from The Open University
Alternatively you can skip the navigation by pressing 'Enter'.
Get Started menu item
What's On menu item
TV
-
Tuesday 21st May
- 1:00am, Eden, Bang Goes The Theory s6e5
- 1:00am, Eden, Bang Goes The Theory s6e7
- 1:25am, Eden, Bang Goes The Theory s6e6
- 1:25am, Eden, Bang Goes The Theory s6e6
- 1:25am, Eden, Bang Goes The Theory s6e8
- 1:50am, BBC Two, Keeping Britain Alive - Ep 5
- 9:00am, Eden, Bang Goes The Theory s6e7
- 9:30am, Eden, Bang Goes The Theory s6e8
- 2:00pm, Eden, Bang Goes The Theory s6e7
- 2:30pm, Eden, Bang Goes The Theory s6e8
Radio
- Wednesday 22nd May
- Friday 24th May
- Sunday 26th May
-
Tuesday 21st May
Introduction to the context of accounting
Revenue, profit and loss, balance sheets – are these accounting terms that...
Revenue, profit and loss, balance sheets – are these accounting terms that intimidate you? This unit will help you to understand the very basics of accounting, from its historical beginnings to the objectives of modern day accountants. You will learn how an accountant in business balances conflicting demands to maximise market share and profit.
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
- describe accounting's primary objective;
- explain what is meant by inputs to and outputs from the accounting information system;
- explain the relationship between data, data processing, data summarisation and information;
- explain the difference between data and information;
- describe the five main characteristics of 'good' information;
- explain the link between accounting information and organisational objectives;
- describe how to find relevant information on the internet.
- Duration: 4 hours
- Published on: Monday 6th June 2011
- Level: Advanced
- Posted under: Accounting and Finance
Introduction to the context of accounting
Introduction

Through a series of activities and practical examples, this unit provides a broad overview of the field of accounting, including: its origins and objectives, the nature of accounting information and accounting information systems, and accountancy’s role in helping organisations meet their objectives.
This material is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Certificate in accounting (B680) which is no longer taught by The Open University. If you want to study formally with us, you may wish to explore other courses we offer in this subject area [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
Archive content
This is an extract from an Open University course which is no longer available to new students. If you found this interesting you could explore more free Accounting and Finance course units or view the range of currently available OU Accounting and Finance courses.
Other pages You might like

Try: Understanding the environment: Learning...
There is increasing recognition that the reductionist mindset that is currently...

Study: Management accounting
Develop your understanding of the fundamental principles, practices, techniques and...
Try: Unclear about nuclear?
The unit will provide an opportunity for young people (18+) who are interested but unsure...

Study: Development of financial practice
If you already have a relevant financial qualification, this course allows you to build...

Try: Managing the European economy after the...
The Euro was first adopted as a currency in 1999, but what impact has it had on the...

Study: Financial accounting
Develop an understanding of the role and importance of accounting, of the frameworks...

Try: Equity finance
Private equity, venture capital, stock exchange listing: all are methods of raising...

Study: Introduction to bookkeeping and...
This short course will give you a good grounding in double-entry bookkeeping and the...

Try: Employee engagement
Engagement is a key buzzword in 21st century management. Strategic human resource...

Try: Influences on accounting regulation
Financial reporting is a complex issue. This unit looks at the historical development of...

Try: Entrepreneurial impressions - reflection
In this unit you will be encouraged to unpack your own experiences of, and perceptions...

Try: The financial markets context
How do financial markets match providers with users, and how efficiently does the market...
Comments
Be the first to post a comment
Copyright & revisions
Copyright information
- Creative-Commons: The Open University is proud to release this free course under a Creative Commons licence. However, any third-party materials featured within it are used with permission and are not ours to give away. These materials are not subject to the Creative Commons licence. See terms and conditions. Full details can be found in the Acknowledgements section.
Feeds
If you enjoyed this, why not follow a feed to find out when we have new things like it? Choose an RSS feed from the list below. (Don't know what to do with RSS feeds?)
Remember, you can also make your own, personal feed by combining tags from around OpenLearn.
Alternative Formats
Tags, Ratings and Social Bookmarking
Page Tags
Sign in or create a free account to add tags to your personal tag cloud using:
Have you tried our free courses?
Free stuff to your door
Living with Poverty
OU TV & Radio
-
Thinking Allowed - Live music 1950 to 1967Radio 4
Wednesday 16:00 -
BankersBBC Two
Wednesday 21:00 -
Bankers - Episode 3BBC Two
Wednesday 21:00 -
Living with PovertyBBC One London, East, North East & Cumbria and Yorkshire & Lincolnshire
Wednesday 23:05 -
Living with Poverty - Mind the gapBBC One (London only, 954 on Sky)
Wednesday 23:05
Views
Votes
Comments
Tags
- climate change (373)
- business (277)
- diaries (194)
- bottom line (169)
- food (168)
- Rough Science (162)
- BBC Two (145)
- internet (145)
- BBC Radio 4 (140)
- BBC (133)
- Scotland (121)
- points for debate (120)
- listings (120)
- Bang goes the Theory (116)
- children (116)
- Creative Climate (116)
- English Civil War (115)
- astronomy (108)
- Thinking Allowed (105)
- religion (98)
- marketing (94)
- 20th century (94)
- Charles I (93)
- communication (92)
- evolution (91)
- sustainability (89)
- research (88)
- architecture (85)
- energy (83)
- Charles Darwin (78)
OpenLearn Links
Copyrighted imageCredit: Background image Lucian Milasan | Dreamstime.com 

