第 11 单元 信息时代的会计
Unit 11 Accounting in the Information Age
BEC Reading Texts
PART ONE
Questions 1—8
·Look at the statements below and the five extracts about
economic decision making from an article.
·Which extract (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement (1—8)
refer to?
·For each statement (1—8), make one letter ( A, B, C, D or E)
on your Answer Sheet.
·You will need to use some of these letters more than once.
1. Evaluation of alternatives in economic decision making must
take into account of the factor of comparability.
2. It discusses two characteristics of internal decision makers.
3. Users and accounting profession will decide whether accounting
information is useful or not.
4. It distinguishes two branches of accounting corresponding to
internal and external decision makers.
5. It analyzes the two parties which can determine the usefulness
of accounting information
6. Internal and external decision makers play different roles in
economic process.
7. It stresses the importance of comparability of accounting
information in and economic decision making.
8. It introduces two categories of economic decision makers and
their definition.
A. There are two parties that decide what accounting information
is useful and what is not. One is the users. It is a grave mistake
for economic decision makers to leave this decision up to the
"experts". If the accounting profession is not providing the
information users need, or is not preparing it in a way that makes
sense, the users must demand a change. The second party that decides
what accounting information is useful and what is not is the
accounting profession—but always with the proviso that the
information should be tailored to the needs of users.
B. The decisions made by internal and external decision makers
are similar in some ways, but so different in other ways that two
separate branches of accounting have developed to meet the needs of
these two categories of user. The accounting information generated
specifically for use by internal decision makers is the product of
what is called management accounting, while that generated for use by
external parties is the product of what is called financial
accounting.
C. Much of human life revolves around economic issues. We will be
better equipped to deal with these issues and their effects on our
daily lives if we understand the economic decision-making process and
the information that affects it. First, let's take a look at the
people making economic decisions. Economic decision makers can be
divided into two broad categories: internal and external. Internal
decision makers are individuals within a company who make decisions
on behalf of the company, while external decision makers are
individuals or organizations outside a company who make decisions
that affect that company.
D. The first characteristic of internal decision makers is they
make decisions for the company. In other words, they act on behalf of
the company. They decide such things as whether the company should
sell a particular product, whether it should enter a certain market,
and whether it should hire or fire employees. Note that in all of
these matters, the responsible internal decision maker is not making
the decision for herself of himself, but rather for the company. The
second characteristic of internal decision makers is that they have
greater access to the financial information of the company than do
people outside the company.
E. Economic decision making involves the evaluation of
alternatives. In order to be useful in such an evaluation, the
accounting information for one alternative must be comparable to the
accounting information for the other alternative(s). For example,
assume you intend to make an investment and are considering two
companies as investment alternatives. If the two companies use
totally different accounting methods, you would find it very
difficult to make a useful comparison. Comparability is an important
quality of accounting information in many decision-making settings.
PART TWO
Questions 9—14
·Read the text about accounting.
·Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps.
·For each gap (9—14), mark one letter (A-H) on your Answer
Sheet.
·Do not use any letter more than once.
Accounting
Many people think of accounting as a highly technical field which
can be understood only by professional accountants. Actually, nearly
everyone practices accounting in one form or an other on an almost
daily basis. (9) ... Whether you are preparing a household budget,
balancing your checkbook, or preparing your income tax return, you
are working with accounting concepts and accounting information.
Accounting has often been called the "language of business. "
(10) ... What are "corporate profits"? What levels of corporate
profits are necessary to finance the development of new products, new
jobs, and economic growth? One cannot hope to answer such questions
without understanding the accounting concepts and terms involved in
the measurement of income.
Since a language is a means of social communication, it is
logical that a language should change to meet the changing needs of
society. (11) ... For example, as society has become increasingly
interested in measurements more meaningful and more reliable. (12) ...
Although ac counting has made its most dramatic progress in the field
of business, the accounting functions is vital to every unit of our
society. An individual must account for his or her income, and must
file income tax returns. Often an individual must supply personal
accounting information in order to buy a car or home, to quality for
a college scholarship, to secure a credit card, or to obtain a bank
loan. (13) ... The federal government, the states, the cities, the
school districts, all must use accounting as a basic for controlling
their resources and measuring their accomplishments. Accounting is
equally essential to the successful operation of a business, a
university, a fraternity, a social program, or a city.
(14) ... therefore, some knowledge of accounting is needed by all
citizens if they are to act intelligently in meeting the challenges
of our society.
