Introduction to Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction to Accounting - Essay Example Groups are treated as a single entity for the purpose of showing the financial position of the range of companies including parent (holding) company, its subsidiaries, associated companies and other investments such as joint ventures. These financial statements are known as consolidated financial statements because all the accounts of the companies are consolidated to form just one set of accounts. This is done for the better management of accounts, tax cuts, measurement of the size and extent of the business and also it is a requirement in some cases (Brennan & Pierce, 2003). The case discussed below is per USGAAP treatment of group accounts. (Definitions, 2008) When the company owns or purchases 50% or more of the outstanding common stock, the purchasing company has control over the acquired company. Control in this context is defined as ability to direct policies and management. In this type of relationship the controlling company is the parent and the controlled company is the subsidiary. The parent company needs to issue consolidated financial statements at the end of the year to reflect this relationship. Consolidated financial statements show the parent and the subsidiary as one single entity. During the year, the parent company can use the equity or the cost method to account for its investment in the subsidiary. Each company keeps separate books.

LLB Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

LLB - Assignment Example The author asks Kaplan why he believes that the Balanced Scorecard had become so entrenched in the business world and its internal process and matrix. To which Kaplan sites what he feels is the tremendous communication gap between those creating the strategy and vision of the company at the top, and those that are attempting to implement that strategy on the front lines and in the real world at the bottom, so to speak. Kaplan states that the Balanced Scorecard helps to bridge the gap between the vision of upper management and the implementation of that vision into strategy by the staff. When asked if this system is still useful today and not â€Å"passà ©Ã¢â‚¬  as others have said, Kaplan responds by stating that book sales are still high and the attendance at Balanced Scorecard conferences are growing. He also sites that many countries Asia are implementing the technique in their larger organizations and he has also seen a rise of its use in many non-profit companies both here and abroad. Kaplan also believes that many companies are still struggling with getting their strategies out into practical business practice and that these companies have failed to utilize most of the non-financial metrics in their business evaluations, leaving them in the dust as far as any progress is concerned. He is currently working on another concept called a Strategy Map, which will hopefully guide companies along the process of strategy implementation. Kaplan believes that the Balanced Scorecard will be a valuable business tool for many years to come and he would like to see much more research done in the area of creating excitement and greater participation by employees to help them with the task of strategy implementation. By giving employees proper motivation he believes that any strategy can succeed, and will certainly fail without