The ultimate accountants reference including GAAP, IRS SEC regulations, leases, and more

2 The Role of Accounting 73 The Corporate Structure 17 Part Two Accounting Rules and Regulations 25 4 Standard-Setting Organizations 27 4.6 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board PCAO

T HE U LTIMATE A CCOUNTANTS ’

STEVEN M BRAGG

JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC

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T HE U LTIMATE A CCOUNTANTS ’

STEVEN M BRAGG

JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Bragg, Steven M.

The ultimate accountants’ reference : including GAAP, IRS & SEC

regulations, leases, pensions, and more / Steven M Bragg.

p cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-471-67813-9 (cloth : alk paper)

1 Accounting— Standards— United States 2 Corporations— United

States— Accounting 3 Financial statements— United States I Title

HF5616.U5B713 2005

657'.0973— dc22

2004007662 Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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2 The Role of Accounting 7

3 The Corporate Structure 17

Part Two Accounting Rules and Regulations 25

4 Standard-Setting Organizations 27

4.6 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) 30

4.8 The International Accounting Standards Board 31

5 Accounting Standards 32

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6.7 The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 61

6.17 Regulation S-X (Requirements for Financial Statement Reporting) 66

Part Three Accounting Reports 89

8 The Balance Sheet and Statement of Stockholders’ Equity 91

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Contents ix

8.7 The Statement of Stockholders’ Equity Format 97

8.8 Accounting Treatment of Offsets to Assets and Liabilities 98

9 The Income Statement 101

10.5 The Format of the Statement of Cash Flows 112

10.6 Exemptions from the Statement of Cash Flows 113

10.8 Treatment of Foreign Currency Transactions 113

11.11 Disclosure of Cash Deposits in Excess of FDIC Insurance Limits 120

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x Contents

11.13 Disclosure of Change in Reported Method of Investment 12011.14 Disclosure of Changes in Investment Fair Value

11.16 Disclosure of Collective Bargaining Agreements 121

11.20 Disclosure of Contingent Asset Purchase Obligation 122

11.22 Disclosure of Continued Existence Doubts 12311.23 Disclosure of Contract Revenue Recognition 123

11.29 Disclosure of Employee Stock Ownership Plan 12611.30 Disclosure of Employment Contract Liabilities 126

11.33 Disclosure of Gain or Loss on an Asset Sale 127

11.37 Disclosure of Increase in Value of a Written-down

11.53 Disclosure of Nonstandard Reported Method of Investment 135

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Contents xi

11.58 Disclosure of Reduction in Equity Method Investment 137

11.59 Disclosure of Reduction in the Market Value

11.61 Disclosure of Revenue Recognition Policy 138

11.63 Disclosure of the Sale of Held-to-Maturity Investments 139

11.65 Disclosure of Sales with Significant Rights of Return 140

11.67 Disclosure of Shifts between Securities Accounts 140

11.71 Disclosure of a Stock Repurchase Program 142

11.79 Disclosure of Warranty Expense Allowance 145

11.80 Disclosure of Warranty Revenue Recognition 145

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xii Contents

13.7 Translation of Foreign Currency Transactions 173

14.10 The Equity Method of Investment Accounting 182

15.9 Specific Identification Inventory Valuation Method 20115.10 First-In, First-Out (FIFO) Inventory Valuation Method 20215.11 Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) Inventory Valuation Method 20415.12 Dollar Value LIFO Inventory Valuation Method 205

15.14 Weighted-Average Inventory Valuation Method 20915.15 Type of Inventory Valuation System to Use 210

16 Accounts Receivable 214

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Contents xiii

18.10 Current Liabilities—Employee Terminations 242

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19.4 Bonds Sold at a Discount or Premium to Their Face Value 248

