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Accounting or accountancy will always surface in the discussion of money and finance. To some, its importance may not be that evident. But if you will look beyond all the numbers and figures that accounting crunches, you will

find out that these numbers are the basis of determining the longevity of a business. The primary task of an accountant is to prepare and examine financial records. On the surface, this task may seem as simple and as easy as keeping checks in check and expenditures balanced but from then on, it branches out to several other sub-tasks that embody the complexity of the profession of accounting. This includes making sure that figures and data concerning tax are accurate and are in compliance of the law. They are also in charge of generating reports regarding the cash flow of the company, budgets and cash plan, accounts receivable, accounts payable, income statements, balance sheets, stock holding, owner equity statements, and debtors and creditors statements.

Accountants analyze information and options by developing spreadsheet reports and verifying its information. They are in charge of reconciling accounts and preparing general ledger entries by maintaining records and files. They also answer accounting and financial questions by researching and interpreting data which can really affect the direction a company will take. And in today’s time wherein outsourcing is becoming the immediate solution of companies, accountants have found themselves playing even bigger roles due to the demand of providing risk management services and financial management services.

Aside from all these tasks, like any other professional, accountants also have duties and responsibilities that require great competence, integrity, and due care. Every accountant should not allow bias, conflict of interest or undue influences override his professional business judgments; these may jeopardize his reputation as a professional. After all, finance is a sensitive matter that is shrouded in confidentiality and can make or break a company. Even a simple mistake may result to profit loss or lawsuits. This is why the code of ethics for professional accountants plays a very important role in establishing ethical requirements for professional accountants. It contains the fundamental principles to ensure that the worldwide accountancy profession is kept on high quality and performing standard.

Aside from the code of ethics, there are also independent bodies and organizations that oversee the conduct of professional accountants and make sure their servitude to the public interest. IFAC or International Federation of Accountants is a global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. As of the moment, the organization is comprised of over 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

With the code of ethics and organizations like IFAC, we can foresee that the profession of accountancy will remain a relevant and reliable industry despite of all the complexities and responsibilities revolving around it.

Having an own business is one of the beautiful blessings an individual could have in his life. But having a business of your own could also be a challenge to test several skills such as management, production, marketing and domestic distribution as part of your logistics.

Because marketing plan is important to make your business successful, here are the 5 P’s you need to always keep in mind to help you organize your own marketing plan.

Product

If you want to experience a financial breakthrough in your business, decide on a product (or service) your target market will need. Consider the kind of environment your market belongs to. Do not give them something they abundantly have nor don’t over them something they grossly can’t afford. In addition, make sure that you have the needed amount of knowledge about your target product. And if you have already decided on the product you are about to sell, maintain a good quantity of it.

Place

And as you maintain ample amounts of high-quality product, make sure that they are properly distributed to your target market. If you are to market your products in different places, hire a logistics company capable of efficient domestic distribution. Having a reliable domestic distribution process helps you meet a client expectation and that in turn, builds your customers’ trust.

Also, as there are competitions everywhere, so do your market research. This will help you determine the strategies you will need along the way.

Pricing Strategy

Of course, for your business to move forward, you need to gain sales. The Pricing strategy is used to determine the price of your product and is divided into several kinds: premium pricing, penetration pricing, economy pricing, price skimming and psychological pricing. Premium pricing is establishing a price higher than your competitors and is effectively used if you’re offering something unique to your product—a premium if we might say so. Penetration pricing, on the other hand, works differently. It captures the market by entering with a lower price relative to the competition. The price sensitive market is the target of economy pricing by keeping prices competitively low and is widely used in the retail business. Price skimming is the changing of product price over time. The product price will be set on high at first and then eventually lowers it to attract buyers. Psychological pricing works by subtly convincing buyers through perception like how stores make a product cost 99Php instead of 100 because the former looks psychologically and subliminally less the latter.

Promotion

It is, as you’d imagine, about how well your market knows about your product. With this, creativity is important as you need to attract your customers with the use of campaigns and other advertising strategies. Especially when handing out freebies, you would want to have well-planned and well-thought-out distribution process to help expand you market and fortify loyal clientele.

Perception

This is the last “p” which is equivalent to brand awareness. Perceptions about your product depend on how well you promote it and what you do with your perceived success. Perception is the overall trust that your target market gives and associate to your brand so consistency with the other latter Ps pretty much culminates with brand perception.

So there you have it, the five P you need to always keep in mind. Add all of those to a little perseverance and patience, and you’ve got yourself a solid business waiting for product distribution to excited customers.

A successful business is about giving consistent effort. It’s almost always an easy idea in the beginning and is a hard-running endeavor from then on. So to help you drive your business to success, here are some of the possible reasons why a business fails in this digital age of market.

1. Building on unrealistic business plans. Whether you have a small or big startup capital, if you do not plan according to the realities of your market, you will surely have a hard time bringing your good ideas into action. In addition, business competition twenty years ago is not the same as today, more so with the marketing strategies available today. Making a business plan that works for today’s market needs actual analysis and case studies especially regarding money—that’s where outsourcing accounting steps in. Getting your accounting outsourced as early as you can help in reliable and accurate bookkeeping especially when it comes to taxation, counting losses and ROI, and saving up for expansion.

2. Expanding too fast. As a business manager, you want to expand your business for better opportunities. However, expanding your business too fast might otherwise ironically cause its failure. Patiently wait and prepare for the right chances. In addition, accurate financial information that you have acquired through outsourced bookkeeping will help you determine when it is the right time to expand your business.

