Perfect World Tips: Desember 2011

Senin, 26 Desember 2011

What is earnings per share

Publicly owned companies must report earnings per share (EPS) below the net income line in their income statements. This is mandated by generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP). The EPS gives investors a means of determining the amount the business earned on its stock share investments. In other words, EPS tells investors how much net income the business earned for each stock share they own. It's calculated by dividing net income by the total number of capital stock share. It's important to the stockholders who want the net income of the business to be communicated to them on a per share basis so they can compare it with the market price of their shares.

Private businesses don't have to report EPS because stockholders focus more on the business's total net income.

Publicly-held companies actually report two EPS figures, unless they have what's known as a simple capital structure. Most publicly-held companies though, have complex capital structures and have to report two EPS figures. One is called the basic EPS; the other is called the diluted EPS. Basic EPS is based on the number of stock shares that are outstanding. Diluted earnings are based on shares that are outstanding and shares that may be issued in the future in the form of stock options.

Obviously this is a complicated process. An accountant has to adjust the EPS formula for any number of occurrences or changes in the business. A business might issue additional stock shares during the year and buy back some of its own shares. Or it might issue several classes of stock, which will cause net income to be divided into two or more pools - one pool for each class of stock. A merger, acquisition or divestiture will also impact the formula for EPS.

Profit and Loss

It might seem like a no-brainer to define just exactly what profit and loss are. But of course these have definitions like everything else. Profit can be called different things, for a start. It's sometimes called net income or net earnings. Businesses that sell products and services generate profit from the sales of those products or services and from controlling the attendant costs of running the business. Profit can also be referred to as Return on Investment, or ROI. While some definitions limit ROI to profit on investments in such securities as stocks or bonds, many companies use this term to refer to short-term and long-term business results. Profit is also sometimes called taxable income.

It's the job of the accounting and finance professionals to assess the profits and losses of a company. They have to know what created both and what the results of both sides of the business equation are. They determine what the net worth of a company is. Net worth is the resulting dollar amount from deducting a company's liabilities from its assets. In a privately held company, this is also called owner's equity, since anything that's left over after all the bills are paid, to put it simply, belongs to the owners. In a publicly held company, this profit is returned to the shareholders in the form of dividends. In other words, all liabilities have the first claim on any money the company makes. Anything that's left over is profit. It's not derived from one element or another. Net worth is determined after all the liabilities are deducted from all the assets, including cash and property.

Showing a profit, or a positive figure on the balance sheet, is of course the aim of every business. It's what our economy and society are built on. It doesn't always work out that way. Economic trends and consumer behaviors change and it's not always possible to predict these and what income they'll have on a company's performance.

Parts of an Income Statement, Part 3

While some lines of an income statement depend on estimates or forecasts, the interest expense line is a basic equation. When accounting for income tax expense, however, a business can use different accounting methods for some of its expenses than it uses for calculating its taxable income. The hypothetical amount of taxable income, if the accounting methods used were used in the tax return is calculated. Then the income tax based on this hypothetical taxable income is fitured. This is the income tax expense reported in the income statement. This amount is reconciled with the actual amount of income tax owed based on the accounting methods used for income tax purposes. A reconciliation of the two different income tax amounts is then provided in a footnote on the income statement.

Net income is like earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) and can vary considerably depending on which accounting methods are used to report sales revenue and expenses. This is where profit smoothing can come into play to manipulate earnings. Profit smoothing crosses the line from choosing acceptable accounting methods from the list of GAAP and implementing these methods in a reasonable manner, into the gray area of earnings management that involves accounting manipulation.

It's incumbent on managers and business owners to be involved in the decisions about which accounting methods are used to measure profit and how those methods are actually implemented. A manager can be requires to answer questions about the company's financial reports on many occasions. It's therefore critical that any officer or manager in a company be thoroughly familiar with how the company's financial statements are prepared. Accounting methods and how they're implemented vary from business to business. A company's methods can fall anywhere on a continuum that's either left or right of center of GAAP.

About GAAP

While many businesses assume that accountants are bound by generally accepted accounting practices and that these are inviolate, nothing could be further from the truth. Everything is subject to interpretation, and GAAP is no different. For one thing, GAAP themselves permit alternative accounting methods to be used for certain expenses and for revenue in certain specialized types of businesses. For another, GAAP methods require that decisions be made about the timing for recording revenue and expenses, or they require that key factors be quantified. Deciding on the timing of revenue and expenses and putting definite values on these factors require judgments, estimates and interpretations.

The mission of GAAP over the years has been to standardize accounting methods in order to bring about uniformity across all businesses. But alternative methods are still permitted for certain basic business expenses. No tests are required to determine whether one method is more preferable than another. A business is free to select whichever method it wants. But it must choose which cost of good sold expense method to use and which depreciation expense method to use.

For other expenses and for sales revenue, one general accounting method has been established; there are no alternative methods. However, a business has a fair amount of latitude in actually implementing the methods. One business applies the accounting methods in a conservative manner, and another business applies the methods in a more liberal manner. The end result is more diversity between businesses in their profit measure and financial statements than one might expect, considering that GAAP have been evolving since 1930.

The pronouncement on GAAP prepared by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is now more than 1000 pages long. And that doesn't even include the rules and regulations issued by the federal regulatory agency that jurisdiction over the financial reporting and accounting methods of publicly owned businesses - the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

What happened in corporate accounting scandals?

When a corporation deliberately conceals or skews information to appear healthy and successful to its shareholders, it has committed corporate or shareholder fraud. Corporate fraud may involve a few individuals or many, depending on the extent to which employees are informed of their company's financial practices. Directors of corporations may fudge financial records or disguise inappropriate spending. Fraud committed by corporations can be devastating, not only for outside investors who have made share purchases based on false information, but for employees who, through 401ks, have invested their retirement savings in company stock.

Some recent corporate accounting scandals have consumed the news media and ruined hundreds of thousands of lives of the employees who had their retirement invested in the companies that defrauded them and other investors. The nuts and bolts of some of these accounting scandals are as follows:

WorldCom admitted to adjusting accounting records to cover its operation costs and present a successful front to shareholders. Nine billion dollars in discrepancies were discovered before the telecom corporation went bankrupt in July of 2002. One of the hidden expenses was $408 million given to Bernard Ebbers (WorldCom's CEO) in undisclosed personal loans.

At Tyco, shareholders were not informed of the $170 million in loans that were taken by Tyco's CEO, CFO, and chief legal officer. The loans, many of which were taken interest free and later written off as benefits, were not approved by Tyco's compensation committee. Kozlowski (former CEO), Swartz (former CFO), and Belnick (former chief legal officer) face continuing investigations by the SEC and the Tyco Corporation, which is now operating under Edward Breen and a new board of directors.

At Enron, investigations against uncovered multiple acts of fraudulent behavior. Enron used illegal loans and partnerships with other companies to cover its multi-billion dollar debt. It presented erroneous accounting records to investors, and Arthur Anderson, its accounting firm, began shredding incriminating documentation weeks before the SEC could begin investigations. Money laundering, wire fraud, mail fraud, and securities fraud are just some of the indictments directors of Enron have faced and will continue to face as the investigation continues.