19.14 Convertible Debt—Accrued but Unpaid Interest

19.15 Convertible Debt—Subsequent Change in Offering

19.17 Decision Points during the Lifetime of a Bond 257

Contents xv

21.4 Options—Measurement Using SFAS 123 Requirements 276

21.5 Options—Remeasurement on Option Extension Date

22.6 Reducing Revenue by Cash Paid to Customers 282

22.9 Recognition of Losses on Service Contracts 286

22.10 Recording Initiation Fees as Service Revenue 288

22.11 Recording Out-of-Pocket Expense Reimbursements 288

22.13 Repossession of Goods under Installment Sales 290

22.14 Revenue Recognition When Right of Return Exists 290

22.15 Revenue Recognition for Accretion and Appreciation 291

23 Research and Development 292

23.5 Accounting for R&D Costs Contracted to Another Party 294

24.6 Accounting for Direct Financing Leases—Lessor 301

27 Closing the Books 373

27.3 General Improvements for Closing the Books 374

27.5 Closing Activities Subsequent to Period-End 37727.6 Closing Activities Subsequent to Statement Issuance 378

29.2 The Purpose of Cost Accounting Information 412

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Contents xvii

29.12 Processing: By-Product and Joint Product Costing 438

30 Financial Analysis 447

31.2 The Management Information Systems Strategy 461

31.9 Integration of Accounting Software with Other Systems 485

31.11 Outsourcing Management Information Systems 489

32 Records Management 494

34.5 Accounts Receivable Collection Acceleration 520

36 Risk Management 541

Contents xix

Part Seven Other Accounting Topics 551

37 Mergers and Acquisitions 553

39.4 Creditor and Shareholder Payment Priorities 605

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xx Contents

Contents xxi

A The Chart of Accounts 673

B.10 Equity Method of Accounting for Investments 692

B.11 Equity Security Transfers between Available-for-Sale

C.2 Compound Interest (Future Amount of 1

C.3 Compound Interest (Present Value of 1 Due

xxii Contents

C.4 Present Value of Ordinary Annuity of 1 per Period 722C.5 Future Amount of Ordinary Annuity of 1 per Period 722

E Dictionary of Accounting Terms 734

F Due Diligence Checklist 759

F.4 Capitalization and Significant Subsidiaries 761

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steven Bragg, CPA, CMA, CIA, CPIM, has been the chief financial officer or controller of four

companies, as well as a consulting manager at Ernst & Young He received a Master’s degree in finance from Bentley College, an MBA from Babson College, and a Bachelor’s degree in Econom- ics from the University of Maine Mr Bragg resides in Centennial, Colorado He has also written the following books:

Accounting and Finance for Your Small Business (John Wiley & Sons)

Accounting Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons)

Advanced Accounting Systems

Controllership (John Wiley & Sons)

Cost Accounting (John Wiley & Sons)

Financial Analysis (John Wiley & Sons)

Just-in-Time Accounting (John Wiley & Sons)

Managing Explosive Corporate Growth (John Wiley & Sons)

Outsourcing (John Wiley & Sons)

Sales and Operations for Your Small Business (John Wiley & Sons)

The Controller’s Function (John Wiley & Sons)

Business Ratios and Formulas (John Wiley & Sons)

CFO Financial Leadership Manual (John Wiley & Sons)

Design and Maintenance of Accounting Manuals (John Wiley & Sons)

Essentials of Payroll (John Wiley & Sons)

GAAP Implementation Guide (John Wiley & Sons)

Inventory Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons)

Payroll Accounting (John Wiley & Sons)

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PREFACE

The Ultimate Accountants’ Reference is designed to give the accountant the answers to all of the

most important issues that arise during the typical business day It provides a comprehensive view of all aspects of the accounting function, including accounting rules and regulations, transac- tions, control points, and internal and external reports It also itemizes a wide range of accounting management issues, such as best practices, budgeting, closing the books, control systems, cost accounting, financial analysis, leases, management information systems, accounting for mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, bankruptcy, tax laws, and record keeping In addition, it covers a number of financial management issues, such as the extension and management of cus- tomer credit, financing, cash management, and risk management The appendices are also rich in detail, describing a sample chart of accounts, itemizing dozens of journal entries, displaying inter- est rate tables, listing the most commonly used business ratios, and finishing with a dictionary of

over-accounting terms The Ultimate Accountants’ Reference is a true one-stop source of information

for the accountant.

The answers to many of the everyday questions posed to the accountant can be answered with the information provided in this book One can find within these pages the answers to such ques- tions as:

• What FASB standards should I be aware of?

• What are the key regulations promulgated by the SEC that apply to my business?

• How are extraordinary income items listed in the income statement?

• How is comprehensive income presented?

• How is the statement of cash flows formatted?

