I’ll be honest in saying that KCQs are not my strong suit and as always, when it comes to KCQs, I find myself with so much to say and so many question but unsure just how to put it all on paper eloquently – that is until I read a question I didn’t even know I had in someone else’s reflection. However, many of the questions I had during week one were answered simply by reading the next page, so what else is there to ask?
Before diving into the chapter I decided to set up my PeerWise account. I have mixed feelings about PeerWise from last year and in this first week it has already mirrored my concerns from last year. Yes it can be an easy 5%, but what I have found is after the first few questions everything becomes the same. Who is Luca Pacioli? What is the accounting equation? Who quoted…? The high quality or valuable questions get lost on the sea of repetition and sometimes inaccurate or misworded questions. Although I hope to do well in this unit and will continue to post and answer questions on PeerWise, I have already found it rather tedious and futile; and its only week one.
Keeping Records
Luca Pacioli is someone who once again stood out to me but maybe for difference reasons than others. Luca Pacioli might be referred to as the “Father of Accounting” but did he really bring anything new to the accounting table? From my knowledge and research of Pacioli I have found that his role was to bring knowledge to the masses, much like a teacher. Just because Pacioli did not come up with the ideas himself doesn’t make his work any less spectacular or noteworthy. In a world where it’s hard to come up with new and creative ideas it is reassuring to know that, just because it’s not an original idea doesn’t mean you can’t make a mark. Within reason, I’m not condoning stealing others intellectual property – just noting in a world where all the good ideas seem to already be taken or thought of, we can still make an impact.
After hundreds of years we are still learning double-entry bookkeeping, why is that? Is it a habit or is it simply the best way to check the books? Why change something that isn’t broken? What would happen if our computers or software failed us? As a millennial I can see myself, my generation and many of my younger colleagues relying on technology for basic skills like simple maths (e.g. working out change for a customer) or spell check. If we are the future of business and accounting, what would happen if we didn’t have the skills to operate a firm when the technology we rely on fails? If not fixed the firm is likely to fail soon after.
Two Sides to Everything
“There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something and not really understand it.” – Charles F. Kettering.
This quote reminded me of the opening of the study guide and the two ways to learn about anatomy. You can know all the right information about something, like accounting, but with no understanding of it or how to put it into practice it would be difficult to understand a firms accounting information or form any insights. I often find when I have less of an understanding and focus on memorising key facts or definitions for an exam the information quickly falls out of my brain. It was nice to see, when reading the study guide just how much information I had retained from ACCT11059, especially in regard to the elements of accounting and how they are interwoven. Although I have spoken about a reliance on technologies, they have also allowed for less user error in accounting. Would different accountants define the accounts of a ledger different? Would a veteran in the field have a more accurate understanding than a novice and therefore produce less errors? Technology has taken away this disparity by automatically and digitally sorting the information entered into the journal into the appropriate accounts in the firm’s ledger.
Five Elements of Accounting
Assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses. It was interesting to dig deeper into each of the elements and connect information we learnt in ACCT11059 even further into the accounting world. When it comes to liabilities, we know that there is a current obligation to transfer economic resources to another firm but is there a time limit for these obligations? Is it a case-by-case or contract-by-contract situation? Then, what happens if a firm has no assets, equity or revenue? There’s no money, and no money generally means the firm will be no more. If there is any assets or equity left over after the firm shuts down, who determines where those assets go? What happens to the firm’s that are owed an economic resource? From what I have seen over the years on the news or in the paper is the bank is the first “person” to claim any assets, is that pre-determined or are they simply the loudest and most powerful voice asking for what they’re owed?
There is still so much to learn, and I think my questions will never end, mostly because the more I learn the more I want to know – not just about accounting but business and the world. I’m excited to continue on with the subject and uncover even more answers to the questions I’m yet to have.
Accounting 101 