What is a sole proprietorship?

A sole proprietorship is the business or an individual who has decided not to carry his business as a separate legal entity, such as a corporation, partnership or limited liability company. This kind of business is not a separate entity. Any time a person regularly provides services for a fee, sells things at a flea market or engage in any business activity whose primary purpose is to make a profit, that person is a sole proprietor. If they carry on business activity to make profit or income, the IRS requires that you file a separate Schedule C "Profit or Loss From a Business" with your annual individual income tax return. Schedule C summarizes your income and expenses from your sole proprietorship business.

As the sold proprietor of a business, you have unlimited liability, meaning that if your business can't pay all it liabilities, the creditors to whom your business owes money can come after your personal assets. Many part-time entrepreneurs may not know this, but it's an enormous financial risk. If they are sued or can't pay their bills, they are personally liable for the business's liabilities.

A sole proprietorship has no other owners to prepare financial statements for, but the proprietor should still prepare these statements to know how his business is doing. Banks usually require financial statements from sole proprietors who apply for loans. A partnership needs to maintain a separate capital or ownership account for each partners. The total profit of the firm is allocated into these capital accounts, as spelled out in the partnership agreement. Although sole proprietors don't have separate invested capital from retained earnings like corporations do, they still need to keep these two separate accounts for owners' equity - not only to track the business, but for the benefit of any future buyers of the business.

How to analyze a financial statement

It's obvious financial statement have a lot of numbers in them and at first glance it can seem unwieldy to read and understand. One way to interpret a financial report is to compute ratios, which means, divide a particular number in the financial report by another. Financial statement ratios are also useful because they enable the reader to compare a business's current performance with its past performance or with another business's performance, regardless of whether sales revenue or net income was bigger or smaller for the other years or the other business. In order words, using ratios can cancel out difference in company sizes.

There aren't many ratios in financial reports. Publicly owned businesses are required to report just one ratio (earnings per share, or EPS) and privately-owned businesses generally don't report any ratios. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) don't require that any ratios be reported, except EPS for publicly owned companies.

Ratios don't provide definitive answers, however. They're useful indicators, but aren't the only factor in gauging the profitability and effectiveness of a company.

One ratio that's a useful indicator of a company's profitability is the gross margin ratio. This is the gross margin divided by the sales revenue. Businesses don't discose margin information in their external financial reports. This information is considered to be proprietary in nature and is kept confidential to shield it from competitors.

The profit ratio is very important in analyzing the bottom-line of a company. It indicates how much net income was earned on each $100 of sales revenue. A profit ratio of 5 to 10 percent is common in most industries, although some highly price-competitive industries, such as retailers or grocery stores will show profit ratios of only 1 to 2 percent.

Disclosure

Financial statements are the backbone of a complete financial report. In fact, a financial report is not complete if the three primary financial statements are not included. but a financial report is much more than just those statements. A financial report requires disclosures. This term refers to additional information provided in a financial report. Therefore, any comprehensive and ethical financial report must include not only the primary financial statements, but disclosures as well.

The chief executive of a business (usually the CEO in a publicly held corporation) has the primary responsibility to make sure that the financial statements have been prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and the financial report provides adequate disclosures. He or she works with the chief financial officer or controller of the business to make sure that the financial report meets the standard of adequate disclosures.

Some common methods of disclosures include:

--Footnotes that provide information about the basic figures. Nearly all financial statements require footnotes to provide additional information for several of the account balances in the financial statements.

--Supplementary financial schedules and tables that provide more details than can be included in the body of the financial statements.

--Other information may be required if the business is a public corporation subject to federal regulations regarding financial reporting to its stockholders. Other information is voluntary and not strictly required legally or according to GAAP.

Some disclosures are required by various governing boards and agencies. These include:

--The financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has designated many standards. Its dictate regarding disclosure of the effects of stock options is one such standard.

--The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandates disclosure of a broad range of information for publicly held companies.

--International businesses have to abide by disclosure standards adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board.

Making a Profit

Accountants are responsible for preparing three primary types of financial statements for a business. The income statement reports the profit-making activities of the business and the bottom-line profit or loss for a specified period. The balance sheets reports the financial position of the business at a specific point in time, ofteh the last day of the period. and the statement of cash flows reports how much cash was generated from profit what the business did with this money.

Everyone knows profit is a good thing. It's what our economy is founded on. It doesn't sound like such a big deal. Make more money than you spend to sell or manufacture products. But of course nothing's ever really simple, is it? A profit report, or net income statement first identifies the business and the time period that is being summarized in the report.

You read an income statement from the top line to the bottom line. Every step of the income statement reports the deduction of an expense. The income statement also reports changes in assets and liabilities as well, so that if there's a revenue increase, it's either because there's been an increase in assets or a decrease in a company's liabilities. If there's been an increase in the expense line, it's because there's been either a decrease in assets or an increase in liabilities.

Net worth is also referred to as owners' equity in the business. They're not exactly interchangeable. Net worth expresses the total of assets less the liabilities. Owners' equity refers to who owns the assets after the liabilities are satisfied.

These shifts in assets and liabilities are important to owners and executives of a business because it's their responsibility to manage and control such changes. Making a profit in a business involves several variable, not just increasing the amount of cash that flows through a company, but management of other assets as well.

Revenue and receivables

In most businesses, what drives the balance sheet are sales and expenses. In other words, they cause the assets and liabilities in a business. One of the more complicated accounting items are the accounts receivable. As a hypothetical situation, imagine a business that offers all its customers a 30-day credit period, which is fairly common in transactions between businesses, (not transactions between a business and individual consumers).

An accounts receivable asset shows how much money customers who bought products on credit still owe the business. It's a promise of case that the business will receive. Basically, accounts receivable is the amount of uncollected sales revenue at the end of the accounting period. Cash does not increase until the business actually collects this money from its business customers. However, the amount of money in accounts receivable is included in the total sales revenue for that same period. The business did make the sales, even if it hasn't acquired all the money from the sales yet. Sales revenue, then isn't equal to the amount of cash that the business accumulated.

To get actual cash flow, the accountant must subtract the amount of credit sales not collected from the sales revenue in cash. Then add in the amount of cash that was collected for the credit sales that were made in the preceding reporting period. If the amount of credit sales a business made during the reporting period is greater than what was collected from customers, then the accounts receivable account increased over the period and the business has to subtract from net income that difference.

If the amount they collected during the reporting period is greater than the credit sales made, then the accounts receivable decreased over the reporting period, and the accountant needs to add to net income that difference between the receivables at the beginning of the reporting period and the receivables at the end of the same period.

Careers

There are many different careers in the field of accounting ranging from entry-level bookkeeping to the Chief Financial Officer of a company. To achieve positions with more responsibility and higher salaries, it's necessary to have a degree in accounting as well as achieve various professional designations.

One of the primary milestones in any accountant's career is to become a Certified Public Accountant or CPA. To become a CPA you have to go to college with a major in accounting. You also have to pass a national CPA exam. There's also some employment experience required in a CPA firm. This is generally one to two years, although this varies from state to state. Once you satisfy all those requirements, you get a certificate that designates you as a CPA and you're allowed to offer your services to the public.