• What types of footnotes should be added to the financial statements?

• How do I account for options?

• How do I convert foreign currency transactions for financial reporting purposes?

• How do I set up a perpetual inventory tracking system?

• How do I account for backflushing transactions?

• What types of inventory valuation methods are available?

• What are the rules related to the recognition of revenue?

• How do I account for stock buybacks, dividends, and convertible securities?

• What best practices are most useful to my business?

• How do I account for leases?

• How do I create a budget?

• What techniques can I use to close the books as fast as possible?

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the various costing systems?

• How do I evaluate a capital project?

• What is my company’s cost of capital?

• How do I set up a cash tracking, reporting, and forecasting system?

• What are the key risk management issues to be aware of, and how do I mitigate them?

• How does the Initial Public Offering process work?

• What are the current tax laws that address stock options?

• How do I account for a business combination under the purchase method?

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xxviii Preface

• What ratios should I use to monitor corporate cash flows?

• What chart of accounts structure should I use to set up a general ledger?

These and hundreds of other questions are answered in The Ultimate Accountants’ Reference If

you have any comments about this book, or would like to see additional chapters added in future

editions, please contact the author at brasto@comcast.net Thank you!

Steven M Bragg

Centennial, Colorado April 2004

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T HE U LTIMATE A CCOUNTANTS ’

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infor-The Ultimate Accountant’s Reference is divided into eight parts, each of which deals

with a different aspect of the accounting function The first part covers the role ofaccounting within the modern corporation Chapter 2, The Role of Accounting, describesthe primary tasks for which the accountant is responsible, as well as ethical concerns,and lists the job descriptions of the major positions to be found within the accountingdepartment Chapter 3, The Corporate Structure, describes the organizational layout ofthe typical corporation, how the transactional systems maintained by the accountingdepartment interact with these other functions, and how the organizational structure canalter the types of accounting systems used

The second part deals with accounting rules and regulations Chapter 4, Setting Organizations, describes the origins and responsibilities of the various rule-settingbodies that have created Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), not only forUnited States business entities, but also for government and international organizations.Chapter 5, Accounting Standards, lists all of the various accounting pronouncements, such

Standard-as FASB Interpretations, FASB Statements, and FASB Technical Bulletins, in summaryform; the reader can peruse this list of original source documents in order to determinewhat additional research may be needed to delve into a particular GAAP issue Chapter 6,The Securities and Exchange Commission, gives an overview of the Securities andExchange Commission (SEC), the EDGAR on-line reporting system, and the Acts andSEC regulations that govern the reporting requirements of publicly held corporations.The third part covers the general format and rules governing the information con-tained within accounting reports Chapter 7, Laws Impacting Accounting, and Chapter 8,The Balance Sheet and Statement of Stockholders’ Equity, describe the format of the bal-ance sheet and statement of retained earnings, as well as the definitions of the variouscategories of assets, liabilities, and equity items that are listed in these reports Chapter 9,The Income Statement, describes the format of the income statement, as well as the rulesgoverning the presentation of information about discontinued operations, earnings pershare, gains and losses, accounting changes, discontinued operations, extraordinaryitems, other comprehensive income, and prior period adjustments Chapter 10, The State-ment of Cash Flows, describes the format of the statement of cash flows, as well asexemptions from its use and how to handle foreign currency translations when construct-ing it Chapter 11, Footnotes, describes a broad range of disclosures that an accountantmay be required to attach to the financial statements in the form of footnotes Chapter 12,c01.fm Page 3 Wednesday, October 6, 2004 4:17 PM

4 Ch 1 Introduction

Internal Management Reports, departs from the previous chapters in this part, in that itdescribes reports that are entirely “free form,” designed entirely for internal use and notprescribed in format by any accounting pronouncement These include status, margin,cash, capacity, sales and expense, and payroll reports The part concludes with Chapter 13,Foreign Currency Translation, which covers the proper treatment of foreign currencytranslation, including the use of the current rate translation method and the remeasure-ment method, as well as the proper accounting for foreign exchange sale transactions andthe recognition of translation adjustments

