1、ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN ACCOUNTINGUnit OneAccounting Profession第一单元会计职业INTRODUCTION OF ACCOUNTING. Accounting is a process of recorded, classifying, summarizing, and interpreting of those business activities that can be in expressed in monetary terms. A person who specializes in this field is known as a
2、n accountant. 会计简介 会计是一个以货币形式对经济活动进行记录、分类、汇总以及解释的过程。专门从事这方面工作的人员叫做会计师。Accounting frequently offers the qualified person an opportunity to move ahead quickly in todays business world. Indeed, many of the heads of large corporations throughout the world have advanced to their position from the account
3、ing department. Accounting is a basic and vital elementin every modern business. It records the past growth or decline of the business. Careful analysis ofthese results and trends may suggest the ways in which the business may grow in future. Expan-sion or reorganization should not be planned withou
4、t proper analysis of the accounting informa-tion; and new products and the campaign to advertise and sell them should not be launched with-out the help of accounting expertise.会计这一职业在当今经济社会中给有能力的人提供了升迁的机会。事实上，世界上许多大公司的领导者都是从会计部门升到现有位置上的。会计是现代各类公司基本和重要的组成部分，它记录公司以入的兴衰，对这些记录结果和趋势进行认真的分析，有助于公司提出未来发展的方向
5、。如果没有对会计资料的恰当的分析，就无法计划公司的扩展和重组，没有会计专业人员的帮助，就无法组织生产新产品，开展促销活动。Accounting is one of the fastest growing professions in the modern business world. Every new store, school, restaurant, or filling stationindeed, any new enterprise of any kindincreasesthe demand for accountants. Consequently, the demand f
6、or competent accountants is generallymuch greater than the supply. Government officials often have a legal background; similarly, themen or women in management often have a background on accounting. They are usually familiarwith the methodology of finance and the fundamentals of fiscal and business
7、administration.会计师是当今经济社会中发展最快的职业之一。每一个新商店、学校、饭店或加油站，事实上，任何种类的新企业的建立都增加了对会计师的需求，其结果是对有水平的会计师的需求通常要大大超过其供给。政府官员通常要有做过法律工作的背景。同样，从事管理工作的男女工作人员通常有做过会计工作的经历，他们对理财方法和财务管理的基本原则一般都十分熟悉。DISTINCTION BETWEEN BOOKKEEPING AND ACCOUNTING Earlier accounting procedures were simple in comparison with modern methods
8、. The simple bookkeeping procedures of a hundred years ago have placed in many cases by the data-processing computer. The control ofthe fiscal affairs of an organization must be as scientific as possible in order to be effective.簿记和会计的区别 与现代的会计方法比较起来，早期的会计程序很简单。一百年前的简单簿记已经在许多情况下由电子计算机的数据处理所取代。一个单位的财
9、务控制必须做到尽可能科学，这样才会有效果。In the past, a bookkeeper kept the books of accounts for an organization; the present-day ac-countants job developed from the bookkeepers job. Today, a sharp distinction is made betweenthe relatively unchanged works performed by a bookkeeper and the more sophisticated duties ofP
10、age 1 of 122会计英语the accountants. The bookkeeper simply enters data in financial records books; the accountantmust understand entire system of records so that he or she can analyze and interpret business transaction. To explain the difference briefly, the accountant sets up a bookkeeping system andin
11、terprets the data in it, whereas the bookkeeper performs the routine work of recording figures in books. Because interpretation of the figures is such an important part of the accountants function, accounting has often been described as an art.过去簿记员的工作是记录一个单位的往来账目，而当今会计师的工作在簿记员的工作有所发展。现在，人们对簿记员从事的相当
12、不变的工作与会计师所担任的较复杂的工作做了明显的区分。簿记员的工作只是登记账簿，而会计师必须了解账目的全部体系，从而可以对业务交易进行分析和解释。这一区别简单说来就是：会计师要设立簿记体系，并对其中的资料进行解释；而簿记员从事的是往账本里记账这样日常的工作。由于解释账目中数字的工作是会计职能很重要的一部分，会计常常被描述为是一种艺术。DIVISIONS OF ACCOUNTING The field of accounting is divided into three broad divisions: public, private, and governmental. A certifie