Many CPAs consider this just one stepping stone to their careers. The chief accountant in many offices is called the controller. The controller is in charge of managing the entire accounting system in a business stays on top of accounting and tax laws to keep the company legal and is responsible for preparing the financial statements.

The controller is also in charge of financial planning and budgeting. Some companies have only one accounting professional who's essentially the chief cook and bottle washer and does everything. As a business grows in size and complexity, then additional layers of personnel are required to handle the volume of work that comes from growth. Other areas in the company are also impacted by growth, and it's part of the controller's job to determine just how many more salaries the company can pay for additional people without negatively impacting growth and profits.

The controller also is responsible for preparing tax returns for the business; a much more involved and complex task than completing personal income tax forms! In larger organizations, the controller can report to a vice president of finance who reports to the chief financial officer, who is responsible for the broad objectives for growth and profit and implementing the appropriate strategies to achieve the objectives.

Parts of an Income Statement, Part 2

Of course profit and cost of goods sold expense are the two most critical components of an income statement, or at least they're what people will look at first. But an income statement is truly the sum of its parts, and they all need to be considered carefully, consistently and accurately.

In reporting depreciation expense, a business can use a short-life method and load most of the expense over the first few years, or a longer-life method and spread the expense evenly over the years. Depreciation is a big expense for some businesses and the method of reporting is especially critical for them.

One of the more complex elements of a an income statement is the line reporting employee pensions and post-retirement benefits. The GAAP rule on this expense is complex and several key estimates must be made by the business, such as the expected rate of return on the portfolio of funds set aside for these future obligations. This and other estimates affect the amount of expense recorded.

Many products are sold with expressed or implied warranties and guarantees. The business should estimate the cost of these future obligations and record this amount as an expense in the same period that the goods are sold, along with the cost of goods expense. It can't really wait until customers actually return products for repair or replacement, should be forecast as a percent of the total products sold.

Other operating expenses that are reported in an income statement may also have timing or estimating considerations. Some expenses are also discretionary in nature, which means that how much is spent during the year depends on the discretion of management.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) measures the sales revenue less all the expenses above this line. It depends on all the decisions made for recording sales revenue and expenses and how the accounting methods are implemented.

What is financial window dressing?

Financial managers can do certain things to increase or decrease net income that's recorded in the year. This is called profit smoothing, income smoothing or just plain old window dressing. This isn't the same as fraud, or cooking the books.

Most profit smoothing involves pushing some amount of revenue and/or expenses into other years than they would normally be recorded. A common technique for profit smoothing is to delay normal maintenance and repairs. This is referred to as deferred maintenance. Many routine and recurring maintenance costs required for autos, trucks, machines, equipment and buildings can be delayed, or deferred until later.

A business that spends a significant amount of money for employee training and development may delay these programs until the next year so the expense in the current year is lower.

A company can cut back on its current year's outlays for market research and product development.

A business can ease up on its rules regarding when slow-paying customers are written off to expense as bad debts or uncollectible accounts receivable. The business can put off recording some of its bad debts expense until the next reporting year.

A fixed asset that is not being actively used may have very little current or future value to a business. Instead of writing off the un-depreciated cost of the impaired asset as a loss in the current year, the business might delay the write-off until the next year.

You can see how manipulating the timing of certain expenses can make an impact on net income. This isn't illegal although companies can go too far in massaging the numbers so that its financial statements are misleading. For the most part though, profit smoothing isn't much more than robbing Peter to pay Paul. Accountants refer to these as compensatory effects. The effects next year offset and cancel out the effects in the current year. Less expense this year is balanced by more expense the next year.

Minggu, 25 Desember 2011

Personal Accounting

If you have a checking account, of course you balance it periodically to account for any differences between what's in your statement and what you wrote down for checks and deposits. Many people do it once a month when their statement is mailed to them, but with the advent of online banking, you can do it daily if you're the sort whose banking tends to get away from them.

You balance your checkbook to note any charges in your checking account that you haven't recorded in your checkbook. Some of these can include ATM fees, overdraft fees, special transaction fees or low balance fees, if you're required to keep a minimum balance in your account. You also balance your checkbook to record any credits that you haven't noted previously. They might include automatic deposits, or refunds or other electronic deposits. Your checking account might be an interest-bearing account and you want to record any interest that it's earned.

You also need to discover if you've made any errors in your recordkeeping or if the bank has made any errors.

Another form of accounting that we all dread is the filing of annual federal income tax returns. Many people use a CPA to do their returns; others do it themselves. Most forms include the following items:

Income - any money you've earned from working or owning assets, unless there are specific exemptions from income tax.

Personal exemptions - this is a certain amount of income that is excused from tax.

Standard deduction - some personal expenditures or business expenses can be deducted from your income to reduce the taxable amount of income. These expenses include items such as interest paid on your home mortgage, charitable contributions and property taxes.

Taxable income - This is the balance of income that's subject to taxes after personal exemptions and deductions are factored in.

Measuring Costs

Measuring profits or net income is the most important thing accountants do. The second most important task is measuring costs. Costs are extremely important to running a business and managing them effectively can make a substantial difference in a company's bottom line.

Any business that sells products needs to know its product costs and depending on what is being manufactured and/or sold, it can get complicated. Every step in the production process has to be tracked carefully from start to finish. Many manufacturing costs cannot be directly matched with particular products; these are called indirect costs. To calculate the full cost of each product manufactured, accountants devise methods for allocating indirect production costs to specific products. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) provide few guidelines for measuring product cost.

Accountants need to determine many other costs, in addition to product costs, such as the costs of the departments and other organizational units of the business; the cost of the retirement plan for the company's employees; the cost of marketing and advertising; the cost of restructuring the business or the cost of a major recall of products sold by the company, should that ever become necessary.

Cost accounting serves two broad purposes: measuring profit and furnishing relevant information to managers. What makes it confusing is that there's no one set method for measuring and reporting costs, although accuracy is paramount. Cost accounting can fall anywhere on a continuum between conservative or expansive. The phrase actual cost depends entirely on the particular methods used to measure cost. These can often be as subjective and nebulous as some systems for judging sports. Again accuracy is extremely important. The total cost of goods or products sold is the first and usually largest expense deducted from sales revenue in measuring profit.

What are other ratios used in financial reporting

The dividend yield ratio tells investors how much cash income they're receiving on their stock investment in a business. This is calculated by dividing the annual cash dividend per share by the current market price of the stock. This can be compared with the interest rate on high-grade debt securities that pay interest, such as Treasure bonds and Treasury notes, which are the safest.

Book value per share is calculated by dividing total owners' equity by the total number of stock shares that are outstanding. While EPS is more important to determine the market value of a stock, book value per share is the measure of the recorded value of the company's assets less its liabilities, the net assets backing up the business's stock shares. It's possible that the market value of a stock could be less than the book value per share.

The return on equity (ROE) ratio tells how much profit a bus8iness earned in comparison to the book value of its stockholders' equity. This ratio is especially useful for privately owned businesses, which have no way of determining the current value of owners' equity. ROE is also calculated for public corporations, but it plays a secondary role to other ratios. ROE is calculated by dividing net income by owners' equity.