The fourth part departs from the reporting format of the financial statement anddelves into the accounting rules and transactions for each of the asset, liability, equity,and revenue categories Chapter 14, Cash, Prepaid Expenses, and Investments, definescash and investments, describes the different types of marketable securities, derivatives,and long-term investments, and how each one is accounted for Chapter 15, Inventory,describes the types of inventory, how to install an inventory tracking system, the physicalinventory counting procedure, and the use of the LIFO, FIFO, average, retail, dollar-value LIFO, and gross margin methods for valuing inventory The chapter also describesthe lower of cost or market rule and the process to follow when allocating overhead costs

to inventory Chapter 16, Accounts Receivable, describes the accounts receivable action flow, as well as how to account for factored accounts receivable, sales returns,early payment discounts, long-term accounts receivable, and bad debts Chapter 17,Fixed Assets, describes the use of a capitalization limit when accounting for newlyacquired fixed assets, as well as the proper accounting for newly acquired assets,improvements to existing assets, the disposition of assets, construction in progress, andleasehold improvements It also covers the various types of depreciation that may beused to account for the gradual reduction in value of fixed assets

trans-Chapter 18, Current Liabilities and Contingencies, describes the accounts payabletransaction flow, and how to account for the period-end cutoff of accounts payable trans-actions It also covers the proper accounting for advance payments from customers,accrued expenses, unclaimed wages, interest payable, dividends, termination benefits,estimated product returns, and contingent liabilities Chapter 19, Debt, describes basicbond transactions and accounting for a bond discount or premium, as well as for non-interest-bearing notes payable It also covers noncash debt payments, early debt retire-ment, callable debt, defaulted debt, warrants, sinking funds, bonds converted to equity,and short-term debt that is being refinanced Chapter 20, Equity, covers the transactionsrelated to common stock, as well as stock options, stock appreciation rights, stock war-rants, dividends, stock subscriptions, stock splits, stock retirement, and employee stockownership plans Chapter 21, Stock Options, describes the two methods available toaccount for stock option transactions Chapter 22, Revenue, covers the multitude of rev-enue recognition rules, including variations under the accrual method, cash method,installment sales method, completed contract method, percentage of completion method,proportional performance method, production method, and deposit method It also dis-cusses the special rules related to bill and hold transactions, brokered transactions,appreciation, and initiation fees Chapter 23, Research and Development, describes theproper accounting for in-house R&D costs, as well as for acquired R&D costs, R&Dcosts contracted to another party, and the special case of R&D costs in the softwareindustry Chapter 24, Leases, describes the accounting for both the lessee and lessor, aswell as for special situations such as lease extensions, terminations and subleases.The fifth part of the book covers the crucial area of accounting management This isthe core function for many accountants, who can provide value to the organizationc01.fm Page 4 Wednesday, October 6, 2004 4:17 PM

Ch 1 Introduction 5

through the use of better control systems, financial analysis of key investments, andhigher levels of departmental efficiency Chapter 25, Best Practices, covers severaldozen of the most common best practices that can improve a company’s performance,including the areas of accounts payable, collections, commissions, filing, finance, finan-cial statements, the general ledger, invoicing, inventory, management, and payroll For a

thorough treatment of this topic, the reader can also consult the author’s Accounting Best Practices, 3rd Edition (John Wiley & Sons, 2004) Chapter 26, Budgeting,

explains the system of interlocking departmental budgets, and presents a sample budget

It also covers a number of budgeting best practices and control systems that assist theaccountant in creating a budget in the most efficient manner possible Chapter 27, Clos-ing the Books, focuses on the various steps required to achieve a fast close, and alsodescribes the steps needed to achieve an instantaneous close Chapter 28, Control Sys-tems, presents a list of the most essential control points that the accountant should beconcerned with It also discusses the times when it may be appropriate to eliminate con-trols for efficiency reasons, and covers the various types of fraud that some of these con-trols are designed to detect and mitigate Chapter 29, Cost Accounting, focuses on themany types of advanced data collection systems that can be used to compile data for use

by cost accounting systems It also describes the major costing systems that can be used

to interpret this data, such as job costing, process costing, standard costing, direct ing, and activity-based costing It also covers the concepts of throughput accounting,target costing, by-product costing, and cost variances These topics are covered in more

cost-detail in the author’s Cost Accounting (John Wiley & Sons, 2001) Chapter 30, Financial

