Accountants in non-profit enterprises

Agencies and departments at all levels of government hire accountants to prepare reports so that officials can carry out their duties responsibly. Many other non-profit enterprises employ accountants. For example, such organizations as hospitals, colleges, and universities are, like the government, interested in compliance with the law and the efficient use of public resources.

Accounting educators provide another career choice. A position of an accounting instructor offers opportunities for teaching, research, and consulting. Accounting educators contribute to the accounting profession in many ways. One, of course, lies in effective teaching, another, in publishing significant research findings; and a third, in influencing top students to pursue careers in accounting. Training new accountants is challenging and rewarding, and today instructors of accounting are in great demand in many countries.

Accounting in Russia

Accounting emerged in the eleventh century in Kievan Russia. The state and monastic economic entity began to use the inventory schedule, being then the basis of all accounting. The chief task consisted in keeping a record of objects. The strictest record of property was regarded as the only possible system of accounting. At this time there appeared the current account, initially in trade where a significant number of persons were involved.

From the seventeenth century in Russia there evolved a rather complicated system of agricultural accounting. The accounting extended not only to land, herds, crops, seeds and implements, but also people - serfs.

Accounting During the reign of Peter 1

Peter I utilized the best and most valuable experience in the practice of other countries. During his reign there was published the first official document containing references to accounting - Military Statute (1716).

By the end of the reign of Peter 1 there had been created industrial enterprises large both in size and the number of people employed that required different organization of accounting. The first official document dealing seriously with the organization of accounting was the Admiralty Regulation (1722). The reforms of Peter 1 had a great influence on the development of accounting.

The first chart of accounts

The first chart of accounts was introduced in accounting practices in Russia in the thirties. This scheme contained 123 accounts for the main ledger and a number of second rank accounts. Later this chart of accounts was repeatedly modified and perfected. In 1960 a unified chart of accounts for the production and economic activities of union, republican and local enterprises was worked out. At the end of the twentieth century this unified chart was modernized to meet the demands of the national economy and the conditions of mechanized accounting. At present Russian accounting is still based on the chart of accounts which provides a detailed standardized arrangement of account codes for assets, liabilities, capital, revenues and expenses.

The chart of accounts

The chart of accounts was invented in Germany. Its original aim was to allow companies to record and prepare accounting information in a uniform and, therefore, comparable way. This enabled inter-firm comparisons and enhanced the efficiency of industry. The chart of accounts is also the basis on which accounting information is sent annually from all companies to the Ministry of Economics and Finance. This is common practice for Russia, France, Belgium and other countries of the world.

The debit

The word "debit" is naturally associated with double-entry, but pre-dates it. It derives from the Latin for "he owes".

As is known in the double-entry system, all increases in assets and expenses and all decreases in capital liabilities or revenues are debits. If the recording has been done correctly, the total of the debits will be always equal to the total of the credits.

The debits are usually found on the left-hand side of accounts. This may be due to the fact that left-handedness has always been regarded as bad. Suffice it to remember that Judas was sitting on the left from Christ at the Last Supper. In Latin "left" means "sinister". So, no wonder, that in accounting "bad people" who are in debt with the business are shown on the left.