13、d accountant or a CPA, as the term is usually abbrevi-ated, must pass a series of examinations, after which he or she receives a certificate. In the United States, the certification examinations are prepared and administered by the American Institute ofCertified Public Accountants. The various state
14、s or other major governmental jurisdictions set ad-ditional qualifications for residence, experience, and so on. The British equivalent for a CPA iscalled a charted accountant. 会计种类 会计这一行一般分为三大类：公共会计、私人会计和政府部门会计。注册会计师（或 CPA，注册会计师的缩写），必须通过一系列考试方可得到证书。在美国，这种资格考试由美国注册会计师协会负责和实施。各个州或政府其他主要司法部门对申请人的居住地、经
15、历等其他条件做出规定。在英国相当于CPA 的人叫特许会计师。CPAs can offer their services to the public on an individual consultant basis for which they receive a fee. In this respect or many others, they are similar to doctors or lawyers. Like them, CPAs may be self-employed or partners in a firm; or they may be employed by an
16、accounting firm.注册会计师可以就每笔咨询业务向公众提供收费服务。在这方面和许多其它方面，他们与医生和律师很相似。与医生和律师一样，注册会计师可以是个体经营，也可以是在一个公司合伙经营，他们也可以由会计公司雇佣。Many accountants worked in government offices or for nonprofit organizations. These two areas are often joined under the term government and institutional accounting. The two are similarb
17、ecause of legal restrictions in the way in which they receive and spend funds. Therefore, a legalbackground is sometimes necessary for this type of accounting practice.许多会计在政府部门或非盈利性组织工作，这两个领域通常被放在一起，称为政府和行政事业单位会计。这两个领域有相似之处，因为在接受和使用资金方面，它们都受到法律的限制。因此，做这方面的会计有时需要一些法律经验。All branches of governments em
18、ploy accountants. In addition, government-owned corpora-tion have accountants on their staffs. All of these accountants, like those in private industry, workon a salary basis. They tend to become specialists in limited fields like transportation or public utilities.政府的各部门都雇用会计师，而且，政府所拥有的公司也有它们自己的会计师
19、。所有这些会计师和在私营行业工作的会计师一样是挣工薪的。他们往往对某些行业或特别领域（如交通，或公共设施方面）的会计很擅长。第 2 页 共 122 页ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN ACCOUNTINGNonprofit organizations are, of course, in business for some purpose other than making money. They include cultural organizations like symphony orchestras or opera societies, charitableorganizati
20、ons, religious groups, or corporate-owned research organizations. Although they are lim-ited in the manner in which they can raise and spend their funds, they usually benefit from special provisions in the tax laws.当然，非盈利性组织经营的目的不是为了赚钱。这些非盈利性组织包括像交响乐团或歌剧协会这样的文化组织、慈善组织、宗教团体或公司拥有的研究机构。虽然它们在筹措和使用资金的方式上
21、受到限制，它们常常可以受益于税法中的某些特别条款。Private accountants, also called executive or administrative accountants, handle the financialrecords of a business. Like those who work for government or nonprofit organizations, they aresalaried rather than paid a fee. Those who work for manufacturing concerns are sometime
22、s calledindustrial accountants. Some large corporations employ hundreds of employees in their accounting offices. 私人会计师，也叫做主管或行政会计师，负责处理公司的财务账目。同在政府或非盈利性组织工作的会计师一样，他们是挣工薪而不是按每笔业务收费。在制造公司工作的会计师有时叫做工业会计师。一些大公司通常要雇用上百名雇员做会计工作。The chief accounting officer of a company is the controller, or comptroller,
23、as he or she issometimes called. Controllers are responsible for maintaining the records of the companys opera-tions. On the basis of the data that have been recorded, they measure the companys performance; they interpret the results of the operations; and they plan and recommend future actions. Thi
24、s posi-tion is very close to the top of management. Indeed, a controller is often just a step away from be-ing the executive officer of a corporation. 一个公司最高的会计官员叫会计主任或主计长。会计主任负责保存反映公司经营活动的账目，根据所记录的数据衡量公司的运作状况，对经营情况做出解释，然后对未来的行动提出计划和建议。这一位置与最高管理人员非常接近，实际上，会计主任再长一步就可以当一个公司的最高行政长官。Many people have cho
25、sen accounting as a professional because of its many advantages. Many jobs are available, primarily because the education and training for accounting careers havenot kept pact with the demand for accounting services. Once on the job, private or governmental accountants have security, and they are us
