotted cord) as an accounting tool. This system used strands of cord to count particular items, much as the Sumerians used the tokens. Just as the tokens had various shapes, the color of the cord and the placement of the knots had meaning. “It was close to the token system because each commodity was counted with a different type of string,” Schmandt-Besserat said.

There is also a growing demand that today’s accountants—both those who work at accounting firms and those who work at public companies—better capture the value of intangible assets like intellectual property, brand recognition, innovative culture, and human resources. A general lack of understanding about what auditors actually do and how abstract their job has become is pervasive. Mark Cheffers, a former Price Waterhouse auditor who now runs his own web site on litigation, has seen firsthand many jury pools in accounting cases.

Accounting firms are not counting inventories in a factory anymore, at least not very often. Accountants randomly test very complicated financial information using highly abstract methods based on controls and risk avoidance. There is also a growing demand that today’s accountants—both those who work at accounting firms and those who work at public companies—better capture the value of intangible assets like intellectual property, brand recognition, innovative culture, and human resources. A general lack of understanding about what auditors actually do and how abstract their job has become is pervasive.

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Unaccountable : how the accounting profession forfeited a public trust by Mike Brewster


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