This essay is a summary of an article titled Using Financial Accounting Information to Your Advantage by Nuirmer who has written several articles on various topics. As the article title states, the article is basically about the importance of financial accounting information and how it can be used to improve businesses (Articlesbase.com).
As per the author, financial data is the language of all businesses which means that for any business to be successful, it should heavily rely on its financial information systems, which must be properly recorded and filed. The author goes on to state that relying on financial data is not enough. He states that there is a need to have a place for seasoned accountants and financial analysts who are experienced enough on accounting issues (Articlesbase.com).
These seasoned accountants or financial advisors are the ones who study, analyze, interpret and make recommendations on how the data should be applied to the businesses to increase outputs. The recommendations may sometimes require some adjustments in some or all the organizational departments, especially for the maximization of the resources and the minimization of the costs and expenditures (Articlesbase.com).
The author cautions on the correctness of the financial data by saying that before any financial data is analyzed and applied in business, there is a need to check and verify its correctness. This ensures that any decisions which are made are based on correct, valid and relevant financial information; otherwise, it can be very disastrous for every business to rely on incorrect information because it can lead to irreparable damages to the business (Articlesbase.com).
Correct financial information is also very crucial for every company because it is the one which is used by investors and shareholders in making their decisions on whether to invest in some firm or not. If a company has correct and well-documented financial statements, investors and shareholders tend to have a lot of confidence in it and invest a lot of their money, thus, making the business thrive. If the financial statements are inaccurate and poorly documented, investors’ confidence is usually low, and may even scare them away from investing in the company (Articlesbase.com).
However, all business people must bear in mind that taking advantage of financial information comes with a cost. The cost is that they must be willing and ready to offer very attractive packages to accountants so that they can get the best products in the market. For a business to be admired in the market, especially in the current business environment where stiff competitions are the normal course of the day, it must therefore have in place well-known accountants who also provide insights to the business on how to make it as competitive as possible apart from doing the normal accounting for the business (Articlesbase.com).
As a 101 accounting student, my personal opinion about the article is that it is very informative as well as insightful, especially in regard to how business may move forward. Its emphasis on the reliance on financial data to make business decisions as well as the correctness of the data is a sure way of enabling companies to live within their means. If businesses rely on correct and well-documented financial data and on seasoned accountants, I think it is the very best way to improve and promote its position.
However, the article does not address the issue of employee relations, which personally, I think is equally important for any business to stay on a course of making profits. This is because well-motivated employees perform at their maximum, and it leads to higher productivity that is opposed to the poor motivation of the employees that results in low productivity.
Work Cited
Nuirmer. “Using Financial Accounting Information to Your Advantage.” Articlesbase 06 Oct. 2011 Free Online Articles Directory. 2011. Web.