A. Accounting has changed with the passage of time
B. In accounting, too, changes and improvements are continually
being made
C. In very election the voters must make decisions at the ballot
box on issues involving ac counting concepts
D. We live in an era of accountability
E. Accounting has become an indispensable part of modern life
F. Large corporations are accountable to their stockholders, to
governmental agencies, and to the public
G. In recent years, corporate profits have become a topic of
considerable public interest
H. Accounting is the art of measuring, communicating, and
interpreting financial activity
PART THREE
Questions 15—20
·Read the following article on some important accounting fields.
·For each question (15--20) mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on
your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose.
As in many other areas of human activity during the twentieth
century, a number of specialized fields in accounting have evolved as
a result of technological advances and accelerated economic growth.
The most important accounting fields are described briefly as follows.
Financial accounting is concerned with the recording of
transactions for a business enterprise or other economic unit and the
periodic preparation of various reports from such records. The
reports, which may be for general purposes or for a special purpose,
provide useful information for managers, owners, creditors,
governmental agencies, and the general public. Of particular
importance to financial accountants are the rules of accounting, and
generally accepted accounting principles. Corporate enterprises must
employ such principles in preparing their annual re ports on
profitability and financial status for their stockholders and the
investing public.
Auditing is a field of activity involving an independent review
of the accounting records. In conducting an audit, public accountants
examine the records supporting the financial reports of an enterprise
and give an opinion regarding their fairness and reliability. An
important element of "fairness and reliability" is adherence to
generally accepted accounting principles. In addition to retaining
public accountants for a period audit, many corporations have their
own permanent staff of internal auditors. Their principle
responsibility is to determine if the various operating divisions are
following management's policies and procedures. Cost accounting
emphasizes the de termination and the control of costs. It is
concerned primarily with the costs of manufacturing processes and of
manufactured products. In addition, one of the most important duties
of the cost accountants is to gather and explain cost data, both
actual and prospective.
Management uses these data in controlling current operations and
in planning for the future.
Management accounting uses both historical and estimated data in
assisting management in daily operations and in planning future
operations. It deals with specific problems that confront enterprise
managers at various organizational levels. The management accountant
is frequently concerned with identifying alternative courses of
action and then helping to select the best one. In recent years,
public accountants have realized that their training and experience
uniquely quality them to advise management personnel on policies and
administration.
Tax accounting is another important area. Accountants specialized
in this field, must be familiar with the tax statutes affecting their
employer or clients and also must keep up to date on administrative
regulations and court decisions on tax cases.
15. What has brought about the evolution of accounting?
A. City development
B. Law enforcement
C. Growth of professionals
D. Technological advancement
16. Financial report will NOT provide information for
A. non-governmental organizations
B. managers
C. creditors
D. governmental agencies
17. Why must corporate enterprises employ termed general accepted
accounting principles?
A. It is a general practice in accounting.
B. To prepare their annual reports.
C. It is supervised by the government.
D. To make their work more effective.
18. What is the role of public accountant?
A. Check the enforcement of management's policies
B. Divide the management procedure
C. Examine the accounting records and give opinions
D. Evaluate the accounting of an enterprise
19. What data does management accounting use?
A. Current data
B. Historical data
C. Statistical data
D. Up-to-date data
20. Accountants specialized in tax accounting need NOT be
familiar with:
A. Tax statutes
B. Administrative regulations
C. Court decisions on tax cases
D. Government policies
PART FOUR
Questions 21—30
·Read the article below about aspects of accounting.
·Choose the correct word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D.
·For each question (21—30), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on
your Answer Sheet.
Aspects of Accounting
Accounting is one of the (21) ... professions on record. The art
of bookkeeping has been practiced from very early times. The Romans
had an elaborate system of keeping accounts, and it is said they used
a system (22) ... to the double entry system. A review of accounting
over the ages indicates accountants have not always done the same
work, but they have (23) ... similar functions. For example,
accountants in Roman times were responsible for recording business
transactions. During the industrial (24) ... of the United States,
much of the (25) ... came from England and Scotland and the investors
insisted on sending accountants from those countries to vouch for the
reported results of the undertakings. In the late 1800s a
professional accountant was described as an (26) ... :someone who
looks for leaks, someone who detects and exposes that which is wrong,
and someone who clearly reports facts as they exist, whetherthey be
plainly expressed by clear and distinct records or whether they be
concealed or hidden. The infrastructure that (27) ... the production
and delivery of accounting's information product is the ac counting
information system. Simply (28) ...,a system is a set of resources
brought together to achieve some common goal. The (29) ...of an
accounting information system is to collect and store data about
business processes that can be used to generate a meaningful output
for decision makers.
