Читать книгу Accounting For Dummies - John A. Tracy - Страница 22

The recordkeeping function of accounting focuses on transactions, which are economic exchanges between a business or other entity and the parties with which the entity interacts and makes deals. A good accounting system captures and records every transaction that takes place without missing a beat. Transactions are the lifeblood of every business, the heartbeat of activity that keeps it going. Understanding accounting, to a large extent, means understanding how accountants record the financial effects of transactions.

The financial effects of many transactions are clear-cut and immediate. On the other hand, figuring out the financial effects of some transactions is puzzling and dependent on future developments. The financial effects of some transactions can be difficult to determine at the time of the original transaction because the outcome depends on future events that are difficult to predict. We bring up this point because most people seem to think that accounting for transactions is a cut-and-dried process. Frankly, recording some transactions is more in the nature of “let’s make our best assessment, cross our fingers, and wait and see what happens.” The point is that recording the financial effects of some transactions is tentative and conditional on future events.