The current ratio is a measure of a business's short-term solvency, in other words, its ability to pay it liabilities that come due in the near future. This ratio is a rough indicator of whether cash on hand plus the cash to be collected from accounts receivable and from selling inventory will be enough to pay off the liabilities that will come due in the next period. It is calculated by dividing the current assets by the current liabilities. Businesses are expected to maintain a minimum 2:1 current ratio, which means its current assets should be twice its current liabilities.

Bookkeeping

So what goes on the accounting and bookkeeping departments? What do these people do on a daily basis?

Well, one thing they do that's terribly important to everyone working there is Payroll. All the salaries and taxes earned and paid by every employee every pay period have to be recorded. The payroll department has to ensure that the appropriate federal, state and local taxes are being deducted. The pay stub attached to your paycheck records these taxes. They usually include income tax, social security taxes pous employment taxes that have to be paid to federal and state government. Other deductions include personal ones, such as for retirement, vacation, sick pay or medical benefits. It's a critical function. Some companies have their own payroll departments; others outsource it to specialists.

The accounting department receives and records any payments or cash received from customers or clients of the business or service. The accounting department has to make sure that the money is sourced accurately and deposited in the appropriate accounts. They also manage where the money goes; how much of it is kept on-hand for areas such as payroll, or how much of it goes out to pay what the company owes its banks, vendors and other obligations. Some should also be invested.

The other side of the receivables business is the payables area, or cash disbursements. A company writes a lot of checks during the course of year to pay for purchases, supplies, salaries, taxes, loans and services. The accounting department prepares all these checks and records to whom they were disbursed, how much and for what. Accounting departments also keep track of purchase orders placed for inventory, such as products that will be sold to customers or clients. They also keep track of assets such as a business's property and equipment. This can include the office building, furniture, computers, even the smallest items such as pencils and pens.

43 What's the difference between private and public company reporting

A public corporation is a business whose securities are traded on the public stock exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. A private company is held solely by its owners and is not traded publicly. When the shareholders of a private business receive the periodical financial reports, they are entitled to assume that the company's financial statements and footnotes are prepared in accordance with GAAP. Otherwise the president of chief officer of the business should clearly warn the shareholders that GAAP have not been followed in one or more respects. The content of a private business's annual financial report is often minimal. It includes the three primary financial statements - the balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows. There's generally no letter from the chief executive, no photographs, no charts.

In contrast, the annual report of a publicly traded company has more bells and whistles to it. There are also more requirements for reporting. These include the management discussion and analysis (MD&A) section that presents the top managers' interpretation and analysis of the business's profit performance and other important financial developments over the year.

Another section required for public companies is the earnings per share (EPS). This is the only ratio that a public business is required to report, although most public companies report a few others as well. A three-year comparative income statement is also required.

Many publicly owned businesses make their required filings with the SEC, but they present very different annual financial reports to their stockholders. A large number of public companies include only condensed financial information rather than comprehensive financial statements. They will generally refer the reader to a more detailed SEC financial report for more specifics.

Budgeting

Ugh, budgeting is one of those topics we'd rather avoid, but in business, it's an absolute necessity. To prepare a reasoned and thoughtful budget, an accountant must start with a broad-based critical analysis of the most recent actual performance and position of the business by the managers who are responsible for the results. Then the managers decide on specific and concrete goals for the coming year. It demands a fair amount of management time and energy. Budgets should be worth this time and effort. It's one of the key components of a manager's job.

To construct budged financial statements, a manager needs good models of the profit, cash flow and financial condition of your business. Models are blueprints or schematics of how things work. A business budget is, at its core, a financial blueprint of the business. Budgeting relies on financial models that are the foundation for preparing budgeted financial statements. Those statements include:

--Budgeted income statement (or profit report): This statement highlights the critical information that managers need for making decisions and exercising control. Much of the information in an internal profit report is confidential and should not be divulged outside the business.

--Budgeted balance sheet: The connections and ratios between sales revenue and expenses and their corresponding assets and liabilities are the elements of the basic model for the budgeted balance sheet.

--Budgeted statement of cash flows: The changes in assets and liabilities from their balances at the end of the year just concluded to the projected balances at the end of the coming year determine cash flow from profit for the coming year.

Budgeting requires good working models of profit performance, financial condition, and cash flow from profit. Constructing good budgets is a strong incentive for businesses to develop financial models that not only help in the budgeting process but also help managers in making strategic decisions.

What are auditors?

Accountants and auditors help to ensure that the Nation's firms are run efficiently, its public records kept accurately, and its taxes paid properly and on time. They perform these vital functions by offering an increasingly wide array of business and accounting services, including public, management, and government accounting, as well as internal auditing, to their clients. Beyond carrying out the fundamental tasks of the occupation-preparing, analyzing, and verifying financial documents in order to provide information to clients-many accountants now are required to possess a wide range of knowledge and skills. Accountants and auditors are broadening the services they offer to include budget analysis, financial and investment planning, information technology consulting, and limited legal services.

Specific job duties vary widely among the four major fields of accounting: public, management, and government accounting and internal auditing.

Internal auditors verify the accuracy of their organization's internal records and check for mismanagement, waste, or fraud. Internal auditing is an increasingly important area of accounting and auditing. Internal auditors examine and evaluate their firms' financial and information systems, management procedures, and internal controls to ensure that records are accurate and controls are adequate to protect against fraud and waste. They also review company operations, evaluating their efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with corporate policies and procedures, laws, and government regulations. There are many types of highly specialized auditors, such as electronic data-processing, environmental, engineering, legal, insurance premium, bank, and health care auditors. As computer systems make information timelier, internal auditors help managers to base their decisions on actual data, rather than personal observation. Internal auditors also may recommend controls for their organization's computer system, to ensure the reliability of the system and the integrity of the data.

Government accountants and auditors work in the public sector, maintaining and examining the records of government agencies and auditing private businesses and individuals whose activities are subject to government regulations or taxation. Accountants employed by Federal, State, and local governments guarantee that revenues are received and expenditures are made in accordance with laws and regulations. Those employed by the Federal Government may work as Internal Revenue Service agents or in financial management, financial institution examination, or budget analysis and administration.

Depreciation

Depreciation is a term we hear about frequently, but don't really understand. It's an essential component of accounting however. Depreciation is an expense that's recorded at the same time and in the same period as other accounts. Long-term operating assets that are not held for sale in the course of business are called fixed assets. Fixed assets include buildings, machinery, office equipment, vehicles, computers and other equipment. It can also include items such as shelves and cabinets. Depreciation refers to spreading out the cost of a fixed asset over the years of its useful life to a business, instead of charging the entire cost to expense in the year the asset was purchased. That way, each year that the equipment or asset is used bears a share of the total cost. As an example, cars and trucks are typically depreciated over five years. The idea is to charge a fraction of the total cost to depreciation expense during each of the five years, rather than just the first year.

