Accounting Spreadsheet Design, IF Statements, Inventory Systems, Bank Reconciliation, Bad Debt Estimation, And The Role Of Computers In Online Retailing

Designing Spreadsheets with Separate Data Entry and Report Areas

The references are substituted by names in particular cells of a spreadsheet. The primary reasons identified behind such substitution comprise of the ease of convenience and relationship with the calculations and declarations represented in the specific spreadsheet (Bebbington, Unerman & O’Dwyer, 2014). An example of substituting cell references by names is depicted as follows:

Normal view:

Formula view:

The negative numbers are exemplified primarily in the excel sheet through brackets in red and the same is carried out especially in the below-depicted illustrations:

For the sake of the accountants, a distinct bookkeeping or data entry is needed. This is because it enables in representing single view of each single row. Consequently, in case of report, a separate area is required for enabling the accountants to form the detailed reports coupled with the needed source of data (Brusca et al., 2016). The range of data entry is used for record of raw data, while the portion of report is used for transferring the record into meaningful information.

A significant assertion in this context is that a separate area for record keeping is needed to be formed for recording inaccurate bookkeeping of raw data in the spreadsheet. Thus, the process of developing a separation area helps in easy recording of the raw data along with eradicating the unnecessary information. The following spreadsheet illustration helps in clearing out the idea:

The “IF” function enables in giving projected intelligence to the program through which the program could carry out the decision in relation to the developed criteria along with ascertaining the course of the program. In the words of Ismail & King (2014), the ‘IF’ function could be described as the function, which helps in providing the single value. If the criterion is satisfied, it would be true and if the criterion is not met, the value would be incorrect. A spreadsheet instance is gathered that has the application of the ‘IF’ function, which is depicted as follows:

In any form of the role of accounting, an individual could seek the benefit from using the excel sheet in daily tasks. The small business owners do not possess adequate accounting knowledge and they might find it complex to track the payments. With the help of spreadsheet, easy solutions could be offered for tracking payments. In addition, spreadsheet enables in utilising the analysis of money, which is incurred and the amount that is received (Simkin, M. Norman & Rose, 2014). In addition, spreadsheet helps an individual to segregate the cash amount received on the part of the organisation in the accounting year. One more benefit of utilising the spreadsheet is that organisations could link the spreadsheets together and it is valuable in ascertaining cash flow. However, one of the benefits of spreadsheet in accounting is its vulnerability to fraud, which might lead to huge losses and loss of control.

Understanding IF Statements in Accounting

Normal view:

Formula view:

The two different methods that could be used to estimate the bad debt include the following:

Direct write-off method:

Under this method, when any specific amount becomes uncollectible, the loss would be allocated to the account of bad debt expense (Thomas, 2016). For instance, an organisation has a debtor balance of $2,550, which would be uncollectible on 31^st January 2018 and the journal entry is depicted as follows:

In this method, the expense occurring due to bad debt is represented in the income statement of the organisation in the form of operating expense. The bad debt written off is debited to the allowance account, instead of debiting the account of bad debt expense.

In the current technological era, the computers have emerged as a necessary element in online retailing. For instance, E-Bay has used the ability of the computers in the form of vehicle for promotion of products in order to increase the overall sales. Particularly, it has been argued that E-bay having the right blend of organisational culture and technology could make appropriate product offers through contemplation of the retail market (Trigo, Belfo & Estébanez, 2016). Thus, the usage of computers is necessary for E-Bay to keep records of the products having higher growth potential.

Balanced scorecard is the driver of evaluating the performance used in the process of strategic administration in order to locate and improve the various forms of integral functions and the outcomes obtained. Thus, it is mandatory to offer quantitative results, since the managers interpret the financial information usually in order to undertake effective decisions. The balanced scorecard has helped Qantas in ensuring the net benefits of its associated stakeholders. Hence, balanced scorecard enables in meeting the long-term objectives of the organisation, which would enable in enhancing its financial performance in the long-run. The following is the remuneration report of Qantas extracted from its annual report of 2017:

The overall remuneration for the periods ended 2016 and 2017 of Qantas stood at $21,649 million and $20,460 million respectively (Investor.qantas.com, 2018). By appointing Gareth Evans as the CEO of the organisation, the overall marketing strategies have been improved. In addition, on evaluating the financial statements of the organisation, it has been identified that Qantas is able to experience adequate growth in revenue, which has helped in increasing its overall profitability. Furthermore, the non-current assets of the organisation have been chosen and the figures are depicted below through charts and data entry:

Differences between Perpetual and Periodic Inventory Systems

Based on the above evaluation, the portion of non-current assets has increased over the year and the investors are suggested to invest in the shares of Qantas Airways. Moreover, the organisation has an effective liquidity position, which could be understood from the figures reported on the part of the organisation. In addition, the profit before tax of the airline has been $1,401 million in 2016-2017 and the profit earned is the second highest over the past 97 years in its business operations. The outcome denotes that the company has maintained competitive advantage at both the national and global levels after the completion of the three years of program transformation. Along with this, the global operations of the organisation have encountered greater extent of capacity growth while witnessing an improvement in EBIT to $327 million.

 It could be observed that Qantas is involved in selling air miles to the supermarkets and other retail partners. All the units of the airline generate profit for the organisation, since it incurs lower cost for redeeming these points along with selling them. Qantas has experienced rising growth in the number of tourists and increase in revenue from the loyalty business. The aviation industry has been highly attractive and the analysts have estimated their price target of $4.30 on the shares of Qantas. Such type of price target discloses that there is potentiality for increase in 34% of the existing share price. As the oil prices have remained low in the market, it has been believed that the investors would benefit from boom in global tourism. Moreover, there could be an assertion that Qantas has a good prospect for investment to maximise the benefits of the investors.

References:

Bebbington, J., Unerman, J., & O’Dwyer, B. (Eds.). (2014). Sustainability accounting and accountability. Routledge.

Brusca, I., Caperchione, E., Cohen, S., & Rossi, F. M. (Eds.). (2016). Public sector accounting and auditing in Europe: The challenge of harmonization. Springer.

Investor.qantas.com. (2018).  Retrieved 15 January 2018, from https://investor.qantas.com/annual-report-2017/

Ismail, N. A., & King, M. (2014). Factors influencing the alignment of accounting information systems in small and medium sized Malaysian manufacturing firms. Journal of Information Systems and Small Business, 1(1-2), 1-20.

Loughran, T., & McDonald, B. (2016). Textual analysis in accounting and finance: A survey. Journal of Accounting Research, 54(4), 1187-1230.

Monroy, C. R., Nasiri, A., & Peláez, M. Á. (2014). Activity Based Costing, Time-Driven Activity Based Costing and Lean Accounting: Differences among three accounting systems’ approach to manufacturing. In Annals of Industrial Engineering 2012 (pp. 11-17). Springer London.

Öker, F., & Ad?güzel, H. (2016). Time?driven activity?based costing: An implementation in a manufacturing company. Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, 27(3), 39-56.

Simkin, M. G., Norman, C. S., & Rose, J. M. (2014). Core concepts of accounting information systems. John Wiley & Sons.

Thomas, T. F. (2016). Motivating revisions of management accounting systems: An examination of organizational goals and accounting feedback. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 53, 1-16.

Trigo, A., Belfo, F., & Estébanez, R. P. (2016). Accounting Information Systems: evolving towards a business process oriented accounting. Procedia Computer Science, 100, 987-994.