26、ually given the chance to move upward in the companysometimes, as we have noted, to the top. Salaries for people with accounting training are usually good, even on the lower levels, and for those who rise to the top of the profession, they are corre-spondingly high. Certified public accountants now
27、enjoy professional status similar to that of doc-tors or lawyers.许多人选择会计师作为自己的职业的是因为它有许多优势。会计行业的就业机会很多，这主要是由于会计教育和培训工作远远跟不上对会计服务的需要。一旦有了工作，私人或政府部门会计师就有了保障，而且，他们通常有机会在公司内部得到晋升，像我们提到的，有时可以升到公司的最高层。受过会计训练的人既使在基层工作，薪水通常也是可观的。那些升到上层的会计师，薪水也相应提高。注册会计师现在享有和医生、律师一样的职业地位。Page 3 of 122Unit Two The Conventions
28、 of Contemporary Accounting (1)第二单元现代会计惯例（1）会计英语Accounting conventions are concepts and rules which have been accepted in performing bookkeeping and accounting. It came from a careful observation of accounting practice which re-vealed patterns of consistent behavior.The existence of conventions was
29、not generally recognized by accountants until the 20th cen-tury. They were developed to aid accountants in exercising judgment and estimation in order to limit likely differences in recording similar events by different accountants. The principal conven-tion of contemporary accounting will be discus
30、sed. 会计惯例是在簿记和会计工作中被广为接受的概念和规则，源于对反映了连续一致的会计实务模式的认真研究。直到二十世纪，会计惯例的存在才被会计界广泛承认。会计惯例的产生有助于会计师进行判断和估计，以限制不同的会计师对类似的项目采用不同的记账方法。以下将讨论当今主要的会计惯例。THE ENTITY CONVENTION Contemporary accounting divides the community into sepa-rate units called “accounting entities”. For each accounting entity a self-containe
31、d, double-entryaccounting system is employed. Transactions between accounting entities are recorded in the ac-counts of both entities. Each accounting entity interprets transactions from its own viewpoint. Forexample, the same transaction may be recorded as a sale by one accounting entity and as a p
32、ur-chase by another. Similarly, one accounting entity may record a transaction as an investment, while the other accounting entity may record it as a capital contribution.会计主体惯例 现代会计把社会划分为一些独立的单位，叫做会计单位。每一个会计单位都运用独立的、复式记账的会计体系。会计单位之间的交易在双方的账目上都要登记。每一会计单位都从自己的角度对交易加以说明。例如：同一笔交易一个会计单位可以被登记为销售；在另一个会计单位
33、则被登记为购买。同样，一个会计单位可以把一笔交易记为投资，而另一个会计单位可以把它记为缴入资本。In any particular case the identification of the accounting entity may be difficult. Consider, for example, the case of a large chain of retail stores. Is the accounting entity the whole business, aregional operation, a single store or a single departm
34、ent in that store? The answer can be foundonly by looking at the organization of the business. If a department has its own accounting system and records transactions with other departments, then it is an entity for accounting purpose. If ithas no records, then it is not an accounting entity. The acc
35、ounting entity is, therefore, identified asthe smallest unit of activity with a self-contained accounting system.在特殊的情况下，很难确定会计单位。例如：对一个零售连锁店来说，会计单位是整个连锁店，地区经营部门，单独的一个商店还是那个商店的某一部门？只有认真考察了那个公司的组织机构后才能找出答案。如果一个部门有自己的会计系统，并对其与其他部门的交易记账，那么这个部门就是一个会计单位。如果它没有这样的账目，那么它就不是一个会计单位。因此，会计单位被定义为有独立会计体系的最小业务单位。T
36、HE “GOING CONCERN” CONVENTION Contemporary accounting assumes the entitywill remain in operation for the foreseeable future. This assumption is known as the “going con-cern” or the “continuity” convention. This assumption does not refer simply to its continued exis-tence. It also assumes that it wil
37、l continue in the same line of business as those in which it is cur-第 4 页 共 122 页ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN ACCOUNTINGrently involved. “持续经营”惯例 现代会计假定一个单位将在可预见的未来继续经营，这种假定被称为“持续经营的企业”或“持续经营”惯例。这一假定并不仅仅指企业将继续存在下去，它还假定单位将继续在它目前所从事的行业内经营。The assumption of continuity is made in the absence of evidence to the c