Depreciation applies only to fixed assets that you actually buy, not those you rent or lease. Depreciation is a real expense, but not necessarily a cash outlay expense in the year it's recorded. The cash outlay does actually occur when the fixed asset is acquired, but is recorded over a period of time.

Depreciation is different from other expenses. It is deducted from sales revenue to determine profit, but the depreciation expense recorded in a reporting period doesn't require any true cash outlay during that period. Depreciation expense is that portion of the total cost of a business's fixed assets that is allocated to the period to record the cost of using the assets during period. The higher the total cost of a business's fixed assets, then the higher its depreciation expense.

Balance sheet

A balance sheet is a quick picture of the financial condition of a business at a specific period in time. The activities of a business fall into two separate groups that are reported by an accountant. They are profit-making activities, which includes sales and expenses. This can also be referred to as operating activities. There are also financing and investing activities that include securing money from debt and equity sources of capital, returning capital to these sources, making distributions from profit to the owners, making investments in assets and eventually disposing of the assets.

Profit making activities are reported in the income statement; financing and investing activities are found in the statement of cash flows. In other words, two different financial statements are prepared for the two different types of transactions. The statement of cash flows also reports the cash increase or decrease from profit during the year as opposed to the amount of profit that is reported in the income statement.

The balance sheet is different from the income and cash flow statements which report, as it says, income of cash and outgoing cash. The balance sheet represents the balances, or amounts, or a company's assets, liabilities and owners' equity at an instant in time. The word balance has different meanings at different times. As it's used in the term balance sheet, it refers to the balance of the two opposite sides of a business, total assets on one side and total liabilities on the other. However, the balance of an account, such as the asset, liability, revenue and expense accounts, refers to the amount in the account after recording increases and decreases in the account, just like the balance in your checking account. Accountants can prepare a balance sheet any time that a manager requests it. But they're generally prepared at the end of each month, quarter and year. It's always prepared at the close of business on the last day of the profit period.

Depreciation reporting

In an accountant's reporting systems, depreciation of a business's fixed assets such as its buildings, equipment, computers, etc. is not recorded as a cash outlay. When an accountant measures profit on the accrual basis of accounting, he or she counts depreciation as an expense. Buildings, machinery, tools, vehicles and furniture all have a limited useful life. All fixed assets, except for actual land, have a limited lifetime of usefulness to a business. Depreciation is the method of accounting that allocates the total cost of fixed assets to each year of their use in helping the business generate revenue.

Part of the total sales revenue of a business includes recover of cost invested in its fixed assets. In a real sense a business sells some of its fixed assets in the sales prices that it charges it customers. For example, when you go to a grocery store, a small portion of the price you pay for eggs or bread goes toward the cost of the buildings, the machinery, bread ovens, etc. Each reporting period, a business recoups part of the cost invested in its fixed assets.

It's not enough for the accountant to add back depreciation for the year to bottom-line profit. The changes in other assets, as well as the changes in liabilities, also affect cash flow from profit. The competent accountant will factor in all the changes that determine cash flow from profit. Depreciation is only one of many adjustments to the net income of a business to determine cash flow from operating activities. Amortization of intangible assets is another expense that is recorded against a business's assets for year. It's different in that it doesn't require cash outlay in the year being charged with the expense. That occurred when the business invested in those tangible assets.

Quasar software

Accounting has become more and more complex as have the businesses that use accounting functions. Fortunately, there are several excellent software packages that can help you manage this important function. Quasar is one such package.

All versions of Quasar offer comprehensive inventory controls. In its most basic use, the inventory module allows a business owner to track the locations and quantities of all inventory items. Additionally, the inventory capabilities go beyond simple record-keeping. Manufacturers and wholesalers can assemble kits using component items; whenever a kit is assembled, the inventory representing its component items are adjusted accordingly. Items can be grouped into various categories and the groups can be nested many levels deep. Vendor purchase orders can be generated for items whose quantities are below a preset level. Costs and selling prices for items can be set and discounted in a myriad of different ways. Finally, these items can be reported upon to show such things as profits, margins, and sales per item.

Sales and purchasing are another strength of Quasar. Customer quotes can be easily converted to invoices to be paid. Promotions can be created and discounts can be given based on date, customer, or store location. Margins can be reported upon for traits such as individual items, individual customers, or individual salesperson. Likewise, a purchase order can be created and converted to a vendor invoice, which can be paid in a number of different ways, including printing a check. Quasar can keep track of miscellaneous fees such as container deposits, freight charges, and franchise fees.

The intelligent design of Quasar's user interface allows for quick and easy data entry. Some programs you may encounter are not optimized for keyboard use. These programs require you to move your hand to the mouse to select frequently needed options. While some of Quasar's menu options are only mouse-accessible, the bulk of Quasar's user interface is designed in such a way that you can keep you hands on the keyboard by using special shortcuts. This allows for faster data entry, which can save time (and therefore money) in the long run.

What Is Accounting Anyway?

Anyone who's worked in an office at some point or another has had to go to accounting. They're the people who pay and send out the bills that keep the business running. They do a lot more than that, though. Sometimes referred to as "bean counters" they also keep their eye on profits, costs and losses. Unless you're running your own business and acting as your own accountant, you'd have no way of knowing just how profitable - or not - your business is without some form of accounting.

No matter what business you're in, even if all you do is balance a checkbook, that's still accounting. It's part of even a kid's life. Saving an allowance, spending it all at once - these are accounting principles.

What are some other businesses where accounting is critical? Well, farmers need to follow careful accounting procedures. Many of them run their farms year to year by taking loans to plant the crops. If it's a good year, a profitable one, then they can pay off their loan; if not, they might have to carry the loan over, and accrue more interest charges.

Every business and every individual needs to have some kind of accounting system in their lives. Otherwise, the finances can get away from them, they don't know what they've spent, or whether they can expect a profit or a loss from their business. Staying on top of accounting, whether it's for a multi-billion dollar business or for a personal checking account is a necessary activity on a daily basis if you're smart. Not doing so can mean anything from a bounced check or posting a loss to a company's shareholders. Both scenarios can be equally devastating.

Accounting is basically information, and this information is published periodically in business as a profit and loss statement, or an income statement.

What are partnerships and limited liability companies?

Some business owners choose to create partnerships or limited liability companies instead of a corporation. A partnership can also be called a firm, and refers to an association of a group of individuals working together in a business or professional practice.

While corporations have rigid rules about how they are structured, partnerships and limited liability companies allow the division of management authority, profit sharing and ownership rights among the owners to be very flexible.

Partnerships fall into two categories. General partners are subject to unlimited liability. If a business can't pay its debts, its creditors can demand payment from the general partners' personal assets. General partners have the authority and responsibility to manage the business. They're analogous to the president and other officers of a corporation.

Limited partners escape the unlimited liability that the general partners have. They are not responsible as individuals, for the liabilities of the partnership. These are junior partners who have ownership rights to the profits of the business, but they don't generally participate in the high-level management of the business. A partnership must have one or more general partners.

A limited liability company (LLC) is becoming more prevalent among smaller businesses. An LLC is like a corporation regarding limited liability and it's like a partnership regarding the flexibility of dividing profit among the owners. Its advantage over other types of ownership is its flexibility in how profit and management authority are determined. This can have a downside. The owners must enter into very detailed agreements about how the profits and management responsibilities are divided. It can get very complicated and generally requires the services of a lawyer to draw up the agreement.