Analysis, describes how to calculate a company’s cost of capital, analyze a capital chasing decision, discount future cash flows, and conduct both breakeven and risk anal-

pur-yses These topics and more are described in additional detail in the author’s Financial Analysis (John Wiley & Sons, 2000) Chapter 31, Management Information Systems,

covers information system strategy, how to evaluate and select packaged accountingsoftware, and how to install and test it The chapter also addresses information systemsecurity, data collection and storage tools, electronic data interchange, outsourcing all orportions of the function, and the integration of the accounting system with other com-puter systems located elsewhere in a company Finally, Chapter 32, Records Manage-ment, deals with the cost of various types of recordkeeping systems, the policies andprocedures required for proper record storage, and the types of tax records that must bekept on hand

The sixth part of the book deals with financial management, which includes customercredit, cash management, long-term financing, and risk management— all topics that are

of particular interest to accountants in smaller organizations that do not have separatefinance departments Chapter 33, Customer Credit, describes the types of selling termsthat can be extended, how to conduct a credit investigation, and various techniques forcollecting overdue accounts receivable Chapter 34, Financing, describes how to mini-mize a company’s financing needs through proper management, how to deal with banks,and the pros and cons of delaying payments to suppliers It also addresses the use of fac-toring and field warehouse financing, floor planning, inventory reduction, leasing, lines

of credit, asset-based loans, bonds, bridge loans, preferred stock, sale and leasebackarrangements, and various types of debt in order to deal with a company’s financingrequirements Chapter 35, Cash Management, describes the use of a cash-forecastingmodel and its automation, as well as how to more tightly control cash outflows and how

to invest short-term funds Chapter 36, Risk Management, describes the risk ment policies and procedures that can be used to determine and mitigate risks, as well asc01.fm Page 5 Wednesday, October 6, 2004 4:17 PM

manage-6 Ch 1 Introduction

the types of insurance that are available to reduce any remaining risks It also describesthe claims administration process, claims documentation, and the format of the annualrisk management report

The seventh part of the book deals with two major topics that do not fit easily intoany of the preceding categories— mergers and acquisitions, the initial public offering,bankruptcy, and taxation In Chapter 37, Mergers and Acquisitions, we cover theaccounting required to record a business combination under both the purchase and pool-ing methods of accounting The chapter also describes how to record investments in asubsidiary by using the cost method, equity method, or consolidation method It alsodelves into intercompany transactions in relation to consolidated financial reporting,contingent payments for a business combination, push-down accounting, leveraged buy-outs, spin-off transactions, and the proper treatment of goodwill Chapter 38, The InitialPublic Offering, covers the entire IPO process, including preparation, finding an under-writer, registering the IPO, and trading on an exchange Chapter 39, Bankruptcy, coversthe sequence of events in a bankruptcy, as well as the rights of all parties and a variety ofspecial issues Chapter 40, Taxation, covers nearly 50 taxation issues, including theAlternative Minimum Tax, partnership taxation, deferred compensation, stock options,and transfer pricing

The final part of this book is the appendices, which include additional reference mation that the accountant is likely to require on a regular basis Appendix A describesthe different types of account code structures that can be used in a chart of accounts, andgives sample charts of accounts for each structure Appendix B contains a list of nearlyall journal entries that an accountant is likely to deal with Appendix C contains interestrate tables, as well as the formulas used to derive them These tables cover simple inter-est, compound interest, the present value of an annuity, and the future amount of anannuity Appendix D contains more than 40 ratios that can be used to determine a com-

infor-pany’s financial condition For more ratios, please consult the author’s Business Ratios and Formulas (John Wiley & Sons, 2002) Finally, Appendix E contains a dictionary of

the many accounting terms that are addressed in this book

In short, the Ultimate Accountants’ Reference is a complete source of information for

the practicing accountant By using the table of contents, this introduction, and the index

to locate information, one can find the answers to most everyday accounting questions inthis book

