Unit 1:

Introduction to
accounting

An accountant

2
A bookkeeper

Jobs in
accounting

An auditor

A.
specializing
B.
studying
C.
for
inspecting its accounts D. processing the
records E. giving administrative support
F. to inspect its accounts

Trainee
accountants:
Accountants
who
are.
..1 for professional examinations
Bookkeepers: Administrative staff responsible for .
.. 2 of a business's financial activities
Tax accountant: An accountant ... 3 in a
company's tax affairs
Back-office manager: Person in charge of the staff
responsible for ... 4 to the Finance
department
Internal auditors: Employees of a company who are
responsible ... 5.
External auditors: People employed by an outside firm of
accountants and hired by a company6

1.2. Listening
New words
1. CPA (Certificated Public Accountant): K ton c
chng ch hnh ngh tiu chun
2. CFO (Chief Financial Officer): Gim c ti chnh/
ti v
3. Treasurer /'trer/ (n) th qu
4. Budget manager (n) qun l ngn sch
5. External auditor (n) kim ton vin c lp
6. Back-office manager (n) gim c B.O, gim c
hu cn

What is the reason for the meeting?

Paul Martens is interviewing Michael

Rogers for a job.

1. in Mr moment Martens you with

will be a.
2 have Did you a flight nice?
3 coffee Would some you like?
4 keep Sorry you to waiting.
5 come Please in seat take and a.
6 call finishing He's just phone a.
7 to nice you meet It's.

Meeting people
Hello, Mr/Ms .... I'm .... It's nice to meet you.
- (It's)Nice to meet you, too.
May I introduce you to ... ?
I'd like to introduce you to ....
Have you met... ?
Offering hospitality
Can I take your coat?
Please come in and take a seat.
Can I get you a cup of coffee/tea?
Would you like something to drink?
-Yes, please. / Yes, that would be
great.
- No, thank you. / No, thanks

Make two lists. In the first, write down topics

which would be safe to talk about with a
foreign business partner. In the second, write
down unsafe topics. Compare with a partner.

Safe topics:
- Sport
- Weather
- Travel

Unsafe topics:
- Religion
- Politics

It is your first day in your new job as a

member of the finance department in
one of your company's European
subsidiaries. You only speak English,
but hope to start learning the local
language soon. One of your new
colleagues will meet you and show
you around the company. Make small
talk and ask questions about the
company. (How many people work
there? Do they have a canteen? Does
the company offer language classes?
etc.)

Listen and fill in the

gaps

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Phone call
some coffee
bookkeepers
managers
tax accountants
office manager
auditors

1.3. Reoder the mixed-up phrases

a. In/ Mr./ moment/ Martens/ you/ with/ will/be/ a
Mr. Martens will be with you in a moment.
b. have/ did/ you/ a/ flight/ nice
Did you have a nice flight?
c. coffee/ would/ some/ you/ like
Would you like some coffee?
d. keep/ sorry/ you/ to/ waiting
Sorry to keep you waiting.

1.3. Reoder the mixed-up phrases

e. come/ please/ in/ seat/ take/
and/ a
Come in and take a seat, please.
f. call/ finishing/ hes/ just/ phone/
a
Hes just finishing a phone call.
g. to/ nice/ you/ meet/ its.
Its nice to meet you.

1.4. READING
be familiar with: quen thuc vi, bit r
the going concern principle: nguyn tc ho t ng lin t c
the prudence principle: nguyn tc thn trng
the matching principle: nguyn tc ph h p
the consistency principle: nguyn tc nh t qun
Offset [':fset] (v) n b, b p
Asset (n) ['set] ti sn, ca ci
publicly-traded company: cng ty nim y t ch ng khon trn sn giao d ch
reconciliation [,rekn,sili'ein] or reconcilement
['reknsailmnt] s gii ha, s tha thun

1.4. READING
International accounting

International companies can choose how they present

financial information to outside parties. The rules and
regulations between countries vary significantly. Accountants
worldwide are familiar with the words 'Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (GAAP)'. Some of the basic principles are:

- the going concern principle

- the prudence principle
- the matching principle
- the consistency principle.

1.4. READING

The development of these principles has greatly differed between

countries. For example, in most English-speaking countries it is often
accepted practice to offset unrealized gains from unrealized losses, or to
re-value long term assets upwards, provided sufficient proof of the current
value can be shown. This means that accounts can have very different
values, depending on whether the company chooses to follow local
accounting standards, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) formerly the International Accounting Standards (IAS) - or U.S. GAAP.

Whether the company can choose is governed by the laws of the country
where it is registered. For example, the U.S.A. and Japan currently allow
publicly-traded companies to prepare their financial statements using the
standards of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC),
but they must also include a reconciliation to domestic GAAP.