A partnership or LLC agreement specifies how profits will be divided among the owners. While stockholders of a corporation receive a share of profit that's directly related to how many shares they own, a partnership or LLC does not have to divide profit according to how much each partner invested. Invested capital is only of the factors that are used in allocating and distributing profits.

Investing and financing

Another portion of the statement of cash flows reports the investment that the company took during the reporting year. New investments are signs of growing or upgrading the production and distribution facilities and capacity of the business. Disposing of long-term assets or divesting itself of a major part of its business can be good or bad news, depending on what's driving those activities. A business generally disposes of some of its fixed assets every year because they reached the end of their useful lives and will not be used any longer. These fixed assets are disposed of or sold or traded in on new fixed assets. The value of a fixed asset at the end of its useful life is called its salvage value. The proceeds from selling fixed assets are reported as a source of cash in the investing activities section of the statement of cash flows. Usually these are very small amounts.

Like individuals, companies at times have to finance its acquisitions when its internal cash flow isn't enough to finance business growth. financing refers to a business raising capital from debt and quity sources, by borrowing money from banks and other sources willing to loan money to the business and by its owners putting additional money in the business. The term also includes the other side, making payments on debt and returning capital to owners. it includes cash distributions by the business from profit to its owners.

Most business borrow money for both short terms and long terms. Most cash flow statements report only the net increase or decrease in short-term debt, not the total amounts borrowed and total payments on the debt. When reporting long-term debt, however, both the total amounts and the repayments on long-term debt during a year are generally reported in the statement of cash flows. These are reported as gross figures, rather than net.

What are independent auditors?

Indpendent CPA auditors are like referees in the financial reporting arena. The CPA comes in, does an audit of the business's accounting system and methods and gives a report that is attached to the company's financial statements. Publicly owned businesses are required to have their annual financial reports audited by independent CPA firms and any privately owned businesses have audits done as well because they know that an audit report will add credibility to their financial reports.

An auditor judges whether the business's accounting methods are in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Generally everything is in place and the financial report is a reliable document. But at times an auditor will wave a yellow or red flag. Some indicators of potential trouble include when the business's capability to continue normal operations is in doubt because of what are known as financial exigencies, which could mean a low cash balance, unpaid overdue liabilities, or major lawsuits that the business doesn't have the cash to cover.

An auditor must exercise professional skepticism, meaning the auditor should challenge the accounting methods and reporting practices of the client in order to make sure that its financial statement conform with accounting standards and are not misleading - in short, that the financial statement are fairly presented. Indeed, the words "fairly presented" are the exact words used in the auditor's report.

A good auditor need technical know-how, but also needs to know how to be tough on the accounting methods of the client. His job is to be the agent of the shareholders and other users of the business's financial report. It's incumbent on an auditor to strictly uphold GAAP, and not let any irregularities slide.

There are a number of well-known companies that engaged in accounting fraud recently and that fraud was not discovered by the CPA auditors. Enron is one of these companies. In this case, the auditing firm, Arthur Anderson was found guilty of obstruction of justice because it destroyed audit evidence.

Bookkeeping Basics

Most people probably think of bookkeeping and accounting as the same thing, but bookkeeping is really one function of accounting, while accounting encompasses many functions involved in managing the financial affairs of a business. Accountants prepare reports based, in part, on the work of bookkeepers.

Bookkeepers perform all manner of record-keeping tasks. Some of them include the following:

-They prepare what are referred to as source documents for all the operations of a business - the buying, selling, transferring, paying and collecting. The documents include papers such as purchase orders, invoices, credit card slips, time cards, time sheets and expense reports. Bookkeepers also determine and enter in the source documents what are called the financial effects of the transactions and other business events. Those include paying the employees, making sales, borrowing money or buying products or raw materials for production.

-Bookkeepers also make entries of the financial effects into journals and accounts. These are two different things. A journal is the record of transactions in chronological order. An accounts is a separate record, or page for each asset and each liability. One transaction can affect several accounts.

-Bookkeepers prepare reports at the end of specific period of time, such as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually. To do this, all the accounts need to be up to date. Inventory records must be updated and the reports checked and double-checked to ensure that they're as error-free as possible.

-The bookkeepers also compile complete listings of all accounts. This is called the adjusted trial balance. While a small business may have a hundred or so accounts, very large businesses can have more than 10,000 accounts.

-The final step is for the bookkeeper to close the books, which means bringing all the bookkeeping for a fiscal year to a close and summarized.

Sabtu, 24 Desember 2011

What is forensic accounting?

Forensic accounting is the practice of utilizing accounting, auditing, and investigative skills to assist in legal matters. It encompasses 2 main areas - litigation support, investigation, and dispute resolution. Litigation support represents the factual presentation of economic issues related to existing or pending litigation. In this capacity, the forensic accounting professional quantifies damages sustained by parties involved in legal disputes and can assist in resolving disputes, even before they reach the courtroom. If a dispute reaches the courtroom, the forensic accountant may testify as an expert witness.

Investigation is the act of determining whether criminal matters such as employee theft, securities fraud (including falsification of financial statements), identity theft, and insurance fraud have occurred. As part of the forensic accountant's work, he or she may recommend actions that can be taken to minimize future risk of loss. Investigation may also occur in civil matters. For example, the forensic accountant may search for hidden assets in divorce cases.

Forensic accounting involves looking beyond the numbers and grasping the substance of situations. It's more than accounting...more than detective work...it's a combination that will be in demand for as long as human nature exists. Who wouldn't want a career that offers such stability, excitement, and financial rewards?

In short, forensic accounting requires the most important quality a person can possess: the ability to think. Far from being an ability that is specific to success in any particular field, developing the ability to think enhances a person's chances of success in life, thus increasing a person's worth in today's society. Why not consider becoming a forensic accountant on the Forensic Accounting Masters Degree link on the left-hand navigation bar.

What does an audit do?

If a business breaks the rules of accounting and ethics, it can be liable for legal sanctions against it. It can deliberately deceive its investors and lenders with false or misleading numbers in its financial report. That's where audits come in. Audits are one means of keeping misleading financial reporting to a minimum. CPA auditors are like highway patrol officers who enforce traffic laws and issue tickets to keep speeding to a minimum. An audit exam can uncover problems that the business was not aware of.

After completing an audit examination, the CPA prepares a short report stating that the business has prepared its financial statements, according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), or where it has not. All businesses that are publicly traded are required to have annual audits by independent CPAs. Those companies whose stocks are listed on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq must be audited by outside CPA firms. For a publicly traded company, the expense of conducting an annual audit is the cost of doing business; it's the price a company pays for going into public markets for its capital and for having its shares traded in the public venue.