c01.fm Page 6 Wednesday, October 6, 2004 4:17 PM

THE ROLE OF ACCOUNTING

2.1 TASKS OF THE ACCOUNTING FUNCTION 7

2.2 ROLE OF THE ACCOUNTING FUNCTION 9

2.3 IMPACT OF ETHICS ON THE ACCOUNTING ROLE 10 2.4 ACCOUNTING JOB DESCRIPTIONS 13 2.5 SUMMARY 16

2.1 TASKS OF THE ACCOUNTING FUNCTION

The accounting function has had sole responsibility for processing the bulk of a pany’s transactions for many years Chief among these transactions have been the pro-cessing of customer billings and supplier invoices Though these two areas comprise thebulk of the transactions, there has also been a long history of delegating asset tracking tothe accounting function This involves all transactions related to the movement of cash,inventory, and fixed assets Finally, the accounting staff has been responsible for trackingdebt, which can involve a continuous tracking of debt levels by debt instrument, as well

com-as the payments made to reduce them These have been the transaction-bcom-ased activities ofthe accounting staff

A multitude of changes in the business environment have altered the role of theaccounting function One change has been the appearance of the computer services func-tion In a larger company, this function is managed within its own department and doesnot fall under the responsibility of the controller However, it is common for the com-puter services group to fall under the management umbrella of the controller in asmaller company Likewise, the internal auditing function frequently falls under thecontroller’s area as well This function has expanded in importance over the last fewdecades as companies realize the benefits of having an internal watchdog over key con-trols Though it should report directly to the board of directors, it is common for a smallinternal auditing staff to report instead to the controller It is becoming more commonfor the computer services and internal auditing functions to be integrated into the role ofthe accounting staff, especially in smaller companies

Besides adding new functional areas, the accounting staff has other new ties that have arisen due to the increased level of competition With worldwide barriers tocompetition crumbling, every company feels the pinch of lower competitive prices andnow asks the accounting staff to provide analysis work in addition to the traditional trans-action processing These tasks include margin analysis on existing or projected productlines, geographic sales regions, or individual products In addition, the accounting staffmay even be asked to serve on new product design teams, so that they can determine theprojected cost of new products, especially in relation to target costs Further, the account-ing staff must continuously review and report on nonproduct costs, which can range fromadvertising to utilities This level of cost review and reporting calls for a different kind ofc02.fm Page 7 Wednesday, October 6, 2004 7:46 PM

responsibili-8 Ch 2 The Role of Accounting

accounting staff than the traditional kind that did nothing but process large volumes oftransaction-related paperwork It now requires highly trained cost accountants and finan-cial analysts, almost always with college degrees and professional certifications, to con-duct the work

In addition, technology has drastically altered the skill levels required of the ing staff For example, employees must now know how to implement and operateaccounting software, electronic data interchange systems, paperless systems using digi-tized documents, and electronic cash Because most of these elements of technologydirectly impact the transaction processing staff, it is necessary to raise the standard ofknowledge for these people Consequently, the education level of even the lowest people

account-in the accountaccount-ing hierarchy must be improved to deal with changaccount-ing circumstances.The world of business has become more international Many companies are doing anincreasing volume of business with companies based in other countries This greatlyincreases the complexity of accounting, for a company must now determine gains andlosses on sales to other countries There may even be bartering transactions with organi-zations that do not have ready access to currency In addition, if there is no separatefinance function, the accounting staff may be called on to handle letters of credit andhedging transactions that are designed to reduce the level of risk that goes with foreigndealings All of these issues call for a level of skill that was not required in the days ofsimple transaction processing

In the face of more intensive competition, many companies are also merging oracquiring subsidiaries This adds a great deal of complexity to the accounting staff’swork, for it must now coordinate a multitude of additional tasks in other locations Thisincludes setting up standard procedures for the processing of receipts, shipments, andcash Also, closing the financial books at the end of each reporting period becomesmuch more complex, as the accounting staff must now coordinate the assembly andconsolidation of information from multiple subsidiaries Even if a company decides toconsolidate all of its accounting facilities into one central processing location to avoidall this trouble, it still requires the management expertise to bring together the dispar-ate accounting systems into a smoothly operating facility This is not an easy task Theenvironment of mergers and acquisitions greatly increases the skill needed by theaccounting staff

The tasks of the accounting function are itemized below The tasks that belong where— but are commonly given to the accounting staff in a small company— are notedunder a separate heading

Accounts payable transaction processing

Accounts receivable transaction processing

Asset transaction processing

Debt transaction processing

Bartering transactions

Coordination and consolidation of accounting at subsidiaries

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