The resources (30) ... to build accounting information systems
include people and technologies. As you are probably aware,
technologies have evolved over the years from manual re sources to
the advanced information technologies available today. This evolution
will continue.
21. A. youngest B. oldest C. largest D. smallest
22. A. akin B. prior C. related D. due
23. A. done B. achieved C. performed D. realized
24. A. development B. expansion C. advancement D. progress
25. A. resource B. power C. relation D. capital
26. A. investor B. adventurer C. investigator D. pioneer
27. A. supports B. brings C. causes D. increases
28. A. said B. argued C. defined D. told
29. A. effect B. objective C. function D. result
30. A. possible B. proper C. available D. present
PART FIVE
Questions 31—40
·Read the article below about bookkeeping and accounting.
·For each question 31—40, write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on
your Answer Sheet.
Bookkeeping and Accounting
The underlying purpose of accounting is to provide financial
information (31) ... an economic entity. The financial information
provided by an accounting system is needed by managerial decision
makers to help them plan and control the activities of the economic
entity. (32) ... information is also needed by outsiders—owners,
creditors, potential investors, the government, and the public—
(33) ... have supplied money to the business or who have some other
interest in the business that will be served by information about its
financial position and operating results.
There is some confusion over the (34) ... between "bookkeeping"
and "accounting. " This is partly due to the fact that the two are
related.
Bookkeeping is the recording of business data (35) ... a
prescribed manner. A bookkeeper may be responsible (36) ... keeping
all of the records of a business of only a small segment, such as a
portion of the customer accounts in a department store. Much of the
work of the book keeper is clerical in nature and is increasingly
(37) ... handled by mechanical and electronic equipment.
Accounting is primarily (38) ... with the design of the system of
records, the preparation of reports based on the recorded data, and
the interpretation of the reports. Accountants often direct and
review the work of bookkeepers. The larger the firm, the greater is
the number of levels of responsibility and authority. The work of
accountants at the beginning levels may possibly include some
bookkeeping. In any event, the accountant must have a (39) ... higher
level of knowledge, conceptual, and analytical skill (40) ... is
required of the bookkeeper. PART SIX
Questions 41—52
·Read the text below from a report about evolution of accounting.
·In most lines (41--52), there is one extra word. It either is
grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text.
Some lines, however, are correct.
·If a line is correct, write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.
·If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in
CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet.
Evolution of Accounting
Accounting is thousands of years old; the earliest accounting
records, which
41. dates back more than 7,000 years ago, were found in
Mesopotamia (Assyrians). The
42. people of that time relied on primitive accounting methods to
record the growth of
43. crops and herds. Accounting is evolved, improving over the
years and advancing
44. as business has advanced. Early accounts served mainly to
assist the memory of
45. the businessperson and the audience as for the account was
the proprietor or record
46. keeper alone. Cruder forms of accounting were not inadequate
for the problems
47. created by a business entity involving in multiple investors,
so double-entry bookkeeping first emerged in northern Italy in the
14th century, where trading
48. ventures began to require more capital than a single
individual was able to invest
49. something. The development of joint stock companies created
wider audiences for ac- counts, as investors without firsthand
knowledge of their operations relied on
50. accounts to provide with the requisite information. This
development resulted in a
51. split of accounting systems for internal (i. e. management
accounting) and external ( i. e. financial accounting) purposes, and
subsequently also in accounting and disclosure regulations and a
growing need for independent attestation of external
52. accounts by auditors. Today, accounting is even called "the
language of business" be cause it is the vehicle for reporting
financial information about a business entity to many different
groups of people.
第 11 单元 信息时代的会计
PART ONE
(1)E (2)D (3)A (4)B (5)A (6)C (7)E (8)C
PART TWO
(9)H (10)G (11)B (12)D (13)F (14)C
PART THREE
(15)D (16)A (17)B (18)C (19)B (20)D
PART FOUR
(21)B (22)A (23)C (24)B (25)D (26)C (27)A (28)C (29)B (30)C
PART FOUR
(31) ABOUT (32) FINANCIAL (33) WHO (34) DIFFERENCE (35) IN
(36)FOR (37)BEING (38)CONCERNED (39)MUCH (40)THAN
PART SIX
(41)AGO (42)CORRECT (43)IS (44)HAS
(45)AS (46)NOT (47)IN (48)CORRECT
(49) SOMETHING (50) WITH (51) CORRECT (52) EVEN