Questions
GAAP:

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

IFRS:

International Financial Reporting Standards

IAS:

International Accounting Standards

IASC:

International Accounting Standards Committee

1.5. WORD BUILDING

A

Outside

Company

Accepted

Practice

English-speaking

Standards

local accounting

Parties

Publicly-traded

Countries

Questions
a. _________________ a firm that sells its shares to anyone
who wants to buy them
b. _________________ for example, Australia, the U.K, and the
U.S.A.
c. _________________ the way that most people do something
d. _________________ the rules and regulations which state
how accountants operate in a particular place.
e. _________________ people or groups who are not involved
with the company.

a. Publicly-traded company
b. English speaking countries
c. Accepted practice
d. Local accounting standard
e. Outside parties

1.6. READ AND MATCH

1. b
2. c
3. a
4. d

1. The going concern principle

b. When preparing accounts, one

must assume that the enterprise
will still be viable into the years to
come. Practically all accounting
items
are
affected
by
this
assumption, such as the carrying
value
of
fixed
assets
and
inventories, and the ability to repay
debts and other obligations.

2. The prudence principle

c. What value should be given

to
the
numbers
in the
accounts? It is normal to act
pessimistically, so that profits
and assets are not overstated,
and expense and liabilities
realistically valued.

3. The matching principle

a. The principle is concerned

with
the
timing
of
the
recognition of transactions in
the
accounts.
Items
are
recorded when the income or
expense arises, and are not
dependent on the movement of
cash

4. The consistency principle

d.
Accounts
should
be
produced using the same
principles from one year to the
next. Deviations from this
principle must not be noted,
and the effects on the accounts
shown.

1. Accountants agree that creative

accounting is a good thing
2. Off-balance sheet accounting is one
way of creative accounting there are
others
3. Creative accounting is sometimes
used to try and attract more investors.
5. Accountants are allowed some
flexibility in the way they present
accounts.
6. Leasing is actually illegal
7. When a company leases an asset, the
accountant doesnt have to include it in
the account.

1. Accountants agree that creative

accounting is a good thing F
2. Off-balance sheet accounting is one
way of creative accounting there are
others - T
3. Creative accounting is sometimes
used to try and attract more investors. - T
5. Accountants are allowed some
flexibility in the way they present
accounts. - T
6. Leasing is actually illegal - F
7. When a company leases an asset, the
accountant doesnt have to include it in
the account. - F

Answer the questions

- How many basic accounting

principles are there?
- What are they?
- What does the consistency
principle emphasize?

1.8. WORD BUILDING

A

1. Debt

a. an agreement between two or more parties,

often written
e

2. Lease

b. the opposite of assets

3. Gearing

c. buying or selling something

4. Liabilities

d. someone who owns parts of a company

5. Contract

e. money that is owed

6.Transaction

f. an agreement where the owner of something

allows someone else to use it for a specific time for
a sum of money
c

7. Shareholder

f
g
b

g. the proportion of own capital to borrowed funds

when buying an assets or financing a company

Listen to the conversation between the Managing Director

(Charles) and the Financial Director (Sally). Answer these
questions.
1. Do Charles and Sally agree that their company
has a debt problem?
2. What are the consequences of the debt
problem?
3. Why do they need a solution to the problem
soon?
4. How does Charles suggest they deal with it?
5. Has Charles made a final decision about what
to do?
6. Do we know whether Sally agrees with
Charles's suggestion?

1. Do Charles and Sally agree that their

company has a debt problem?

- Yes.
2. What are the consequences of the debt
problem?

- Its getting harder to attract

investment.
3. Why do they need a solution to the
problem soon?

- They are investing in a new factory

in Germany.

4. How does Charles suggest they deal

with it?

Lease
the
5. Has Charles asset.
made a final decision about
what to do?

- No.
6. Do we know whether Sally agrees with
Charles's suggestion?

- No.

1- .9. LISTEN AND FILL IN THE GAPS

1.9. LISTEN AND FILL IN THE GAPS

1.10 . Complete the sentences: Use liabilities, liability,

- debts or debt to complete the sentences below
debts
a. Ill have paid his
off by next year.
liabiliti
b. Look at the assets and . on the balance
es
sheet if you want to know the companys doing.
c. Many developing countries are burdened by
debt
heavy .
d. We need to look at the long-term
liabiliti

before we think about any

major new es
purchases.
liability status
e. The partnership
has limited .
liabiliti
f. Current.. are those which are paid
es
off within a year.
g. The companys in ..the
tone of 10
debt
million

- 1.11 . Choose word to fill in the blank

1 This is the name for buildings, machinery, money
in the bank and money owed by customers.
2 The loss of value of the things in number (1).
3 Money which is borrowed.

This is the name for buildings, machinery, money in the

bank and money owed by customers.
The loss of value of the things in number (1).
Money which is borrowed.

A debt is a subcategory of liabilities. so when you

have a debt, you automatically have a liability. Its
like saying, I have a Toyota Camry therefore I have a
car. If you have a liability, you don't necessarily
have a debt, just like if you have a car, you don't
necessarily have a Toyota Camry.
-

- 1.11 Read and answer

1. What is accountancy?
2. What is accounting?
3. When and where accounting was born?

Fill in the blank

Accounting is "the language of (1) ................... It provides

financial information about a business entity (2) ......................
people inside and outside the company. There are 2 types of