Although federal law doesn't require audits for private businesses, banks and other lenders to private businesses may insist on audited financial statements. If the lenders don't require audited statements, a business's owners have to decide whether an audit is a good investment. Instead of an audit, which they can't really afford, many smaller businesses have an outside CPA come in on a regular basis to look over their accounting methods and give advice on their financial reporting. But unless a CPA has done an audit, he or she has to be very careful not to express an opinion of the external financial statements. Without a careful examination of the evidence supporting the amounts reported in the financial statements, the CPA is in no position to give an opinion on the financial statements prepared from the accounts of the business.

Senin, 19 Desember 2011

Read a Map

Knowing how to read a map isn't innate. The symbols, topography lines and direction helpers all require some understanding before you can read a map effectively. So, when Google Maps deserts you and you're left holding a real map, here is what to do. Here's Tips On How to Read a Map :

How to read maps. Choose the right map. Invest in a good map. A detailed map is worth the money. Look for a Rand McNally Map Book of the United States at truck stops. In the UK, look for an Ordnance survey map (ideally not explorer, though better than an A5 national map). A map is a navigation aid. A wide variety of maps is available for a wide variety of uses. For example, there are road maps (for drivers; with all the roads available) or tourist maps (for the tourist, usually available at Tourism Boards of the locality and have areas of interest clearly labeled on the maps) and maps for hikers or back country users that feature topographical, geographical and other specific features to help with specific activities. So figure out what you want to do and pick the correct map. Visit a decent map shop for expert assistance in choosing a map.
Check the map's orientation. Most how to read maps are drawn with north located at the top. West is therefore left, east is right and south is at the base of the map. This enables you to turn the map until it is facing the real directions wherever you're located. Sometimes this may be depicted using a "compass rose" or a cross-like shape. Or, it might simply be stated to be the assumption of the map. If there is nothing there, presume it is north at the top unless this clearly doesn't make sense.
Understand how do i read a map. Maps are made in scales and these differ in size from map to map. Look for the scale in the form of a ratio, located on the side or bottom of the map. It will look something like 1:100,000, which denotes that 1 unit on the map is the equivalent of 100,000 units in real life.
Note the recording of the latitude and longitude. The latitude refers to the distance in degrees north or south of the equator. The longitude refers to the distance in degrees east or west of the Greenwich Meridian Line. Each degree is divided into 60 minutes, with each minute representing a nautical mile (or 1.15 land miles/1.85km). This means that one degree is the equivalent of 60 nautical miles or 69 land miles/111km.
Learn how do you read a map. How high or flat the land is is represented on the map by using contour lines. Each line represents a standard height above sea level. When contour lines are close together, this means that the gradient is steep (the closer together, the steeper the gradient becomes). When the contour lines are further apart, the gradient is flatter, so the further apart they are located, the flatter the ground on the map.
Look for the map symbols denoting particular items of interest. Most maps have a legend or key of symbols on the map itself and since the origin of the map doesn't necessarily conform to any standard, always look for the legend or key first.
Figure out where you are. You have your map and you're ready to use it. Now you need to figure out where you are on it before you can plot your route. You can do so by matching what you can see in real life with what is on the map. Common features that help identify your location on a map includes road names, landmarks and prominent natural features, like rivers.
Find the location you want go. Now it's time to figure out where you want to go. If you just want to go from one place to another, all you need to do is to plot that single route out. However, if there are several places you intend to go to, you need to plan your route in such a way that you visit all the places in the shortest possible manner. You can do so by going to the nearest places first after which you will go to the further places.
Use the map's index. Some maps have indexes stating the location of certain places on a map. This location could be grid numbers or pages. You should take note of a map's scale (distances between points) so that you can estimate your travel time and if you are taking longer then you expected, you should stop to recheck your map. You should also take note of a map's legend, this will let you know what you are looking at.
Plot the route out in your mind or with a pen. Now you have figured out where you want to go, plot the route for your first journey in your mind. You could also draw out your route with a pen, but that would be permanently imprinted on the map.
Travel to the desired spot with the map. Here is where you need to ensure you are 'On Course' as plotted. If you miss out this step, you may be seriously off course before you realise it. You can check you are on course by counter-checking landmarks or road that are on the map on on-route when you actually pass them. Refer to the pictures and example below to get an idea on how to do how to read a map.

Hitchhike

Whether Hitchhike getting a lift to the corner shop, covering the four corners of the world or simply just in case, there is a method Hitchhike to the madness of hitchhiking. The following instructions have been collected from the experiences of many a weathered hitchhiker. Here's Tips On How to Hitchhike :

Invest in a good map. A detailed map is worth the money. In the US, hitchhike america look for a Rand McNally Map Book of the United States at truck stops. In the UK, look for an Ordnance survey map (ideally not explorer, though better than an A5 national map), these can be borrowed free of charge from libraries. It's what cross-country truckers use and it denotes rest areas, truck stops, and service stations. If you need a free map, though, find a tourist spot (hotel, airport, bus station, tourist information booth) and pick up a pamphlet that has a decent map inside. State welcome centers on interstate highways also have free highway maps for their state. Rental car places tend to have the best free maps. Look for a map that shows road numbers, rest areas, and gas stations.
Become familiar with the road numbering system, if there is one. On hitchhike usa interstate highways, even numbered roads go east/west, and the higher the number, the more northern the interstate. Odd numbered roads go north/south, and the higher the number, the more eastern the interstate. Three-digit interstate numbers indicate spurs and loops off the main interstates. In Europe, two digit numbers ending in 5 indicate a reference road that goes from north to south, whereas those ending in 0 indicate reference roads that go from east to west.
Take precautions. Scan your ID (and passport, if traveling internationally) and e-mail it to yourself. If it gets stolen, print out copies at a library. For passports, go to an embassy with your copies and do what you need to do to get a new passport. Americans will need to provide two passport photos and fill out a few forms to get a temporary passport. Have the phone number for your credit card company before you leave. If you lose your credit card, call them immediately, cancel your card, and have them send a new one to an address where you can receive it (like an embassy). Pack some pepper spray, in case you encounter a shady character, on or off the road.
Make a sign. It shows people that you're literate, and you're on a planned trip. Pack a black or blue marker and a notebook. Write your destination clearly (it doesn't have to be your final destination). Add a border around the whole thing--it makes the sign a little easier to read.
Find a good hitchhike meaning spot. Get on the side of the city or town that's in the direction you're traveling. E.g. If you're heading west, get on the west side of town. Look for a spot that meets most or all of the following criteria: is on a straight stretch of road (700 meters in either direction) and, preferably, has an incline so drivers can see you for a longer time, cars passing at less than 50 mph (80km/hr), enough lighting to make eye contact with passing drivers, cars headed in your direction, a visible and easily manageable pull-over and pick-up area, does not have another hitchhiker in sight--if you see someone there first, go out of sight, and wait your turn., and do not hitchhike next to a broken down vehicle,if the cops or the owner stop to investigate, that will be problems you do not need. Not to mention,most passing motorists, upon learning the vehicle isn't yours, will probably decline to give you a ride after discovering the deception you just presented.
Present yourself how to hitchhike well. Look like you know where you are going, and what you are doing. Have a clean, well-kept appearance, hold a clear, neat sign, and smile.[1] One male hitchhiker shares the following observations: you're less likely to get picked up if you wear too much denim, shorts on male hitchers are looked down upon in many rural communities in the American South and West, super short hair,tends to make people assume that you are AWOL from an institutional setting (prison, military,asylum, boarding school, etc), or recently released from any of the preceding, wearing sunglasses is not a good idea because it obscures eye contact, couples tend to wait longer, based on 'real estate' issues in passing vehicles, however,, as long as you make it clear from the start that you're in a relationship with the woman, or else the driver might go after her; be protective, and rain will not increase your chances of getting picked up, especially if you're totally drenched. Snow, however, or a recent snowfall, however, tends to increase odds of getting a ride. People generally don't mind the occasional snowflake on their upholstery,as it brushes off easily, before it melts, but rain on clothes tends to collect in seat cushions.
Be selective about which rides you take. You'll actually get to your destination faster that way. It's better to travel 50 miles and get dropped off at a gas station or truck stop than to travel 100 miles and get dropped off in a bad hitchhiking spot. So use that map! If you've been on a busy roadway for more than two hours and people aren't stopping, you're probably on the wrong road or the wrong side of the road.[1] If someone stops and you don't want to take the ride, for whatever reasons, tell them you want to wait for a ride that's longer or takes you to a better position. Just because they pull over doesn't mean you should get Hitchhike. Always Follow Your Intuition.
Read also about Read a Map.

