Posts Tagged ‘Accounting’

Excel’s set precision as displayed option

When I was in first grade, I learned that 2 + 2 = 4.  Excel, who I have come to know and trust, thinks the answer is five.  How is this possible? Two plus two is ... five?The truth is told after I increase the decimal places shown for each of these cells.  The twos on the spreadsheet really aren’t twos after all.  They’re 2.43 and 2.35, which both round down to two.  The sum, 4.78, rounds up to five. 2.43 + 2.35 = 4.78To fix this kind of rounding difference in Excel 2010, click on the File tab and go to Options.  On the left side of the window that appears, click on Advanced.   Scroll down and check the box next to “set precision as displayed.” Set Precision As DisplayedA window will appear, warning that “data will permanently lose accuracy.”  For example, when I decrease the decimal so that all of the numbers are shown as whole numbers, they actually become whole numbers (increase the decimal again, and both twos will be shown as 2.00).  Don’t select this option if you need complete data accuracy in your spreadsheet.  I can’t be held responsible for a few lost pennies. 2 + 2 = 4This option is especially helpful for an accountant whose report must always foot. Thanks to Val Steed of K2 Enterprises for showing this in a session at the 2011 AICPA TECH+ Information Technology Conference.

The Two Old Accounting Books on my Shelf

Old Accounting BooksThere are two books on my office shelf that mean a great deal to me, but I never read them.  Sure, I might flip through the pages once in a while, but I don’t use them for reference.  They are horribly outdated. One is titled Accountants’ Handbook, published in 1956.  The other is Principles of Accounting – Advanced, published in July 1955.  My Grandpa signed the inside cover of the latter with the date 8/21/1957. Inside the books are several bookmarks.  Grandpa used none other than ten-key printouts, something that has gone the way of the dinosaurs these days.  I recently gave away my ten-key to another employee since I never used it.  Whenever I have to add up numbers, I use Excel. The books also contain a number of examples of how to complete preprinted forms such as a materials requisition and a cash disbursement journal, which in my world have become antiques.  The last time I had to deal with these paper forms was in my Accounting class in high school, since it’s all done through computer software these days. The books’ antiquity is interesting, but their sentimental value is that they were Grandpa’s.  He never taught me anything about Accounting that I can recall, but he defined what an accountant was in my eyes at a young age.  When I was in elementary school barely learning basic math, Grandpa would challenge me with something more difficult.  His favorite trick would be to ask me an addition or subtraction problem that would go beyond the century mark, for example, 96 plus 7. As I got older, the questions got tougher.  I remember one in particular: Three friends eat in a restaurant, and the bill is $25.  They pay $10 each, and get $5 back in change.  Since they can’t split the $5 three ways, each of them keep $1 and give the waiter a $2 tip.  So, each of the men paid $9 (10-1), a total of $27.  The waiter kept $2.  27 + 2 = 29.  From the $30 they paid, where did the other dollar go? Grandpa laughed as I thought this one out loud, as if he knew the answer and wasn’t going to give it to me. Impressed with my Grandpa’s number-crunching abilities, I thought that accountants must be really smart.  I also admired his kindness, patience, and constant encouragement.  There are many reasons why I chose Accounting for my career, and my Grandpa’s influence is one of them. Grandpa passed away many years ago, but I am reminded of him every day when I pass the two old books as I make my way to my desk.

One Idea for Learning QuickBooks Better

Sometimes, business owners, accountants, and bookkeepers have asked me the simple question, “How can I learn QuickBooks better?”  A satisfactory answer to their simple question can be complicated, however.  My response is that it depends on how the person best learns.  I suggest that attending training seminars might work best for some.  For others, reading the manual could be helpful.  The follow-up question I am asked is usually, “well, how did you learn it?” My interaction with QuickBooks early in my accounting career (which consists almost entirely of working in accounting firms) was primarily in printing simple reports from client files to use as workpapers for preparing tax returns.  When clients started asking “how do you do this and that” in QuickBooks, I realized that I could use more practical experience myself, so a few years ago I purchased QuickBooks Premier Accountant’s Edition to use at home as my own personal finance software. Some might consider this a crazy idea.  There are certainly less expensive software packages out there that are better designed for personal finance rather than running a business (Quicken, for example).  However, I accomplished my personal objective of learning QuickBooks better.  With my frequent use of QuickBooks at home, entering transactions and reconciling accounts became second nature for me.  Although I don’t regularly use some business functions like inventory and sales tax with my personal file, I had the opportunity to experiment with them at home. So, that is how I learned to use QuickBooks, and I’m passing the advice along to any newly hired bookkeeper or accountant who also wants to become more comfortable with QuickBooks.