Kelly Arevalo
ACC/421
February 9, 2015
Samuel Hinton
Accounting Cycle
Introduction
As a large company or any organization it is required that the work be completed by tasks of what is called the accounting cycle. The name came from the idea that the workflow of the accountant is a circle aspect of events done during a month ("The Eight Steps Of The Accounting Cycle", n.d.). This essay is going to explain the accounting cycle and the purpose of each step. It will also go into some detail of the accounting cycle at Dun & Bradstreet as well as the type of systems and the processes of the accounting system.
The Accounting Cycle A sequence of activities beginning with the occurrence of a transaction is known as the accounting cycle ("The Accounting Cycle", 1999 - 2010). The accounting cycle has eight steps that begins with entering transactions, then moving through the many steps of the cycle manipulating the transactions ending with closing the books and starting the cycle all over again the following month. These individual steps are 1. Transactions. 2. Journal Entries. 3. Posting. 4. Trial Balance. 5. Worksheet. 6. Adjusting Journal Entries.7. Financial Statements. 8. Closing the Books.
Dun & Bradstreet The accounting cycle process could vary depending on the size of the organization and the number of accountants. Dun & Bradstreet is a large worldwide company that provides companies with DUNS numbers which holds the company’s credit report. At Dun & Bradstreet the accounting cycle seems to be fairly the same but since they process transactions for several different counties they require several accountants that concentrate on certain countries. In the end they all follow the same process of entering the journal entries after receiving the different transaction information from the different countries.
These transactions vary with one aspect being the vendor invoices for the projects that are being done. These invoices are completed by the accounting clerk who reviews each invoice and matches the amounts and the information with the Statement of work (SOW) then proceeds to code them appropriately and process them for payments. It is this payment information that is provided to the appropriate accountant who can use this information for the journal entries. And they continue with posting and adjusting the journal entries as needed before they would close the books for the month. Dun & Bradstreet has several levels of management that are required to review any transaction above a certain amount before the books can be closed.
At Dun & Bradstreet the systems that are used for journaling the transactions is not similar to what other companies may use like QuickBooks. The system being used is called Blackline which is used in connection to Oracle. Current version of Oracle being used is 11 however they are in the middle of switching to series 12 which will help them keep all information in one place and eliminate the need for duplicating the paperwork and printing.
The Accounting Cycle Process
The accounting cycle contains a chain that according to Kieso, Weygandt, and Warfield, 2007, is a relationship with the previous stage of the accounting life cycle. The following are the steps of the accounting cycle. Transaction:
This is the step where the individual events are identified as a transaction and the source document is generated. The transaction is then analyzed and the amount is determined and then which account is chosen and in which direction the transaction would go either debit or credit. Some of these transactions could include things like sales, supplies, or any financial activity the company would perform or need.
Journal Entries:
The transaction is recorded in the journal in appropriate chronological order. This is also known as the “book of original entry”. It is this book that the transactions are the first place to