Title
A basic review of the Accounts Office of a particular business.
Aims
1.To find out how the Accounts Office operates.
2.To find out the documents used in the Accounts office
3.
4.
Functions
Accounting departments typically handle a variety of important tasks.
Such tasks often include :

1.  Invoicing customers, accounts receivable monitoring and collections, account reconciliations, payables processing, consolidation of multiple entities under common ownership, budgeting, periodic financial reporting as well as financial analysis.

2.  Also common are setting up adequate internal controls for all business processes (to prevent theft/misappropriation of assets), handling external audits and dealing with banks in order to obtain financing.

Denham Farm
Christiana P.O,
Clarendon


May 26, 2011

Main Street Christiana
Christiana P.O,
Manchester


Dear Manager,

I currently attend Knox High School, where I am doing the subject Office Administration. This research is for a School Based Assignment (S.B.A). I am therefore seeking your permission to conduct a research which includes: Interviews and observation. The research topic is on the accounts office of you company. I would like to also gather information on safety practices, staff rules and legislation governing the business.
I will be happy to come in at any time that is convenient to you. Thank You for your co-operation as I await your response.

Yours Sincerely,

Hugh Chambers

Methodology

As the source of primary data, questionnaire and interview sessions were conducted.

The advantages of using Questionnaires are:

ü  It allows data to be collected from a large amount of people.

ü  Makes is possible to compare the responses.

ü  It is a quick and easy way of accessing, the information needed for the research

ü  Respondent were interviewed over the phone and by personal contact Questionnaires were giving to the office to be completed and return upon request of the researcher Also the public was interviewed on different occasion about the services of the Post Office and Agencies.

Interviews were also conducted as a source of primary information. Customers were interviewed in the business at the point of purchasing products. Staff was interviewed after business hours. When this procedure was not efficient, the researcher called the business to conduct the interview through the telephone. The researcher interviewed the manager and one of the accounts clerk’s.

A questioner was also conducted within this research where a hand pick of clerks where asked multiply choice questions.


The advantages of using the interview are:

ü  It enables respondents to give extended answers to open-ended questions.

ü  It is a convenient way of oral communication which is useful for individual discussions.

Questions Asked of Company Personnel

1.  What are some business forms used within this office?

2.  What are some of the responsibilities of this office?

3.  What are the responsibilities and attributes of the accounts clerk?

4.  What are some equipment’s used within this office?

5.  How does technology help to maintain business stability?

6.  What are some rules and regulations?

Schedule

Date / Activities / Comments
December 23 2010 / The researcher went to business to see if it could be consider as a site for the research / Business was a suitable place for the investigation.
July 26 2011 / Went to business place to ask permission verbally in order to conduct the research / Supervisor confirmed that the research could be done
July 28 2011 / Brought the letter of correspondence to the supervisor / Supervisor read the letter and said that the investigation can be done
July 30 2011 / Called the business to find out which date the investigation can commence / Supervisor said it can be conducted at any time today
August 1 2011 / Conduct a telephone interview with the manager / Proceedings was successful
August 4 2011 / Interviewed customers / Important information was gathered
August 7 2011 / Issued questionnaires / Said that they will answer them after working hours
August 10 2011 / Observed customer service / Information gathered on October 4 was confirmed
August 12 2011 / Questioned the manager about the effectiveness of these systems / Important information was gathered
August 13 2011 / Observed business activities / Various activities were well observed
August 15 201 / Was telephoned my manager of the business / Manager thanked me for choosing their business as the site of research, and wished me luck with my S.B.A
August 17 2011 / Went to the business to confirm the end of the investigation / Gratitude was accepted

Regulations

In any business there are rules and regulations governing the business, workers, visitors, its activities and its consumers. The following are the rules and regulations governing the business:

·  One legislation governing the workplace is The Public Health Act. This legislation ensures that all employees of the business possess a food handler’s permit and that the business operates in a much sanitized manner. The researcher became aware of this legislation because there was a framed certificate on the wall inside the business.

·  One health and safety practice observed when carrying out the research is the wearing of steam caps in the business by workers, visitors, and manufacturers.

·  One staff rule that the researcher had to comply with in carrying out this project is that information must be kept confidential within the business and hands must be washed each time that someone enters beyond the counter.