3. Not having good internet. In today’s digital age, people would more likely browse on the internet to find something they need. Customers are on the internet, and not having a good internet presence could partially diminish brand credibility. Building a website that is user-friendly gives your business a good opportunity to tell customers why they should trust you. Moreover, having a website helps you maximize marketing strategies which will help your business gain sales.

4. Poor management. Having a sufficient capital is not the only thing that matters—to run your business well, you need to be able to manage everything you have which includes the basic factors of a business such as the amount of your capital, expenses, resources, and man power. And having a good management plan means you need to have to carefully study each factor and you might as well need to understand financial statements. So if you are having questions or clarifications to make a useful and wise decision for your business, do not hesitate to ask guidance from your team.

5. Having confusions with bookkeeping and accounting. Well, in business, your team can provide you day-to-day records of the money that cycle in and out of your institution. They can give you accurate financial information that you can use in making decisions; however, it is also the accounting outsourcing team who could help you analyze the provided data. That is why there is a need for a bookkeeper and an accountant to work hand-in-hand for a successful business.

Just make sure that you exert the same quality of effort you have from the beginning and your business might see the light of success mathematically quick. Also, don’t hesitate studying innovations that can help you make your business grow and be successful.

It has been almost 6 years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) or popularly known Obamacare has been signed in the United States.

The idea of the health bill is to make quality health insurance affordable for everyone through consumer protections, regulations, subsidies, taxes, insurance exchanges, and other reforms. It has required even small scale companies to provide health insurance for their employees. Companies that won’t be able to provide healthcare insurance for their full-time employees will be penalized. It has also expanded the coverage of Medicare and Medicaid.

Through the development of the bill, a lot of other benefits and protection have been added to the already long list of advantages of the health care bill. This includes amendments which make it illegal to charge for pre-existing health conditions and prevents discrimination. It has also required insurance companies to provide a short, plain-language summary of coverage and benefits but most of all, it has created a Marketplace for private health insurance companies to compete fairly though the standardizing the minimum coverage and developing a body that will monitor the insurance companies.

Paying close attention to the even ground that the Marketplace has created, health insurance companies now have to win the favor of the public so they can profit. This will put pressure on them since they will be forced to handle a huge increase in the demand on medical and pharmaceutical services. In the 2014 open enrolment alone, 8 million enrolled in the Marketplace. An estimated of 11.7 million are projected to have enrolled in the 2015 open enrollment and the numbers are only expected increase this year. Now that more people have easier access to health services, there will be a need for them to bolster their services. This trend has turned outsourcing into a valuable solution for them.

Outsourcing has provided health insurance companies with the necessary help to adjust to the increasing demand that ACA has created. Since the current international trade regulatory regime does not stand in the way of enterprises moving jobs around to obtain skills anywhere, offshore outsourcing has become a very economical solution for health insurance companies. Although this could widen the gap between U.S. labor costs and foreign labor costs, outsourcing can give a quick solution for center services; back offices; medical, legal and other data transcription and coding; animation; software development; engineering design; and digital content. This will not just save them production expenses but will also cut the time necessary to transition to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act era of healthcare insurance.

Most of the major provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have phased in last January 2014. As of the moment, there are still provisions that need to be completed until the year of 2020 and with the US presidential election on the peak of its heat, there are chances that more reforms on healthcare will be put into discussion and will hence continue to shape the industry of outsourcing.

There are several factors vital to businesses’ growth every manager should know about and must have control over. As good management keeps the business running, financial accounting determines how well a business is doing and how it must carry on with its operations. However, managerial accounting and financial accounting are two different concepts and business managers need to carefully expedite them, or otherwise outsource them with reliable accounting service providers in the Philippines.

As a business manager, you need to remember that your business isn’t just all about money itself and if you are having a hard time understanding how accounting works and how managerial and financial accounting separately function, outsourcing accounting services in the Philippines can always be a solution. Success in business is not about how big the amount of money you invest as a startup—it is about how well you manage your investment together with the other factors that may affect your business. That money management is called accounting.

As a paddle is used to direct a boat, accounting is going to be your guide to business decisions. It will help you to keep moving forward, avoiding or remedying money problems, and ultimately bankruptcy. So how does managerial and financial accounting work together for better business?

Investopedia defines managerial accounting as a helpful tool used to measure the results of manager’s decisions. It is done internally and commonly extracts relevant information from financial accounting to make decisions about budgeting and goal setting. As the amounts of in-going and out-going money tell more than just about the figures, managerial accounting helps managers to balance out profits and losses of a business. For instance, to determine the price of your product or service, you need to first define cost to include labor, raw materials, factory rent(if applicable), and any other explicit or marginal expenses. This is called product costing, one of the useful techniques in managerial accounting, which in return would help you set product prices competitively.

On the other hand, financial accounting is responsible for gathering and summarizing financial data, such as balance sheet, cash flow statements and income statements. Unlike managerial accounting where there is no specified format to follow, financial accounting needs to be accurate and transparent. In addition, it can also be used as references by your clients, investors and suppliers. Every document used in financial accounting serves as the basis of information in making a decision not just of managerial direction, but company decisions especially since it positions the company not only on its own financial standing but also to all other pertinent parties and stakeholders involved.

As you could always outsource accounting services in the Philippines, it is still important to understand how it works with your business. Managerial accounting works well with financial accounting; both of them will keep you in the right direction to bringing your business to success. So keep a good communication with your accountant and as well as to your production team. Outsourcing accounting service doesn’t mean you don’t need to do anything and just wait for the monthly reports, it means you’ll be working with people who are reliable and knowledgeable enough to help you reach your goals. Remember, money is not everything in business; however, how well you handle it could spell your next reason for a celebration.