Accounting Exam
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Latest Updated 2026
,Purpose of financial accounting?
To provide meaningful quantitative financial information regarding an entity's activities to
decision makers.
(external decision makers)
What is financial accounting not?
information for managerial accounting or outside tax authorities
Who are the decision makers?
- Shareholders (Owners)
- Debt holders (Creditors)
- Managers
- Investment analysts and information intermediaries
- Customers and strategic partners
What makes information useful?
Relevance- capable of making a difference to decision maker
Faithful Representation- dependable and reliable
, Where do financial accounting rules (standards) come from?
-SEC (Security and Exchange Commission)
-FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board)
-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles)
Why is financial accounting not an exact science?
- GAAP allows companies choices in preparing financial statements
- Financial statements depend on countless estimates
- Earnings management/manipulation
Oversight of Financial Accounting
- SEC oversees all publicly traded companies
- AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) provides external audits with
reasonable assurance that statements are legit
- Securities Law (significant consequences for manipulating earnings)
Accounting and Capital Allocation
- effective capital allocation critical to healthy economy
- better info for decision makers leads to better capital allocation
- accounting is primary source of info for decision makers
What are the required financial statements?
- balance sheet
- income statement
- statement of shareholders equity
- statement of cash flows
- statement of comprehensive income