Report

The business I researched is a famous fast food restaurant that produces over fifty (50) different products for over fifty (50) different branches island wide. The location that was research is St Elizabeth. The reason why St Elizabeth was chosen as the site of investigation is because of the fact that it is in the physical reach of the researcher and it was suitable for the topic in that it has improved since upgrading itself with a accounts office. Over the past two (2) t0 three (3) years this business has introduced accounts office within its business operation. This has led to a restructure of its physical layout and its daily transactions routines.

The investigation that was carried out showed that the introduction of the accounts office plays a very important role in any organization. The research showed that the financial satiability of the business has improved drastically since the accounts office. From the observation made, this has shown that the business is much more efficient being that the manager doesn’t have to maintain all financial business by himself which thus leads more business control.

Also the Accounts Office offers the business a full range of computerized services to alleviate

the organization bookkeeping and accounting burdens. Services that can be provided are:

·  Accounts receivable: including invoicing, managing receivables and, when necessary, collections

·  Accounts payable: including paying bills, writing checks and vendor management as necessary

·  Payroll Processing: including check and tax deposit calculations and form filing

·  Budgets and Projections

·  Bank/credit card reconciliations

·  Month/quarter/year end reports

·  QuickBooks clean-up and customization, troubleshooting

·  Annual Informational Tax Returns that include 1099 and Personal Property Tax

·  Document management

Also with the gathered information the researcher clearly see’s that there is an important distinction between management accounts which involves the provision of information to managers for ongoing decision making, and financial accounting which is concerned with the preparation of financial statements outlining the financial health and performance of a company in previous time periods.

In the researcher’s research, a curtain question was asked before the interviews started, this question was asked to the manager; how does the accounts office help to benefit the business? The question was answered quickly with the response “The Accounts Office provides solutions to the managing of a business, so that the business doesn’t manage YOU”.

Major Challenges

One of the major problems that the researcher faced in the completion of this research is the scheduling of activities. Due to the fact that business place is a very busy and the manger didn’t have time to allow me to do these interviews; the collection of data process was very difficult. A schedule time table was made before the manger confirmed, thus it wasn’t a convenient time table.

Problem Solving Strategies

In solving this problem the researcher called in a favor from some he knew to try to get the manager of the business to give me the chance to get these interviews done at any time that was convenient to her. The manger then allowed the researcher to do the research, and they both schedule time table.

Business Forms

Debit Note

Pay Slip

Cheque

Office equipment

Date / Equipment used / Purpose of equipment / Suitability for tasks
August 13 2011 / Computer / Used as a main computer to keep a record of operational business activities. / It allows for electronic stock taking thus reduces time spent to apply a manual one.
August 13 2011 / Facsimile(fax) machine / Used to facilitate the transmission of a copy of a document. / It reduces the problems of postal services.
August 13 2011 / Calculator / Used for task which involve calculations / It makes it easier to use a calculator than using the brain to calculate stuff
August 13 2011 / Printer( all in one) / A single machine used to copy, scan and print documents. / It is a wise economic decision since the equipment saves office space and money.

Bibliography

Personnel’s Interviewed

Name / Date / Place / Job Title
Adamson Janet / 7/10/10 / Business place / Accounts clerk
Reid Faith / 12/10/10 / Business place / Manager
Thomas Selvin / 12/10/10 / Community / Accounts clerk

Telephone interviewed

Name / Date / Place / Job Title
Reid Faith / 01/10/10 / Business place / Manager

The following books were used as a foundation for the research:

CLARKE Gillian and WHITCOMB Dr Alan: Heinemann Office Procedures for CXC: Heinemann Educational Publishers 2000

HARRISON John and SCANTLEBURY BARBARA: New Caribbean Office Procedures: Pearson Educational \Limited 2000

Table of Contents

Content Page

Acknowledgements (i)

Preparation

·  Title of Project 1

·  Aims of Project 1

·  Function of the Sales Department 1

·  Letter of Correspondence 2

Gathering Data

·  Methodology 3

·  Questions Asked of personnel 4

·  Schedule of activities 5

·  Regulation and Policies governing the business 7

Presentation

·  Report 8

·  Business Forms 10

·  Office Equipment 12

·  Bibliography

·  Appendices

Appendices

Equipment’s used in the accounts office

Office Administration

School Based Assessment (S.B.A.)

Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (C.S.E.C.)