38、ontrary. In otherwords, when it is clear that an assumption of continued existence would result in misleading fi-nancial reports, then the assumption is not made. A major problem facing the accounting profes-sion is in identifying the circumstances under which the continuity assumption should be aba
39、n-doned. Sometimes company failures occur with the accounting reports continuing to be basedupon the going concern convention. These accounting reports are subsequently as misleading. And premature abandonment of the continuity assumption by accountants may cause liquidation if it results in demands
40、 by creditors for repayment of accounts outstanding. Authoritative guidelines are needed in this area if continuity is to remain a basic assumption of contemporary accounting.只有在不存在的相反的证据的情况下，才能做出“持续经营”的假定。换句话说，在继续存在的假设显然会引起财务报告具有误导作用这种情况下，就不能做出这种假定。会计行业所面临的一个主要问题是要识别出应该放弃持续经营假设的情况。有时，出现了会计报告仍然基于继续经
41、营惯例而企业破产倒闭的情况，这些报告后来被批评为是误导性报告。会计师没有足够的根据就放弃继续经营假设，那么，一旦引起债权人对未偿债务要求还款，就会导致破产清理。如果持续经营将继续作为当代会计的一个基本假设的话，在这方面需要一个有权威性的指导文件。THE MONETARY CONVENTION In contemporary accounting, an entitys transactions are recorded in the accounts in the monetary unit of the country in which it is operating. However, i
42、ngeneral, financial statements are presented in the currency of the country where the reports arepublished.货币惯例 现代会计中，一个单位的交易要以其经营所在国的货币单位记账。但是，一般来说，财务报表是用发布报表所在国的货币表示的。The use of money as the unit of account is accepted today without question, but that has notalways been the case. For example, such
43、 commodities as cattle, salt, shells, and tobacco are said to be employed as a unit of account.使用货币作记账单位在当今无疑已被接受，但并非一直是这样。例如，有些商品如牛、盐、贝壳和烟草据说曾用来做记账单位。The use of money as a unit of account does create some difficulties. In the first place, trans-actions must be expressed in money before they can be
44、recorded in the accounts. In some casestransactions or events may not have an obvious money amount. Transactions and events of this type are either ignored or assigned a subjective or arbitrary money amount.使用货币做记账单位的确也带来了一些困难。首先，交易在记入账目之前，必须要用货币来表示。有些情况下，交易或项目可能没有明显的货币价值。因此对这类交易和项目不是加以忽略，就是主观或武断地确定
45、一个货币价值。The second difficulty associated with the monetary convention is that the value of money isnot constant over time. Its purchasing power changes as a result of either inflation or deflation. Accountants conventionally choose to ignore the changes in the purchasing power of money in theaccounts
46、. And this will cause some deficiencies in accounting reports. 与货币惯例有关的第二个困难是货币的价值并不总是稳定不变的，货币的购买力会随着通货膨胀或通货紧缩而产生变化。会计师习惯上对账面上货币购买力的变化不予理睬，但这样会造成会计报告的某些缺Page 5 of 122陷。会计英语THE CONSISTENCY CONVENTION Contemporary accounting assumes that accountantsconsistently apply accounting procedures from one per
47、iod to the next. As a corollary, if accountingprocedures are changed, the fact of the change and its effect on reported results are supposed to bedisclosed in the financial statements. The purpose of this convention is to allow meaningful in-ter-period comparisons of results of an entity. Without co
48、nsistency in accounting procedures,management could manipulate a firms reported results merely by changes in accounting proce-dures. Under these circumstances inter-period comparisons would have to be treated with skepti-cism.一贯性惯例 现代会计假设会计师从一个阶段到下个阶段所使用的会计程序是一致的。作为推理，如果会计程序改变了，其变化及其对财务报告的影响应该在财务报表中
49、公布。这一惯例的目的是允许对一个单位不同期间的财务结果进行有意义比较。如果会计程序没有一致性，管理人员可以用仅仅改变会计程序的方法来篡改公司的财务报告。在这种情况下，只能以怀疑的态度看待不同期间的比较结果。This convention differs from the others in an important respect. The others describe conven-tional practices actually used by accountants. The consistency convention, however, involves pre-scription. This convention is one that accountants ought to follow rather than that is necessary fol-lowed. 这一惯例与其它惯例在一个重要的方面有所不同。其它惯例描述了会计师实际已经采用的习惯做法，这个惯例是会计师必须遵循而不只是有必要遵循的惯例。The consistency convention does not mean that accounting methods cannot be changed. A change should be made if a new