Food for Vegetarians

Getting the correct Food for Vegetarians sources of nutrition and sustenance is essential to any diet. It can be a challenge to buy food for vegetarians if you are not familiar with this type of diet. You may end up making them sick due to unfamiliar Food for Vegetarians ingredients being consumed as well as contributing to their social discomfort. Here are a few tips on buying food for a vegetarian. Here's Tips On How to Buy Food for Vegetarians :

Get the basic nutritional food vegetarians needs. Proteins: Sources include, beans, legumes, nuts and grains. Dairy and egg products can also be a good source of protein. Quinoa is a complete protein, meaning it has all 8 amino acids the body needs. Other sources like beans and lentils can be paired with brown rice to make complete foods for vegetarians. Meat Substitutes: Tofu, textured vegetable protein, tempeh, seitan and other soy-based meat substitutes are available and can be used in place of the meat in some common omnivorous recipes. Using the same spices and seasonings used on a meat-based dish is an easy way to mimic the intended flavor of the original dish. Vitamin D: Vitamin D is commonly found in meat and other animal products and often needs to be supplemented in a vegetarian diet. Vitamin D fortified tofu, soy milk and basic cow's milk are all good sources. Calcium: Calcium can be derived from cow's milk and cheese, but if he or she abstains from these--or prefers other sources--there are calcium fortified milk alternatives available. These include rice milk, almond milk and coconut milk. In addition, nuts and seeds such as sesame seeds are high in calcium. Iron: Iron is good food for vegetarians commonly found in meat and is essential to good health. Sources include potatoes, spinach, tofu, watermelon, pinto beans and cashews. You should consume more vitamin C to increase the absorption of iron. Oranges and other citrus fruits can provide you with adequate amounts. Vitamin B12: This vitamin is essential to healthy brain function and is mainly derived from animal products. Dairy products provide adequate amounts and additional sources include nutritional yeast and fortified milk alternatives. Omega fatty-acids: Vegetarians commonly have lower fat intake than meat eaters, unless cheese and milk are a large portion of their diets. Omega fatty-acids are essential to healthy joints and brain function. Fish are traditional sources of this type of fat, but are not usually included in a vegetarian diet. Flax seeds, flax oil and walnuts can be incorporated into a recipe to provide adequate amounts of omega fatty-acids.
Read the great cooking recipes. It is essential to read the label on processed food when buying food for a vegetarian. Many packaged foods include things like chicken broth and other meat products that might otherwise look entirely vegetarian.
Ask them what they like. It might be best to ask what the person prefers to eat. It is common for vegetarians to be aware of what they should and should not eat. Make sure you are aware of their dietary restrictions. Ask if they eat fish, drink milk or eat eggs. There are many types of vegetarians who do it for health, ethics or both. Be sure to learn as much about the person as you can.
Buy simple Food for Vegetarians ingredients. Simple ideas for breakfast and snacks are bananas, apples, oranges, grapes, avocados, spinach, kale, carrots, crackers, hummus, chips and salsa. These simple foods provide a vegetarian with adequate nutrition and are easy to prepare.
Read also about Hitchhike.

Great Cooking

Great Cooking - Do people grimace at your food when it's your turn to cook? Do you feel hopeless in the kitchen? Follow these steps, and next time people may grin when it's your turn to great cooking! Here's Tips On How to Be a Great Cooking :

Visit the library and check out recipes and great cooking ideas. Understand all the basics. See how a recipe is written, the common steps for a particular type of food (bread, soup, meat, cake, etc)
Test out some great cooking recipes; don't get mad if they fail. Practice makes perfect. Start with simple things that require a few cheap ingredients and don't take much time.
Keep reading and cooking. You need to practice how to taste something and then make it taste better.
Check out free great cooking tips all over the internet. See what others say about a certain recipe. Use Google. Google is your friend. If you have a question about something or need to research a certain topic, search using Google.
Watch cooking shows to get some more great cooking gifts. Talk to other cooks. Observe them.
Know what kinds of flavors you like and try to get them in your dish.
Ask someone before you cook or use ingredients in a new recipe! Or see what others say in the internet forum or comment section for a recipe.
Don't be afraid to experiment with cheap ingredients, and be ready to add flavors to repair a dish.
Find a brave friend to taste test your new creations and give you honest feedback and suggestions.
Make sure you know the basic terms and follow recipes carefully at first.
Learn basic techniques for repairing mistakes, such as thickening or thinning a food. However, some mistakes can't be fixed. Learn when to simply throw out something and try again.
Don't try anything with expensive ingredients, a very long list of steps, or notoriously difficult at first.
Start by cooking one dish at a time.
Don't make something you've never heard of great cooking, or you think you won't like yourself.
Read also about Food for Vegetarians.

Overstimulation

Becoming overstimulation because you've spent too much time in a highly stimulating environment can leave you feeling irritable, with too much pent-up energy waiting to be released. This would be OK if you can take a run outside but getting overstimulation before class, an event, sleep, work, or other obligation is hardly ideal. Here is how to avoid over-stimulation. Here's Tips On How to Avoid Overstimulation :

Don't watch too much TV. Even though a passive form of entertainment, TV can make symptoms of overstimulation you when watched for too long, especially watching action, adventure, drama, etc. shows.
Avoid playing video games for long periods of time without breaks. Break down game playing into smaller chunks with big breaks and lessen the amount played each day.
Keep your computer usage to a few hours daily. Surfing the web can infant overstimulation your thinking, especially before bedtime. Have at least an hour's break between surfing and sleeping.
Learn which foods overstimulation in children. Keep a food diary if this helps and record the foods or drinks that bring about hyper behavior. Once you know, avoid these foods and drinks.
Decrease your caffeine intake. Too much caffeine can bring about baby overstimulation.
Ask your doctor about any drugs you're taking. Sometime drugs can cause overstimulation including OTC and recreational drugs.
Read also about Great Cooking.