Integrity: accountants should act honestly in all dealings with clients and also with tax authorities and all other stakeholder groups. It means being straightforward, honest and truthful in all professional and business relationships.
Objectivity: accountants shouldn’t allow bias, conflict of interest or the influence of other people to override their professional judgement.
Professional competence and due care: accountants are required to carry out their work with proper regard for relevant technical and professional standards. This means that nobody should undertake professional work which they are not competent to perform.
Confidentiality: accountants shouldn’t disclose professional information unless they have specific permission or a legal or professional duty to do so.
Professional behavior: when breached, it leads to most complaints to the professional accounting bodies. Clearly, accountants should comply with all relevant legal obligations when dealing with a client's affairs and assist clients to do the same.
Profit and loss account = Income statement = Statement of comprehensive income records the revenue, costs and profit (or loss) of a business over a given period of time. It’s composed of 3 sections:
Balance sheet = Statement of financial position: accounting statement that records the values of a business’s assets, liabilities and shareholders’ equity at one point in time.
Cash flow statement = Statement of cash flows
Nearly all fixed/non-current assets will depreciate or decline in value over time.
Calculating depreciation
Straight-line depreciation: constant amount of depreciation is subtracted from the value of the asset each year.
Reducing (diminishing) balance method