Accounting Cycle Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Accounting Cycle - Research Paper Example An organization that depends on the accounting cycle to create outputs that are needed to evaluate the financial performance of an organization is the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC mandates that public corporation release financial statements at least once a year. The amount of time that it takes to complete the accounting cycle is typically one year. Due to SEC regulations publicly traded companies have to compress their accounting cycles in order to release quarterly financial statements. The primary players that are involved in the preparation of financial statements are the employees that belong to the accounting department. The collective efforts of all accountants of a corporation allows the accounting cycle to run smoothly and serve its purpose of enabling companies to compile financial statements that show the financial performance of a corporation. Some of the users of the financial information formed by the accounting cycle include: lenders, employees, business partners, and shareholders. The person or job position that is responsible for the completion of the accounting cycle is the controller. The controller is considered the top accounting position in any organization. The controller is responsible for the preparation of the different steps that lead to the release of financial statements. Another important executive position that closely monitors the work of the accounting department is the chief executive officer (CEO). The CEO is responsible for the ent ire performance of an organization. They must comply with the demands of different stakeholders groups. A few decades ago the accounting cycle was created manually with the use of traditional accountings books such as the general journal and the ledgers. Accountants would manually keep track of the system through these two mechanisms and other tools to create an accounting information system. Nowadays technological advances have made the job of accountants much