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The Author

I am an accounting professional actively seeking the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation. Disclaimer: This blog site is published by and reflects the personal views of Narcisse Dansou, in his individual capacity. It does in no way represent the views of his employer. The author assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages, caused from the use of the information contained herein.

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Study Habits for the Average Accounting Student

| Last updated on July 3rd, 2011 by | Filed under: Audit and Assurance, Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Words to the Wise | 5 comments have been submitted - join the conversation!

Succeeding in any field of study requires the use of a solid strategy and accounting is no exception. As an undergraduate student in accounting, I many times had classmates in my accounting courses that would complain about their inability to consistently achieve above average exam grades. In response, I would ask  them to outline their strategy for tackling accounting courses. In 9 out 10 cases, they had no clearly defined strategy and that’s exactly what I call a recipe for failure. Successful studies in the field of accounting require a structured approach. While I never did exceptionally well in college, I was however able to do better than average in all my accounting classes because I developed and adopted effective learning habits very early on. Before going any further, I would like to mention that the accounting study tips I am about to share with the whole world are not a one size fits all. You are thereby invited to tweak them as you so fit so you can achieve optimum results. With the disclaimer out of the way, let’s take a look together at the study habits that enabled me to fare better than most throughout each of my accounting classes. These learning habits were organized in four chronological phases: before the lecture, during the lecture, after the lecture, and before the test. Continue reading Study Habits for the Average Accounting Student

| First published on April 21st, 2010 by | Filed under: Audit and Assurance, Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Words to the Wise | 5 comments have been submitted - join the conversation!

US GAAP to IFRS Migration: Reframing the Debate

| Last updated on July 3rd, 2011 by | Filed under: Financial Accounting, Words to the Wise | 3 comments have been submitted - join the conversation!

For a decade or so, there has been quite a lot of talk in the US about a possible transition from U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to International Reporting Standards (IFRS) with regard to U.S. publicly traded companies. Up to this point, most of the discussions on the subject have been about assessing the merits of such a change. As usual, some people are for it while others aren’t. Because I am still in the process of gathering the facts on the possible ramifications of the adoption or non-adoption of IFRS by the  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), I find myself incapable of formulating an opinion on this issue. There is however plenty of literature about the subject available online therefore I urge you to conduct your own investigation. From the little I have learned so far, it is no longer a matter of if but when the SEC will require US publicly traded companies to report under IFRS. I am saying this because the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) announced not too long ago that starting with the year 2011, the CPA exam will test the candidate’s knowledge on IFRS and International Auditing Standards (IAS). Continue reading US GAAP to IFRS Migration: Reframing the Debate

| First published on April 12th, 2010 by | Filed under: Financial Accounting, Words to the Wise | 3 comments have been submitted - join the conversation!

Earnings Management: The Dark Side of Financial Reporting

| Last updated on July 3rd, 2011 by | Filed under: Audit and Assurance, Financial Accounting | 9 comments have been submitted - join the conversation!

As I explained in my previous post, accrual accounting is not an exact science. Indeed,  a variety of assumptions and accounting estimates is used in arriving at the final earnings figures. In assessing the health of a company, lenders and investors alike almost always look at the quality of its earnings first. However, it is nearly impossible for a company to consistently report stellar periodical earnings over a long period of time. This is because a company’s business activities can be affected by changes in economic cycles, seasonal changes, new legislation, and other extraordinary events. In order to “normalize” the continuous succession of ebbs and flows in financial results characteristic of any  typical business, company managers, more often than not, resort to a practice known as earnings management. According to Healy and Wahlen (A review of the earnings management literature and its implications for standard setting’, Accounting Horizons, December 1999, pp. 365–383.), “earnings management” occurs when managers use judgment in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial reports to either mislead some stakeholders about the underlying economic performance of a company or influence contractual outcomes that depend on reported accounting numbers. In other words, earnings numbers are deliberately manipulated by management for the purpose of meeting company’s objectives whatever they might be. Continue reading Earnings Management: The Dark Side of Financial Reporting

| First published on April 4th, 2010 by | Filed under: Audit and Assurance, Financial Accounting | 9 comments have been submitted - join the conversation!

The Statement of Cash Flows Does Not Lie

| Last updated on July 3rd, 2011 by | Filed under: Financial Accounting | 2 comments have been submitted - join the conversation!

From the date I graduated from college in May 2009 until a few weeks ago, I did not have  a single opportunity to accomplish any reading as it pertains to academic related accounting materials. I was indeed very tied up with completing the different components of the graduate school application process. Researching Master of Accounting programs, intensively preparing for the GMAT, and meeting the application requirements of four different programs took up all my spare time from June 2009 through February 2010. Waiting to receive admissions decisions on my graduate school applications, I recently started laying the groundwork for my preparation for the CPA exam. I intend to complete all four sections of the CPA exam in year 2011. Before dashing to buy any CPA review materials, I thought it would be wise to brush up on the topics that I didn’t fully grasp while I was completing my B.S. in Accounting. Consequently, I spent the past couple of weeks getting reacquainted with the statement of cash flows. Continue reading The Statement of Cash Flows Does Not Lie

| First published on March 21st, 2010 by | Filed under: Financial Accounting | 2 comments have been submitted - join the conversation!

A Two Headed Monster Named Intermediate Accounting

| Last updated on January 19th, 2011 by | Filed under: Financial Accounting | 5 comments have been submitted - join the conversation!

So you cleared Principles of Accounting and you are now ready to take on the double headed monster known as Intermediate Accounting. Intermediate Accounting is the only two-semester course sequence that you have to go through in order to obtain your bachelor of science in accounting. Because of the depth and breadth of the topics covered in a typical Intermediate Accounting course, I gave it a nick name: The Two Headed Monster. I also came up with a nick name for Auditing but it will be revealed when I write a post on the auditing course. For now, just do yourself a favor by accepting de facto that intermediate accounting is going to test your resolve. Going through the two semester course sequence is often a very labor intensive process. You will need to devote 10 to 15 hours a week digesting what you will be taught in the classroom. The purpose of intermediate accounting is to help you understand, prepare, and use financial information. Most of your understanding of financial accounting and reporting will take place during the two semesters you will devote to this course. I often wonder why they call this course Intermediate Accounting as apposed to Applied Financial Reporting which seems to be a more suggestive appellation. Rather than debating on what would be the most appropriate name for Intermediate Accounting, you will be better served if I forewarn you about the most challenging topics that you will likely encounter while taking this two-semester course sequence of accounting. The following is a list of topics that I have personally found very difficult to assimilate. Please be mindful that this list is not intended to be exhaustive nor universal. Continue reading A Two Headed Monster Named Intermediate Accounting

| First published on July 5th, 2009 by | Filed under: Financial Accounting | 5 comments have been submitted - join the conversation!
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