INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTING

When deciding on a future career a lot of people don't give accountancy a second
thought. Actually, it’s a career that it’s about to disappear. Most people don't realize how
varied the world of accounting is and in fact it is often seen as boring. The truth is that
accounting is the backbone of any organization and offers a wide number of attractive
careers within it.

Below you will read about just some of the more common careers in the field of
accountancy, there are of course many more, but we don't have time to talk about all of
them.

When we consider the accounts team within a company, we generally think about
‘clerks’, both ‘sales ledger clerks’ and ‘purchase ledger clerks’ recording the financial
information from all transactions the company makes. Other roles include the ‘payroll
clerk’ responsible for processing staff salaries and the tax which occurs from them.
Higher up the hierarchy we have the ‘management accountant’ who finalizes the
accounts and prepares the annual financial statements. The people doing these jobs

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make sure that the directors or owners of the company always know its true financial
position.

However, accounting is more than just reporting financial data. A good accounts team
actually works to save the company money by minimizing the tax payable and delaying
payments so companies can earn interest from their banks.

These job roles are not so clear in smaller accounting practices, where the accounting
staff often need to perform various tasks from meeting clients to helping with loan
applications. Often the majority of the work in these smaller practices is done by
bookkeepers. Generally, the owner of the practice is the most senior accountant and is
usually a chartered accountant, which means that their signature is accepted on the
financial statements.

The job opportunities for accountants don't stop there: ‘auditors’ are the police of the
accounting world and when they are called into a company it is their job to ensure that
the accounts were done in the correct way and that everything was accounted for. The
most feared of these auditors are the ‘government auditors’ who are sent to companies
suspected of somehow breaking the rules. Working as an auditor is very different from
other accountancy work as there is no routine; you work in many locations and have
contact with many people. Although, you should be thick-skinned as often the
accounting staff in companies do not like the idea of being audited.

Career progression within accountancy often results from a specialist knowledge in a

particular area, ‘tax advisors’ are able to help their clients lower their tax bill thanks to
their in-depth knowledge of taxation law and specifically what a client can off-set against
tax.

As you can see the world of accountancy offers various careers, but in all of these areas
there are some qualities that a potential accountant should have. Firstly, as accounting
is the process of collecting and classifying financial data all accountants need to be

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perfectionists unwilling to accept anything less than an exact result. Also, as
accountants deal with large volumes of data, they need to have a good eye for detail
and a real love of numbers.

A talented accountant will also be able to advise their clients on the best course of
action to take so as to save money and at the same time stay within the local accounting
standards. Sometimes, accountants need to create budgets to make sure that capital is
not being wasted on unneeded goods or that the company is not overpaying for
materials used in the business.

Undoubtedly, accountants also have to follow very strict rules and codes of conduct in
order to make sure that they do everything in a legal way. If an accountant breaks these
rules they could face severe punishment, but some accountants practice creative
accounting to get around rules without breaking them. Confidentiality is obligatory for all
people working with accounts as the financial data could be very sensitive.

Whether working in the public or private sector, accountants can expect to earn very
good salaries and also gain valuable knowledge on topics like income tax, value added
tax (VAT) and pension schemes which can help them in their life outside of work. What's
more, as accounting is such an important part of a company's success there will always
be a demand for good accountants.

After reading this text, I hope that you will appreciate the complexity and the variety of
accounting, and the value accountants serve in an organization. So, the next time you
hear someone say that accounting is uninteresting, please correct them. Accounting is
about truth and money, and there is nothing dull, uninteresting, or monochromatic about
that!

Adapted from: https://www.english4accounting.com/module/core/unit/1/reading

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2. Read the previous text again, find 2 different words that include a COGNATE, and
write them in the chart below. You also need to write the complete sentences where
those words were found, and their meaning in Spanish:

Word taken from the Complete sentence where Meaning of the complete
previous text that includes the Cognate was found. sentence in Spanish.
a Cognate.
deciding When deciding on a future Al decidir sobre una
career a lot of people don't give carrera futura, muchas
accountancy a second thought. personas no piensan en la
contabilidad.
clients A talented accountant will also Un contador talentoso
be able to advise their clients on también podrá asesorar a
the best course of action to take sus clientes sobre el mejor
so as to save money and at the curso de acción a tomar
same time stay within the local para ahorrar dinero y, al
accounting standards mismo tiempo, mantenerse
information from all transactions dentro de las normas
the company makes contables locales. de
ventas" como "empleados
del libro mayor de
compras" que registran la
información financiera de
todas las transacciones
que realiza la empresa.

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3. Read the previous text again, find 2 different words that include a FALSE COGNATE,
and write them in the chart below. You also need to write the complete sentence where
those words were found, and their meaning in Spanish:

Word taken from the Complete sentence where Meaning of the complete
previous text that the False cognate was found. sentence in Spanish.
includes a False
cognate.
Actually Actually, it’s a career that it’s En realidad, es una carrera que
about to disappear está a punto de desaparecer.
realize Most people don't realize how La mayoría de las personas no
varied the world of accounting se dan cuenta de lo variado que
is and in fact it is often seen as es el mundo de la contabilidad y,
boring de hecho, a menudo se ve como
aburrido.
4. Read the previous text again, find 2 different words that include a PREFIX, and write
them in the chart below. You also need to write the complete sentence where those
words were found, and their meaning in Spanish:

Word taken from the Complete sentence where Meaning of the complete
previous text that the word that includes sentence in Spanish.
includes a Prefix. a Prefix was found.
transactions When we consider the Cuando consideramos el
accounts team within a equipo de cuentas dentro de
company, we generally una empresa, generalmente
think about ‘clerks’, both pensamos en "empleados",
‘sales ledger clerks’ and tanto "empleados del libro mayor
‘purchase ledger clerks’ de ventas" como "empleados del

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del contenido de esta obra, por cualquier medio o procedimiento, así como su distribución, para otros fines ajenos al uso exclusivo dentro de
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 recording the financial libro mayor de compras" que
information from all registran la información
transactions the company financiera de todas las
makes. transacciones que realiza la
empresa.
reporting However, accounting is Sin embargo, la contabilidad es
more than just reporting más que solo informar datos
financial data financieros.
5. Read the previous text again, find 2 different words that include a SUFFIX, and write
them in the chart below. You also need to write the complete sentence where those
words were found, and their meaning in Spanish:

Word taken from the Complete sentence where Meaning of the complete
previous text that includes the word that includes sentence in Spanish.
a Suffix. a Suffix was found.
owners The people doing these Las personas que realizan
jobs make sure that the estos trabajos se aseguran de
directors or owners of the que los directores o
company always know its propietarios de la empresa
true financial position. siempre conozcan su
verdadera posición financiera.
accountant Generally, the owner of the Generalmente, el propietario
practice is the most senior de la práctica es el contador
accountant and is usually a más antiguo y suele ser un
chartered accountant, which contador público, lo que
means that their signature is significa que su firma es
accepted on the financial aceptada en los estados
statements. financieros.

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6. What was the text about? Answer in detail.

The text talked about accounting since it takes into account that it is about to end but
everything changes since accounting is the pillar of a company to know the yearly
financial statements also that several things are needed for accounting having a love of
mathematics, among others, besides being good for not having transactions in the
company, as well as having good sales with customers and having good arguments with
suppliers

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del contenido de esta obra, por cualquier medio o procedimiento, así como su distribución, para otros fines ajenos al uso exclusivo dentro de
los programas de formación profesional que ofrece Univer Milenium.